The Mizzy Mysteries : A Skeleton in the Closet
For ages 9+
Meet Mizzy - the newest super-sleuth on the block - an exciting story from the perspective of a 12 year-old with Down Syndrome, a girl who refuses to be underestimated!
Do you love a whodunnit? There are some kids who are absolutely obsessed with murder mysteries, aren’t there? Well, meet Mizzy - the newest super-sleuth on the block! For ages 9+, ‘The Mizzy Mysteries : A Skeleton in the Closet’ by Claire Hatcher-Smith (Farshore/HarperCollins) is a brand new series where the protagonist, Mizzy, has Down Syndrome. Author, Claire has worked with, and as she says, learned from many people with Down Syndrome throughout her career - for 30 years:
“For thirty years I’ve wanted to give you all a hero who looks like you. The hero you deserve… To see the possibilities beneath the stereotypes. To never underestimate anyone.”
I absolutely loved reading this book and I’m already eager to read another Mizzy detective story. I don’t have personal experience with Down Syndrome, but this book gave me a whole new level of awareness, and I found this story tugged at my heart-strings, gave me a huge amount of new awareness for people with Down Syndrome - how emotion, life experience, perceptions and relationships are seen and felt differently at times - and I gained insight into family life where they include Down Syndrome children. Mizzy is an amazing girl - she’s sparky, she’s quirky, she’s determined, brave, loving, sweet and deeply sensitive both in a beautiful and sometimes heart-aching way.
Readers don’t just follow Mizzy’s tangled family mystery - they also experience life through her eyes as a young person with Down Syndrome. Mizzy often reflects on the things that make her different - her heart condition, neurodivergent brain, the shape of her toes, the lines on her palms, the size of her tongue. While people with Down Syndrome may look different on the outside, what’s often misunderstood are the health challenges they face. Mizzy’s story gives insight into these experiences, helping readers develop empathy and understanding. Mizzy also has a phobia or escalators.
Living within a loving family home, mum and dad working hard, 12 year-old Mizzy is an only child and usually spends some of the school holidays staying at her cousins’ house in London. However, this summer holiday, it’s different, and not in a good way. Her two cousins usually love playing with her, love role playing detective mysteries, and having lots of fun playing games, but something has changed… they’ve grown up… it’s all about football practice, and boys being teenagers and stuff. Even her bedroom she normally stays in has been relegated by her uncle. It’s not looking good at all. What’s more awful than not feeling welcome? Being treated like a baby. So, ignored and bored, perhaps sulking a little bit in her little bedroom that her Great Aunt Jane died in (slightly morbid)… she notices a locked wardrobe - which is like juicy summery yellow pollen to a cute fluffy bumble bee!! Inside are some of Jane’s diaries… and the last page is torn out!! Why? Could this be a real mystery to solve? And how did Great Aunt Jane die?
This story oozes with family secrets, a definite web of secrets and lies. There’s only so much investigating that Mizzy can safely do on her own, and she manages to get her cousin Oli to play Watson to her Sherlock as they navigate more red herrings than you can shake a fish net at from paintings, to herbs and potions. She ingeniously comes up with a cover story to work the suspects and witnesses - a family tree project. Genius! Around in circles they all go - from an hilarious elderly (and rather confused) grandma to bitter underlying feuds between uncles and aunts. Mizzy has to navigate the outside world using buses, trying to cope with directions, and tubes (with and without escalators available to use). And if you like a bit of wild swimming, Mizzy is a fan of swimming in the Hampstead Heath ladies’ pond too.
Amidst all the drama and excitement of uncovering the truth, hoping that Mizzy stays safe and happy throughout, this is a brilliant coming of age story from the perspective of a kid with Down Syndrome, a girl who refuses to be underestimated. Mizzy is a bundle of chaotic obsession, boundless enthusiasm, jumping to the wrong conclusions, getting the wrong end of the stick, logical problem-solving, love love and more love for her family and life, and going head first into new experiences with a true sense of freedom and empowerment. I really felt the highs and lows along the way, and I absolutely adore this crafty, sassy, witty, brave new mystery solving heroine - the one and only, the marvellous, the unforgettable, Mizzy. I adore her and I can’t wait for book 2!
N.B. Reviewed from uncorrected proof copy without final artwork illustrations and cover artwork.
PRAISE
‘Genuinely brilliant neurodivergent representation … Hatcher-Smith has created a truly unique heroine in Mizzy, who is smart and brilliantly stubborn … The story is taut and twisting – peopled with a cast of fantastically English eccentrics – and the denouement is pleasingly unguessable. A brilliant debut.’ Charlotte Eyre, The Bookseller
“Funny, tautly plotted and twisty debut with a unique and delightful heroine” Guardian
‘A brave, funny and insightful character who you will love and root for from the very first page. Mizzy will inspire you to fight for what you believe in and reach for the stars, as she tries to crack the case and prove whodunnit! A fabulous story, with truly wonderful representation. We do need these books.’ Mel Darbon, multi-award-winning author of Rosie Loves Jack
'I relate to Mizzy in so many ways ― our curiosity, our love for problem solving, and we both have big dreams. We also happen to have an extra chromosome in common, and I love that it's the least interesting thing about her! Mizzy knows who she is and she keeps following her path, even when others don't think she can. Mizzy IS marvellous!” Madison Tevlin, Host, Actor, Model & Advocate
“Young readers will adore this unique and endearing new sleuth” Kenneth Oppel
“Fast-paced, tightly plotted and kept me guessing till the last minute. In Mizzy, Claire has created an utterly unique and instantly lovable new detective. I was rooting for her every step of the way and I love that a character like her has been put front and centre, and with such compassion and believability” Tom Vaughan, author of Hercules, The Diary of a (Sort of) Hero
“A super detective story full of sleuthing, surprising twists, school projects, and shocking family secrets” Mel Taylor Bessent
“I absolutely loved Mizzy! … A page-turning romp with an irresistible, irrepressible narrator, Mizzy truly is marvellous” Joseph Elliott
"A fun read! Mizzy and her family are larger than life in this new mystery caper. Move over Sherlock! Mizzy is here!” Maisie Chan
“A wonderfully engaging and exciting book” – INIS Magazine
