Goodreads Mobile | see what your friends are reading

Mar 06, 2009

Chris rated it:

A Murder for Her Majesty doesn't waste time getting started. Right in the first chapter, Alice is running away from home, and gets brought in by a group of choirboys, who decide to hide her in their house and even come up with a plan to disguise her as one of them. It's through flashback and background information that we find out how she got there.

Alice had witnessed her father being murdered by two men, who claimed to be working for the Queen of England. Scared for her life, she he More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 20, 2011

Lydia rated it:

I usually criticize books, and pick on every single bad thing about them. The characters are weak... The plot was limp, and "horrid"... Or, most terribly, the storytelling was atrocious.
That wasn't the case with this book. And it pleasantly surprised me with no feminist sort of messages. "Girls can be like guys." "Girls are just as good as guys." "Girls aren't weak." "Girls are best." To those of you who know me well enough, you can probabl More...

0 comments like

Jan 17, 2010

Anna rated it:

I loved this book. In fact, about 25 pages before the end, I misplaced it in the house and had to turn everything upside down to find it. I really wanted to finish it, even though I knew everything would turn out well for the heroine. I think boys and girls would enjoy this book. There's lots of action. The main character is a girl, but nearly every other character is male. The choir boys are jolly and determined and always up for mischief.

I read this to figure out when my ch More...

0 comments like

Nov 06, 2009

Megan rated it:

Alice witnesses her father's murder on their estate and while trying to reach safety with a family friend, she meets a group of boys who sing in the nearby cathedral's choir. They offer her a place to stay for the night and then decide it would be fun to disguise Alice as a boy and see if they can sneak her into the choir without the choirmaster noticing. Deciding the cathedral would be a safe place to hide, Alice agrees to the plan. As she struggles to keep her true identity a secret from her f More...

0 comments like

Feb 15, 2011

Mary rated it:

This is one of those nostalgia-heavy books that looms large in my childhood memory, and given that, I was anxious it wouldn't hold up. It's true that- great as it is- it's probably not a book most people would enjoy first reading as adults. There's a simplicity to the narrative that reminds me of my own first attempts at storytelling: characters consistently propose a problem - and solve it- in a single paragraph. But perhaps that's why the book is so fantastic to read at 10. It has the style a More...

0 comments like

Jul 29, 2010

Sarah rated it:

I felt like I had read this book before, and, after looking at the original date (1986), maybe I did! It's a clean, safe read, but I'm not a fan of the new cover. It's a good read for upper elementary kids. Alice is 11 and is forced out of the comfort of her estate when her father is killed. She isn't sure who to go to because she overhears men saying that the queen will be pleased of his death. In search of her father's female friend, she travels to York and accidentally meets some young boys w More...

0 comments like

Oct 26, 2011

Terri Lynn rated it:

I never allow myself to miss out on a good read because a book is labeled for children or young adults. A good story is a good story no matter where it is stashed in the library or bookstore.

In this most excellent story, 11 year old Alice quite accidentally witnessed her father's murder by two of his visitors from a tree on her father's estate. Overhearing the killers talking about what to do about her and something about how Queen Elizabeth 1 would be happy he was dead, she flees w More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Apr 30, 2009

Linnae rated it:

Alice Tuckfield witnesses her father's murder, and even knows the two men who did it. When she realizes she may be next in line, she takes off for the house of the a family friend. Along the way she gets lost, and is taken in by a group of impudent choir boys. Luckily, she can sing! She is just beginning to feel comfortable in this life, when she uncovers a third person involved in her father's murder. To her dismay, he seems to recognize her as well. She will need all the help her new fri More...

0 comments like

Sep 13, 2009

Sarah rated it:

A fun little read. An 11 year old girl witnesses her father's murder, is on the run from the murderers, and gets taken in by a bunch of cathedral choir boys. They pass her off as a boy and she gets accepted into the choir school...only to find out that the man who planned her fathers murder actually works there at the cathedral. The bunch of choir boys are great fun. Being into music myself, it was fabulously interesting to read all the details of the music classes, rehearsals and performanc More...

1 comment like

Aug 10, 2011

Loony rated it:

I read this book almost a decade ago, but I didn't read it just once and then return it to the library, I read it four times before I had to return it. I actually had to google what I remembered of the story because I couldn't remember the title even if I did remember what the cover looked like. Regardless, I absolutely loved this story and will be purchasing a copy of my own as soon as I can find it, and when I do I know I will be reading it at least twice. And once I read it again, I will be a More...

0 comments like

Sep 09, 2008

The other John rated it:

This tale is a combination of two clichés: the endangered child who is forced to fend for his or herself, and the child who pretends to be a kid of the opposite gender. In this case, the child is Alice Tuckfield, an upper class eleven-year-old in 16th Century England. Her mother had died some years before and as the story starts she has just witnessed the murder of her father. She makes her way to Yorkshire, in an attempt to contact a friend of her father's. Tired, hungry and cold, she encounter More...

