Welcome into the enchanting world of The Body Under the Piano by Marthe Jocelyn, a delightful middle-grade mystery that'll steal your heart and tickle your detective instincts!

Aggie Morton, a smart but shy girl, and her Belgian friend Hector Perot, stumble upon a thrilling murder mystery in a quaint coastal town. Inspired by Agatha Christie's brilliance, this book is a clever homage to the Queen of Crime, sprinkled with irresistible tea-time charm and insatiable curiosity. With a dash of Lemony Snicket and a pinch of Wollstonecraft Detective Agency, Jocelyn spins a web of adventure, friendship, and intrigue that'll captivate readers of all ages!

Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this.

I absolutely loved this! As an adult who loves Agatha Christie, I couldn't resist trying this middle grade version by Marthe Jocelyn. It is the first in a series and is your typical who dunnit. Sweet and cosy, perfect for those young readers who enjoy mystery and historical adventures with wonderful characters.
Look forward to book 2.

Aggie Morton, Mystery Queen: The Body under the Piano is founded on a marvellous premise: young Aggie Morton, who will grow up to be Agatha Christie, meets twelve-year-old Belgian refugee Hector Perot, who will inspire Christie’s most famous creation, the legendary private detective Hercule Poirot, and the two end up solving a perplexing murder case.

Aggie Morton is still somewhat emotionally adrift during the summer of 1902 following the death of her beloved father. Things are not going well at home, while outside of the home, well, Aggie isn’t exactly Miss Popularity among her peers. She has an adventurous spirit and a highly imaginative mind, but her days are passing in a rather grey and monotonous fashion. That all changes, however, on the fateful day that she first encounters the dapper Hector Perot and then, later, discovers a dead body in the room where she attends dance classes. Sharing a love of puzzles and mysteries, Aggie and Hector agree to team up and track down the killer before an innocent party ends up taking the blame.

Aggie Morton, Mystery Queen: The Body under the Piano is a super middle-grade mystery novel that marks the start of a hugely promising series. Marthe Jocelyn has done a great job of creating a character based on Agatha Christie and of crafting a youthful alter ego for Christie’s most famous detective. The story is full of intrigue, adventure and humour, and it’s a lot of fun to follow along with the two juvenile detectives as they hunt for a killer among their friends and neighbours.

The first novel in a new middle grade series, “Aggie Morton, Mystery Queen: The Body Under The Piano”is a charming historical mystery from Canadian author Marthe Jocelyn.

Main character Aggie Morton is a 12 year old sleuth, clearly inspired by the great Agatha Christie, known for morbid interests and eerie daydreaming. When she comes across a crime scene at her dance class, a well-paced plot of intrigue is set into motion alongside the introduction of a menagerie of quirky side characters. With British slang and a slew of similes and metaphors, this kid lit novel offers not only a fun mystery but also a light commentary on social issues of the time that transcend to the present including immigration and women’s rights.

Overall, this is a fun first start at an engaging middle grade mystery series that young readers are sure to enjoy.

This series is delightful. It reads like Agatha Christie-lite. I have been handing it to both young and old mystery readers, because I think any age reader will enjoy these books.
This first book in the series introduces us to Agatha Morton and her new Belgian friend Hector Perot. I love the character development throughout and can't wait to read the next book in the series.
The mystery is well crafted, and will keep readers up past their bedtime.
I really love the portraits at the beginning of the book as a Who's Who.

I think that this was a very cute idea and the book was adorable. It was fun to read from the perspective of Aggie Morton, who is based on Agatha Christie. As well as read about Hector Perot, who is based on Agatha Christie's famed character Hercule Poirot. This book is an imagined idea of what Christie's childhood would have been like if she was friends with her character and solving mysteries at 11 years old.

This was an adorable middle grade mystery introduction, allowing the reader to really start to fall in love with the genre and potentially lead to them reading Christie in the future.

My only issue with the book is that Hector Perot was not too big of a character, however I feel as though this is something that will be worked on in later books as Hector becomes better friends with Aggie! As a fan of Christie, I just kept hoping that the character based on the famous detective Poirot would be a bit more involved in the detective work alongside Aggie.

Despite that, I do look forward to more adventures with Aggie and Hector! I will eagerly await the sequel.

While the concept of a young detective is entertaining, the pacing of this novel seems slow. The main characters were likeable and smart, but the narration was not as engaging as anticipated.

