What do you think?
Rate this book
Death Before Detention: A funny cosy crime mystery set in a chaotic Irish boarding school
Welcome to the Common Criminals' Club, a cosy murder mystery series for middle-grade and teen readers, full of doodles, danger and devious criminals. If you love Lottie Brooks, Murder Most Unladylike, Derry Girls, or The Mysterious Benedict Society, then you will love Death Before Detention. It's Thursday Murder Club for 9-12 year olds - so step right here's your next reading obsession!
This is the story of how we . . .
- Discovered a dead body
- Launched an investigation
- Battled mean girls, feral bats, and nearly destroyed our three-year friendship all in the noble pursuit of solving a complex murder
Mae Flynn is used to the chaos of her rural Irish Catholic boarding school, but she isn’t expecting to discover a dead body in the school kitchen. To make matters worse, the hapless victim, Conor Haddock, was the previous owner of the school building and had recently been talking about selling up, alongside getting on the bad side of seemingly every adult Mae knows. In other the suspects are endless.
Along with her best friends, the self-named Common Criminals' Club, Mae is determined to solve the murder. But the more she uncovers, the more she begins to suspect that everyone around her is hiding something. Soon it’s not only her lessons and friendships at stake, but her very life . . .
'With an irresistible heroine and a fantastically distinctive voice, this funny, twisty mystery will appeal to 9+ Robin Stevens fans' The Guardian
'Darkly comic' The Times, Best detective stories for children
This is the story of how we . . .
- Discovered a dead body
- Launched an investigation
- Battled mean girls, feral bats, and nearly destroyed our three-year friendship all in the noble pursuit of solving a complex murder
Mae Flynn is used to the chaos of her rural Irish Catholic boarding school, but she isn’t expecting to discover a dead body in the school kitchen. To make matters worse, the hapless victim, Conor Haddock, was the previous owner of the school building and had recently been talking about selling up, alongside getting on the bad side of seemingly every adult Mae knows. In other the suspects are endless.
Along with her best friends, the self-named Common Criminals' Club, Mae is determined to solve the murder. But the more she uncovers, the more she begins to suspect that everyone around her is hiding something. Soon it’s not only her lessons and friendships at stake, but her very life . . .
'With an irresistible heroine and a fantastically distinctive voice, this funny, twisty mystery will appeal to 9+ Robin Stevens fans' The Guardian
'Darkly comic' The Times, Best detective stories for children
263 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 25, 2026
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
August 5, 2026
-Loved that it is set in a boarding school, but that it also had that old-time vibes because phones/technology weren't around that much only named here and there. Loved reading about lessons, the buildings, the activities, and more.
-Loved the mystery/figuring out who did the murders, though I have to say I was just too tired to figure it out myself, haha, but it was a good one. Loved that we had a list of suspects and that it grew as the story continued and that we kept finding out new deets, from motives to nuggets of information.
-Loved the illustrations that at times dotted the pages. The style was so fun!
-Loved the MC, Mae, and her friends (for most). I loved how Mae was from the village nearby. As for her friends, for most I liked them and the energy they brought along with how close they were, but I didn't entirely like how they dismissed (and found our MC mean) her feelings on a popular girl who kept making remarks.
-Loved the diary-esque way of telling the story and loved the little notes when we got some backstory or Mae made a comment.
-The ending was SO GOOD! What a ride! With some great surprises!
All in all, recommended to all! This was such fun! Maybe I will write a review when my vacation is over.. maybe this is just what it is going to be, haha.
-Loved the mystery/figuring out who did the murders, though I have to say I was just too tired to figure it out myself, haha, but it was a good one. Loved that we had a list of suspects and that it grew as the story continued and that we kept finding out new deets, from motives to nuggets of information.
-Loved the illustrations that at times dotted the pages. The style was so fun!
-Loved the MC, Mae, and her friends (for most). I loved how Mae was from the village nearby. As for her friends, for most I liked them and the energy they brought along with how close they were, but I didn't entirely like how they dismissed (and found our MC mean) her feelings on a popular girl who kept making remarks.
-Loved the diary-esque way of telling the story and loved the little notes when we got some backstory or Mae made a comment.
