The Ministry of Unladylike Activity

The Ministry of Unladylike Activity #1

by Robin Stevens

The start of a thrilling new World War Two mystery series from the number-one-bestselling and multi-award-winning author of Murder Most Unladylike.

1940. The world is at war, and a secret arm of the British government called the Ministry of Unladylike Activity is training up spies.

Enter May Wong: courageous, stubborn, and desperate to help end the war so that she can go home to Hong Kong (and leave her annoying school, Deepdean, behind forever). May knows that she would make the perfect spy. After all, grown-ups always underestimate children like her.

When May and her friend Eric are turned away by the Ministry, they take matters into their own hands. Masquerading as evacuees, they travel to Elysium Hall, home to the wealthy Verey family - including snobby, dramatic Nuala. They suspect that one of the Vereys is passing information to Germany. If they can prove it, the Ministry will have to take them on.

But there are more secrets at Elysium Hall than May or Eric could ever have imagined.

And then, someone is murdered...

Genres: Mystery, Middle Grade, Historical, Crime, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Childrens

416 pages, Paperback

First published September 29, 2022

About the author

Robin's books are: Murder Most Unladylike (Murder is Bad Manners in the USA), Arsenic for Tea (Poison is Not Polite in the USA), First Class Murder, Jolly Foul Play, Mistletoe and Murder, Cream Buns and Crime, A Spoonful of Murder, Death in the Spotlight and Top Marks for Murder. She is also the author of The Guggenheim Mystery, the sequel to Siobhan Dowd's The London Eye Mystery.

Robin was born in California and grew up in an Oxford college, across the road from the house where Alice in Wonderland lived. She has been making up stories all her life.

When she was twelve, her father handed her a copy of The Murder of Roger Ackroyd and she realised that she wanted to be either Hercule Poirot or Agatha Christie when she grew up. When it occurred to her that she was never going to be able to grow her own spectacular walrus moustache, she decided that Agatha Christie was the more achieveable option.

She spent her teenage years at Cheltenham Ladies’ College, reading a lot of murder mysteries and hoping that she’d get the chance to do some detecting herself (she didn’t). She then went to university, where she studied crime fiction, and then worked at a children's publisher.

Robin lives in England with her husband and her pet bearded dragon, Watson.

Reviews

[lem◍nade]

I will read anything this woman writes

[Guy · Rating 2 out of 5]

A real disappointment, I'm sad to say, given my great and enduring love of the original Murder Most Unladylike books. May Wong is a far less engaging narrator than her sister Hazel was, the dynamic between her and the other would-be detectives has very little of the charm or insight of that between Hazel and Daisy Wells, and the case itself is largely forgettable.

I can understand the author wanting to turn to a younger generation to keep her characters from ageing too far past her main demographic of readers, but I can't help but feel that a direct continuation of the previous stories, with the original Wells and Wong duo now as Nazi-hunting spies in their twenties, would have been a much better book.

[✧ hayley (the sugar bowl) ✧ · Rating 4 out of 5]

➳ 4 ⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚

i don’t think there will ever be a robin stevens book i don’t enjoy

this was so much fun!! i love the murder most unladylike series so I had high hopes for this book and i was not disappointed. i enjoyed the new cast of characters (even though I miss daisy and hazel and i was glad for their little cameos).

wwii historical fiction has always been a favorite genre of mine so i appreciated the setting and time period and how robin really laid it out so well for younger readers while not shying away from those topics and not treating the reader like they were too young to hear these things like robin stevens is just 👏👏

the mystery kept me on my toes and i definitely did not see the ending coming / guess the murderer right which i love. robin writes such good mysteries and i love it so much. the dual pov was so fun and i loved getting may and nuala’s perspective on things and seeing their friendship grow

overall even though nothing will ever top mmu I still loved this one and i can’t wait for the next book to come out in october. this series has so much potential and i can’t wait to see may and nuala and eric grow up and solve more cases

detective society forever 💫🤍✨


୧ ‧₊˚ 🍓 ⋅ ☆

[Alyce Hunt]

Just made my 2022 releases shelf in October 2020 because I'm so hyped for this book.

[Emma Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

May Wong desperately wants to be part of the Ministry of Unladylike Activities like her sister Hazel and solve murders of her very own but it’s the Second World War, there’s too much going on already and she’s just too young. She then takes matters into her own hands and along with another hopeful recruit, Eric, they steal a case from the Ministry, pretend to be evacuees and set off to solve a mystery in a country house near Coventry.

I really enjoyed this. It’s SO similar to the Murder Most Unladylike series and felt like familiar ground. I loved Eric the most in this (a calm, gentle animal lover who’s excellent at puzzles) and you can follow the clues along with the characters and I always enjoy that. It takes place during a war but I didn’t find the tone too bleak even though there are a lot of details about the period which made Britain in the 40s feel very alive to me. This book has a lot to say about race and the author’s note at the end made me cry. Very good mystery and I’m looking forward to reading about May and Eric’s adventures again.

