This sequel didn't captivate me nearly as much as the first in the series. Eventually I was invested but it felt like a really slow build, especially for a teen book.

Book review: The Night in Question by Kathleen Glasgow, Liz Lawson

The Night in Question is a young adult mystery about two teen sleuths than try to figure out who assaulted their former friend at the school dance. This is the second book in The Agathas series.

The Night in Question picks up months after the Alice and Iris figured out who killed fellow high schooler Brooke Donovan. Right in the middle of a huge storm (and during a school dance at Levy Castle) Rebecca Kennedy is assaulted and put in a coma and all signs point to Helen Park as the perpetrator. But the evidence doesn’t add up and Iris and Alice find themselves pulled into their second investigation in less than a year. The case will take them 80 years back into the mysterious death of film star Mona Moody.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t get into the characters of the amateur high school detectives or the actual crimes in this one. The life and death of Mona Moody should have made a tragic Hollywood backdrop (which I normally enjoy) but I never got invested in that storyline or what happened to cause Rebecca’s injuries at the dance. My main issue was with the story starting right at the dance in the moments before Rebecca was attacked. There was never any buildup or re-introduction of the characters as one minute they were describing dresses and the next someone was stabbed. As the book went on it got more and more complicated with additional characters and motives in both the past and present.

Overall, this was just a so/so teen detective mystery. The crime felt very low-stakes and I never really cared about the life and death of the 1940’s era actress at the center of the story.

3 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Glasgow and Lawson (tell me that doesn't sound like an amazing crime solving duo) are quickly becoming some of my favorite mystery writers. The Agathas hooked me from the first back and the sequel delivers even more of everything I loved from the first book. Need the writers strike to end asap so a network can snap this up and make it the next Teen Drama seriesbit deserves to be!

Barely recovered from the death of their classmate and the harrowing adventure they embarked on to uncover the killer. Alice and Iris are now thrust into the investigation of the brutal assault of another classmate.

This attempted murder might be related to the mysterious death of the 1940s legendary movie star Mona Moody, a mystery that Alice is already obsessed with.

The Night in Question weaves two mysteries, years apart, into one cohesive plotline, which is a feat. I found both mysteries compelling. The setting is atmospheric and perfect for the story.

While The Night in Question is a tad long and gets bogged down with high school drama and romance, I am not the target audience, and these subplots are likely very relatable to them. Also, perhaps I have read too many Christie novels, but I knew who the perpetrator of the assault was before the assault even took place.

Despite my issues with the book, I let most of them go because this series is such a delight. Iris and Alice are such a great detective duo. Their friendship is fantastic, and I adore the cast of characters that help them in their pursuit of justice. I love the over-the-top homage to Agatha Christie. The dialogue reminds me of a CW show. You know teenagers don't talk like they do in Veronica Mars, Dawson's Creek, or Gilmore Girls, but you love them just the same.

This series is perfect for readers who like amateur sleuths, great friendships, and series like The Inheritance Games, Truly Devious, and Good Girl's Guide to Murder.

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Children's, and Delacorte Press for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

It’s Sadie Hawkins night for Castle Cove High School. Former “Main” clique girl Alice Olgivie and her best friend, “Zoner” Iris Adams, are in attendance, eyeing two other “Mains”, Rebecca and Helen, who both wore the same dress and are having a fight. The dance is being held in the famous local castle, Levy Castle, where classic film star Mona Moody fell to her death in the 40s. Alice sets off to discover a hidden staircase. When she bursts out into an upstairs room, she finds Helen standing over Rebecca with a bloody letter opener in her hand. But Alice, long-time friends with them both, doesn’t believe Helen did it.

Alice and Iris put their heads together and begin to search out clues. They use both Alice’s social connections and nice car, and Iris’ Zoner friends who are handy with computers and back doors. After all, these two have already solved one mystery, using both their heads and Alice’s complete collection of Agatha Christie books. As they go deeper into what happened to Rebecca, they find themselves needing to search in the past too, to find out what really happened that fatal night when Mona Moody fell from that balcony. And once again, the OG Agatha herself will provide an important clue.

