I must be the odd woman out here. After reading some of the reviews (I usually do not read other's reviews until after I post my own, I did this time because I was curious as to why I was having such a hard time with this book). I seem to be in the minority, I could not get into this one. First of all there is no mystery, I waited and waited for something, anything to happen but it never did. Second, I could not connect with any of the characters, especially Gemma, hiding away from her abusive ex, she just came off as naive and whiney to me, irritating at best. I usually love stories set in boarding schools, they are some of my favorites, just this one wasn't for me. We all can't love every book out there I realize this. I am sure there is a huge audience for this book as it is well written. I am just not one of them.
Thank you to Boldwood Books and to Net Galley for the free ARc, I am leaving my honest review in return.

I really enjoyed this quirky mystery, set in an all girls boarding school.

Gemma gets a job at St Brides, to try and escape her suffocating (narcissistic) ex boyfriend. The school is staffed also by women, apart from a security man and a handsome PE teacher, who takes Gemma under his wing.

There is no murder in this book, but there is a mystery around disappearing books and the assault on a teacher.

I raced through this book. This will appeal to those of us who read those Enid Blyton boarding school books as children - this is like an adult version.

I understand this is part of a series and I’m really looking forward to the next book!

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my review.

4.5 rounded up to 5, I enjoyed it that much!

Thank you for the opportunity to read and review. Sadly this book doesn't didn't live up to my expectations from the synopsis. There didn't seem to be enough mystery or dastardly deeds, and it hasn't inspired me to want to read books 2 and 3.

I looked forward to reading this book, which delivered in many ways. Gentle humour, quirky characters and a vividly described setting bring the story to life and invest the reader in the characters. However, I found the mystery elements of the plot difficult to distinguish until the last quarter of the story.

Good characterisation and intricate world-building mean I am keen to read what follows in the series in the hope that the author amplifies the mystery element using the excellent characters and setting.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

Not much of a mystery with no murder to solve, but this book is full of great characters, some acting in mysterious ways. The story is set in the beautiful grounds of a former stately home, now a girls’ boarding school. Gemma is thrilled to be hired as an English teacher at St. Bride’s because it allows her to escape an abusive relationship. But there are a lot of puzzles to solve with some of her colleagues acting rather oddly.

I grew up reading The Malory Towers books, so when I saw that Dastardly Deeds at St. Bride's was recommended to fans of the series, I immediately knew I had to pick it up! And that was a really good decision. 💕 Many thanks to the publisher for the advanced review copy.

I won't be talking much about the plot, because it's better to start mysteries blindly. But the whole setting and theme of the story drew me in immediately. There were things that weirded me out in the beginning, but I was happy to find out that those were actually the mysteries that the book featured. I thought that this would be a murder mystery, but I was satisfied with the turns the story took instead. I enjoyed seeing Gemma discovering secrets about St Bride's and her colleagues. The setting was honestly, really atmospheric too!

There wasn't a "deep" mystery involved in my opinion, so I am hoping that the author delved into the world of St. Bride's further for a more intriguing storyline in the upcoming books! 💜 Looking forward to reading book 2 & 3!

As a child, my favourite books to read were school stories and I must have re-read Malory Towers and The Twins at St Clares multiple times. So spotting this series from Debbie Young, instantly appealed to me, and I'm delighted to say this first book Dastardly Deeds at St. Brides lived up to my expectations.

... Well with one tiny caveat, it's being described as a cozy mystery by the publisher, and I am certainly not denying it's cozy, its a very warm and cozy story (give or take the heating in the school), but it didn't feel like any cozy mystery that I have ever read.

It starts with a startling prologue that does it's job and pulls me into the book instantly, but then takes a long time for us to get anywhere near that within the story. But honestly I was having such a great time reading about everything at St. Brides, and its staff of quirky characters, all of which do seem to be hiding secrets, that although the genre baffled me, it certainly didn't affect my enjoyment of the book.

I'm literally only mentioning it, so that if you are expecting a big crime early in the story and some bumbling detectives as is often the case when you think cozy mystery, then you will be surprised by what you actually get.

For this is fabulous, it was incredibly easy to read, in fact I think I read it at the same pace I used to read school stories as a child - even though the focus is on the teachers, more than the girls at this school. But even then I enjoyed the glimpses we got of some of the pupils.