[Eva Yoxall-Vale · Rating 5 out of 5]

giving it five to preserve the rating, really it was like a 4.1. it started so badly I had barely any hope for it, but it just kept getting better and better. all the characters and the mystery were so well developed. the ending and the murderer was somewhat unsatisfying to me for some reason it just didn’t sit right but at the same time it did. also I loved the cameos from hazel and Daisy and the efforts of stevens to portray how not all Germans were villains and not all Englishmen were heroes (with the characters of Eric and Hugh), despite what we were all taught. it’s so true that the victors write history. Also I love the new characters although I wish they weren’t like eight but I get that she’s trying to cater for a younger audience (also with the bright cartokn cover which I’m not a fan of)

[Lyra van der Berge · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book and a fantastic addition to the Murder Most Unladylike universe. I love how the book did not shy away from darker themes and confronted the realities of war with honesty. All characters were also multi-layered and our heroes were flawed and relatable. Excited to read upcoming books in this series! Also hat off to Robin Stevens for excellent research and sensitivity to nuance (as usual) that is interspersed throughout this book.

[emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. I loved this book so much, mostly because it brought back so many memories of when I first started reading the Murder Most Unladylike Series, and really enjoyed the references to Hazel, Daisy and the old detective society. To be honest I would honestly read anything this lady writes.

[Renita D'Silva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun

[Annette · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved Daisy and Hazel. I loved their murder mysteries, the boarding school setting and how the author managed to paint us such a detailed and accurate picture of that time in history. So, when I saw that little sister May was getting her own series and it was gonna take place during the second world war I was sold. I was so excited to read her adventures, to find out what she's doing, what kind of people she's meeting and what kind of murders she will be solving.

The author started this series with a bang. And that's mostly because once more the way she portrays history is amazing and very well done. It's far from pretty. She doesn't shy away from the horrors, the fear, the harmful political views and the poor choices some people, including governments, made and still make today. Times are quite clearly darker than they were while Daisy and Hazel were solving mysteries, but I like how our little heroes are doing what they can to change the world.

Of course this book is also a great murder mystery! I love how the author manages to always make these murder mysteries interesting and to always come with a great twist in the end. I'm not a particularly good detective, since I mostly lack patience to write things down and think things trough, but I don't think even the better detectives can solve these cases easily! Nothing is what it seems and everything is possible!

I also really fell in love with the characters while reading this book. I like how the author took a page of the Enid Blyton handbook and made sure the characters are no perfect little angels. They are mean at times, they can yell at each other, they can be really annoying sometimes and yet they clearly have a good heart and great intentions. It will be amazing to see these characters grow and learn and become even more amazing people with every book!

[Amy (Golden Books Girl) · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you’ve read literally any post I’ve ever written, you will know that the Murder Most Unladylike series is one of my very favourite things in the world. This is the beginning of a new spinoff series focusing on Hazel’s little sister May, as she decides to run away and become a spy to help the war effort, much to the chagrin of her sister and her best friend Daisy Wells, who are of course now working for the government. To prove herself, she decides to go undercover at a country house called Elysium Hall, where a Nazi spy is suspected of being. Then, a murder happens and she must team up with her fellow wannabe spy Eric, and Finnuala, an Irish girl who lives at Elysium but feels like a fish out of water with a grieving mother and a family she barely knows. These new characters are outstanding, as you would expect from Robin, from our new trio of detectives and their complicated but beautiful bonds, to each and every member of our cast of suspects, who feel so fleshed out and three dimensional. And of course, seeing Hazel and Daisy again, and so grown up, made me literally WEEP. The country house mystery is engaging, fast-paced and full of twists and turns, and it has filled me with an intense desire to reread the whole of the original series for the billionth time. This was so special for me, and if you’re a fellow fan, I guarantee you’ll be bowled over too; I would go so far as to say this is in Robin’s top three books. Detective Society forever (and ever and always).

[Daisy]

PLEASE

[KatForsyth · Rating 5 out of 5]

As always, a delight. Robin Stevens is so good at plotting a mystery and revealing clues a tiny bit at a time. This was absolutely worth the wait, and I’m already excited for the next book!

[Karen M · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well I really wasn’t sure what I was going to be reading as I began this book but I was laughing as May’s report drew me in , captivated by the easy reading historical details of WW2 , and impatient to see what was going to happen to these brave detectives.
May, Eric and Nuala , three intelligent , quick thinking , and sparky ten year olds find themselves in Coventry seeking a German spy but drawn into inexplicable ( well obviously not inexplicable but they do seem so for a while) murders. They log their findings, collect animals , and search for secret papers - May knows how as her sister Hazel was a detective as a child too. But May comes to value the talents of her new friends and ( maybe) learn some humility .
The dialogue works so well and the plot fairly rattles along - I would have loved to have had these to read when I was a ten year old . For once the old ‘Agatha Christie for young readers’ tag is well deserved. Recommended by a Y5 reader I am very grateful to have read it - and will be reading Hazel’s story as well.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Listened with my 9 year old, who rated it 10/5. As an adult I enjoyed the story, but I found the Author’s Note especially informative and thought-provoking.

