The Agathas

By Kathleen Glasgow and Liz Lawson

What it’s about?

The most popular girl in school is dead. And everyone’s blaming the wrong guy.

After falling from grace last summer, Agatha Christie-obsessed Alice Ogilvie needs to stay out of trouble. While smart and reclusive Iris Adams just wants to get the hell out of Castle Cove.

But now they have a murder to solve. There are clues the police are ignoring, a list of suspects a mile long and some very dangerous cliffs.

Amateur detectives Alice and Iris are about to uncover just how many secrets their sleepy seaside town is hiding…

What I think:

I love a good YA thriller and this really is a good one. Part thriller, part murder mystery, this is a great read with interesting and complex protagonists and lots of fabulous Agatha Christie quotes.

Alice is rich, but lonely. She lives in a huge, beautiful house but her parents are never home and leave her at home with the housekeeper/nanny. Alice has fallen out with her group of friends – the Mains. Rich and popular, they are they coolest lids in the school. But they drop Alice after a summer of scandal.

Iris is intelligent and studious. She keeps herself to herself and has secrets of her own to hide. But she is resilient and has big plans for the future. She takes on tutoring Alice for the term.

Despite the fact that the two girls seem to initially have very little in common, they soon start to get along. Putting their judgments aside, it might be that they have a deeper connection then they think.

And when Brooke Donovan, one of the most popular girls in school, goes missing after a very public fight with Alice, the girls start an investigation to find her. When the missing person case quickly becomes a murder investigation the girls soon need to use their different skills and work together if they are going to claim the recognition and reward they desperately want.

I loved the dynamic between Alice and Iris. They work really well together and really compliment each other. Alice uses her Agatha Christie knowledge to think like a detective when things are getting tricky.

The investigation has everything a classic murder mystery needs. The mystery is intriguing with enough clues to help the reader but plenty of red herrings and twists. There are dastardly characters and plucky villains. The small community of Castle Cove is certainly full of all sorts of sordid secrets.

This is an absolutely cracking read. Fast- paced, compelling and sets up nicely for another future investigation.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! A really smart murder mystery and the very best kind of YA that fans of Karen M McManus and Holly Jackson will love.

About the authors:

Kathleen Glasgow is the New York Times bestselling author of Girl in Pieces and How to Make Friends with the Dark and has been published in 26 countries. She lives in Tucson, Arizona, where she works in an office by day and spins stories by night. You can find her on Twitter @kathglasgow, on Instagram as @misskathleenglasgow or on her website kathleenglasgowbooks.com.



Liz Lawson is the author of The Lucky Ones, a Kirkus Reviews Best Book of 2020, and the upcoming YA mystery The Agathas which she co-wrote with NYT Bestselling author Kathleen Glasgow. She lives outside of Washington DC with her family and two cats.

Thank you to Rock The Boat for my gifted copy of The Agathas, and to Anne Cater from Random Things Tour for inviting me to be a part of this compelling blog tour.