Clem Fatale Has Been Upstaged

By Author / Illustrator

Eve Wersocki Morris, illus Honie Beam

Genre

Mystery & Detective

Age range(s)

Publisher

Little Tiger

ISBN

9781788957625

Format

Paperback / softback

Published

08-01-2026

Synopsis

London, Summer 1951: Clem Fatale, the youngest crook in the city, and her best friend Gilbert are going to see their favourite musical double act, the Wade Sisters, perform at the London Palladium! But then one half of the duo - Betty Wade - disappears. Her sister Judy hires Clem and Gilbert to find Betty.

The pair are soon pulled into the dark side of the theatre scene, and into the orbit of a notorious criminal mastermind. It's a race against time and the gangsters of London to get Betty back to the theatre. Will Clem be able to stage the rescue of a lifetime?

A rollicking middle grade series full of madcap escapades, fast-talking dames and unlikely heroes, perfect for fans of Murder Most Unladylike, Enola Holmes, Adventures on Trains and Katherine Woodfine.

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Reviews

Jane

Much like the previous book featuring young female sleuth Clem Fatale, this one is a helter-skelter, sometimes farcical, always entertaining, page-turner set in 1950s London. Apart from the famous London Palladium where the Wade sisters are due to perform, and the Ritz frequented by Clem's mother and her almost-brother Konrad, the action mostly happens in the shadier parts of the city: smoky clubs and dodgy backstreets where gangsters do deals and, in some cases, stow kidnap victims.

The questions for Clem, and loveable sidekick Gilbert, are numerous: Who is the jewellery thief? What do the initials T.C. stand for? How are Horace Gorange, Eddy and 'The Chameleon' implicated in the crime? And, indeed, are we actually talking robbery at all, or is the disappearance of Betty Wade kidnap rather than coincidence?

The author weaves a satisfyingly tangled web and it’s up to us - with lots of help from our heroes (but none from Sergeant Stickler!) and some all-important clues - to disentangle it. The black & white illustrations interspersed throughout are picture-perfect, giving us 'film-set' images in which to imagine the drama as it plays out.

Clem Fatale Has Been Upstaged is a fun, atmospheric and tantalising tale, which is bound to be popular with KS2 children aged 8+ who love a good mystery.

224 pages / Reviewed by Jane, school librarian