Status
Checked out
Due 23-05-2021
Call number
Genres
Collection
Publication
Puffin (2016), 352 pages
Description
In 1930s England, schoolgirl detectives Daisy Wells and Hazel Wong are at Daisy's home for the holidays when someone falls seriously, mysteriously ill at a family party, but no one present is what they seem--and everyone has a secret or two--so the Detective Society must do everything they can to reveal the truth ... no matter the consequences.
User reviews
LibraryThing member TheTreeReader
I enjoyed Poison is Not Polite even more than the first book, Murder is Bad Manners. Even though I liked the plot in the first book more, just being with these characters again and getting to know them even more made it more enjoyable. Also, there was more Beanie and I just can’t get enough of
These books are so much fun and I hate putting them down. I have been devouring them. I can’t wait to pick up the third book, First Class Murder. I’m so excited for another mystery with Hazel and Daisy.
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her. She is by far the best character.These books are so much fun and I hate putting them down. I have been devouring them. I can’t wait to pick up the third book, First Class Murder. I’m so excited for another mystery with Hazel and Daisy.
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LibraryThing member BillieBook
A second delightful entry in the Wells and Wong series which is sure to appeal to young mystery fans--and probably quite a few adult ones, as well. A classic house party mystery, with a shady guest ending up poisoned at tea and all of the guests hiding secrets and coming under suspicion by our two
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intrepid heroines. In a vast improvement over the first book, Daisy is finally treating Hazel as more of a friend and equal. She still has moments of being spoiled and imperious, but this is a much nicer Daisy than the one we met in Murder is Bad Manners. Show Less
LibraryThing member wyvernfriend
In this second book we're in Daisy Well's family home, Fallingford, for the holidays. Hazel wong and two other of their classmates are also there to celebrate Daisy's birthday. When one of the guests, who has proven themselves generally unpopular dies from poisoning Daisy and Hazel get caught up on
It's very much a Country House mystery, with bonus isolation due to a rain storm flooding access and the girls have to use their smarts to investigate. They don't like some of the conclusions they have to come too but they do try to be as neutral as possible.
It's a good read with some great characters and it all falls together well. There's also some nicely pointed moments about racism in here. Set in the interwar period this is well done and explores some of the societal changes of the period, some of which are implicit and fly over the heads of the characters.
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the investigation. It's very much a Country House mystery, with bonus isolation due to a rain storm flooding access and the girls have to use their smarts to investigate. They don't like some of the conclusions they have to come too but they do try to be as neutral as possible.
It's a good read with some great characters and it all falls together well. There's also some nicely pointed moments about racism in here. Set in the interwar period this is well done and explores some of the societal changes of the period, some of which are implicit and fly over the heads of the characters.
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LibraryThing member CatKin026
This is a fun take on Agatha Christie style kind of crime novels for children, mixed with Enid Blyton's St. Clares and Malory Towers. All of the crime scenes are carefully described to remain child friendly, while at the same time leaving enough clues that the reader can race through alongside the
-Arsenic For Tea- of the Murder Most Unladylike Mysteries, is known in the United States as -Poison Is Not Polite- of Wells and Wong Mystery, and is book 2 of both. This revolves around two characters, Daisy Wells who is the President of their Detective Agency and a high member of society, and Hazel Wong, a girl from Hong Kong who has been sent to an English Boarding School by her father, who acts as Vice-President and the note-taker of the two. The two main characters are fleshed out enough to make them believable, with backgrounds given to both that fits in with the time. The direct view into Daisy Wells' life as the two travel to Daisy Well's home is particularly fascinating, as this truly gives a glimpse into what it was like in the 1930's.
I found myself less jarred while reading this one, unlike the first where for some reason I kept forgetting what time period it was supposed to be set in and feeling it slightly more 'up in the air' because of this. The revolving characters, especially in the case of potential suspects for the death of Mr. Curtis had enough mystery to keep the reader jumping back and forth on who could be the murder, especially as new information was discovered. What I found that truly shined though was Daisy Wells, who faces a major upheaval and actually a turning point for her character. Hazel Wong didn't face such an arc, but this isn't because she is such a sympathetic and more submissive personality. She still stays true, and shows how great a friend she is by how she interacts with her best friend, Daisy Wells.
I would highly recommend this to any child 8 to 10. I don't think that this is one that will be of any interest to boys. It's a good book to hand to girls if they have finished the boarding school series of Enid Blyton, and like murder mysteries. It has great nods to the latter, Agatha Christie and to Sherlock Holmes, as Daisy Wells refers to Hazel Wong as 'her Watson'. Yet unlike the Sherlock series, Hazel Wong is just as important to discoveries as Daisy Wells.
