I really enjoyed this book. I have bought the second in the series and the library where I work has also bought both books. I thought it was quite scary for the intended age group but then again Nancy Drew was always getting knocked out when I read those books as a youngster so nothing much has changed!

Unfortunately I no longer wish to review this book as the first few chapters did not reel me in. Thank you for the opportunity.

Thank you - we featured A Girl Called Justice on Caboodle (website and newsletter) in 2019! We look forward to working with you in 2020.

I loved this book! The boarding school was such a great setting for Justice. It was very fast paced and reminded me of more old school books like the secret seven. I would happily read more!

This book had me thinking back to my childhood reading the boarding school stories of Enid Blyton. Well written and with just the right amount of suspense and thrill, this would be a great story for readers in Key Stage 2.

IN SUMMARY: Though A GIRL CALLED JUSTICE is far from perfect, this fun, fast-paced, and delightfully whimsical mystery is a sweet read for young sleuths-in-the-making.

MY THOUGHTS:

This book, though I did find it fun, enjoyable, and overall good escapism, seemed to lack depth in the world, characters and setting. Basically, everything.

Even taking into account the age range, there needed to be more world-building and character-building. The supporting cast are as one-dimensional as you can get. Rose is the mean one, Stella is the shy but intelligent one, and the other two in Justice's dormitory are completely interchangeable and/ or removable. The teachers get the short end of the stick as well, none of them being exceptionally well-characterised as particular scary, strict, or otherwise memorable. Even Highbury House, the school setting, melts into the background of other, more thrilling boarding schools, where the mystery encapsulates the entire school as well as the actual murder.

The book is so short, too – shorter than expected for the age group. This can be a good thing if the book is able to tell the story succinctly, but here the length is a detriment to the story since it doesn't give it enough time to explore characters or places.

That said, this was good for reluctant readers, or someone looking for a fast read.

WILL I READ ON? If there's a sequel, sure!

I found this pretty predictable and not all-that unique for books in this age bracket. It had some great lines - shepherd's pie tasting like it was made of shepherds made me laugh in particular. I'd be interested in seeing if this is going to be a series and where it goes next..

A thoroughly entertaining murder mystery with deft touches of humour & plenty of intrigue. Griffiths makes the switch to writing for children look effortless & Justice herself is a singular & appealing heroine. Great stuff for young sleuthing fans.

Junior sleuth at a period boarding school. Good 'whodunnit' for pre-teens.

Justice Jones - already a name fit for the genre - has been sent to boarding school, Highbury House Boarding School for the Daughters of Gentlefolk, following the death of her mother. Unsure of how she'll fit in, and missing her busy barrister father, the home-schooled Justice doesn't take long to spot suspicious goings-on that would fit right into one of her mother's murder mystery novels...

A maid has already died in doubtful circumstances. And she may not be the only one... As Justice tries to puzzle out what might be going on, she still has the perennial problem of making friends, succeeding in lessons, and keeping warm and fed in a cold school where snow might prevent supplies from getting through...

With a feel of Christie, Blyton and Doyle, Justice makes an appealing and smart heroine. Missing her mother and father alike, the excitement that "she had wandered into her very own crime novel" is helping her cope with her anxiety about her unfamiliar new surroundings.

It's got a good feel for the period, with late-night tuck, stern teachers, linguistic features that set it in its era, and a nice little mystery that will inevitably wrap itself up in a familiar way.

From the pen of an experienced adult crime writer, this is tailored well to a younger audience, who hopefully will keep up with the plot (exposition given at the end to explain it all, of course). A genre that doesn't often get covered for a young readership, but 10-13 year olds in particular should enjoy the boarding school story and its plucky heroine.

With thanks to Netgalley for the advance reading copy.

'A Girl called Justice' is a brilliant book that perfectly captivates schoolgirl boredom and dreariness. It is a stunning murder story that keeps you hooked until the very last page. The book is filled with unexpected turns and cunning characters with many interesting personalities.
My 12 year old definitely LOVED to read it!!

I’ve enjoyed Elly Griffiths’ Dr Ruth Galloway mysteries, so when I learned that she’d written a children’s book about a schoolgirl detective, I just had to read it. Luckily, the publishers and NetGalley obliged and I got an advance proof copy.

