Cherringham - A Lesson in Murder: A Cosy Crime Series by Neil Richards, Matthew Costello

Jack and Sarah are hired to find out who is doing the nasty pranks at a fancy girl's school.  They don't want the publicity that police would bring.  They just want the pranks to stop.  It didn't sound too tough but there was more going on than just pranks.

Bastei Entertainment and Net Galley allowed me to read this book for review (thank you).  It has been published.

I enjoyed the two private investigators.  They have a good friendship, work well together and they normally solve their cases.  This time, there's even some good pay attached to the work.  They come in hopeful and then find that no one wants to talk to them.  They also notice that several are lying.  Just what's going on?

This private school lives on tuition and donations.  There are secret pay offs, favoritism is offered to some girls and not others, and even those within the school are not all friends.  As Jack and Sarah sift through the facts, the things not said, and try to meet up with the teacher involved, they begin to see the skeleton of the problem.  When the teacher falls in front of a train, they don't believe it was suicide.  Sarah picks the lock on the teacher's room and finds some telling letters she held onto.  That looks like a reason but was it?

This is a cozy mystery that isn't too long but is complex and holds your attention.  I enjoyed this read and would be happy to read their next case.  They aren't constricted by the law but they aren't protected by it either.  They're learning to be careful and protect each other.  Who would have imagined such danger in a girl's school?