It's murder at St. Basket's

by James Lincoln Collier

Two boys boarding at an English school begin to fear for their roommate's life when the school officials simply ignore the fact that he has a broken leg.

Genres: Young Adult, Mystery

138 pages, Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 1972

About the author

James Lincoln Collier (born June 27, 1928) is a journalist, author, and professional musician.

Collier's notable literary works include My Brother Sam Is Dead (1974), a Newbery Honor book that was also named a Notable Children's Book by the American Library Association and nominated for a National Book Award in 1975. He also wrote a children's book titled The Empty Mirror (2004), The Teddy Bear Habit (1967), about an insecure boy whose beatnik guitar teacher turns out to be a crook, and Rich and Famous (1975), sequel to The Teddy Bear Habit. His list of children's books also includes Chipper (2001), about a young boy in a gang. His writings for adults include numerous books on jazz, including biographies of Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman and Duke Ellington. He has also contributed entries on jazz-related subjects to the Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians.

In addition to his writing, Collier is an accomplished jazz musician who plays the trombone professionally.

Reviews

[Kat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Uh, this was a decent enough story. It's a mystery, but one that wasn't at all hard to solve. The characters were interesting, and it's a fairly short read. I listened to the audiobook during a four hour shift at work, so I'm sure if you were reading the text it would take no time at all to get through. It's for a little younger audience than I was anticipating when I downloaded it, though. I thought it would be for, say, 16+ but the lexile is set for 7-13 year olds. I note this because I'm not really sure how to judge books set for this age range. It handles complex situations relatively simplistically but that might be appropriate for this age range. I'd also like to note that it probably isn't an appropriate read for children because the story's hero likes to do bad things (drink/steal) just for the sake of doing them. So even though there is a huge distinction between him and story's villains--he is clearly "good" I mean--you might not want your eight year old thinking, "Well the good guy in this book is underaged and he drinks and steals so maybe I should do that too."

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good story, just a bit frustrating that the kids didn't see the obvious solution. Would have liked them to solve a bit of the backstory mystery as well; suspect it was better as an audio than otherwise.

[Evan · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story was alright, but the overexplaination of british culture annoyed me too much.

[Marilyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hoopla Audio.

[Corinne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointing mystery. Poked fun at American and British stereotypes. Glad it was only 4 hours listening time.

[laaibahhh :) · Rating 2 out of 5]

meh but it got me out of a reading slump so i guess its alright 😃