St Brides is a boarding school, full of rich children and staff that are using it as a way to reset their own lives, and they all have very distinctive personalities.

Gemma Lamb is a new English teacher at the school, and I loved small things like being told about the pupil's alternative prospectus which includes a key to their swearing. I loved seeing older words used as replacements for words that would definitely be bleeped pre-watershed on TV!

She has come out of tricky relationship and is hoping that St Brides will be a safe place for her to re-asses her life and to finally use her teaching qualification. I enjoyed seeing her grow in confidence as the days pass, and she starts to get the hang of life in a boarding school.

This is an all girls school, with that philosophy taken to extremes of only having all female staff, which leads to some rather interesting personelle decisions.

I adored this book and I already can't wait to get my hands on the second one in this series. I enjoyed the author's writing style and have a great picture in my mind of the school, and loved learning about it's founder too. And I look forward to seeing more of all the teachers too.

Thank you to Boldwood Books and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC of this book!
I honestly really enjoyed this book but felt like not a lot happened and the first 85% felt like very slow world building and the last 15% was when the “dastardly deeds” happened but overall I thought it was a sweet and cozy read.

Gemma Lamb joins the staff at St Brides, a secluded English Girls boarding school, hoping that her new position will help her to move on from her violent, controlling boyfriend.
Gemma quickly settles in, enjoying getting to know the students and making friends with other members of staff. St Brides seems to be the perfect place but many of the other staff members seem to be hiding their own secrets. Gemma is hoping that the school will be her safe haven, but will the past come back to haunt her.
If you enjoyed Mallory Towers then you will love this. It's the story of life at a boarding school from the teacher's perspective rather than the pupils. It's funny and warm with a dash of crime thrown in. The characters are strong, and each has their own story to tell. I can't wait to read the next one.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Boldwood Books for an advance copy of Dastardly Deeds at St Bride’s, the first novel in a projected series to feature english teacher Gemma Lamb, set in a boarding school in the Cotswolds.

Escaping a toxic relationship Gemma takes a job at St Bride’s, where nothing is as it seems. Most of the teachers are keeping secrets and this seems to be accepted by the headmistress, so Gemma keeping quiet about her ex fits in with the ethos. But what if she’s not safe?

I enjoyed Dastardly Deeds at St Bride’s, which is a fun, light read with some twists. It opens with someone being attacked and then scrolls back to the beginning of term and the events leading up to this attack. It’s a good hook as the victim is unidentified and makes the reader wonder who and why up until the denouement.

The novel is told by Gemma Lamb in the first person as she uncovers secrets and explores the unusual rules and precepts in the school. She plays it straight, leaving the reader to laugh at the absurdity of her new colleagues and the setup at the school. It is fun, but I imagine that it would get stale rather quickly if you were to read the series back to back as the characters already seem established in their quirks and personalities. It is, however, well enough done that a few months off would be enough to gladly re-enter the world of St Bride’s.

Dastardly Deeds at St Brides is a fun read that I can recommend.

Dastardly Deeds at St Bride's by Debbie Young

I received an advance review copy for free thanks to NetGalley and Boldwood Books and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Blurb

Previously published by Debbie Young as Secrets at St Bride's.

When Gemma Lamb takes a job at a quirky English girls’ boarding school, she believes she’s found the perfect escape route from her controlling boyfriend – until she discovers the rest of the staff are hiding sinister secrets:

Hairnet, the eccentric headmistress who doesn't hold with academic qualifications
Oriana Bliss, Head of Maths and master of disguise
Joscelyn Spryke, the suspiciously rugged Head of PE
Geography teacher Mavis Brook, surreptitiously selling off the library books
creepy night watchman Max Security, with his network of hidden tunnels

Even McPhee, the school cat, is leading a double life.

Tucked away in the school’s beautiful private estate in the Cotswolds, can Gemma stay safe and build a new independent future?

My Opinion

This is a relaxing, quick read. It seems that all of the members of staff have their own secrets to keep. Debbie Young seems to have created a lovely series, with loveable characters. A cosy mystery, that will take you back to your childhood reading. An easy read that will appeal to adults that enjoyed the Malory Towers series.