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two main characters trying to guess who exactly is responsible. The result does involve twists, and several points where something new is suddenly discovered, but none of this is done so out of the blue that it throws the reader.-Arsenic For Tea- of the Murder Most Unladylike Mysteries, is known in the United States as -Poison Is Not Polite- of Wells and Wong Mystery, and is book 2 of both. This revolves around two characters, Daisy Wells who is the President of their Detective Agency and a high member of society, and Hazel Wong, a girl from Hong Kong who has been sent to an English Boarding School by her father, who acts as Vice-President and the note-taker of the two. The two main characters are fleshed out enough to make them believable, with backgrounds given to both that fits in with the time. The direct view into Daisy Wells' life as the two travel to Daisy Well's home is particularly fascinating, as this truly gives a glimpse into what it was like in the 1930's.
I found myself less jarred while reading this one, unlike the first where for some reason I kept forgetting what time period it was supposed to be set in and feeling it slightly more 'up in the air' because of this. The revolving characters, especially in the case of potential suspects for the death of Mr. Curtis had enough mystery to keep the reader jumping back and forth on who could be the murder, especially as new information was discovered. What I found that truly shined though was Daisy Wells, who faces a major upheaval and actually a turning point for her character. Hazel Wong didn't face such an arc, but this isn't because she is such a sympathetic and more submissive personality. She still stays true, and shows how great a friend she is by how she interacts with her best friend, Daisy Wells.
I would highly recommend this to any child 8 to 10. I don't think that this is one that will be of any interest to boys. It's a good book to hand to girls if they have finished the boarding school series of Enid Blyton, and like murder mysteries. It has great nods to the latter, Agatha Christie and to Sherlock Holmes, as Daisy Wells refers to Hazel Wong as 'her Watson'. Yet unlike the Sherlock series, Hazel Wong is just as important to discoveries as Daisy Wells.
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LibraryThing member ashleytylerjohn
Another terrific entry in this charming series. Vivid characters, engaging plot, evocative setting—check check check. And I appreciated that Daisy seems to have grown enough to give Hazel slightly more credit!
They are apparently considered children's mysteries by publishers and booksellers, but
(Note: 5 stars = amazing, wonderful, 4 = very good book, 3 = decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful. I'm fairly good at picking for myself so end up with a lot of 4s).
They are apparently considered children's mysteries by publishers and booksellers, but
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adults who like cosy (and not too cosy at that) fiction will revel in these as well. It's not, say, at the level of an Encyclopedia Brown mystery, which is clearly aimed at children. These read more like Flavia deLuce, but with less emphasis on poison's effects on bodily functions.(Note: 5 stars = amazing, wonderful, 4 = very good book, 3 = decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful. I'm fairly good at picking for myself so end up with a lot of 4s).
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LibraryThing member Salsabrarian
Hazel is spending the Easter holiday off at Daisy's country estate home, along with classmates Beanie and Kitty. Daisy's mother Lady Hastings has a friend over, Mr. Curtis, who appears to be very interested iin and yet dismissive of the family's furnishings and decor. He is also inappropriately
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interested in Lady Hastings. So when he ends up dead after drinking poisoned tea at Daisy's birthday, the suspects are all members of Daisy's family. Will Hazel be able to get Daisy to accept that one of her own relatives may be a murderer? Show Less
LibraryThing member jennybeast
Having written a very critical review of the first book, I thought this series deserved a second chance, and I'm glad to say that it was worth the read. This second installment happens outside the boarding school, at Daisy's home, during the holiday break, which helps avoid the challenge of
I'm still troubled by Hazel's self-disparaging comments (both because they tend to focus on her weight and because it's troublesome when a white author writes a person of color protagonist), but they are less blatant in this book than in the last. Also Hazel has a lot more nuanced things to say -- she's kind of blown away by Daisy's very upper crust home, but compares it unfavorably to her own home in Hong Kong on a number of occasions. She talks less about wishing to be the lovely tall blonde Daisy, and more about feeling alienated when people look at her as the Other. Daisy appears to have loads of privilege, but if quickly becomes apparent that money is tight and her family is far from happy domestically. I still want to see Hazel age out of the self-critical commentary, but characters are allowed to have personal struggles, so we'll see.