-The ending was SO GOOD! What a ride! With some great surprises!
All in all, recommended to all! This was such fun! Maybe I will write a review when my vacation is over.. maybe this is just what it is going to be, haha.
June 9, 2026
2.5 starts..the writing style just felt too disjointed for me. The story was good but the pacing felt off, not much progress for the majority of the book and then packed in and rushed at the end.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
I received an ARC in preparation for a < href = ukyaspotlight.co.uk>UKYASpotlight interview. It has not affected my opinions.
DEATH BEFORE DETENTION is a funny teen mystery.
This is a teen book, a much needed but rarely served age range. The girls are actual teenagers, not 20-somethings, and friendships are the focus of the book, not romantic relationships. Mae experiences her first crush in a very realistic way - looking at a family friend she hasn't seen for a while with new eyes, and does not know what to do with it - but it is not a romantic relationship. We need more crushes that go nowhere - and characters who have no intention of taking the crush anywhere - in books to reflect early teen experiences. We need books that bridge the gap between MG and the current version of YA so we don't lose readers, and DEATH BEFORE DETENTION fits perfectly into that gap.
Following on from this, the biggest interpersonal frictions come from friends acting weirdly and also the mean girl at school. Mae has a very single-track mind about people; she forms an impression and that's it. I really liked that aspect of her character as we all do it, and it's so hard to recognise that as a teenager (and often as an adult). I look forward to seeing her grow in this over the series, particularly as the scene has been set for her to be in much closer contact with the mean girl aka her arch-nemesis (which is a very one sided enmity from Mae.)
The mystery itself is nicely twisty with a limited pool of suspects who, unfortunately for the girls, only seem to have a motive for half of the crimes committed. This motive gap keeps you on your toes as you try to work out how the other half fits into the overall puzzle.
It's a more comedic, cosy mystery than dark. Mae gets secured with clingfilm by the chefs to ensure she is there for the guards to interview once she finds the body, for example. The narrative voice is also speaking directly to the audience as well, which helps with finding the humour in the situation as, in the moment, it's not great to find a body, for example.
The book is illustrated by Ellen Porteus. The style reminds me of comic books, with different densities of dots for shading rather than shades of grey. It's bold and stylised, which matches the fun, larger-than-life feel of the story itself. It's a very good pairing of author and artist.
DEATH BEFORE DETENTION is a funny teen mystery.
This is a teen book, a much needed but rarely served age range. The girls are actual teenagers, not 20-somethings, and friendships are the focus of the book, not romantic relationships. Mae experiences her first crush in a very realistic way - looking at a family friend she hasn't seen for a while with new eyes, and does not know what to do with it - but it is not a romantic relationship. We need more crushes that go nowhere - and characters who have no intention of taking the crush anywhere - in books to reflect early teen experiences. We need books that bridge the gap between MG and the current version of YA so we don't lose readers, and DEATH BEFORE DETENTION fits perfectly into that gap.
Following on from this, the biggest interpersonal frictions come from friends acting weirdly and also the mean girl at school. Mae has a very single-track mind about people; she forms an impression and that's it. I really liked that aspect of her character as we all do it, and it's so hard to recognise that as a teenager (and often as an adult). I look forward to seeing her grow in this over the series, particularly as the scene has been set for her to be in much closer contact with the mean girl aka her arch-nemesis (which is a very one sided enmity from Mae.)
The mystery itself is nicely twisty with a limited pool of suspects who, unfortunately for the girls, only seem to have a motive for half of the crimes committed. This motive gap keeps you on your toes as you try to work out how the other half fits into the overall puzzle.
It's a more comedic, cosy mystery than dark. Mae gets secured with clingfilm by the chefs to ensure she is there for the guards to interview once she finds the body, for example. The narrative voice is also speaking directly to the audience as well, which helps with finding the humour in the situation as, in the moment, it's not great to find a body, for example.
The book is illustrated by Ellen Porteus. The style reminds me of comic books, with different densities of dots for shading rather than shades of grey. It's bold and stylised, which matches the fun, larger-than-life feel of the story itself. It's a very good pairing of author and artist.
