Review: The Girl is Murder by Kathryn Miller Haines

Book Description via Goodreads:

ARC, 352 pages

July 19, 2011, Roaring Brook Press

Iris Anderson is only 15, but she's quickly mastering the art of deception in this YA novel for fans of Veronica Mars.

It's the Fall of 1942 and Iris's world is rapidly changing. Her Pop is back from the war with a missing leg, limiting his ability to do the physically grueling part of his detective work. Iris is dying to help, especially when she discovers that one of Pop's cases involves a boy at her school. Now, instead of sitting at home watching Deanna Durbin movies, Iris is sneaking out of the house, double crossing her friends, and dancing at the Savoy till all hours of the night. There's certainly never a dull moment in the private eye business.

Source: Roaring Brook Press (Thank you!)

My Thoughts:

Things weren’t going so well for Iris. After losing her mother and her life and getting the father who was a stranger to her, she had to go to a public school and be the new girl. Iris was a very curious girl. Intuitive, determined and stubborn, she took after her mother. I liked her and I found it easy to relate to her. She was not perfect. She lied too many times, disobeyed her father and kept things from everyone. But she was able to unearth the truth, at least some of it, discover herself and build a decent relationship with her father.

I got to witness how Iris changed from the posh girl to the down-to-earth girl. The difference between her life before and her life after the move was something that really caught my interest. Her metamorphosis was one of the things that I appreciated in this novel. Iris grew as a daughter, as a girl and as a friend. She became more mature after facing the rough side of life.

Well-written and well-thought out, The Girl is Murder showed a violent, troublesome year from the angle of a curious teen detective. I was really interested in the language and the fashion. It was so vivid that I could easily imagine it all in my head. The life at a public school also intrigued me. The people that she met at her new school, Pearl and the Rainbows, had their own struggles in life. They dealt with their problems in their own flawed and reason-backed ways. Suze was an endearing character. With her trusting, concerned and calm qualities, she was very easy to like and relate to.

The Girl is Murder is a worth-it historical mystery read. Realistic, intriguing and shocking, this will give enjoyment to readers. I recommend this to historical readers and mystery readers.

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