A Red Herring Without Mustard

Flavia Sabina deLuce is an eleven-year old genius who lives in Buckshaw, the ancestral home of the deluce Family, with her father and two sisters. Her father is a Philatelist, an avid stamp collector, who is preoccupied with this avocation and is unaware of Flavia\’s escapades. Flavia\’s two sisters, Ophelia and Daphne, may be likened to the ugly stepsisters in the Cinderella fairy tale in that they are nasty and cruel. But they are not ugly. Ophelia is beautiful like a young Elizabeth Taylor, and she is an accomplished pianist. And Daphne is so enamored of herself that she constantly views herself in the mirror. She is an avid reader, and is somewhat of an expert in Greek Mythology. Flavia has a chemistry lab which she inherited from her Uncle Tar, now deceased. Their mother, Harriet, died in a mountain climbing accident when Flavia was a year old. Her body was never found. Flavia\’s sisters harass her. They told her that Harriet despised Flavia and was depressed right after Flavia was born and that was what killed her. They also told Flavia that pixies stole Harriet\’s baby and left flavia in its place. Flavia lives in the village of Bishop\’s Lacy and wanders throughout the village and other nearby towns on Gladys, her trusty bicycle. She happened on the badly beaten gypsy, Fanella, which Flavia ran to the police for help. She also happened on the dead body of Brookie Harewood who was killed by a silver lobster pick which was stuck up his nose into his brain. The pick had DL initials on it, Flavia\’s family monogram. Also the remains of a dead baby have been found in the village. Detective Hewitt warns Flavia to stay out of the investigation. This does not stop Flavia. She unearths vital evidence. And it is Flavia who solves the case. Flavia is the narrator of the story. She is a charming, feisty, witty, devilish, highly intelligent child who is grievously put upon by her sisters and somewhat neglected, yet loved by her father. I enthusiastically recommend this book. Amazon Verified Purchase.

It begins with fortunes told, to attempted murder of said fortune teller, to a body hanging from a water fountain. There is certainly no shortage of danger, and with evil afoot it is Flavia\’s duty to bring said evil doers to justice. Will she be able to gather the evidence and solve the crimes before the police can put a stop to her meddling? Book 3 continues the mystery solving fun with the ever charming and tenacious Flavia de Luce. She may be 11yrs old but do not underestimate the power of her scientific mind nor her dogged pursuit of the truth. She is intelligent, courageous and loveable. What a fun series so far. I can\’t wait to see what she gets wrapped up in next.

Flavia helps solve another crime, in spite of her odious sisters for sone unforeseen reason hate her, and her indifferent but well meaning father. Living in a crumbling mansion with only Mrs. Mullet the cook and Dogger, the house handyman/ gardener to look out for her, Flavia dabbles in chemistry and looks for clues to solve mysteries to keep herself entertained within her lonely existence in the cold east wing of her living quarters. Smart, and vivacious, Flavia is an unusual child. I can\’t wait to follow Flavia into her next adventure and learn more of her families secrets like what happened to her mother, why her sisters dislike her so much and about her fathers precarious financial situation and how they will be able to support their lifestyle. This series reminds me of Lemony Snicket books \”A Series of Unforunate Events\”.

This charming series of novels written by Alan Bradley is positively addictive. You can start at any point, with any of the three, but Flavia along with her family, friends and neighbors in the tiny British hamlet of Bishop\’s Lacey will surely capture your imagination, your sympathy, or your heart. Probably all three. Flavia is the most unusual eleven year old girl you could ever meet. Her interests are centered around chemistry, riding her bicycle (called Gladys) and escaping the evil clutches of her two older sisters who torture her at every turn. Ah, siblings. In this third action packed adventure Flavia starts out wanting to have her fortune told at the village fête and ends up burning down the tent of the gypsy fortune teller. Of course it was all an accident and Flavia does her best to make amends by seeing that Fenella Faa has a safe place to park her caravan while she recovers from the effects of the smoke she inhaled. And what better place than on the grounds of her family\’s estate, Buckshaw? Events begin to spiral into more and more unusual situations as Flavia begins to uncover facts of an ancient religious group, a kidnapped infant, valuable antiques disappearing and then reappearing, and a vicious attack, then a murder. All the while the police are pursuing their inquiries and Flavia is pursuing her own investigation. What is that smell of dead fish she seems to keep noticing? I enjoyed this book from start to finish. I had been looking forward to following along while this young detective solved the puzzles which seemed to keep mounting up and I certainly was not disappointed. The deeper Flavia went into the attack on Fenella the more questions were raised about other things going on in both Bishop\’s Lacey and other nearby villages. In the middle of it all hangs the very real life troubles of the de Luce family and their money problems. Flavia\’s father has to make some hard decisions and some sacrifices are necessary now, and more will surely be faced in the future. Come along into this wonderful world and meet Flavia\’s father, her sisters Ophelia and Daphne, Mrs. Mallet, Dogger, the doctor, the vicar, the police inspector and his sergeant and a host of neighbors both nice and not so nice. A small English village, an eleven year old girl, the 1950\’s and crime of many kinds. A recipe for adventure and delight.

Just finished my third Alan Bradley novel with the eleven year old Flavia de Luce as the amateur sleuth. When the fair comes to the village of Bishop\’s Lacey, Flavia is having her fortune told from an old gypsy lady. When she nearly burns down her tent, Flavia feels the need to let her stay on land belonging to her father and the home of her beloved Buckshaw and so the charming story begins. Flavia who is always there when it counts gets involved when murder lands at her doorstep. I love the exploits of this precocious young girl, her relationship with her sisters and her meanderings on her trusty bicycle Gladys.

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