I don’t know why I love this duo so much, but I do. The Night in Question is the second book in the series and it’s just as enjoyable as the first. Alice and Iris are believable, smart, and best of all funny. It reminds me a bit of Veronica Mars if Lily hadn’t died but instead the two had formed a crime-solving team. Highly recommended, and I can’t wait for the next installment.

The Agathas are back, y’all! This was so much fun! I loved solving this mystery with them- the mystery itself, the way that they found the clues, put the puzzle together…it was all a blast. Can’t wait for the next one!

In this sequel to The Agathas, Iris and Alice have their hands full. A cool and creepy old castle with hidden passageways, a sordid history, and the mysterious death of an actress lend themselves to create a wonderful mystery.

Read along as Alice, Iris, and the rest of the Zone Group work to figure out who wants someone dead and why.

I can't wait for the next book!

I have gotten out of reading YA the past couple of years, but I can’t pass up a mystery book with Agatha Christie mentions. This book was just as fun and mysterious as the first book. Iris and Alice are wonderful characters and I can’t wait for the next book in this series. Thank you to Penguin Random House Canada (Penguin Teen/Random House Children’s Books) for an eARC in exchange for a honest review.

I loved this book! It felt like a modern Nancy Drew! I was fully pulled into the story, mystery and the characters. I wasn’t a fan of the first one but this one was so good. I also like that there were two mysteries in here. And how they ended up tying together into one! I would recommend this book even as a stand alone. It was so good.

"But authors are lucky: they know how things will end before they even begin, right? Real life is another matter."

I was excited to read this next book in the Agathas series- I really enjoyed the first book last year. I had an easier time keeping track of whether I was reading Alice or Iris this time because of their relationships (although I still maintain that both voices sound too similar in their first person narratives).

This book didn't captivate me in quite the same way as the first. Maybe because I particularly enjoyed the budding friendship between Iris and Alice in the first book. Maybe because the mystery here wasn't as compelling (I saw the whodunnit coming before the girls did). Maybe because it dragged a bit in the middle. But I still enjoyed the story and I hope the next book is about Remy Jackson!

The Night in Question is out now...right down the way ...at the local Walmart.
Easy, accessible...and they have the first book in the series as well (The Agathas). Don't miss this gem. I don't know how I ever did. One of my favorite reads of the year.

It's got Nancy Dreq-esque vibes - but updated along the lines of Veronica Mars. Perfect mystery vibes and a fast paced read for summer. I could not put this down once I started.

We've got Alice...and we got Iris. And they just fall right into a murder AGAIN. Apparently this is a habit for them. This time there's secret passages and Alice stumbles right upon the murder suspect, murder weapon in hand.
Just like a game of clue...its Park in the study with the knife. Or is it?!

But these sleuths know there is more to the story....both the current murder and solving the mystery behind a past celebrity murder in the castle. I love all the locations, all the parents, the friendships. Most importantly I feel like the conflicts between friends and family members just seem genuine for problems and emotions at that age.

The only negative was that this book, somewhat gives away the ending in book one. I wish they just eluded to the ending of the previous book without giving away who-dun-it.

Thank you to Delacorte Press and NetGalley for giving me the ARC. I had to go out and buy The Agathas (the first in the series) - which I am reading right now, even though I know the ending. Which should tell you how great this book is...that I want to read a book where I KNOW who-dun-it. Kathleen Glasgow and Lix Lawson I hope you have another one coming out soon!

Full Review at tayarunsandreads.com

This is the second book in the series (if you didn’t catch that from the title of my post). I think I might have missed out a bit from not reading the first but not enough that the book was hard to follow. I did google for a summary of what happened in the first book, since I don’t think I will go back and read it.

