Aggie Morton & the Seaside Corpse

 

The Seaside Corpse / Marthe Jocelyn
Toronto : Tundra, ©2022.
354 p.

I couldn't resist quickly reading the fourth (and sadly last) book in the Aggie Morton series. In this one, Aggie and Hector are going to be "junior scientists" at a fossil dig at Lyme Regis. There is a team of scientists getting ready to remove their discovery of a large ichthyosaur from the sea, and Aggie & Hector, along with two other young boys (Arthur & Oscar) are going to camp there for a week and help out. 

Because of this set-up the story feels more adventurous than straight mystery. Hector has to contend with a camp cot in a shared tent with other boys, not his natural milieu. And Aggie, observant as ever, begins to see how women had their work overrun with men claiming credit, and how they manage it. The dig is run by the husband and wife team of the Blenningham-Crewes, but Mrs. does the work while much older Mr. takes the credit. Aggie also notes that Helen, the camp cook, has her life constrained by her father's wishes, and of course we also see the return of Gus Fibbley, the journalist who isn't really a Gus. 

There is infighting at the camp, as well as the frequent visits of an American millionaire and a sideshow impressario, both interested and competitive potential buyers. Thankfully Grannie Jane also makes a visit to help Aggie and Hector out when they need it. 

The mystery comes a few chapters into the book, when Aggie and Hector stumble across a dead body on the beach -- it is Mr. B-C. But who could have wanted to murder this often angry, bullying, drunk? Well, that's the question -- pretty much everyone. Aggie and Hector work their way through the list of suspects, and eliminate them slowly. It's tough when it could have been anyone! The conclusion is startling and rather sad. 

I enjoyed this one. There is lots of info about fossils and about the most famous fossil hunter of Lyme Regis, Mary Anning. There are great side characters and lots of humour. And there is also a very touching conclusion to the last mystery of this childhood team of sleuths. I thought this series was well done, with many nods to the great Agatha Christie that adult readers will enjoy picking out. But the main characters hold their own, and you get attached to them. It's sad that this is the last one, but it was perfectly concluded. Highly recommend the whole series for the adventurous middle grade reader who loves mystery, strong girls, cleverness and humour.