Henry James Meets Agatha Christie

This struck me as a successful take on the "Young Sherlock..." approach to kid mysteries. Our heroine, Aggie, is modeled after the early life of Agatha Christie. No effort is made to pretend that Aggie is actually Agatha or some reimagined version of Agatha. The author is content to borrow some biographical details, (home, family circumstances, deceased father, bookishness, historical era), and then to create a lively and distinct character from that foundation. Along the same lines, Aggie's Belgian friend Hector Perot is an amusing variation on a young Hercule Poirot, but again the author is satisfied with some sly similarities and doesn't try too hard to actually model the character on a pretend Hercule backstory. The net result is that we end up with two engaging protagonists with just an entertaining suggestion of a connection to the real Christie.

The murder mystery is fine, and fits comfortably into the Agatha Christie style, (as opposed to the more adventurous Hardy Boys or the more energetic and can-do Nancy Drew). It's almost a manor house sort of murder, but done with a very kid friendly touch.

Much of the charm, apart from the appealing heroes, comes from the era in which the mystery is set and the slightly stilted Victorian style of the story telling. This is set in the earl 1900's, and the manners of the characters suit and reflect the era. The writing is also true to the times, with a light Victorian flavor, (people do get the vapors and we have tea a lot). Wisely, the author doesn't go full Henry James, but rather opts for a less precious and more direct style that I suspect would suit a younger reader. Aggie, though, has an authentic post-Victorian sensibility that wears easily and is often charming and sly.

So, a good mystery, engaging characters, appealing heroes, and a tale well and briskly told. A very nice find and a great introduction to classic mystery for a younger reader. A nice find.

(Please note that I received a free ecopy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)

I was lucky to get a copy of Aggie Morton Mystery Queen The Body Under the Piano by Marthe Jocelyn which is a middle grade inspired by the real-life of Agatha Christie which I absolutely loved via Netgalley. I am not going to give away any spoilers as that is a no-no in mystery books but I will say this I was part way reading from my Kindle and I knew that i had to have the Physical Book to make my reading this book more enjoyable. I then found out that this was going to be a series and so I have pre-ordered the second installment called Aggie Morton Mystery Queen Peril at Owl Park which comes out in September 2020. I think I have found another series which I am so excited about and so I will be reading every book that comes out. So for this reason it has be 5 stars.

Unfortunately I did no download this in time but have since read a copy of the book.

I really loved this book and it will make the perfect book for my niece who is slowly getting into crime writing!

A really enjoyable story and I would happily dive into the world of Aggie Morton again and again!

The tone of the book is just right for the expected audience, The characters are brilliant and relatable and I really loved the tone and setting of the book.

A whimsical adventure the provided great entertainment. The book is written well and keeps the reader's attention. I would recommend this for readers 5th grade and up.

I received a complimentary copy of this ebook from NetGalley.com for my honest review.

Aggie Morton, Mystery Queen: The Body under the Piano
by Marthe Jocelyn

Penguin Random House Canada

Tundra Books
Children's Fiction , Middle Grade

Pub Date 04 Feb 2020


I am reviewing a copy of Aggie Morton, Mystery Queen: The Body under the Piano through Penguin Random House Canada/Tundra Books and Netgalley:


This book will transport you back to 1902 in a small town on the Coast I’d England, here you will meet Aggie Morton. Aggie is adventurous but really shy since her father died. But one fateful day she crosses the paths of twelve year old Belgian immigrant Hector Perot, and they discover a dead body on the floor of the Mermaid dance room. The number of suspects grow, and the town seems to becoming apart, so Aggie and her new friend will try everything in their power to find the killer so Aggie’s beloved dance instructor is not convicted of a murder Aggie knows she didn’t commit.


This book is a fun read, filled with mystery, adventure, with an unforgettable heroine, along with several helpings of teas and sweets.


If you have a middle grade reader, who loves, historical, fun thread mysteries then they will love Aggie Morton, Mystery Queen: The Body under the Piano.



Five out of five stars!


Happy Reading!

A fun middle grade mystery! A fictionalized story of a young Agatha Christie. We follow Aggie with the help of her new friend Hector Perot as they try to solve this murder mystery. Most middle grade mysteries don’t have a murder so that was a change. We enjoyed the story and look forward to more from the author.

A delightful middle grade novel that follows the fictionalized childhood of Agatha (Aggie) Morton. An engrossing story with entertaining characters perfect for young readers.

Thank you so, so much to the publishers and to NetGalley for a copy of this book to review! Unfortunately I've given it a good few tries and don't feel that it is for me. I don't believe this is to any fault of the author or the story itself, as I have seen an abundance of positive reviews! I think many people will enjoy this greatly.

