Two mysteries

A Red Herring without Mustard, A Flavia DeLuce mystery and Elegy for Eddie, a Maisie Dobbs mystery.

These are both mysteries from series, and I have read several of the books in these series previously.  I listened to both of these and checked them out from the Multnomah County Public Library.

A Red Herring Without Mustard is by Alan Bradley and is a series about a young girl named Flavia deLuce who is a devilish young scientist who's always got her nose in other people's business and is, consequently, always getting herself into a jam.  This story involves murder, stealing, a fire, and a near kidnapping.  Flavia fancies herself somewhat of a detective and is always investigating things on her own, much to the chagrin of the local constables.  These are fairly slow moving mysteries, but I enjoy them quite a bit.

Elegy for Eddie is maybe the seventh Maisie Dobbs mystery I've read, and I love these books.  the main character in these stories is also a female detective, but she's a grown-up and really Is a detective; she doesn't just fancy herself as one.  This novel involves a supposed suicide, a gruesome death (or is it a murder?) in  a newspaper factory, and government officials acting suspiciously.  This story is set between World War I and World war II and is historical fiction as much as mystery.  I really enjoy how the author of this series continually infuses these stories with history.  Again, these are not the fastest moving mysteries, but they are very well told and have excellent character development.  It's so nice to come back to my friend Maisie Dobbs time and time again. 

I recommend these for middle school and up.