Read this to see if it was something my daughter would like. IT was ok. Agatha is smart and likeable and the story is fun and quirky. London works well as the backdrop to the story. The mystery itself is perhaps the only thing that lets it down. It is fine but even for teens is alittle simplistic. But had enough to want to pass to daughter to decide for herself.

It was lovely to catch up with Agatha again just a couple of months after reading the first adventure in the series. This time Agatha stumbles across a breaking news article about a murder at the British Museum and decides she must know more. Her exploring leads her down to the old abandoned British Museum tube station where she uncovers a bigger mystery.

Once again I found the plot overall to be well paced and interesting. The title is perhaps a little misleading as although the murder at the museum is what first comes to Agatha’s attention very little of the book is actually spent investigating the murder. Instead we follow Agatha as she investigates underground tunnels, and eventually manages to tie everything together in the dramatic climax to the story!

There were a couple of points where I felt that the narrative over explained some aspects, but then I reminded myself that I am an adult reading a MG book and it’s understandable, at the other end of the spectrum the story contains some quite big words, I’m not sure I would have known what effervescent meant as an eight year old… I’m not sure if that is perhaps a symptom of the way this book is written, by a TV style writers room rather than a single author. I don’t think it would detract from the enjoyment of the book, just expect a few questions from your little ones about what one or two of the words mean.

I have developed such a fondness for Agatha over the course of this book and the previous. Throughout Murder at the Museum we see the continuation of Agatha trying to discover the truth behind her mother’s death. There’s a section in the story where Agatha believes she is finally about to get the answers she’s looking for only to be disappointed, and that was actually quite sad to read. I hope before the series ends Agatha will get to find out the truth.

I was pleased to see Liam back, and that Brianna has permanently removed herself from the CC’s and become good friends with Agatha and Liam. I enjoyed seeing the professor back, although the jury is currently out on Sofia Solokov the young gatekeeper assigned to become Agatha’s mentor. I’ll have to see what the third book brings and maybe make up my mind…


Final Thoughts
Murder at the Museum is another fun case to follow alongside Agatha Oddly. I think the series is a little like The Famous Five for the current generation of young mystery lovers. I’m looking forward to The Silver Serpent!

Agatha Oddly is one of the best new characters I’ve read - she’s quirky and original and shows that you don’t have to be like everyone else. I loved the fast paced story and the little details the author included. A great children’s thriller - I can’t wait to read the next one!

The mystery was fairly simple so it’s def for the younger end of its age range, but that’s not a criticism, just info. Otherwise a nice addition to the range of books on offer - great to see the mystery genre back on the agenda.

I gave this to my 12 yo daughter to read and she had written her review.

This is a really fun book to read. I liked Agatha and it was fun to read about how she solved the murder. I recommend it for readers about my age or maybe a little younger.

Thank you to netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is well-paced, interesting book which I will be adding to both my class and school libraries. Agatha Oddly is a fun, relatable main character. There is enough suspense and action to keep the reader engaged and eager to read on.

I'll definitely be looking out for the next book in the series.

Agatha Oddly was one of my favourite reads last year. I loved it so much for it's newness. This time Agatha will be on my top reads list for it's familiarness. I feel like Agatha is a friend now but truth be told I don't think I'm cool enough to be in her gang. She's the kind of girl I observe from the side lines and take mental notes of. Everything about her is awesome from her fashion sense, to her drivenness to her loyalty. I have throughly enjoyed both of my trips around known and unknown parts of London with Agatha and her friends and I look forward to many more journeys with her!

Agatha Oddly is a brilliant creation for the tween market, brilliant, analytical, fair and single minded. These mysteries are the right blend of massive and far reaching, and small scale cases. The expansion of the secret society element is appreciated and deftly handled, marking a bit of a departure from the first one.

This expands the world, shades in the corners and is a really welcome addition to the slightly crowded middle grade genre, but one that deserves to be noticed.

Agatha Oddly – Murder at the Museum is the second in the Agatha Oddly series. I didn’t read the first book, but this has sufficient backstory for the main characters and setting to let you read it as a standalone.

This is intended for the 11-14 year age group of young people, but the great characters, fast pace and easy to follow, yet coherent mystery make it fun to read as an adult too.

Even though a murder features in the title, the story concentrates on Agatha and her two friends’ investigative skills as they try to work out why there was a murder at the museum.

Agatha’s grief about the loss of her mother, and how she is perceived in her school peer group are sensitively written, and highlight issues that often affect young people.

