The Blurb On The Back:

Daisy and Hazel invite you to discover their untold stories …

Daisy Wells and Hazel Wong are famous for solving murder mysteries.  But there are many other intrigues in the pages of Hazel’s casebook, from the spooky Case of the Deepdean Vampire, to the baffling Case of the Blue Violet, and their very first whodunit: The Case of Lavinia’s Missing Tie.

This collection is packed with brilliant mini-mysteries, including stories about rival detectives, the Junior Pinkertons, and honorary Detective Society members, Beanie and Kitty.  Peppered with puzzles, facts and tips on detecting, this is the perfect book for budding sleuths and fans of the award-winning, bestselling Murder Most Unladylike series.  

You can order CREAM BUNS AND CRIME by Robin Stevens from Amazon USA, Amazon UK, Waterstone’s or Bookshop.org UK.  I earn commission on any purchases made through these links.

The Review (Cut For Spoilers):

This is a companion book to the MURDER MOST UNLADYLIKE SERIES, consisting of 5 short stories:

– THE CASE OF LAVINIA’S MISSING TIE – this is Wells and Wong’s first case (mentioned in MURDER MOST UNLADYLIKE) and the one that established their Detective Society;

– THE CASE OF THE BLUE VIOLET – is another Wells and Wong mystery but one that’s unusually narrated by Daisy (who is exactly as Daisy in her writing as you’d imagine) and involves the girls helping Violet an older girl at Deepdean who’s having problems with her love life;

– THE SECRET OF WESTON SCHOOL is a Junior Pinkertons’ mystery where George and Alexander find their school is harbouring spies and traitors;

– THE CASE OF THE DEEPDEAN VAMPIRE is another Wells and Wong mystery with a spooky, supernatural element; and

– THE MYSTERY OF THE MISSING BUNBREAK is a short story for Beanie fans when she goes to spend Christmas with Kitty and Binny’s parents only for strange things to happen in the house …

Between these short stories are a mix of puzzles, quizzes and recipes and tips on writing in code, which will keep all junior detectives busy but my favourite sections are those where Robin Stevens discusses some of the inspirations behind her Wells and Wong stories and the people who wrote them (which were my favourite parts of the book but I do wonder how much children will appreciate them) while the detectives themselves talk about their favourite detectives.  Being honest, I’d much rather have had another full length mystery but this is perfectly fine as an interim book and there’s more than enough to keep the target audience busy until the next book comes out.