I enjoyed Alan Bradley’s first Flavia de Luce mystery, The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie. Flavia is an 11-year-old genius at chemistry. In the second book in the series, The Weed That Strings the Hangman’s Bag, Flavia is drawn into two crimes: the death of a puppeteer and the death of a child. In typical Flavia fashion, the clues to these crimes can be unlocked through chemistry. Alan Bradley has his tongue pressed firmly in his check at times as he has Flavia deal with her eccentric father and her mean older sisters. But the mysteries are clever and their solutions will stir memories of that chemistry class you took back in High School. If you’re looking for something different to read, I’d recommend the Flavia de Luce series. GRADE: B+
Precocious children rub me the wrong way, I think. I should try him again though.
Patti, poor Flavia takes as much abuse from her sisters as Harry Potter took from the Dursleys.
Flavia is one of my guilty pleasures.
Jerry, I’m working my way through the Flavia series this summer. The books are clever and fun!
The mysteries Asimov might’ve written.
Todd, Isaac Asimov seemed to be more into physics than chemistry. But you’re right: the scientific approach to crime solving is appealing. All those CSI programs hook into that.
Bradley has the secret many writers would kill for – a great narrative voice. Flavia is a fun character and survives the worst her sisters throw at her. I’ve read the first three books so far but definitely intend to catch up on the rest of the series.
Jeff, Diane encouraged me to start reading this series. She was a fan from the first book.
Todd’s comment is the best recommendation I’ve seen of these, and there are plenty of Flavia-lovers out there. I got the first one from the library, but the copy was so beat-up and dirty I returned it and told them it should be out of circulation. That had never happened before. I’ll try it one day, probably, when I’m in the right mood.
I read Leinster’s FORGOTTEN PLANET yesterday and today will continue with THE LITTLE PARIS BOOKSHOP which I’m about a quarter of the way through.
Rick, you’re really reading a lot this week! I’m still plowing through the Mexican Drug Cartel books.
I read and enjoyed the first book but never followed the series.
I might have to give this one another look. It’s a possibility for my bookstore readers group.
Beth, I would think these Flavia mysteries would be appealing to Book Clubs.
The series is consistently good, and the first 6 books make up a really nice story arc. Need to get around to reading the 7th. I’ve read half of these and listened to the other half on audio. The narrator does a fantastic job.
Carl, I’ll have to check out the audio book versions. Thanks for the tip!