[Panda Incognito · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was my most anticipated book of the year, and it was SO DISAPPOINTING. It's slow-paced, the murder doesn't happen until almost halfway through, there is way too much sniping and arguing, and the story frequently gets confusing because there are so many poorly developed side characters to keep track of. Nuala's uncles were difficult to keep straight, so I had a hard time following each one's involvement in the mystery.

The only thing that saves this book from a two-star rating from me is the satisfying ending. Things do come together well in the end, and the resolution is vivid and memorable, despite how dull almost everything else was. This gives me hope for the second book to be better. I really wanted to like this spin-off, and am not rejecting this because I wanted more of Daisy and Hazel. I was fine with moving on to Hazel's younger sister as the main character, and enjoyed her case in Once Upon a Crime. I was excited for the new direction and World War II setting, but this ended up being so frustrating.

This book is significantly longer than the Murder Most Unladylike books, but it could have been at least a hundred and fifty pages shorter. Because the book goes back and forth between May's and Nuala's perspectives, it ends up covering the same ground repeatedly as both girls share their takes on events, and there's a lot of fluff and everyday details that don't advance the plot. Also, Eric, the one major male character, is extremely bland and gets sidelined the entire time. Stevens can write engaging, realistic male characters, so this was a missed opportunity.

I got so tired of May and Nuala, who are at odds from the beginning of the book and keep bickering and insulting each other at every opportunity. I thought that the initial tension was realistic and interesting, but I expected it to get resolved after a few chapters. It was not. It dragged on for almost the entire book, and it was so tiresome to hear them complaining about each other in both the narration and the dialogue. Also, it seems to perpetuate a negative stereotype, implying that girls with strong personalities will necessarily be jerks to each other.

I found this book very frustrating. I also don't think the author adequately dealt with the real-world consequences of Eric and May both running away, him from his family and her from her school, to go investigate the case that May learned about while snooping in Hazel's stuff. This was the framing device for them to end up in the manor house where the mystery occurred, but their extreme irresponsibility, reckless self-endangerment, and abandonment of siblings who are worried about them required more of a reckoning at the end.

In terms of content, there are scenes of peril and depictions of violence, but this is appropriate for a broad age range. If there was any language, it was infrequent and mild. There are no sexual references or adult situations involved in the plot.

Something else I found frustrating about this book is that Nuala's records of the case are supposed to be diary entries, but you would never guess this except for the headings and the occasional things like, "Oh, Diary, you'll never believe what happened!" I write ridiculously detailed and extensive records of my daily life that would defy most people's belief, but my journals still sound like journals, are much more limited in what they cover, and can't present everything in crisp, perfect chronological order, without any confusion, any clarifications that I can't remember what someone said verbatim, or any, "Oh, hey! I forgot to mention!" asides. Nuala's POV should have just been straight narration, or it should have been scaled back immensely as a shorter supplement to May telling the story.

That's the kind of thing that is going to bother me more than 99% of other readers, but it made it difficult for me to suspend disbelief, and I was already struggling. I hope that the second book in this series will be better, because I am in awe of Robin Stevens's writing when she is up to her usual standards and feel hopeful for how she can use the inherent drama of the WWII time period her characters have aged into. Still, this was a huge disappointment.

[Linniegayl · Rating 5 out of 5]

I listened to this in audio and loved both the story and the narration. I'll be honest that I was irritated when I learned the author's previous series had ended. But this new series, at least based on this book, is a delight. I can't wait for more adventures of May, Eric, and Finola.

[Ronny · Rating 2 out of 5]

As an avid fan of the original Murder Most Unladylike series, I approached The Ministry of Unladylike Activity with high hopes, familiar with Stevens' ability to craft clever mysteries that are both suspenseful and full of charm. However, it was a tremendous DISAPPOINTMENT. Excessively slow-paced and significantly longer than felt necessary.

Although the setting and the atmosphere of paranoia and distrust during wartime were flawlessly executed, they were not enough to redeem this book. It simply has a different feel to the previous series, and unfortunately not in a good way. MoUA tries to be both a spy thriller and a murder mystery, but doesn’t hit the mark in either. The investigation, in particular, was clunky, with the protagonists making wild assumptions out of the blue rather than relying on deduction.