When Justice Jones’ mother dies, her father, a criminal barrister, sends her to boarding school on Romney Marsh. Her first sight of the forbidding building makes her think it has ‘potential for murder’. As she’s never been to any school before, the rules, the terrible food and the cold are a shock to her. But almost as soon as she arrives, she learns that there’s been a death in the school which seems to have been hushed up and she’s on the case. I needed several clues before I was able to set the story between the wars. Justice finds that she’s hopeless at lacrosse but advanced in Latin, thanks to her mother's teaching. Some girls are snobbish and hostile but she chums up with nice Stella and with Dorothy, one of the servants, who will both help in her investigations.

As winter creeps on the cold intensifies, snow sets in and the school is cut off from the outside world. Justice doesn’t know who to trust when there’s another unexplained death. Why are so many people wandering about the old building in the night? Could even the charming yet scary headmistress, Miss de Vere, be involved? There are more murder attempts and it takes all Justice’s resourcefulness and courage, with the loyalty of her new friends, to discover the criminal at work in their midst. It helps that she’s read all her father’s murder cases and her mother’s detective novels.

I see this book is recommended for fans of Enid Blyton, presumably because the school has four towers, for I can see no other connection. Justice is far more like Flavia de Luce than any of Blyton’s heroines. If you enjoy Robin Stevens’ Wells & Wong mysteries, you’ll love this. It’s a genuine school story in the classic mould but with a brilliant twist. It’s out on 2nd May and I recommend it highly to all lovers of both school and detective fiction.

Take a handful of hidden notes, a dash of secret meetings, a light dusting of deaths and kidnappings, and a sprinkling of clues at just the right moments and you have the perfect ingredients for this arresting mystery.
I really enjoyed this action-packed story which has a perfect blend of tension and intrigue throughout. Justice Jones has been sent to Highbury House Boarding School for the Daughters of Gentlefolk, where she soon suspects a crime has been committed. Not surprising as she is the daughter of a criminal barrister, and her recently deceased mother was a crime writer.
Justice is a curious, clever, determined super-sleuth who is intent on solving the mystery of the murdered maid which leads to her tenaciously following her suspicions … and uncovering hidden secrets.
As Justice, who has been home-schooled, settles in to boarding school life, she forms some wonderful friendships, and comes to rely on these friends to help catch the criminal which, of course, leads to dangerous situations for them all.
The setting for this story is perfect: an isolated Gothic mansion on the edge of a marsh with its own haunted tower, basements, attics and creaky staircases. This really helps with tension-building, especially when they are cut off by a snowstorm with no apparent form of communication with the outside world.
I would highly recommend this to any 9+ fans of detective stories.
Thanks to NetGalley and Quercus Children's Books for an e-ARC of this book.

Justice Jones is a welcome addition to the pre-teen detective ranks, think Malory Towers with additional mayhem and murder! If you have readers who already love the Murder Most Unladylike stories then they will love this book too. Will look forward to solving further mysteries with Justice and the girls from Highbury House

Griffith's first foray into writing for children is a bid to emulate the success of Robin Stevens' phenomenally popular Wells & Wong series of 1930s boarding school-set mysteries. And, I'd wager, it's a successful bid too. Our titular schoolgirl detective, Justice, is winningly quirky and the boarding school setting pleasingly sinister. Pitched at younger readers than Stevens' series, this will appeal to 7-10 year old bookworms with a fondness for Enid Blyton.

Justice Jones is new to boarding school and has a lot to learn.
She adjusts to her new home and soon makes herself indispensable to a murder case that needs solving. With a name like Justice, a crime writer for a mother and a barrister for a father, she seems to attract the mysteries of Highbury House. Add in a snowstorm, extra murders and suspects galore and you have an exciting story. Justice, gradually makes friends, and learns who she can trust and who might be a suspect.
Expect adventure, cold late night meetings and twists and turns! It was fast paced, exciting and full of Justice and her brilliant, sparky personality.
As the first in a series I can say that this would be the perfect introduction to crime, murder and detective stories for the next generation!
I was hooked and have to admit that I didn't discover "whodunit" until it was revealed. To me that is an incredible achievement. I don't tend to think too much about solving the mystery myself and just fall into the story and enjoy every delicious word.
This is a wonderful book and I look forward to more Justice Jones stories.