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explaining British educational grades to Americans. On the whole nicely paced, with spunky schoolgirl detectives once again on the case -- and I appreciate both the blooming of Hazel's intelligent voice and the deep feelings of worry and unhappiness that murders cause the girls. It's a nice balance between the excitement of bad behavior in service to the cause of detection, and the thoughtful development of morality in young protagonists. That's a layer of depth and nuance that many mystery writers for children don't bother to address. I'm still troubled by Hazel's self-disparaging comments (both because they tend to focus on her weight and because it's troublesome when a white author writes a person of color protagonist), but they are less blatant in this book than in the last. Also Hazel has a lot more nuanced things to say -- she's kind of blown away by Daisy's very upper crust home, but compares it unfavorably to her own home in Hong Kong on a number of occasions. She talks less about wishing to be the lovely tall blonde Daisy, and more about feeling alienated when people look at her as the Other. Daisy appears to have loads of privilege, but if quickly becomes apparent that money is tight and her family is far from happy domestically. I still want to see Hazel age out of the self-critical commentary, but characters are allowed to have personal struggles, so we'll see.
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LibraryThing member Eyejaybee
Nearly a year after the events recounted in Murder Most Unladylike, Daisy Wells and Hazell Wong, respectively President and Secretary of the Secret Detective Club at Deepdean Girls School are spending the summer holidays at Daisy’s home. (Hazell is from Hong Kong, which in the 1930s was too far
Although Hazell was delighted to be invited, it has not been as much fun at Daisy home as she had expected. Daisy’s parents, Lord and Lady Hastings, are clearly temporarily on bad terms, and Lady Hastings seems to be spending most of her time with another of the household guests, Denis Curtis. He is certainly an odious character, spending most of his time sneering at the various artefacts strewn around the house, going out of his way to say how tawdry he finds them.
Everyone (except Lady Hastings) is anxious for Curtis to leave, but he clings on like a limpet. Lord Hastings finally orders him to go, but this proves impossible as a prolonged storm has left the house cut off by serious floods. Despite the evident ill feeling towards him, he joins the rest of the household for tea. Shortly afterwards he feels ill, and retires to his room where he is subsequently found dead, having been poisoned by arsenic.
The Secret Detective Club, with ranks swelled by the arrival of two more girls from Deepdean who have come to celebrate Daisy’s birthday, take on the case, aware that the murderer is still in the marooned house.
The book is clearly aimed at a young adult readership, but remains highly entertaining for an adult reader. The plot is cleverly constructed, and amusingly presented, and I found it as enjoyable as my goddaughter with whom I read it, and we are both eager to continue the series.
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away for her feasibly to visit home and return in time for the next term.) Although Hazell was delighted to be invited, it has not been as much fun at Daisy home as she had expected. Daisy’s parents, Lord and Lady Hastings, are clearly temporarily on bad terms, and Lady Hastings seems to be spending most of her time with another of the household guests, Denis Curtis. He is certainly an odious character, spending most of his time sneering at the various artefacts strewn around the house, going out of his way to say how tawdry he finds them.
Everyone (except Lady Hastings) is anxious for Curtis to leave, but he clings on like a limpet. Lord Hastings finally orders him to go, but this proves impossible as a prolonged storm has left the house cut off by serious floods. Despite the evident ill feeling towards him, he joins the rest of the household for tea. Shortly afterwards he feels ill, and retires to his room where he is subsequently found dead, having been poisoned by arsenic.
The Secret Detective Club, with ranks swelled by the arrival of two more girls from Deepdean who have come to celebrate Daisy’s birthday, take on the case, aware that the murderer is still in the marooned house.
The book is clearly aimed at a young adult readership, but remains highly entertaining for an adult reader. The plot is cleverly constructed, and amusingly presented, and I found it as enjoyable as my goddaughter with whom I read it, and we are both eager to continue the series.
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LibraryThing member pierthinker
Schoolgirl detectives Daisy Wells and Hazel Wong are at Daisy's home for the holidays where Daisy's mother is planning a family gathering for Daisy's birthday. An undercurrent of family friction leads to a poisoning. With storms preventing the police from arriving it is down to Daisy and Hazel to
This is a fabulous book, written for the YA crowd, but just as appealing to the adult reader. Daisy and Hazel believe themselves to be excellent detectives and have that open childlike observational skill that often penetrates where adults cannot. The 1930s setting is perfectly described and the girls are brave, clever and resourceful.
A must read.
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solve the mystery.This is a fabulous book, written for the YA crowd, but just as appealing to the adult reader. Daisy and Hazel believe themselves to be excellent detectives and have that open childlike observational skill that often penetrates where adults cannot. The 1930s setting is perfectly described and the girls are brave, clever and resourceful.
A must read.
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Awards
Yoto Carnegie Medal for Writing (Nominee — 2016)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2015-01-29
Physical description
352 p.; 5 inches
ISBN
0141369795 / 9780141369792
Other editions
Arsenic For Tea: A Murder Most Unladylike Mystery by Robin Stevens (Paperback)
Arsenic For Tea: A Murder Most Unladylike Mystery by Robin Stevens (Paperback)
Arsenic For Tea: A Murder Most Unladylike Mystery by Robin Stevens (Paperback)