This had a lot of plot for being a Teen/YA book. There were two mysteries that were threaded throughout the story. One taking place in the present day with a teenager that was stabbed at a school dance and the other with a famous actress that had fallen off a balcony to her death from the place the dance was held decades earlier. Alice, a rich, self centered and Iris, smart, not as privileged have their bits of drama weaved into the story and their immaturity in some situations bring a touch of authenticity to the situations.

The Night in Question was an easy read where high schoolers take on the roles of detectives, inspired by the works of Agatha Christie. Set in a small town plagued by puzzling crimes, this book combines youthful ambition, flawed law enforcement, and a deep love for the mystery genre. The ending tied those threads together and made for a great story.

Alice Ogilvie and Iris Adams are unlikely partners in crime solving but they solve mysteries no one else can. Brook Donovan's death shocked the whole town but that wasn't the only secret the town holds. Glassgow and Lawson have an intuitive sense of writing and making Agatha Christie's mysteries relevant for young readers. Alice and Iris push the boundaries of young detectives and how their actions can have very lasting effects. This second book goes deeper into the town history and how everyone is connected which gave more depth to the overall story and plot. Yet, this is a little bit of an imbalance to the speed of the plot and the depth sacrificed to keep that speed through out the book. This is felt when the story begins and the reads feels as if they have been dropped in the middle of the story and has to play catch up.

If you enjoy Agatha Christie mysteries and YA fiction, this is the book for you!

This is the second book in the Agathas series and I actually had not read the first one. I was worried this would maybe be confusing for me, but luckily it was not! The characters refer several times to actions that took place in the first book so I pretty much had the entire backstory, which was helpful.

The mysteries within this one were very well-written and I liked how they got to solve two crimes in one. It very much did remind of a Hercule Poirot novel, but with two teen sleuths instead. The only issue I had with this one were the characters relationships. Our two main characters, Alice and Iris, seem almost a bit too catty with one another and it didn't make a lot of sense to me. If they are so close, then why do they not even talk to each other about anything personal? I wish their relationship would've been fostered a bit better to make their friendship more believable.

Very entertaining book. It had some interesting twists and turns but it just needed a little more of something to make it a 5 star.

I think i choose the wrong time to listen to this book but i did really like it!! I enjoyed the mystery and the story but i felt at times the story was harder to follow. I thought the mystery elements had more stakes to them for sure and this book had more consequences and i really liked seeing all the side characters again, def exicted to read more in this series soon!!

This book really just took me for a ride. I loved the build up, the character development, and the writing. I would definitely read more from this author!

This book was just okay.

I honestly didn’t remember what happened in the last book, so I felt lost a lot of the book. That is my fault.

This book reads really young (it is YA and I’m 32 lol) but it was a little annoying how petty the characters were.

I think my younger sister (who is 17 ) would probably really enjoy this one, but I probably won’t read on in the series. Thank you netgalley for a free arc in exchange for a review.

THE NIGHT IN QUESTION by Kathleen Glasgow and Liz Lawson (The Agathas) is the second in a mystery series involving two teenage friends, Alice Ogilvie and Iris Adams, who frequently channel Agatha Christie and her characters like Miss Marple or Hercule Poirot. In this (overly?) complicated case, Glascow and Lawson have Alice and Iris "trying to solve two mysteries seventy-four years apart." One of their classmates, Rebecca Kennedy, is viciously attacked at a Sadie Hawkins dance at Levy Castle and as they try to prove that another student, Helen Park, is innocent, the would-be detectives learn about the possibility of earlier murders at the same location. Did famous movie stars Mona Moody and Clifford Hayes really die accidentally? Can Alice and Iris (without too much trouble from parents and the authorities) "draw a line from Mona Moody to what happened to Rebecca Kennedy"? There are plenty of clues (and red herrings) in the short, alternately narrated chapters which are "so Agatha Christie: a secret passage, a hidden staircase, sneaking around in the dark with a storm raging outside." 3.5 sars

Thank you NetGalley and author for this ARC!

I enjoyed it a lot! Such a cute book. This book is a fun and flirty romantic comedy. I highly recommend this and will most definitely will be reading again. It did drag on a bit but other than that I enjoyed it.