The Guinness Girls: A Hint of Scandal

One of The Irish Times' best new children's books of the summer "A thoroughly engaging read." - The Telegraph "A deliciously cosy and clever mystery with buckets of charm, and a cast of characters you can't help but adore." - Hana Tooke, author of The Unadoptables Two girls who live in a hotel are drawn into a murder mystery in this charming, classic-feeling cosy-crime children's debut from bestselling Irish author Emily Hourican - perfect for fans of Murder Most Unladylike, The Swifts and Enid Blyton. Twelve-year-old Meredith and ten-year-old Macy feel like the luckiest girls around. The Ivy Hotel in Dublin is old, beautiful and beloved, with a tight-knit staff that feel like family, and they get to call it home. Meredith and Macy's mum is the General Manager, and their modest apartment is tucked away in a corner, but it has lots of perks. The girls make friends with long-term residents - like Colin, the quiet little boy who plays piano, and Agatha, the eccentric older lady who stays in a plush suite with her dog, Milo. The girls love spying on fancy events, sneaky treats from the restaurant and knowing all the secret stairs and corridors that guests never see, where the staff move around invisibly, making sure everything runs like clockwork... This is going to come in handy. Because within the cosy walls of the Ivy Hotel, there is also danger, intrigue and threat. Just as the hotel's new owners arrive, ready to sniff out any excuse to make cuts and fire staff, the girls are faced with their biggest task yet: a murder to solve. - A welcoming and super-cosy hotel setting with a loveable cast of characters and a dash of danger, perfect for mystery fans age 9-12. - Alternating perspectives from two brilliant sisters - responsible and emotional Meredith and fierce, logical Macy. - Full of suspense, sleuthing and twisting discoveries, as the kids take the lead, working to cleverly uncover the identity of a mysterious guest and his even more mysterious death... PRAISE FOR MURDER AT THE IVY HOTEL "A beautifully plotted, perfectly old-fashioned, gorgeously written, heartwarming story - cosy, compelling, impossible to put down." Sarah Moore Fitzgerald, author of The Apple Tart of Hope "A very enjoyable story." Books for Keeps "A satisfying, suspenseful read for those who like a gore-free murder mystery." BookTrust "A very well written, well-paced and immensely satisfying read." LoveReading4Kids, Star Pick "Well paced and with plenty of twists and turns, Murder at the Ivy Hotel is a very engaging whodunnit." ReadingZone

''A fascinating read'' Sunday Independent<BR><BR>''The best in the series so far'' Sunday Business Post<BR><BR>Honor Guinness is rich, aristocratic, shy and awkward -- nothing like her glamorous cousins Aileen, Maureen and Oonagh.<BR><BR>But when she marries charming and ambitious American, Henry ''Chips'' Channon, together they make the perfect couple at the heart of the most elite social circles -- including a close friendship with the Prince of Wales and Mrs Wallis Simpson. But within the marriage, all is less than perfect.<BR><BR>Meanwhile, Honor''s best friend, the beautiful, enigmatic Doris, is set on establishing her place in London society. But, as tensions rise in 1930s Europe, Doris, born to a German-Jewish mother, hears troubling accounts from her cousins in Berlin. Will she be able to secure the right marriage to protect her family, and her future?<BR><BR>Set against the rise of Nazism, the abdication of a king, and the slide into World War II, The Other Guinness Girl is a sweeping novel of love, desire, friendship and self-discovery.