A fun read for everyone who enjoys a good mystery.

I received a copy of this book from Harper Collins Children's Books via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

A lovely new voice to the MG detective scene! Though this was the second in the series, it still gave a really nice introduction to the characters. I don't normally like coming into a series on the second book, but this one just really worked for me. I might go back and read the first book at some point, but there was enough detail in the book to catch me up with what happened.



I loved Agatha's character a lot. I loved how she liked fashion and looking good alongside codebreaking and investigating. Often girls who are active and adventurous in children's book are made into tomboys and are given less feminine-attributes so it was really good to see that Agatha was allowed to be feminine alongside her dectectiving. I also loved her friend Brianna who was more of a sciencey-girl and helped Agatha out with the science side of her investigations. I loved her style too. I'm not sure what she was like in the first book, because I know she was a popular girl in the Chic Clique , but in this book she was awesome.



I also really liked how detailed it went into Agatha's code breaking when she was working through the tests for the Gatekeeper's Guild. It made me really want to learn how to code break and send secret messages for my friends.



This is definitely a book for any fan of MG detective so if you have a murder-mystery obsessed kid or just want to investigate Agatha's world yourself, go pick up this book or the first in the series!

This book brought me back memories of when I used to read Nancy Drew and the Three Investigators.
It's a very good books that can be appreciated by both adult and children, and it's a good mystery well written and with an engaging plot.
I love the quirky Agatha as much as I liked the the cast of characters.
I thinks it'd be better to read the first installment in this series as it'd make easier to understand the plot but I did enjoy the book even if something was missing.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to HarperCollinsChildren’sBooks and Netgalley for this ARC, I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

MURDER AT THE MUSEUM adds a new layer of tension to Agatha Oddlow's mysterious discoveries when her sleuthing skills put to the test and her own loyalties are questioned. Fast-paced and a little odd, the second novel in the AGATHA ODDLY series is sure to delight readers looking for a fun adventure around the elusive underground of London.

What surpasses this novel over the first, THE SECRET KEY, is that now we no longer have to be introduced to Agatha's world, we can dive straight into the action. Once again, her shenanigans are just charmingly fluffy and heart-warming, despite the underlying tension of the murder at the museum being the kick-start to the fray.

However, I am still in frustrated awe that this series demands to perpetuate the tired trope of female characters being instant rivals for no decent reason. New character Sofia Solokov is solely introduced to present Agatha an annoying obstacle in her plight to become the youngest detective. Sofia develops a quick disdain for Agatha for the pettiest reason ever: Agatha is younger than her. I understand the need for conflict but for Agatha to, once again, instantly dislike female characters who aren't 'like her' is a terrible message for young readers. Worse that Sofia's antagonism is catty and blatant, and it makes you question why she hasn't been called out on it by other characters. But no, Agatha must have a big mean lady to dislike her all the time, and the competent adults cannot notice so Agatha is presented in this holy light of moral superiority.

The mystery in this book was better than the first, albeit predictable. If you're only going to introduce only one new character who could viably be the villain, you could at least throw in some red herrings to make readers pause. Nonetheless, there was no foreshadowing to the villain's motivations prior to the big reveal, so the mystery aspect of this series seems more focused on Agatha's own personal scores to settle, rather than the Big Mystery advertised on the blurb.

I did enjoy MURDER AT THE MUSEUM mostly for the quirky antics and adventure around London, but the characters and the mystery could use some polish.

WILL I READ ON? Yes.

Another exciting adventure for young Agatha Oddly and her friends as she tries to solve a murder at the British Museum, whilst also gaining a place as the youngest member of the gatekeepers' Guild. this is a brilliant new detective series for middle grade and will be fantastic for those who like Robin Stevens and Fleur Hitchcock

My thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK Children’s for a review copy of this book.

