Flavia De Luce

"Come along, Flavia, dear. I'm sure we'll find something suited to your special talents."

Something suited to my special talents? Somehow I doubted it --- unless the subject was criminal poisoning, which was my chief delight.

Such is Flavia De Luce, the 11 year old main character of Alan Bradley's most recent novel, The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag. Bradley has created a most precocious, lovable persona in the creation of Flavia. She is what every 11 year old girl has ever been, with just enough of a touch of arsenic to keep things exciting. She's the 3rd daughter in a respected, country English household who has a keen interest in all things chemistry and solving murder mystries.

The Sweetness At the Bottome of the Pie was published in 2009, which was quickly followed by The Weed that Strings the Hangman's Bag. We are now breathlessly awaiting the debut of Red Herring Without Mustard, the 3rd Flavia de Luce mystery novel. Bradley's novels are quick, delicious reads that swing between a host of vivd characters, action, and chemistry lessons...all about poison, of course.

The only fault I might find with the novels is that everything comes together a little too quickly at the end. But then that is the essence of a good mystery, isn't it? You're kept guessing through the entire book and just when you finally think you figured out whodunnit, Flavia is suddenly standing before you and the police rattling off the whole story.

I highly recommend The Sweetness... It's fun, exciting, and makes you laugh. The Weed That Strings... is somewhat creepy, but still has maintained touches of crazy humor.

Keep on writing Bradley! I want see what other escapades Flavia comes up with.