While I was waiting impatiently for this book to come out, I decided to read Murder on the Orient Express because I knew that this book would also be set on the Orient Express and I wanted to be able to compare two stories set in the same time period and location. One of the reasons I enjoyed First Class Murder so much is that although it is the third book in the Murder Most Unladylike series, the main characters are still changing and unpredictable, and the plots of the stories are all very diverse.
This story is set in the school summer holidays and starts with Hazel’s father taking Hazel and Daisy on a luxurious holiday across Europe on the Orient Express. Hazel has been given strict instructions by her father that she and Daisy must not do any “detecting” on this holiday. However, they soon find out that the passengers in their compartment are all very mysterious, and they may not be able to stick to the non-detecting rule! They have not been on the train for many days when they hear a scream during dinner and lots of passengers rush from the dining car to Mrs Daunt’s compartment to find her dead on the floor with her throat cut. This is the perfect opportunity for the young detectives to practise some sleuthing!
I am extremely glad that I rushed out to buy this book on the day of its publication because it kept me hooked the whole way through, and although I thought I knew who the murderer was, there was a massive twist in the story that I was not expecting. I love the way that Robin Stevens has written this book, because it has short chapters which keep the action fast paced, and you never know more information than the girls, so you work out the clues at the same time that they do.
It is interesting that this story, like Murder on the Orient Express, depends on one of the passengers in the compartment being the murderer and a detective on the train having to interview all the passengers and work out who is telling the truth and who is lying. I thought it was really amusing that Daisy is actually reading a copy of Murder on the Orient Express in this story – this was very clever of the author. I also think Robin Stevens did an amazing job of making her story seem realistically set in the 1930s time period, even though she was not alive then, unlike Agatha Christie.
To sum up the case for First Class Murder: I loved it and would recommend it to anyone who loves the challenge of unravelling a good mystery.
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