Murder at the Museum is the second in the Agatha Oddly series of books, a children’s series. Agatha Oddlow is thirteen and a very busy thirteen-year-old indeed. She is a detective and has been one for as long as she can remember, and any time a mystery piques her interest, she simply has to look into it. She is a great fan of Agatha Christie, her namesake, and especially of Poirot. In this one, the case she works on is a murder at the British Museum—one of the staff members has been stabbed for no apparent reason, and the only artefact missing is one of little value. So robbery was obviously not the motive. Agatha also attends the prestigious St Regis school as a scholarship student, where her friends are Liam and Brianna, who also help with her investigations. It helps that Brianna has her own chemistry lab at home and can run various tests. [Brianna was a member of the “Chic Clique”, a typical popular girl, but is now friends with Liam and Agatha, with whom she can be herself.] And if that wasn’t enough for a thirteen-year-old, Agatha is also awaiting tests to become a member of the Gatekeepers Guild, a secret organisation that works to keep London (in fact the country) safe, and has access to a network of tunnels and passageways under the city which can get them anywhere. Her mother was a star member, and died in somewhat mysterious circumstances which Agatha wants to get to the bottom of. Oh, and to add to all of that, Agatha’s father seems to have a secret too! All of this together makes for an action packed story where all these threads move along together to create a fun and exciting read.

I read this book without having read the first one, and while reading them in order would have made things a little clearer in terms of the background and the Gatekeepers Guild, not doing so didn’t interfere with the enjoyment of the story too much. Agatha herself I thought was a very likeable character, with a good deal of spunk, and not too much respect for the rules. The story is told in first person by Agatha. Though she is a fan of Christie, the way her mind works (sort of like the Mind Palace, which if I remember right is from the Sherlock TV series) and the case itself reminded me much more of Sherlock Holmes than Poirot. Some of what how she goes about solving her case also reminded me of Enid Blyton’s Findouters books (disguises and such). Liam and Brianna seem pretty likeable too, but I didn’t feel I got to see enough of them or at least them in action as much as we do (and obviously so) Agatha. The mystery itself, since I had Sherlock Holmes on my mind was something I could guess, the what at least, but still it was good fun. With the thread of her mother’s case continuing on, and of course another mystery to solve, this is a series I will definitely enjoy exploring. Till the next one comes, I still have the first to read. Great fun.

This book comes out on 7th March 2019!

"Agatha Oddlow’s set to become the youngest member of the Gatekeepers’ Guild, but before that, she’s got a mystery to solve!

There’s been a murder at the British Museum and, although the police are investigating, Agatha suspects that they’re missing a wider plot going on below London – a plot involving a disused Tube station, a huge fireworks display, and five thousand tonnes of gold bullion…"

Straight away I loved the character of Agatha, i found her quirky and unique, perfect for the story line. The plot was well structured and written well. It was easy to read which is perfect for its target audience, i will definitely be buying the first for my 9 year old son to read! I loved the idea of a girl spy as i grew up reading stories like Nancy Drew. I really liked the relationships with the other characters and i actually didn't guess the plot twist. Thank you Netgalley and L. Jones for the ARC.

Definite 4 star read. would really recommend for younger readers who like a good mystery!

I was given Agatha Oddly,The Secret Key for Christmas and I loved it. I was thrilled to be given the opportunity to read Murder at the Museum before it is published.

I think Agatha is a brilliant character, feisty and determined to get the truth whatever the consequences. She knows her mind, makes quick decisions and can remember minute details that always come in handy later. She tends to find trouble wherever she goes and meets bad guys who try to throw her off course but good always wins!

Agatha is now accepting the trials being set by the Gatekeeper’s Gulld and is desperate to gain access to their files about her mother who was also a member. We learn more and more about Agatha’s mother in this book and more clues pointing to her death not being accidental. I look forward to Agatha finding the truth about the “accident” which took her mother’s life.

I can’t put the books down once I start them and I tend to live vicariously through Agatha, her friend Liam and new detective ally friend Brianna. I am nowhere near as brave as this trio and am on the edge of my seat throughout the book, silently cheering them on!

It is an exciting plot, full of twists, turns and surprises. I am always so pleased when Agatha triumphs over a situation and am in awe of her code breaking skills. What a fantastic girl!
I wait impatiently now for the third! Brilliant writing Lena Jones....keep them coming!

Thank you Netgalley and HarperCollinsChildren'sBooks for this ARC. The review below is from my daughter (10yo), who is a big fan of Agatha Oddly.

Having read the first book of the series, I was really keen to get my hands on this sequel. Agatha is this time investigating a murder that happened in the British Museum. A stolen artefact is a decoy to distract the police from a much wider plot spurting from this murder, but Agatha is not quite so easily fouled.
This second book didn't disappoint and I read it all in one sitting. I love the quirkiness that distinguishes Agatha and I also love her trusted friends as they are such nice characters.
I'd give this book 4 1/2 stars and definitely recommend it to my friends at school. Can't wait for the next one!!!