Murder! By Narwhal!

When the family of the tyrannical Sir Ignatious Gristle reluctantly gather at his country estate on his 90^th birthday, they are not expecting to be caught up in a whodunnit of epic proportions, after he is found later that night with a narwhal tusk sticking out of his chest!

He is found by his youngest granddaughter, Edna Gristle, who, whilst she knows she should be sad, is actually thrilled that she has the chance to investigate a real-life murder, just as she has read about. As the whole family are trapped in the house due to a snowstorm, with no way of contacting the outside world, every one of the guests is a suspect, so it is up to Edna, along with her friend Archie and tortoise sidekick Charles Darwin, to gather the evidence and finally reveal the murderer.

I loved this book. It is everything you could want in a murder-mystery story; a cast of eccentric and colourful characters, most with slowly revealed hidden pasts; a dark and creepy house, with hidden passages and quirky contents (meet Clive the suit of armour!) and best of all, a clever detective, overlooked by the grown-ups, but perfectly placed to earwig on all the best conversations and uncover the truth before the police can make it through the snow to find them.

Award-winning author/illustrator Smith is well-known for his funny and clever animal characters (Claude and Mr Penguin), but he has surpassed himself with this novel, his first foray into middle-grade writing and the start of a brand-new murder series. This clever and witty tale is jam packed full of crazy characters, hilarious antics and plot twists that kept me guessing right up to the end of the story. I can’t wait to read book two!