June 26, 2026
June 2026: The Common Criminals' Club: Death Before Detention
Meet the members of The Common Criminal's Club, four teenagers from different backgrounds: Mae Flynn, Shonda, Beck, and Aoife. Their meeting point? The forgotten storeroom in the library. We are basically reading the logbook of the club, kept by Mae. Their school, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart was a 1900s-old mansion in Ballymallooney, what a perfect set for a crime mystery.
It all started on the day Ms. Purch, their Home Economics teacher, asked Mae to get some butter from the kitchen for their biscuit-making project. When Mae opened the refrigerator, a dead body fell right onto her. After hours being held and queried by the Guards, the principal, Sister Mary-Margaret told Mae to keep the incident to herself.
Mae was desperate to follow the instruction considering her list of detentions. But later, she told her club members and discovered more intriguing info. From here, the girls came up with a plan to investigate. It helps them too when the Guards who came to inspect the place, were Mae's cousin, Joey and then her minder, Darragh.
I love boarding school setting stories. I enjoy reading about the students' friendships, routines and school facilities.
But when it's linked to death in boarding school? This is a serious matter. Especially when it was not just one death involved, but two. And the Principal asking a witness to keep quiet not wanting to cause panic among the students and parents? Suspicious lot!
I eventually believed everyone including the girls in the TCC club was a suspect. I think the author did well in confusing readers like me. A bit upset with the ending, knowing the motives were brought up quite abruptly.
If I were Mae's Mam, to be honest, I would be hysterical to know that there were two deaths (for whatever the cause is) and my daughter is still at school. Though the book is aimed at middle-grade readers, I'd consider it to suit older readers*
*Things in this book that I'm not sure how to put it: Mae had a crush on her minder 9-10 years older than her, a non-binary character whom I keep misreading the pronouns during a tense situation and Aoife's father turned out to be related to the victim in a shady way.
I read the uncorrected proof thanks to #Pansing @definitelybookskids and this book was just 'enrolled' recently.
Meet the members of The Common Criminal's Club, four teenagers from different backgrounds: Mae Flynn, Shonda, Beck, and Aoife. Their meeting point? The forgotten storeroom in the library. We are basically reading the logbook of the club, kept by Mae. Their school, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart was a 1900s-old mansion in Ballymallooney, what a perfect set for a crime mystery.
It all started on the day Ms. Purch, their Home Economics teacher, asked Mae to get some butter from the kitchen for their biscuit-making project. When Mae opened the refrigerator, a dead body fell right onto her. After hours being held and queried by the Guards, the principal, Sister Mary-Margaret told Mae to keep the incident to herself.
Mae was desperate to follow the instruction considering her list of detentions. But later, she told her club members and discovered more intriguing info. From here, the girls came up with a plan to investigate. It helps them too when the Guards who came to inspect the place, were Mae's cousin, Joey and then her minder, Darragh.
I love boarding school setting stories. I enjoy reading about the students' friendships, routines and school facilities.
But when it's linked to death in boarding school? This is a serious matter. Especially when it was not just one death involved, but two. And the Principal asking a witness to keep quiet not wanting to cause panic among the students and parents? Suspicious lot!
I eventually believed everyone including the girls in the TCC club was a suspect. I think the author did well in confusing readers like me. A bit upset with the ending, knowing the motives were brought up quite abruptly.
If I were Mae's Mam, to be honest, I would be hysterical to know that there were two deaths (for whatever the cause is) and my daughter is still at school. Though the book is aimed at middle-grade readers, I'd consider it to suit older readers*
*Things in this book that I'm not sure how to put it: Mae had a crush on her minder 9-10 years older than her, a non-binary character whom I keep misreading the pronouns during a tense situation and Aoife's father turned out to be related to the victim in a shady way.
I read the uncorrected proof thanks to #Pansing @definitelybookskids and this book was just 'enrolled' recently.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
I received an ARC of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and feelings below are my own.
This was a hard book to read, and therefore, it's going to be a harder book to review. I knew going in that I wasn't the target audience for this book - it's a middle grade book and I'm 23 at the time of this review. Definitely not the right audience. But I still wanted to give this book a try, especially as I'm trying to raise my niblings to be readers and am always looking for books to recommend their parents try out.
