The Big Bad Wolf Murder

The Tooth and Claw games championship is well underway, with rising star Ruby finding herself facing Alarick - AKA The Big Bad Wolf! With the end in sight, Ruby is horrified when Alarick falls down dead at her feet! On the run, accused of murder, Ruby turns detective to try and prove her innocence. Teaming up with young wolf, Fillan, Ruby follows a series of clues, meeting danger along the way, in this high stakes tale that keeps you reading until the end!

PG Bell is a master story teller, challenging our perceptions of traditional fairytales, twisting characters and weaving themes of inequality, ambition and friendship into this crime fiction novel for the next generation. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, it keeps you going until the very end!

256 pages / Reviewed by Sara Sumner

Suggested Reading Age 9+

Playing 'Tooth and Claw' with her team means everything to Ruby Calvino. The youngest competitor in the championships, she is determined to prove her worth and defeat Alarick, the undefeated wolf. However, when Alarick drops dead in the middle of the game, Ruby finds herself accused of murder. Desperate to prove her innocence and find the real murderer, Ruby teams up with Fillan, a wolf-cub accused of being her accomplice, and together, they go on the run, pursued by the police…and a mysterious wolf who is determined to hunt them down.

A great lover of fairy tales, I am always a bit anxious when these tale are 're-imagined'; however, both in The Beanstalk Murder and now in The Big Bad Wolf Murder, PG Bell has created brilliant stories, full of nods to the tales they draw on whilst being highly original and entertaining. There is so much I love about this one that it is hard to know where to start! The Netherburg Reds - Roselyn, Akako (meaning 'red'), Voss (meaning 'fox') and of course, Ruby, have all been named to remind the reader of Little Red Riding Hood in the original story as they try to escape the big, bad wolf, Alarick, in the game of 'Tooth and Claw'. Other names have also been carefully chosen: reporters Charlotte Grimm and Wilhelm Jacobs named for the Brothers Grimm who collected the story in the 19th century; Fillan meaning 'little wolf'; Marceline meaning 'little warrior'; Hardulph meaning 'brave wolf' and so on. These little details all add to the brilliant development of the story,offering plenty to discuss and inspire.

Both Ruby and Fillan are excellent characters, very different personalities who come to understand each other very well and work together as a team. Fillan is far more nervous and reserved than Ruby, who tends to be impetuous and headstrong. The story also highlights how easily prejudice and stereotyping can shape how individuals are seen. Gentle Fillan longs to be a chef, something which Ruby finds funny, making the assumption that all wolves are raw meat eaters. Alarick played on the stereotypes which make wolves appear dangerous and bad for his role in the arena, perpetuating these ideas - but perhaps not considering the impact this would have on his fellow wolves.

The Big Bad Wolf Murder would make an excellent class story, offering plenty to discuss whilst the pacy plot and murder mystery would engage and excite. The opening alone would have even the liveliest class completely captivated and desperate for more! Can't wait for the next one!

256 pages / Reviewed by Sue Wilsher, teacher

Suggested Reading Age 9+