S.P. O'Farrell is an American author of middle-grade mysteries, best known for the Simone LaFray series, which began as a short story and grew into an internationally award-winning franchise.
Simone LaFray and the Chocolatiers' Ball, published in 2019 by Brandylane, introduces its heroine: a young spy who must thwart an international art theft while saving the family business, a famed Parisian patisserie, in what Kirkus called a fast, fun Paris adventure with a strong heroine and shades of Eoin Colfer's Artemis Fowl. Publishers Weekly delighted in its meticulously detailed cast as the secrets and clues unravel.
The sequels have widened Simone's world: Simone LaFray and the Red Wolves of London sends her undercover at the posh Claymoore School when a fellow junior spy goes missing, and Simone LaFray and the Bishop of Mumbai delivers a globe-trotting, chess-themed adventure.
The series has collected an impressive haul of independent publishing honours, among them the Moonbeam Award, the New York City Big Book Award and the Independent Press Award, and O'Farrell has been featured in Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews and Story Monsters magazines.
When not writing, he is a champion for special education, the performing arts and environmental initiatives.
