Pint-Sized, Plucky and Preternatural

As anyone who follows this blog knows, I am a big fan of Alan Bradley and his Flavia de Luce mysteries. In addition to singing the praises of his latest in the series, I also would like to mention two other authors that may appeal if you like spunky, pint-sized heroines.

First, Bradley's Thrice the Brinded Cat Hath Mew'd. Flavia is back from Canada in time for the holidays, but her father has taken ill and she is not allowed to see him. To distract herself, she serendipitously happens upon a corpse while running an errand for the vicar's wife. Several things about the crime scene don't make sense, and Flavia, being Flavia, decides to get to the bottom of things. What follows is a merry romp through snow, London and false identities. Flavia also gets some quality time with both a new mentor and Dogger, a faithful servant. The ending is a bit of a shocker and definitely requires a sequel—to which I say, hooray!

The Earth Hums in B Flat by Mari Strachan takes place in Wales in the early 1950s, about the same time as the Flavia de Luce novels. However, the tone is much darker. Gwenni dreams of flying above her small fishing village where the main pastime is gossip. While Gwenni's curiosity and preciousness is seen as a detriment by most, her teacher encourages her to seek a larger life. However, when the teacher's husband dies under mysterious circumstances and Gwenni's mother grieves more than might be expected, family secrets start to leak and Gwenni has to make some choices. Strachan and her heroine both display a love of language that elevates this suspenseful story.

There are also the Emma Graham mysteries, written by acclaimed author Martha Grimes. Emma lives in Appalachia and works in a faded hotel alongside her mother and has a nose for murder, much of it well in the past. For a preadolescent like Emma, this could be frustrating and/or dangerous, but our heroine is intrepid and resourceful. These books don't focus just on the mystery, however, one gets insights into small-town America and growing up that are frequently hilarious. The meandering narration is vintage Grimes, and readers will warm to this plucky heroine in these suspenseful, bittersweet mysteries.

Got other mysteries featuring inquisitive young people? Tell us about them in the comments.