Portraits and Poison

The Lizzie and Belle Mysteries #2

by J.T. Williams, Simone Douglas (Illustrator)

The second book in the thrilling middle grade mystery series, perfect for fans of Robin Steven’s Murder Most Unladylike . Set in eighteenth-century London, with all the fun and zest of Hamilton and inspired by real Black British historical figures. The Lizzie and Belle Drama and Danger has been shortlisted for the Waterstones 2023 Children’s Book Prize! Agents of history. Partners in Mystery. Sisters in solving crime. Twelve-year-olds Lizzie Sancho and Dido Belle are from different worlds – Lizzie lives in Westminster in her dad’s tea shop, while Belle is an heiress being brought up by her aunt and uncle at grand Kenwood House – but they both share a love of solving mysteries. And after saving Lizzie’s father from attempted murder surely there is no threat too challenging for this detective duo? It’s the summer of 1777, the night of the grand unveiling of the Sancho-Mansfields family portrait – and a celebration of friendship, family, and freedom! But all too soon things take a dark turn – the painting has been stolen! Now it is time for Lizzie and Belle to put their sleuthing skills to the ultimate test, following a trail of thefts, kidnappings and even poisonings that haunts the twisting London streets.
With a grand conspiracy afoot, and a mysterious organisation threatening their closest friends and family, who can Lizzie and Belle trust? Once again it is up to the two girls to unveil the truth and put an end to the villainy that plagues the city.

Genres: Mystery, Historical

281 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 30, 2023

About the author

Librarian Note: There are multiple authors by this name in the Goodreads database.

See also: Fantasy author J.T. Williams

Reviews

[Vonprice · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent MG historical fiction. You can read my full review here: http://vsviewfromthebookshelves.home....

[A.J. Sefton · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a gem of a book this is. The initial appeal is that it is historical fiction for children (publisher recommendation ages 8-12), set in London in 1777 when King George III reigned. Don't see many books for and about children in this period.

Perhaps the most interesting feature is the two central characters, Lizzie and Belle, are both historical figures who were brought up together, historically they were second cousins. The prologue explains how Belle was the daughter of a naval officer and an enslaved African Black woman, and after her mother's death she was brought to England to be raised by an aristocratic family in a stately home. This was quite remarkable for the times and would make a great story in itself. However, the fictionalised tale has the two girls solving crime in an exciting mystery.

The prologue also sets out to explain the main theme as family, friendship and freedom. It is clearly written and appropriate for the age group, but it also quite a gripping story, written in the first person. It considers issues such as slavery, the Abolitionists movement, illegitimacy and social class. The story centres around a stolen painting and art is a notable aspect in the book.

The actual physical book has a bright, colourful cover with a metallic shiny edging and lettering. Inside are illustrations and images of letters and decorated chapter headings, created by Simone Douglas. It's a good sized book for young people at just under five hundred pages, but the artwork breaks it up. This is the second book in The Lizzie and Belle Mysteries series and I'm sure there will be more to come. Suitable for children and adults alike.

[Louise Vardy · Rating 5 out of 5]

📚 The Lizzie and Belle Mysteries: Portraits and Poison 📚

Written by @j.t.williamswrites and illustrated by @simonedouglasillustration .

This is the second installment in the Lizzie and Belle Mysteries and after thoroughly enjoying the first book, I was keen to get my hands on this one!

In this book we follow from the perspective of Dido Belle giving an interesting change to the first book. This really helps the reader to develop an understanding of both main characters.

The mystery of the missing portrait is at the heart of this story, but as with the first Lizzie and Belle book I found myself learning so much about Black history. The plot of the story is fictional, however, the treatment of black people during this time period is not fictional. JT Williams has written it beautifully for a middle grade age group: not shying away from the brutal truths but writing them in an accessible way.

The illustrations throughout the book are fantastic. More middle grade books should be illustrated!!

Once again, I am left with many questions about Black history that I now need to go away and research. But this can only be a positive ❤️

A stunning read. Must be included in all Y5/6 classrooms.

[Olivia-Savannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really fun and engaging middle grade mystery.

This is book 2 in a series. I jumped in here and was easily able to fall into the world of the characters and understand everything!

