From Dagger Award–winning and internationally bestselling author Alan Bradley comes this utterly beguiling mystery starring one of fiction’s most r...
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reviews
Nov 16, 2011
Jeanette
rated it: 
I see I'm not the only one unthrilled by this second book. There are no spoilers in what follows, but if you loved the first one and are excited for this one, read no further. Or if you do, don't complain to me that I killed your joy.
This story meandered way too much to keep my interest, and I thought the plot was dreadfully thin. Lots of window dressing and trying too hard to be cute. It felt very much like a 70-something-year-old man trying to sound like an 11-year-old girl. And More...
This story meandered way too much to keep my interest, and I thought the plot was dreadfully thin. Lots of window dressing and trying too hard to be cute. It felt very much like a 70-something-year-old man trying to sound like an 11-year-old girl. And More...
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Nov 25, 2011
Heather
rated it: 
The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag picks up a little more than a month after The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie leaves off, so it was good to read them consecutively. It's summer in Bishop's Lacey, the little village outside of which eleven-year-old Flavia de Luce lives with her father and two older sisters in the old family manor, Buckshaw. Flavia's relaxing in the churchyard when she sees that she has company: it turns out that the van of a famous puppeteer, Rupert Porson, has broken
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Jul 07, 2010
Tatiana
rated it:
Another lovely and funny Flavia de Luce mystery.
One afternoon Flavia stumbles upon a traveling puppet show van at the local church's graveyard. The van is broken and in the temporary absence of the mechanic, stranded in Bishop's Lacy for a few days. Not to waste their time, performers decide to do a couple of shows to entertain local public. Of course, Flavia doesn't hesitate to befriend the famous puppeteer Rupert Porson and his beautiful (and pregnant) assistant. Tragedy strikes wh More...
One afternoon Flavia stumbles upon a traveling puppet show van at the local church's graveyard. The van is broken and in the temporary absence of the mechanic, stranded in Bishop's Lacy for a few days. Not to waste their time, performers decide to do a couple of shows to entertain local public. Of course, Flavia doesn't hesitate to befriend the famous puppeteer Rupert Porson and his beautiful (and pregnant) assistant. Tragedy strikes wh More...
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Jan 14, 2012
Lisa
rated it: 
I think I liked this second book even better than I did the first book in the series, even though I didn’t get to experience the same novelty of Flavia as a character.
I love Flavia and Flavia’s narration. She’s such a hoot. It helps to have a very warped sense of humor to enjoy this mystery series, and I am the proud possessor of a warped sense of humor, which allows me to enjoy all sorts of humor.
I knew too much about the mystery too soon, sort of, but the whole joy of this More...
I love Flavia and Flavia’s narration. She’s such a hoot. It helps to have a very warped sense of humor to enjoy this mystery series, and I am the proud possessor of a warped sense of humor, which allows me to enjoy all sorts of humor.
I knew too much about the mystery too soon, sort of, but the whole joy of this More...
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Aug 02, 2011
The continuing adventures of Flavia de Luce, first encountered in _The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie_, bring a bit more fullness to the village where Bradley's books are set. In this episode, Flavia investigates the mysterious apparent murder of a traveling puppeteer (yes really) as well as the long ago death of a local child, the workings of a samovar, several interesting chemistry experiments, and of course the mysteries of the household inhabited by herself, her father, and two sisters--
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Jan 16, 2012
Colin
rated it: 
My feelings about this book are similar to the first book in the series: certainly fun, and an interesting concept to have a intelligent, chemistry-maven child character as the protragonist, but, in the end, there is something missing to put these books over the top for me.
Everything about the book is "nice", or "good" but not "awesome", or "great". For example, the mysteries are interesting, but certainly not mind-blowingly entertaining. The cha More...
Everything about the book is "nice", or "good" but not "awesome", or "great". For example, the mysteries are interesting, but certainly not mind-blowingly entertaining. The cha More...
