Flavia de Luce is the star of Alan Bradley's mystery series, which began in 2009 with The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie. Flavia does share many of Nancy Drew's characteristics - she's spunky, she's bright, and she doesn't mind sticking her nose in where it doesn't belong. Most of the similarities end there. As the youngest of three girls, Flavia spends a great deal of time tormenting her sisters, developing potions and poisons in her private laboratory and causing her sisters great discomfort. Bradley's series is set in the English countryside in the years following World War One, but Flavia's adventures have a certain timelessness about them that could take place in any period. With her trusty bicycle Gladys, Flavia tools around town solving mysteries and generally causing mayhem with the local police. In the most recent novel, Flavia meets a traveling band of gypsies, and between solving old crimes and new ones, manages to outsmart the killer, the police, and her own family.
Of Bradley's series, my favorite is Flavia's first novel, The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, but each of his novels has their charm, and Red Herring is a highly enjoyable read. The mystery is fun, the violence is present but not gory, and Flavia's adventures never grow old. Ideally, Flavia's books should be read in order, but each book stands alone. I hope you will enjoy getting to know Flavia as I have, for she is one of the most charming detectives of the literary world today.