Lots of added complications on top of the missing painting. I liked that the stakes were so high.

It's set during the period of slavery abolishment and I appreciated how this wasn't the main thread to the storyline, but neither was it overlooked. It was included just enough for readers to understand being Black in this historical period is difficult and affects the characters actions, without making this a brutal slavery narrative. The balance was handled so well and made it a suitable read for children.

I really liked the friendship in this one.

There were two moments with people held at gunpoint which felt unnecessary? It could've been a different kind of weapon. Not sure how I feel about guns in MG books yet...

[Caro · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved Drama and Danger so tripped back to 1777 with Lizzie and Belle!

Lizzie and Belle have a portrait commissioned but it's stolen so the girls set off with their sleuthing skills to see whodunnit! They might also be able to help a friend.

This was another solid read from JT Williams. Like book 1 highlighted the atrocities committed against black people at this time, this book presented the difficulties that were faced and also misogyny and corruption. It felt like this book was darker and really pulled on my heartstrings.

'People not property.'

I could read book after book with Lizzie and Belle in this time period.

[I Read, Therefore I Blog · Rating 4 out of 5]

The second in J. T. Williams’s historical mystery series for readers aged 8+ sees Dido narrate another solid central mystery with a wide array of suspects set against the background of the Abolitionist struggle. Simone Douglas’s illustrations atmosphere and I liked the incorporation of actual people from history (including Jane Harry) but the use of Dido and Lizzie themselves still makes me uneasy, especially as the sense of period drops at times.

[Mrs Walsh · Rating 5 out of 5]

OMG! This was even better than the first one! I loved being back with Lizzie and Belle again. I loved how it changed over to being written from Belles point of view. I just felt that it was constant mystery and activity throughout. I know I’ve read a good book when my husband has to tell me I’m making loads of noise during my reactions.

[Goldie · Rating 5 out of 5]

as with the previous book the art work is stunning and the writing is easy to follow, the characters are endearing and the villians are well described .reading this novel was fast paced while it is fiction with many rarely spoken truths regarding the horror that people of colour where forced to endure ....these books need reading for us to learn to be better !!!

[Rin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an amazingly written and very important story!

[Isabel Mwangi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is really good because of the mystery and the morals behind it. I'd recommend it to ages 10-13

[Miss Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Highly recommended to children aged 9 to 12yrs.

[kezia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book- the characters of Lizzie and Belle are inspirational young women. The illustrations are also very nice.

[Janette Hamilton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I very much enjoyed the book and he told the history very well but not in an upsetting way. It was well put and enjoyed seeing how they worked out. He was behind the portraits stealing.

[Phoebe Howe · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this series it’s great

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25. What I loved most about this sequel was something I loved about its predecessor: the way Williams blends fictional mystery with real-world historical events. I will say that overall there was less of a mystery this time as the solution was presented relatively early, the plot evolving into an action-story format. But I still loved the realism and education that the chosen historical setting leant the story. This time, Williams illustrated racism in the concept of power portraits, portraits wealthy white people commissioned where they would be depicted alongside an enslaved person in order to show their own power and dominance. This was something I had briefly read about in David Olusoga’s Black and British: A Forgotten History, so I was grateful to read about it in greater detail here, especially as this story could give voice to the enslaved people in those portraits.

Williams also explored white rage/fragility, i.e. The reaction white people have to (specifically here) Black people enjoying freedom, self-determination, and success. This concept is at the root of the main and sub-mystery here, as well as being another reason behind white people commissioning power portraits: a retaliatory action to the progress of the rights of Black people at the time.

I do think that the character development in Belle could have been more distinct. I didn’t quite believe in how it all came together. There was such a clear set-up, but then it didn’t feel like Williams actively wrote towards the resolution in her character that appeared at the end. I did think one aspect was done well, however, which was how brave Belle came to be.

There were other elements I liked, too, and most of them are repeats from the first book. Amanda Bright, the audiobook narrator, did another great job here, despite the slightly dodgy Scottish accent she used for Lord Mansfield. The plot, while unfortunately less mysterious, was still engaging and pacey. Honestly this is such a stellar MG series and I wholeheartedly recommend it.