Book Review: A Girl Called Justice by Elly Griffiths

I'm back with another book review and I am so excited to be writing about this one!

Here's the synopsis:

When Justice's mother dies, her father packs her off to Highbury House Boarding School for the Daughters of Gentlefolk. He's a barrister - specialising in murder trials - and he's just too busy to look after her alone. 

Having previously been home-schooled, the transition is a shock. Can it really be the case that blondes rule the corridors? Are all uniforms such a charming shade of brown? And do schools normally hide dangerous secrets about the murder of a chamber maid? 

Justice takes it upon herself to uncover the truth. (Mainly about the murder, but perhaps she can figure out her new nemesis - the angelic Rose - at the same time.) But when a storm cuts the school off from the real world, the body count starts to rise and Justice realises she'll need help from her new friends if she's going to find the killer before it's too late...

I loved the sound of this story from the moment I read the synopsis and after reading it I am so pleased to say that I loved the storyline. The setting of the boarding school was perfect for this kind of story. I loved stories based in boarding schools as a child, such as Enid Blyton's Malory Towers. I just loved the school setting, my favourites as a child were The Worst Witch and, obviously, the Harry Potter series. The school really was portrayed perfectly as this eerie setting shrouded in mystery. The storyline and the setting fit together in the best way and I like the simplicity of having just this one main location. In terms of the murder and mystery plot, I found it incredibly addictive and I really related to Justice's curiosity, despite knowing that I wouldn't have been brave enough to investigate it myself so I got to live that experience through her.

The main character of Justice has all the best qualities of famous detectives. Think Nancy Drew and Sherlock Holmes. She was just a fantastic character and I loved how her diary notes were included throughout the book to show her thoughts, suspicions and plans. I also really liked the variety of other characters in the book, as I made each of them a suspect in my mind as I went through, trying to work out who the murderer was. It was one of those books that had quite a few people that it could be but it never felt too busy or confusing.

The writing was addictive, so addictive in fact that I read this whole book in only a few hours, in one sitting. I took advantage of the nice weather and started reading it outside one Saturday afternoon and couldn't put it down. Elly Griffiths is a very talented writer and I look forward to reading more children's books by her in the future.

Thank you to the publisher for gifting me this advanced copy. As always, the thoughts and opinions shared in this review are my own and I am never swayed by the fact that I have been sent the book.

A Girl Called Justice is out May 2nd.