The Violet Veil Mysteries: A Case of Grave Danger by Sophie Cleverly

Fans of feisty girl heroes; detective stories; unsolved mysteries; and clever dogs will certainly enjoy this first book in The Violet Veil Mysteries series.

Publisher blurb: Violet Veil wants nothing more than to prove her worth and become her father’s apprentice at Veil & Sons Undertakers. And one rain-soaked night she gets her chance when she meets a boy, Oliver, who is wandering around the graveyard. Only, the last time Violet saw Oliver, he was indoors and very much dead, waiting to be buried. Violet has just found her first case, and it doesn’t get bigger than this: can she, with the help of her dog, Bones, help Oliver solve his own ‘murder’?

Other things you need to know about Violet:

• She is a girl living in Victorian England
• Girls are not allowed to aspire to an education and she will never be allowed to work with her father in the family Funeral business. 
• Violet's father has been accused of murder. Four men have very recently been buried in the graveyard beside the family undertaker's shop. The four men were all found in a dangerous and poor part of the town but these men, Violet discovers later, are all very wealthy.
• If Violet cannot prove her father is innocent he will hang. The police dismiss her as merely a girl who should not interfere.
• Violet is not afraid to spend time among the graves even at night - the dead feel like her friends.
• Oliver, the boy who someone has also tried to murder, needs to regain his memory but time is short. Oliver and Violet need to form a team and follow all leads to solve this terrible crime.

I read A Case of Grave Danger by Sophie Cleverly (author of the Scarlet and Ivy series) very quickly because it is a story with a terrific pace. Violet does solve this crime about halfway through the story but the police will not act without evidence. Luckily her dog Bones has a good nose for clues and luckily Violet herself is a very brave and determined young girl.

Fans of The Graveyard book by Neil Gaiman will also enjoy A case of Grave Danger. 

The Victorian setting with the morbid fascination with death, and life in a mortuary, evokes a sense of place, and oozes mystery throughout. Ashleigh Meikle

Full of mystery, excitement, adventure and suspense, this fantastic beginning to the series, sees Violet evolve and assert her individuality. Kids' Book Review

You can read the first chapter here. Or you can listen here.

Companion reads:

The Detectives Guide to Ocean Travel

Violet and the Pearl of the Orient

The Mystery of the Clockwork Sparrow

The Truth about Verity Sparks

The Case of the Missing Moonstone

Black cats and Butlers