Having said that, this book has some issues that definitely don't pertain to me not being the targeted audience. And that is the pacing. The pacing of this book is atrocious. We don't get to sit with anything, we don't get to swallow all the feelings and parse out our own thoughts. And again, this book is for young kids and early teens, which I'm not, but readers of all ages deserve good books, and I can't really say this is the best.
The epilogue is another big problem for me. We get so many details that would've been nice to see and discover throughout the actual main chapters of the book. Unfortunately, what we get instead is kinda pointless romance things and feelings so rushed past that it felt more like a manic/depressive switch than a genuine pre-teen perspective.
Would I still recommend it? Yes. It's fast paced, which is good for kids despite my grievances with said pacing, and it's definitely engaging. It's also got plenty of representation that I always find to be a refreshing inclusion in middle grade novels. But I'd definitely serve this recommendation with a grain of salt. A huge one.
This was a hard book to read, and therefore, it's going to be a harder book to review. I knew going in that I wasn't the target audience for this book - it's a middle grade book and I'm 23 at the time of this review. Definitely not the right audience. But I still wanted to give this book a try, especially as I'm trying to raise my niblings to be readers and am always looking for books to recommend their parents try out.
Having said that, this book has some issues that definitely don't pertain to me not being the targeted audience. And that is the pacing. The pacing of this book is atrocious. We don't get to sit with anything, we don't get to swallow all the feelings and parse out our own thoughts. And again, this book is for young kids and early teens, which I'm not, but readers of all ages deserve good books, and I can't really say this is the best.
The epilogue is another big problem for me. We get so many details that would've been nice to see and discover throughout the actual main chapters of the book. Unfortunately, what we get instead is kinda pointless romance things and feelings so rushed past that it felt more like a manic/depressive switch than a genuine pre-teen perspective.
Would I still recommend it? Yes. It's fast paced, which is good for kids despite my grievances with said pacing, and it's definitely engaging. It's also got plenty of representation that I always find to be a refreshing inclusion in middle grade novels. But I'd definitely serve this recommendation with a grain of salt. A huge one.
August 12, 2026
This proved a fairly decent Irish-English-flavoured tweenage murder mystery, that tries to balance seriousness about the death situation and the comedy of it all, and comes across as successful in that. Our heroine Mae is in a small town's boarding school, so seems to know every Gardai member that turns up – and more of them have more reasons to turn up and investigate than she would ever think reasonable. But, unsatisfied, she and her friends do their own sleuthing – when they're not in danger…
This doesn't bear thinking about, structurally – there's a bit where she says something along the lines of 'right, I didn't write the last chunk down until after it all', as if she had managed to report every accurate word of dialogue and feeling beforehand in a semblance of near-live reporting. I mean, she might have done that if she hadn't put a hundred bits of moody foreshadowing into it. This also gets a demerit for a needlessly pronoun-mangling character. Aoife scouring the floor at the start proves a waste of time. And later,
But for the right reader this isn't too bad – the pages turn fairly sprightly, the piece doesn't trivialise the situation these girls are in, as I say, and we still get some small-town Oirish distinctiveness as well. The case isn't as easily wrapped-up as some in this genre, making this potentially a decent series opener. Three and a smidge stars from me, though, seeing as I did see more flaws with the piece.
This doesn't bear thinking about, structurally – there's a bit where she says something along the lines of 'right, I didn't write the last chunk down until after it all', as if she had managed to report every accurate word of dialogue and feeling beforehand in a semblance of near-live reporting. I mean, she might have done that if she hadn't put a hundred bits of moody foreshadowing into it. This also gets a demerit for a needlessly pronoun-mangling character. Aoife scouring the floor at the start proves a waste of time. And later,
But for the right reader this isn't too bad – the pages turn fairly sprightly, the piece doesn't trivialise the situation these girls are in, as I say, and we still get some small-town Oirish distinctiveness as well. The case isn't as easily wrapped-up as some in this genre, making this potentially a decent series opener. Three and a smidge stars from me, though, seeing as I did see more flaws with the piece.
Review of advance copy
This feels like a cosy mystery on the surface, but it’s surprisingly intense because people are literally dying in the school, so the stakes feel much higher than you’d expect for this kind of story. That contrast was interesting, even if it didn’t always fully work for me.