Jan 15, 2012
kamelin
rated it:
"Die verflixte Sinfonie klebte verzweifelt am Leben!" [german review]
Nach der grandiosen Theater-Vorstellung des Puppenspielers Rupert Porson, fällt am Ende nicht nur der Vorhang, sondern auch eine Leiche auf die Bühne. Jetzt heißt es Ruhe- und einen kühlen Kopf bewahren, denn was zunächst wie ein Unfall aussieht, entpuppt sich schnell als skrupelloser Mord.
Flavia ermittelt wieder, und dabei ist ihr Inspektor Hewitt keine große Hilfe. Statt sie in sein Ermittlungsteam More...
Nach der grandiosen Theater-Vorstellung des Puppenspielers Rupert Porson, fällt am Ende nicht nur der Vorhang, sondern auch eine Leiche auf die Bühne. Jetzt heißt es Ruhe- und einen kühlen Kopf bewahren, denn was zunächst wie ein Unfall aussieht, entpuppt sich schnell als skrupelloser Mord.
Flavia ermittelt wieder, und dabei ist ihr Inspektor Hewitt keine große Hilfe. Statt sie in sein Ermittlungsteam More...
Jan 15, 2012
Sharon
rated it:
Alan Bradley does it again with another fun, clever mystery starring everyone’s favorite preteen detective Flavia de Luce.
I love Flavia’s wry sense of humor, her amusingly macabre obsession with poisons, her instinctive bent for trouble, and her relationships with the other characters at the Buckshaw estate. Her back and forth revenge plots with her siblings remind me of my own childhood (LOL!), Mrs. Mullet’s gossiping and deplorable cooking are always good for a laugh and I adore Dogger More...
I love Flavia’s wry sense of humor, her amusingly macabre obsession with poisons, her instinctive bent for trouble, and her relationships with the other characters at the Buckshaw estate. Her back and forth revenge plots with her siblings remind me of my own childhood (LOL!), Mrs. Mullet’s gossiping and deplorable cooking are always good for a laugh and I adore Dogger More...
Oct 29, 2011
Richard
rated it:
These are cute, cute, cute books! I don't buy it, a kid being this kind of smart, but I don't care. The plot's a little on the thin side, but I don't care. The fun of these books is the delightful fantasy of Eng-er-land post-WWII seen through the eyes of eleven-year-old Flavia, daughter of decayed privilege.
The murdered man, a puppeteer/drug dealer, *richly* deserved killing, which always makes a mystery more fun for me. His relict, of sorts, is of course a suspect, but her Delicate More...
The murdered man, a puppeteer/drug dealer, *richly* deserved killing, which always makes a mystery more fun for me. His relict, of sorts, is of course a suspect, but her Delicate More...
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Oct 16, 2011
Kendra
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It's hard to write a review of the second book in a series, because for the most part, my thoughts about the general writing remain the same. Thus this will have to be quite a bit shorter than my review of The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, but not for lack of loving it. Everything that I enjoyed in the previous book was brought back here.
As in the last book, young Flavia de Luce stumbles upon another mystery -- another murder mystery, to be precise. And, much like the last book, More...
As in the last book, young Flavia de Luce stumbles upon another mystery -- another murder mystery, to be precise. And, much like the last book, More...
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Oct 05, 2011
Pam
rated it:
http://iwriteinbooks.wordpress.com/2011/...
Oh how I cried when I reached the end of the published Maisie Dobbs books! I thought I’d never find such a fun mystery series again. It was almost as bad as when I finished my third Tana French book, knowing there were no more out.
Well, my friends, I have found a new mystery series that I just adore…to death.
My lovely pal, Flavian de Luce and her creator, Alan Bradley, are just phenomenal. I’d give all of the cdit to Bradle More...
Oh how I cried when I reached the end of the published Maisie Dobbs books! I thought I’d never find such a fun mystery series again. It was almost as bad as when I finished my third Tana French book, knowing there were no more out.
Well, my friends, I have found a new mystery series that I just adore…to death.
My lovely pal, Flavian de Luce and her creator, Alan Bradley, are just phenomenal. I’d give all of the cdit to Bradle More...
Jul 12, 2011
Lesley
rated it:
This is the second outing for Flavia and I have to say that I liked this one better than the first one.