What bits I did read, I found were quite charming, and Aggie herself sure is determined! I also realize I am not necessarily the target audience (while anyone of any age can read middle-grade, I don't want to come off as sounding as if I need a middle-grade book to cater to what I enjoy reading!)

I simply found that I wasn't going back to this book very often each time I put it down, and each time I picked it back up I only got a little ways through or found myself re-reading the same few pages. Sometimes a book just isn't for you, and that's okay! If I am ever to try it again in the future, I will most definitely not be surprised should I find myself enjoying it later. I won't be posting a review on Goodreads, as I have decided to DNF this title. Thank you again, so much.

This story imagines what Agatha Christie would have been like as a child solving mysteries. Along with her new friend from Belgium, Hector Perot, she investigates a body found under the piano at her dance studio.

This mystery was suspenseful and unpredictable. I couldn’t figure out who was the murderer, so I was surprised at the end. One of the most important clues was saved until right before the end, so there wasn’t any way to figure it out until then, but I was still surprised.

I wish this book was around when I was a kid. I loved Agatha Christie and Nancy Drew mysteries. This book combines them, with a young detective, who is also an inspiring writer.

I loved this first book in the Aggie Morton series. I’m excited to read the next one!

Thank you Penguin Random House Canada for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Aggie Morton is a fantastic mystery that pays homage to the great Agatha Christie by imagining what her childhood may have been like if she had been the star of one of her books. Together with her friend, Hector, Aggie must search out the clues and solve the murder. Young mystery lovers will enjoy this book.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for the opportunity to read an advance reading copy.

One thing I have learned in my NetGalley experience is, when you get behind and miss the deadline, you can then find an audiobook [typically] that will then help speed up the process and you can review it faster and not be a complete review slacker. With this book, THIS was a very good thing.

I requested this book in hopes that it would be something my 5th grader would like/read. Because I didn't read the blurb all the way through and didn't realize it was set in England, I am not sure this will work for her at this point, but maybe by next year she will be ready for it. Regardless, if she does decide to read it, I will be buying her the audiobook, because with this book, that is the absolute best way to go.

I was really struggling with this book and was absolutely thinking about DNF'ing it. Again [and this is totally on me], I didn't read the blurb and didn't realize that this is a <i>homage</i> to a young Agatha Christie [though I doubt that Agatha Christie was as mouthy and pushy as young Aggie is] and her beloved character Hercule Poirot [and when I did realize it, there was much eye-rolling because WOW, could it be more obvious? And could he be a ANY more whiny? Sigh] and when I did, I realized that the author [IMO] was not doing a great job at it. I am not sure if it was how it was written, or if it was the spacing or whatever of the ARC, but it was a really tough read. I wasn't engaging with the characters, I was eye-rolling a lot and I was pretty sure I knew who the killer was about 5 minutes after the murder was committed [turns out I was right about that, but I DO read a lot of mysteries. I didn't know the why though until later so that was a good thing]. I decided to bite the bullet [after extensively looking for the audiobook elsewhere] to use a credit at Audible and listen to the rest of it [because hey, if I hated it still, I could return it and get that credit back - win/win]. Turns out, that was the best thing I could have done. The narration is excellent and it really opens up the book and the characters [who I didn't really like in the beginning and didn't really connect to at all] and the whole story. And I enjoyed it MUCH more that way than by just reading it. I would absolutely recommend that it be listened to over just reading it. Especially if your young reader struggles with reading. This will help them immensely.

So overall, I enjoyed this experience and should she write another one, I might be tempted to read it [if I could get the audiobook] and in a year or two, I think my reluctant reader may just end up liking this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House

Fun, twisty mystery for older middle grade readers (10+). I loved the author's note at the end that showed how she tied the character of Aggie to Agatha Christie. Kid's mysteries tend to focus on less violent crimes - theft, kidnapping, etc. - but don't often go as far as murder. This one does, although I didn't find it to be graphic. The general reader in this age group should be fine with the content. Sensitive readers should know there is a murder and an assault.

The setting of the story - early 1900s, England - led to some interesting moments regarding women's rights and immigrants that I thought added some nice nuances to the story and the characters. I loved the characters in this and I can't wait to read what Aggie and Hector get into next!

I liked this one better than I expected. It takes itself more seriously than the typical elementary aged mystery. It's not only a genuine murder mystery with complex motivations and reasonable clues and red herrings, it looks at bigger social and historical questions. It explores gender roles and the views of refugees a great deal. And while there are nods the Agatha Christie it doesn't rely much on that connection. Aggie Morton could be any tween becoming more conscious of the larger world and her role in it. And it ends on something of a melancholy note, which was refreshing