The Girl Detective

Kelly Link's The Girl Detective, available to read free online, is a superb (and quite creepy) take on our favourite heroine. I highly recommend you check out the whole piece. For now, here is a short extract to provide a little inspiration to wannabe girl detectives:

Why we love the girl detective.

We love the girl detective because she reminds us of the children we wish we had. She is courteous, but also brave. She loathes injustice; she is passionate, but also well-groomed. She keeps her room neat, but not too neat. She feeds her goldfish. She will get good grades, keep her curfew when it doesn't interfere with fighting crime. She'll come home from an Ivy League college on weekends to do her laundry.

She reminds us of the girl we hope to marry one day. If we ask her, she will take care of us, cook us nutritious meals, find our car keys when we've misplaced them. The girl detective is good at finding things. 

Check out Kelly's website here.

I'm back!

I've been diving deep into some important cases lately, and had to take an unexplained leave of absence from this blog. But as of now I am back at it. Expect new posts and a new layout sometime soon!

What Does the Plucky Girl Detective Wear... In The Lab

Girl detectives often strike mysteries that can only be solved with a bit of scientific vigour. And where there is Science, there is also a Lab (even if it's only in your bedroom, like Harriet's friend Janie's).

Some detectives, like Mary-Kate and Harriet, don't feel the need to change out of their normal wear when experimenting, while others, like Janie and Shirley, go the whole hog with labcoat and safety glasses. Whatever your approach, be sure not to forget closed-toe shoes!

 Shirley Holmes, heir to the Sherlock Holmes legacy

Harriet the Spy and mad scientist friend Janie cook up some experiments

Mary-Kate Olsen of the Olsen and Olsen Mystery Agency, solving the mystery of

 how lint gets in her brother's bellybutton

What Does the Plucky Girl Detective Wear ... To Bed

Even the most dedicated girl detective must rest – even if only until everyone else is asleep so she can sneak out and continue her investigations.

The detectives below demonstrate typical girl detective sleepwear: nighties (long and lacy, or short and casual) and dressing gowns (from Nancy's long, pretty pastel one to the Famous Five’s funky patterns).