Common Sense Media Review
By Lucinda Dyer
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Engaging teen detective sequel has language, drinking, pot.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 14+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
THE NIGHT IN QUESTION begins four months after Alice and Iris solved the murder of their classmate, Brooke, in The Agathas. Castle Cove High School's annual Sadie Hawkins Dance is being held at Levy Castle, a palatial home with 18 ballrooms and lots of secret passages. It's also where glamorous movie star Mona Moody fell to her death 74 years ago. Alice leaves the dance to explore the house and finds a hidden room, where Helen Park is standing over Rebecca Kennedy's bloody body, letter opener in hand. To the police, it seems like an open-and-shut case. But not to Alice and Iris, who are convinced of Helen's innocence. Alice again calls on the mystery-solving skills from her Agatha Christie novels as they try to connect baffling clues with a list of suspects. Pieces of a note near Rebecca's body, a valuable missing necklace, dark family secrets, a school genealogy project, and a missing baby are among the information they need to decipher. But they don't expect Rebecca's attacker to lead back to Mona's mysterious death. Was she pushed over the balcony she fell from? What about Mona's secret lover -- could he have been murdered, too? How does a long-dead movie star have anything to do with the attack on a teenage girl?
Is It Any Good?
A skillful mix of dark family secrets, a missing necklace, unsolved murders, and two feisty, determined teen detectives make for a must-read sequel. Teens who read The Night in Question before The Agathas will miss out on one of the best things about the first novel -- how Iris and Alice became friends. Readers who are new to the series will also encounter some characters from the first book who reappear without much explanation as to who they are or how they fit into Alice and Iris' lives. And there are major spoilers for the first book, as The Night in Question reveals who the murderer was in The Agathas.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the qualities that made Iris and Alice a good team in The Night in Question. What were challenges they faced in working together? How did they get past those challenges?
Alice and her parents find it very difficult to talk honestly with one another. What are the best communication tools your family uses when you need to talk about tough subjects?
What do you know about your family history? What kind of ancestors would you hope to find in your family tree?
Book Details
- Authors :
- Genre : Mystery
- Topics : Friendship , School ( High School )
- Character Strengths : Communication , Perseverance , Teamwork
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Delacorte Press
- Publication date : June 2, 2023
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 14 - 17
- Number of pages : 406
- Available on : Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, Apple Books, Kindle
- Last updated : September 18, 2025
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