I liked Mae as a main character. She’s flawed in a very real way. She gets detention, she can be petty, and she doesn’t always make the best decisions, which made her feel believable rather than overly polished.
The mystery itself was engaging at first. The story does a good job of planting doubt and making it clear that something isn’t quite right. I appreciated how the suspicion seemed to point in one direction, especially toward the students, only to twist away from that. That said, I think this approach works better for its intended middle-grade audience than for older readers. I found parts of it a bit predictable or less impactful than they were probably meant to be.
One thing that didn’t work for me was the epilogue. It felt unnecessary, almost like it was repeating the story we had just read. Instead of adding anything new, it made me wonder why that information wasn’t woven more naturally into the narrative itself.
By the final stretch, I started to lose interest and ended up skimming the last few chapters. Overall, I’d say it’s a solid mystery for its target age group, with a strong premise and a relatable protagonist, but it didn’t fully hold my attention as an older reader.
I liked Mae as a main character. She’s flawed in a very real way. She gets detention, she can be petty, and she doesn’t always make the best decisions, which made her feel believable rather than overly polished.
The mystery itself was engaging at first. The story does a good job of planting doubt and making it clear that something isn’t quite right. I appreciated how the suspicion seemed to point in one direction, especially toward the students, only to twist away from that. That said, I think this approach works better for its intended middle-grade audience than for older readers. I found parts of it a bit predictable or less impactful than they were probably meant to be.
One thing that didn’t work for me was the epilogue. It felt unnecessary, almost like it was repeating the story we had just read. Instead of adding anything new, it made me wonder why that information wasn’t woven more naturally into the narrative itself.
By the final stretch, I started to lose interest and ended up skimming the last few chapters. Overall, I’d say it’s a solid mystery for its target age group, with a strong premise and a relatable protagonist, but it didn’t fully hold my attention as an older reader.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Twisty, funny, madcap boarding school adventures as Mae Flynn and her friends try to solve the murders that might close their small school forever if they can get past country Policeman, evil mean girls, concussion and just stay out of detention!
I really enjoyed this and giggled my way through at the many daft jokes and references a riot of a mystery that kids of all ages - even 34 year old ones - will enjoy.
I really enjoyed this and giggled my way through at the many daft jokes and references a riot of a mystery that kids of all ages - even 34 year old ones - will enjoy.
December 4, 2025
Clever, twisty, fun, and at times genuinely bonkers (in the best way), this is a tale of murder most foul - ew, guano! - fantastic friendships, and truly excellent escapades. I was fortunate to read an early copy, courtesy of the author and her publisher, so I feel quite smug - and also excited for everyone who gets to read it next year!
August 4, 2026
This is a classic whodunit and boarding school mystery all wrapped up in one. Okay, so that’s been done before, but not quite like this. I loved the Irish angle, the humour, the modern diverse teenage sleuths but also the way the book maintains that old fashioned feel of a classic murder mystery. It has everything you would expect in a whodunit and a boarding school story. I loved it.
Read
March 22, 2026Absolutely brilliant! I grew up with Murder Most Unladylike, and this absolutely fits the bill! I loved that mae is also figuring out this mystery with the reader, and everyone is a suspect right up until the end!
Superb, suspenseful, and surprising !
Superb, suspenseful, and surprising !
Read
July 10, 2026Great modern boarding school mystery. Would recommend to a MG audience and would read another. Love the cover. Only thing is Mae seems like the worst student considering she’s the one with the scholarship.
May 31, 2026
The aim was to read this with my 11 year old…. but I ended up reading it while she was out… oopsieeeee.
The characters were likeable and easy to connect with. I think younger readers will have a great time trying to solve the mystery alongside them. Although it’s aimed at a younger audience, I found it entertaining as an adult too.
I’ll definitely be passing it on to my daughter to read next, as I have a feeling she’ll love it just as much as I did.
The characters were likeable and easy to connect with. I think younger readers will have a great time trying to solve the mystery alongside them. Although it’s aimed at a younger audience, I found it entertaining as an adult too.
I’ll definitely be passing it on to my daughter to read next, as I have a feeling she’ll love it just as much as I did.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews