Common Criminals' Club: Death Before Detention by Alison Weatherby

This is the story of how we . . .

- Discovered a dead body

- Launched an investigation

- Battled mean girls, feral bats, and nearly destroyed our three-year friendship all in the noble pursuit of solving a complex murder

Mae Flynn is used to the chaos of her rural Irish Catholic boarding school, but she isn’t expecting to discover a dead body in the school kitchen. To make matters worse, the hapless victim, Conor Haddock, was the previous owner of the school building and had recently been talking about selling up, alongside getting on the bad side of seemingly every adult Mae knows. In other words: the suspects are endless.

Along with her best friends, the self-named Common Criminals' Club, Mae is determined to solve the murder. But the more she uncovers, the more she begins to suspect that everyone around her is hiding something. Soon it’s not only her lessons and friendships at stake, but her very life . . .

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Messy notes, murder most suspicious, and friendship on the brink.

Pre-Reading Thoughts
“Irish Murder Most Unladylike” had me immediately. Add in scribbles, sketches, and a full investigative logbook format? I was expecting chaos, humour, and a very determined amateur detective squad.

Post-Reading
As I thought... it’s packed with personality. The format makes it feel alive - like you’re flipping through evidence rather than reading a story - and the mystery itself keeps things moving at a great pace.
It surprised me by... how much the setting shines. The Irish boarding school details add such a strong sense of place, grounding all the chaos in something very real and specific. Also: the emotional stakes sneak up on you.

Music Pairing
🎵 Featured Song: “Dreams” – The Cranberries
🎶 Vibe Album: “A Guide to Love, Loss & Desperation” – The Wombats
🎧 Artist Recommendation: CMAT

Vibe Check
🎨 Colour Palette: biro blue, margin-red corrections, muddy green, cafeteria beige
🎼 Soundtrack: frantic page flipping, whispered gossip, sudden “WAIT - WHAT?” realisations
🍂 Season: late spring turning into summer (when school feels almost over but everything is happening at once)
🌪 Mood: chaotic, conspiratorial, slightly feral
🕯 Scent: damp stone, school dinners, and ink smudged on your hands

Tarot Pull
🗡 Seven of Swords – secrets, half-truths, and everyone definitely hiding something. Perfect for a mystery where trust is fragile and nothing is quite what it seems.

For Fans Of
📖 Murder Most Unladylike
📺 Derry Girls (for the chaos, the friendships, and the very specific Irish energy)

The Common Criminals Club: Death Before Detention publishes on 25th June. I received a free copy and am giving an honest review.