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Death Before Detention: A funny cosy crime mystery set in a chaotic Irish boarding school
Not yet published
Expected 25 Jun 26Welcome to the Common Criminals' Club, a new cosy murder mystery series for middle-grade and teen readers, full of doodles, danger and devious criminals - if you love Robin Stevens, Katie Kirby, Derry Girls, or The Mysterious Benedict Society. 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 . . .
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 . . .
242 pages, Kindle Edition
Expected publication June 25, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
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.
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!
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 !
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews