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A review by asreadbykat
The Dead Man in the Garden by Marthe Jocelyn
4.0
True Rating: 4.5/5
This series has been a blast to read so far, mostly because it's a perfect example of an author improving with every book. There are so many examples of series out there that either a) start off great but get worse, b) start off bad and stay bad, or c) start off mediocre and stay mediocre. The Aggie Morton series is one where the series gets better with every book, in different ways.
If the first book was setting up Aggie's "Morbid Preoccupation" and the second one setting up the adult characters Aggie (as a child) can count on, then this book not only continues both themes but also focuses on Aggie's growth as a person.
"The Dead Man in the Garden" focuses on only on the titular murder, but also Aggie's troubles as a 12-year-old with a young widowed mother. Aggie battles an unknown murderer as well as her own anger and confusion over how certain people are reacting to her mother, and it's wonderful to see the growth. One of the best things about reading mysteries for young children is that the focus isn't purely on the mystery/murder; it's also on the children themselves, and how they interact with and move through the world around them.
Aggie Morton isn't a series an older reader would pick up for the mystery; you pick it up because you want to know more about these characters, compare them to their original counterparts (Agatha Christie for Aggie, Jane Marple for Grannie Jane, etc.), and watch them grow. The mystery is just an added bonus, and it seems Jocelyn has a great understanding of this. I know there's a fourth book, and I'm extremely excited to read it after this one.
The only reason I didn't give this 5 stars is because it did, once more, fall back on Aggie and Hector mostly acting on their own, only relying on their adult "colleagues" when necessary. I thought they had learned their lesson last book, so it was a little disheartening to see them returning to it. However, their actions do make a bit of sense, so I'm not going to be TOO critical of it.
TL;DR: Great emotional growth for Aggie, an interesting setting and mystery; goes back to the children acting without too much help from their adult chaperones.
This series has been a blast to read so far, mostly because it's a perfect example of an author improving with every book. There are so many examples of series out there that either a) start off great but get worse, b) start off bad and stay bad, or c) start off mediocre and stay mediocre. The Aggie Morton series is one where the series gets better with every book, in different ways.
If the first book was setting up Aggie's "Morbid Preoccupation" and the second one setting up the adult characters Aggie (as a child) can count on, then this book not only continues both themes but also focuses on Aggie's growth as a person.
"The Dead Man in the Garden" focuses on only on the titular murder, but also Aggie's troubles as a 12-year-old with a young widowed mother. Aggie battles an unknown murderer as well as her own anger and confusion over how certain people are reacting to her mother, and it's wonderful to see the growth. One of the best things about reading mysteries for young children is that the focus isn't purely on the mystery/murder; it's also on the children themselves, and how they interact with and move through the world around them.
Aggie Morton isn't a series an older reader would pick up for the mystery; you pick it up because you want to know more about these characters, compare them to their original counterparts (Agatha Christie for Aggie, Jane Marple for Grannie Jane, etc.), and watch them grow. The mystery is just an added bonus, and it seems Jocelyn has a great understanding of this. I know there's a fourth book, and I'm extremely excited to read it after this one.
The only reason I didn't give this 5 stars is because it did, once more, fall back on Aggie and Hector mostly acting on their own, only relying on their adult "colleagues" when necessary. I thought they had learned their lesson last book, so it was a little disheartening to see them returning to it. However, their actions do make a bit of sense, so I'm not going to be TOO critical of it.
TL;DR: Great emotional growth for Aggie, an interesting setting and mystery; goes back to the children acting without too much help from their adult chaperones.