A Stocking Full of Spies: The Ministry of Unladylike Activity 3, by Robin Stevens

When two mysterious deaths occur at the famous wartime code breaking centre Bletchley Park, the guilt is pinned on a most unlikely suspect.

It’s 1941. The British are secretly breaking German codes at Bletchley Park. When their school is bombed, twelve-year-olds May Wong and Nuala O’Malley find themselves working as messengers at the famous code breaking centre. Secret codes aside, there are other mysteries afoot at Bletchley Park. An adult family friend of May’s has been implicated in murder. Bertie Wells, while doing routine military night training at the park, accidently killed fellow code-breaker Llewelyn Huxley. Or did he? There were others there during the training session, and it was nighttime. Anxious Bertie, lacking in confidence, thinks his gun went off accidently, but he can’t be sure. As May, Nuala and fellow sleuth Eric investigate, another murder happens. The obnoxious Colonel Hugo MacNair, leader of one of the code breaking teams, dies suddenly after drinking a cup of tea laced with strychnine. Could the two deaths be linked? And what of rumours that a spy, working for the Germans, is in their midst.

Children’s author Robin Stevens has made a well deserved name for herself as the Agatha Christie of children’s literature. In this second series (the first, Murder Most Unladylike, was set in 1930s England) Stevens concentrates on the Second World War. The characters, language and expressions all brilliantly capture the time, right down to the timing of jokes and delivery of punchlines. Besides Agatha Christie, there is even a hint of Nancy Mitford and Evelyn Waugh in Steven’s effervescent storytelling. The plot is endlessly ingenious and the narrative superbly paced. There’s not a dull page in sight. An added bonus is the novel’s educational aspect, which teaches readers about the workings at Bletchley Park, and its role in helping the Allies win the war. 

Kids’ detective fiction that doesn’t disappoint.

A Stocking Full of Spies: The Ministry of Unladylike Activity 3, by Robin Stevens. Published by Puffin. $16.99

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