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Death Before Detention
Series: The Common Criminals' Club
Brief Description
Welcome to the Common Criminals' Club, a new cosy murder mystery series for middle-grade and teen readers, full of doodles, danger and devious criminals. If you love Robin Stevens, Katie Kirby, Derry Girls, or The Mysterious Benedict Society, step right up: here's your next reading obsession!...
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Format: Paperback / softback
$2200
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20th
October 2026
(Approx. Date)
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Death Before Detention
$2200
Unit price
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Unavailable
A funny cosy crime mystery set in an Irish boarding school, perfect for fans of Murder Most Unladylike and Lottie Brooks
A comedic cosy crime mystery set in an Irish boarding school for fans of Murder Most Unladylike and Lottie Brooks
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Description
Welcome to the Common Criminals' Club, a new cosy murder mystery series for middle-grade and teen readers, full of doodles, danger and devious criminals. If you love Robin Stevens, Katie Kirby, Derry Girls, or The Mysterious Benedict Society, step right up: here's your next reading obsession!
Death Before Detention is the story of how we:
- Discovered a dead body
- Launched an investigation
- Battled mean girls, feral bats, and nearly destroyed our three-year friendship all in the noble pursuit of solving a complex murder
Mae Flynn is used to the chaos of her rural Irish Catholic boarding school, but she isn't expecting to discover a dead body in the school kitchen. To make matters worse, the hapless victim, Conor Haddock, was the previous owner of the school building and had recently been talking about selling up, alongside getting on the bad side of seemingly every adult Mae knows. In other words: the suspects are endless.
Along with her best friends, the self-named Common Criminals' Club, Mae is determined to solve the murder. But the more she uncovers, the more she begins to suspect that everyone around her is hiding something. Soon it's not only her lessons and friendships at stake, but her very life...
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9781035084319
Publisher: Pan Macmillan
Format: Paperback / softback
Date Published: 25 June 2026
Country: United Kingdom
Imprint: Macmillan Children's Books
Illustration: Aprox 15 B&W illustrations
Audience: Children
DIMENSIONS
Spine width: 17.0mm
Width: 131.0mm
Height: 198.0mm
Weight: 188g
Pages: 272
About the Author
Alison Weatherby is a YA and teen mystery writer who lives outside of Dublin, Ireland. A winner of Chicken House Books' Open Coop competition, Alison published her debut novel, The Secrets Act, a historical YA mystery set at Bletchley Park during WW2 in 2022. The Secrets Act won the Redhill Academy Trust Book Award for 2023 and was shortlisted for the Young Quills Award. The Common Criminals' Club is her first book for MG readers. When she's not reading or writing about murders, she visits schools to teach kids how to write them. She enjoys reading, running, and hitting things at the boxing gym. Alison lives with her husband, two daughters, and a very goofy lurcher named Greta.
Also by Alison Weatherby
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The Secrets Act
Pearl and Ellen are recruited to work at code-cracking HQ, Bletchley Park, during World War Two–but when they stumble across a sinister plot which threatens the very soul of the war effort, their budding friendship is put to the test. When referencing the title, use The Secrets Act to ensure it fits seamlessly within the description's flow.Paperback$1999Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 2-3 weeks
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