Black Cats and Butlers - Janine Beacham (Rose Raventhorpe Investigates #1)
I've been on a bit of a girl-detective kick lately. Between Scarlet and Ivy and Friday Barnes, though, the bar is set pretty high. Rose Raventhorpe, so far, has come pretty close!
Black Cats and Butlers is a pretty apt title. My husband always jokes that in any mystery, the butler must have done it. This book actually made that a possibility!
Rose's butler is murdered - in fact, many of the city's butlers are being brutally killed. Unlike most of society though, Rose was very close with her butler and sets out to solve the mystery.
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars.
Age Suggestion: 9+. The language is quite clever, and so while there's nothing too concerning content wise (well, apart from murder....) I do think it would be more enjoyable for older primary students
Ability Range: 9+. Again, to properly enjoy this one, readers would need to understand some of the context around the Victorian setting. I think there might be a glossary in the back (I lent my copy to one of my students so can't check right now...), which helps.
Content Notes: Well, it's pretty much a bloodbath. There are a lot of dead bodies around. There's also lots of creeping around at night and body snatchers, so it's not for kids who are easily spooked. There is a small supernatural element towards the end of the book, which a lot of reviewers seem to find an odd choice considering the realism of the rest of the story (assuming we consider a secret society of butlers realistic...) Also, the main character's best friend gets engaged at the end of the book.... at about the age of 13.
Grab a copy here