0 comments like

Feb 28, 2008

Kellyn rated it:

Alice Tuckfield, age 11, hidden in a tree on her father’s estate, watches in horror as a guest kills her father while accompanied by another guest. Alice listens as these men say that Queen Elizabeth will be pleased with this murder. Alice hides until she is certain that the murderers have left. Gradually she makes her way to the Cathedral at York where she hopes to find food and temporary shelter. As she turns a corner a young boy, Geoffrey, runs into her and knocks her out. Geoffrey helps More...

0 comments like

Aug 20, 2011

Ashley rated it:

I loved this book. It was fun, mysterious, and breath-taking all at the same time.

The driving force of this book was the characters, and they were written marvelously well. I fell in love with Alice and her propensity to tell her superiors off. I grinned at Geoffrey, Orlando, Randall, and Nate, and their mischievous ways; I also admired their desire to help and protect Alice. The descriptions of the professors was amazing and very life-like; I came to love and understand the pr More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 10, 2011

Kristen rated it:

An interesting mystery with a few good twists. But there were some plot holes and a few places that logically just didn't make sense. Without giving anything away . . .there are a few spots where I was thinking 'why didn't she just ______________' (fill in the blank.) The author needed to give us a good reason for the girl's actions and motives. They can't just serve the plot line.

0 comments like

May 05, 2009

Stephanie rated it:

I ADORED this book when I was in 4th or 5th grade and read it monthly or so for a few months. I forgot about it but recently bought it for some friends of the family, and decided that I better read it again - sort of like testing cookies that you've baked before giving them away. It's still good! Definitely buying a copy for myself, which is a rare thing indeed.

0 comments like

Jan 11, 2011

Dotty rated it:

Crofton and Roderick killed Sir Henry Tuckfield with a single arrow. What they did not know was Tuckfield’s daughter, Alice, was present but hidden from view. Alice runs for her life and hides as a choir boy in the cathedral. For the time she is safe, but discovery by her father’s killers or discovery of her boyish disguise weighs heavily on Alice.

0 comments like

Aug 27, 2010

Brooke rated it:

i would classify this simply as a great history/mystery book for kids! nothing epic, per say, but definitely a good read! great characters & a unique setting.
...now i would write a sequel to this one...if copyrights &c weren't as complicated as they were..... ;)

0 comments like

Nov 18, 2009

Janis rated it:

A mystery/adventure set in England during the reign of Elizabeth I, an engaging heroine and a lively plot -- what more could a girl want? I really enjoyed A Murder and will readily recommend it to kids at the library. Thanks, Anne, for sharing this one!

0 comments like

Oct 10, 2011

Audrey rated it:

Alice Tuckerfield watches her father's murder, and hears the plan for her own. She immediately runs away to Yorkshire, where she bumps into a group of mischievous choir boys. They give her shelter, and decide to disguise her as a choirboy, christening her "Pup". Alice forges friendships and makes enemies. Soon Alice discovers that one of the murderers works at the cathedral school. She begins to confide in her friends her story, but she is abruptly kidnapped. Her friends, and som More...

0 comments like

Apr 26, 2011

Kaito rated it:

Loved this book and this was my second time reading it, so i have read this earlier but i loved it so much that i HAD to read it again. Lots of intellectual language but i could still understand it so you can too.

0 comments like

Aug 29, 2011

William rated it:

It was the average historical fiction book. Girl, father murdered, pretends to be a boy, evil bad guys all around her, no one listens to her, she's found out, bad guy kidnaps her, the good guy rescues her, taken in by a family, everyone is happy,the end.Yup... that's basically it.

0 comments like

Dec 13, 2010

Yulidy added it

I thought that it was a good book but I thought that it was pretty predictable. I also thought that Alice seemed to be pretty mature for her age. That was good for her character. It was a good book.

0 comments like

Dec 24, 2008

Kim rated it:

This is a great young-adult work of fiction. For those who loved stories with vivid setting descriptions, murder, mystery, and intrigue...look no farther.

0 comments like

Feb 04, 2012

Kyrie rated it:

I would never have picked it up if it hadn't been required reading, but it was a good mystery and had interesting insights into the era.

0 comments like

Sep 29, 2011

Ellen rated it:

A childhood favorite. Nice historical fiction with some mystery. Could also spark some feminist conversations.

0 comments like

Mar 13, 2011

Kelsey added it

I thought the book a murder for her majesty was so boring i wanted to puke. i wanted to die on the first 5 chapters!!

0 comments like

Apr 18, 2010

Erika marked it as to-read

I read this in 8th grade and that has been quite a long time ago, so I want to re-read it and see what I can remember.

0 comments like

Jul 10, 2009

TJ rated it:

Very fun read. Great characters and great story. Overall a fun story and enjoyable reading.

0 comments like

Feb 04, 2011

Tammy rated it:

Sorry, didn't finish it. I couldn't buy into it. I had read that it was great for historical detail but I just didn't see it. Didn't buy protagonist hiding in tree as her father is killed (bulky skirts might have been a problem).
Didn't buy a group of boys taking girl into their house and so willing hide her.
Didn't buy that protagonist's first want is a bath.
Didn't buy that protagonist wouldn't have said no to having her hair cut on a whim to fool choirmaster. (She should have ma More...

0 comments like

Feb 22, 2009

Joanna rated it:

Wow, this is a good book!!! It's fun to imagine along with this book.

0 comments like

reviews