The alternating narration between May, Hazel's younger sister who was first introduced in A Spoonful of Murder, and new character Nuala leads to repetitive storytelling. The narrative often covers the same overlapping event, hindering the progression of the plot. Furthermore, at times, the back and forth between the girls was so confusing that I needed a reminder whose narration it was. May proved an extremely annoying narrator. I took a dislike to her narrative voice in her solo story from Once Upon a Crime and here, in a lengthier scope, it continued to be so. Nuala’s was no better, and her constant reference to Nancy Drew got old fast. The girls’ shared hatred towards everything English - the food, the clothes, the people - became tiresome. As did their incessant bickering, which lasted almost throughout the entire story. As result of these, I found myself unable to care much about either of them. Eric, who completes their trio, was a wasted potential. Sensitive and kind, perhaps too bland for a main character, he was recurrently relegated to the role of mediator between May and Nuala rather than having a distinct presence.

The catalyst to the plot felt too contrived, with May and Eric travelling to this country estate, randomly selected from the list of places appearing in a note May stole from Hazel’s handbag. They do so quite easily, without obstacles, in order to prove themselves worthy of becoming spies. As for the case itself, it was largely forgettable: the side-characters were interchangeable, and the story frequently got confusing due to overstuffed details. The séance, a scene reminiscent of the one appearing in First Class Murder, was underwhelming in comparison. One of the book's stronger points, however, was its resolution.

It pains me that I struggled to enjoy this book, especially given my enduring love for the original series. I wish Stevens had taken this in a different direction. While I might change my mind in the future, at the moment I have no intention of continuing with this spin-off, as I fear it may tarnish the perfect note on which MMU concluded.

[Romana · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars.

[Content warnings: loss of family members; racism and micro-aggressions. Nothing in this review].

I have nothing bad to say about this book, but unfortunately that magical fifth star is largely a vibes-based qualification and The Ministry just missed the spot somehow.

But what fun!

I loved this more than the few books I read from Robin Stevens' first series, and I think that's in part because I liked its two protagonists a lot more. Both Nuala and May are smart and strong-willed, and clash in a way that felt believable as a result. I much preferred their friction than that of Stevens' other protagonists, because in this case both characters still felt equal in power and importance to the case.
Eric also made a great addition to their detective group, acting as a mediator in some ways, but in general offering a sense of contrasting calm.

The other aspect I noticed was particularly well written was Stevens' commitment to representing a diverse crowd despite the historical (and traditionally white-centric) setting. I knew she was capable of it from her first series, but she took it a step further here, and managed to say so much about discrimination whilst foregrounding a young group of characters who can achieve, and trust in themselves and each other in spite of it. Definitely much easier said than done, so I have huge appreciation for it and urge others to take notes. I would have loved reading perspectives like this as a child, and learnt so much.

I'm going to leave it there because everything else was, in short, great. This has reinvigorated my interest in Robin Stevens' work, so I think I'll be looking out for the next one in this series.

[Wendy Bamber · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honestly a bit of a slog getting through this, the different perspectives made it seem to move quite slowly, but I think my fans of the Unladylike Murders will enjoy it, they move through the books and always come looking for the next one, so I think they will be pleased to see the stories continue through the younger sister, who was not completely likeable!

[Lainey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wasn’t sure what to make of this one to be honest, it took me awhile to get used the the narrator not being Hazel but once I did it was excellent.

I also really wanted to say that the line about Annabelle Olivia in the final case report by May was so incredibly poignant. Very thought-provoking especially now.

[David Tutt · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Detective Book for Children by Robin Stevens, this follows on from her successful "Murder Most Unladylike" series. Whilst written for children it contains some important messages about the realities of war and these are further emphasised in the author's notes at the back of the book.

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

The plot was really good and I really liked the new characters! I also really enjoyed how it still had daisy and hazel in. Robin Stevens is one of my favourite authors and I will read anything she writes!

[Mrs Walsh · Rating 5 out of 5]

OMG!!! This was AMAZING! I was pulled in from the very beginning. I loved how all the main characters came together. I loved how there were constant turns round every corner. I loved that every time I thought I had solved the mystery, something else happened that changed my mind. Nothing better than reading a well written mystery that keeps you going right till the very end!

[jules · Rating 5 out of 5]

Robin Stevens really is incredible.
She managed to write a whole new series as good as the first one.

i just love well-researched historical fiction with my favourites girls and lovable new characters

[Trisha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Took ages to read but mostly because school (busy busy).

Great characters, great story. There will be more.

[Fiona Wilkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super fun!

[quirkygirl2022 · Rating 5 out of 5]

good book
my fave character was May

[Imogen Stewart · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hostly so boring bc it was more I kid book I was just trying to get it off my tbr shelf but I just skipped it a bunch but I wasn’t the right audience
Xoxo gossip girl

[Nora Good · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not as good as the other books by Robin Stevens but it's still good 😊