Rating 4/5

This is the first in The Gemma Lamb Cozy Mystery series and it is exactly what it says on the packet. As a child I was totally obsessed by the Malory Towers books and read them over and over again so when I saw something comparing this with them I had to give it a read. This is a slightly more adult version of the books with the teachers as the main characters rather than the pupils but it was a feel good read with a cast of mainly eccentric characters working in St Brides school, a private school for girls, set in the Cotswolds.

Briefly, Gemma needs to get away from her mentally and physically abusive partner so she takes a job as an English teacher at St Brides. She soon finds her colleagues to be a strange mix of characters. There are a number of strange things going on in the school so, when the school has its first exeat and everyone leaves for the weekend, Gemma stays behind to do a bit of sleuthing. But she discovers more than she bargained for!

This is all totally bonkers but it’s a fun, amusing book with a fairly straightforward cozy mystery to solve, in fact a couple of them. Enjoyable book that did take me back to my childhood reading, in a good way. If you like a good easy read with a bit of mystery this is definitely one for you.

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

5☆ A Quirky, Endearing and Very Fun Read!

Dastardly Deeds at St Bride's is a fantastic start to an exciting new series.
I think this story is going to appeal to the Mallory Towers Fans ( which is me) and also make some new fans.

This book was like a grown up version with quirky characters, intriguing plot twists, crazy Shanannigans and an air of mystery.

I loved getting to know the characters and discovering St Brides where nothing is as it seems and every one appears dodgy lol

It's fair to say that I'm very excited for the next installment and I think I may have found my new favourite series!

This story was so much fun! I've never read a cozy mystery before, requested this from NetGalley on a whim, and I'm so glad I did! The story is set in an old English manor turned into a girl's boarding school, which makes for a wonderful setting. It's also filled with a cast of quirky characters and a little intriguing mystery. It was a fast, easy, fun, and cute read. I really enjoyed it!

I quite enjoyed Dastardly Deeds at St Bride's, though the mystery wasn't quite what I was expecting. There were plenty of smaller, side mysteries in the story but an overarching mystery was missing from the plot. That being said, I found the cast of characters to be really fun and unique, which made reading the story very enjoyable. There were lots of fun personalities to get to know and who kept the story moving, which made this a fast read.

Gemma, our main character, is new to teaching and is running from a less than pleasant relationship. She's looking for a new start where no one knows her and finds that at St. Bride's. The students are adorable and I thought the author did a nice job of tying boarding school life into the story. (I'm a big fan of the classic St. Clare's and Mallory Towers, so that made this book even more enjoyable.) There was a lot of humor built into the story and I enjoyed the author's style of writing.

I'd definitely read the next book in the series to see where the author takes it, hoping for some more mayhem and murder in the next if the book series is going to be billed as a cozy mystery.

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, from Boldwood Books and #NetGalley. Thank you for the opportunity to preview and review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

Perfect read for books clubs and a night in. You'll love the characters and the story is perfectly delightful.

This book is billed as a cozy mystery and it's not really b/c the mystery is practically non-existent. That being said, it features a cast of interesting characters and a really great location. I would like to read the next book to see if the mystery part gets developed more.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Boldwood Books through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you, Boldwood Books.

cozy-mystery, Cotswolds, secrets, control-freak, boarding-school, subterfuge, contemporary, England, verbal-humor, situational-humor*****

Gemma has escaped from a controlling boyfriend to an anachronistic girl's boarding school where no one and nothing is what it seems. All of the eccentric characters have interesting nicknames and are usually up to something. I loved it even though there wasn't a murder in sight.
I requested and received a free e-book copy from Boldwood Books via NetGalley.

A lighthearted good fun mystery. Gemma's first teaching job at St. Bride's is nothing like she expected. She actually finds that she's quite good at this teaching lark! St. Bride's is a boarding school with discounts for motherless children - which is why everyone who works there is female, and what a mixed bunch they are

Loved it.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher I read a free advance review copy of the book. This review is voluntary, honest and my own opinion.

2.5 stars
I was pulled in by the cover and comparison to St Trinians -- which is a series I have always loved. I then started reading the Sophie Sayers series because I saw someone mention that there was a tie-in for St Bride's. While also touted as a mystery series, it's far from what I've expected but it hasn't necessarily been bad. The same can be said for this. I was hoping for more drama, more angst, more St Trinians-esque hijinx, and definitely more murder. Still not necessarily bad, but there are far better out there.