Day 2! Review: Arsenic for Tea – Robin Stevens

Day 2: Murder Most Unladylike Challenge

Timescales:

Date	Post
July 27th	Murder Most Unladylike Review
July 28th	Arsenic for Tea Review
July 29th	First Class Murder Review
July 30th	Jolly Foul Play Review
July 31st	Cream Buns and Crime Review
August 1st	A Spoonful of Murder Review
August 2nd	The Case of the Missing Treasure Review
August 3rd	Death in the Spotlight Review
August 4th	Top Marks for Murder Review
August 5th	The Case of the Drowned Pearl Review
August 6th	My Predictions for Death Sets Sail – dissecting the blurb
August ???	Death Sets Sail Review

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Trigger Warnings: Cheating; Death of parent (past); Murder; Poison; Stealing; Suicide (discussed)

I do always find it difficult starting the second book in any series – there’s always part of me that wonders if it will be as good as the first book. But Arsenic for Tea was just as amazing as Murder Most Unladylike, with an even more complicated mystery (if that’s possible). Although Arsenic for Tea was set several months after the events of Murder Most Unladylike, the series carries on perfectly, as if Daisy and Hazel arrived at Fallingford as soon as Miss Bell’s murderer was arrested. I also love how Arsenic for Tea is set in a different location to Murder Most Unladylike – this heightens the mystery aspect because, as a reader, I am trying to think about who the murderer could be, in an unfamiliar setting.

Firstly, I love how the title is a play-on words: it could be taken to mean that the victim had arsenic for their tea (their meal), or that they drank arsenic, thinking it was tea (their drink). This was something I’ve only noticed recently – one of the reasons why I love re-reading books to draw links throughout the plot.

I did have my suspicions about who the murderer was – again, it was just a wild guess that I was very shocked to be true. As discussed by Daisy and Hazel in Jolly Foul Play, people who are outside where the murder is happening can provide a different insight to the girls on the scene of the crime. This might be why readers can sometimes work out who the murderer is before the Detective Society.

Arsenic for Tea is so cleverly crafted throughout – the mystery is wrote in a way that it’s easy to understand the girls’ thoughts and the murder itself, yet complex so you are never sure if the girls are on the right path to solving the case.

Finally, I love how because no one comes in or out of Fallingford during the Detective Society’s investigation, as this heightens the danger that Daisy, Hazel, Kitty and Beanie are in. This also kept me on edge throughout the whole book, as I was expecting a second victim all the way through.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book – it carried on perfectly from Murder Most Unladylike, and it is perfect for any mystery fans. Arsenic for Tea is so different, yet so similar to Murder Most Unladylike, which makes it so much fun to read.

Tomorrow, I will be reviewing First Class Murder by Robin Stevens.

Thank you for reading this post.

Hannah