Aggie Morton, Mystery Queen: The Seaside Corpse

Illustrated by Isabelle Follath
For young detective Aggie Morton and her friend Hector, an opportunity to dig up fossils becomes even more thrilling when a corpse washes ashore in this fourth book in the Aggie Morton, Mystery Queen series, inspired by the life of Agatha Christie as a child and her most popular creation, Hercule Poirot. For fans of Enola Holmes.

After an invigorating but not exactly restful trip to a Yorkshire spa during which she survived a near brush with death and foiled a murderer, aspiring writer Aggie Morton and her friend Hector are thrilled to have the opportunity to stay at a camp by the sea and watch real paleontologists at work. The famed husband and wife team of the Blenningham-Crewes are about to become even more famous with the recovery of the fossilized bones of an ichthyosaur from the sea by Lyme Regis. This news has already caught the attention of an American millionaire, a British museum and a travelling circus owner, who each want the bones for their own collections. Tensions are running high throughout the camp, from the cook, to the collectors, to the Blenningham-Crewes themselves, and become downright dangerous after Aggie and Hector make a discovery of their own: a body on the beach. Not a fossil, but a human body. 
Toronto-born MARTHE JOCELYN is the award-winning author and illustrator of nearly fifty books for children of all ages. Her picture book Sam Sorts was honored by the United States Board on Books for Youth as an Outstanding International Book, and another picture book, Hannah's Collections, was shortlisted for the Governor General's Literary Award for Illustration. Her novel Mable Riley won the inaugural TD Canadian Children's Literature Award. Marthe is also the 2009 recipient of the prestigious Vicky Metcalf Award for her body of work. View titles by Marthe Jocelyn
ISABELLE FOLLATH is a freelance illustrator based in Switzerland who has created art for advertising agencies, magazines and publishers for over 15 years. Her clients include Lufthansa, La Perla and children's publishers across Europe. She has illustrated Jeanne Willis's book of nursery rhymes, What Are Little Girls Made Of, as well as the picture books Joy by Corrinne Averiss and The Incredible Hotel by Kate Davies, and the middle-grade novel series Aggie Morton, Mystery Queen by Marthe Jocelyn, Sally Nicholls' In Time series and Jack Meggitt-Phillips The Beast and Bethany series. View titles by Isabelle Follath
  • WINNER | 2023
    Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Juvenile Novel
  • SHORTLIST | 2023
    Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children’s Book Awards
  • SHORTLIST | 2023
    The Crime Writers of Canada Awards of Excellence - Best Juvenile or YA Crime Book
WINNER of the 2023 Mystery Writers of America Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Juvenile Mystery!

"[E]nthralling. . . . [A] good collection of information always goes down better with a good story to hang it on! The Seaside Corpse has both elements in spades, making a winning combination." CM Reviews

"Jocelyn is funny without descending to parody. Her control of language is as precise as the rational methods which Agatha and Hector applying to solving mysteries. . . . [T]here is plenty of rewarding material here for readers, young and older, who enjoy informed, literate, and inventive fun." —Imaginary Elevators

About

For young detective Aggie Morton and her friend Hector, an opportunity to dig up fossils becomes even more thrilling when a corpse washes ashore in this fourth book in the Aggie Morton, Mystery Queen series, inspired by the life of Agatha Christie as a child and her most popular creation, Hercule Poirot. For fans of Enola Holmes.

After an invigorating but not exactly restful trip to a Yorkshire spa during which she survived a near brush with death and foiled a murderer, aspiring writer Aggie Morton and her friend Hector are thrilled to have the opportunity to stay at a camp by the sea and watch real paleontologists at work. The famed husband and wife team of the Blenningham-Crewes are about to become even more famous with the recovery of the fossilized bones of an ichthyosaur from the sea by Lyme Regis. This news has already caught the attention of an American millionaire, a British museum and a travelling circus owner, who each want the bones for their own collections. Tensions are running high throughout the camp, from the cook, to the collectors, to the Blenningham-Crewes themselves, and become downright dangerous after Aggie and Hector make a discovery of their own: a body on the beach. Not a fossil, but a human body. 

Author

Toronto-born MARTHE JOCELYN is the award-winning author and illustrator of nearly fifty books for children of all ages. Her picture book Sam Sorts was honored by the United States Board on Books for Youth as an Outstanding International Book, and another picture book, Hannah's Collections, was shortlisted for the Governor General's Literary Award for Illustration. Her novel Mable Riley won the inaugural TD Canadian Children's Literature Award. Marthe is also the 2009 recipient of the prestigious Vicky Metcalf Award for her body of work. View titles by Marthe Jocelyn
ISABELLE FOLLATH is a freelance illustrator based in Switzerland who has created art for advertising agencies, magazines and publishers for over 15 years. Her clients include Lufthansa, La Perla and children's publishers across Europe. She has illustrated Jeanne Willis's book of nursery rhymes, What Are Little Girls Made Of, as well as the picture books Joy by Corrinne Averiss and The Incredible Hotel by Kate Davies, and the middle-grade novel series Aggie Morton, Mystery Queen by Marthe Jocelyn, Sally Nicholls' In Time series and Jack Meggitt-Phillips The Beast and Bethany series. View titles by Isabelle Follath

Awards

  • WINNER | 2023
    Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Juvenile Novel
  • SHORTLIST | 2023
    Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children’s Book Awards
  • SHORTLIST | 2023
    The Crime Writers of Canada Awards of Excellence - Best Juvenile or YA Crime Book

Praise

WINNER of the 2023 Mystery Writers of America Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Juvenile Mystery!

"[E]nthralling. . . . [A] good collection of information always goes down better with a good story to hang it on! The Seaside Corpse has both elements in spades, making a winning combination." CM Reviews

"Jocelyn is funny without descending to parody. Her control of language is as precise as the rational methods which Agatha and Hector applying to solving mysteries. . . . [T]here is plenty of rewarding material here for readers, young and older, who enjoy informed, literate, and inventive fun." —Imaginary Elevators

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