In this one, a traveling puppet show has become stranded in the village. While the puppeteer and his lovely assistant wait for their van to be repaired, they put on a puppet show at the encouragement of the vicar. The show ends in death not the fairy tale ending everyone was expecting. Flavia once again due to her snooping skills and scientific knowledge realizes that the charlata More...
In this one, a traveling puppet show has become stranded in the village. While the puppeteer and his lovely assistant wait for their van to be repaired, they put on a puppet show at the encouragement of the vicar. The show ends in death not the fairy tale ending everyone was expecting. Flavia once again due to her snooping skills and scientific knowledge realizes that the charlata More...
May 06, 2011
Edlvspw
rated it:
I sat down to read "The weed that strings the hangman’s bag" and to be perfectly honest I expected the same old over published drivel. I certainly didn’t expect to enjoy it, but as with any book I start reading I continue on to the end.
My head was filled with doubts, how can I have an interest in an expert chemist in the 1950's let alone a pre pubescent girl who solves mysteries? It all seemed very unbelievable. How wrong I was.
Alan Bradley has an amazing skill and c More...
My head was filled with doubts, how can I have an interest in an expert chemist in the 1950's let alone a pre pubescent girl who solves mysteries? It all seemed very unbelievable. How wrong I was.
Alan Bradley has an amazing skill and c More...
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Apr 25, 2011
Cinnapatty
rated it:
This was the second book that follows "The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie". This book was a disappoinment. Flavia was still Flavia and she did not disappoint, but the content of the book was more mature, a little more dark and delving into the complicated adult world. Affairs, pot growing and consumption, men who beat women, the death of a child, attempted suicide...etc. When the star of the book is eleven years old and these are the issues she's chasing around (even though she
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Apr 17, 2011
Lman
rated it:
This second adventure of Flavia de Luce - Miss Precociousness Personified - is a warm, somewhat irreverent romp through a further set of startling events in the short life of our fascinating heroine, even with another murder amidst the environs of her quaint locality, Bishop’s Lacey. With just the right mix of childhood innocence, a huge dollop of genius, and an attitude and aptitude well beyond her years, there is also a vulnerability to Flavia which brings a tinge of poignancy to her personal
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Apr 15, 2011
Yvann
rated it:
Summary: Flavia de Luce, precocious budding detective and chemicals expert, meets a travelling puppeteer. When his show ends in tragedy, she ignores the efforts of her father, sisters, spinster aunt and most of the village to thwart her investigation.
As various other bloggers had indicated, this was lovely. Flavia is a brilliant creation – witty, delicate, feisty, childish at times... I really believed in her, and she was lots of fun to spend time with. (“I had no more intention of ma More...
As various other bloggers had indicated, this was lovely. Flavia is a brilliant creation – witty, delicate, feisty, childish at times... I really believed in her, and she was lots of fun to spend time with. (“I had no more intention of ma More...
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Apr 14, 2011
Carole
rated it:
The second book in the Flavia de Luce mystery series set in a small village in 1950’s England is every bit as good as the first one!
Flavia’s two older sisters -- Orphelia, obsessed with her looks and Daphne, obsessed with her books -- are still being horrible to her, telling her that she was adopted and nobody wants her. Her father is still obsessed with his stamp collection and just wants a quiet life, which leaves Flavia plenty of time to go wandering around the village and surrou More...
Flavia’s two older sisters -- Orphelia, obsessed with her looks and Daphne, obsessed with her books -- are still being horrible to her, telling her that she was adopted and nobody wants her. Her father is still obsessed with his stamp collection and just wants a quiet life, which leaves Flavia plenty of time to go wandering around the village and surrou More...
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Apr 14, 2011
Lisa
rated it:
This book perfectly suited my craving for a detective type mystery but it was light and easy enough to figure out who did it if you were paying attention, which was a welcome respite from mid-semester essays. The limited number of characters and the small town setting only offered a certain number of choices, but you were constantly offered some interesting distractions and small twists. The plot overall read well, moved fast and came to a satisfying conclusion. Most of all I loved Flavia, this
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Mar 29, 2011
Laura
rated it:
This is the second novel in the Flavia de Luce series by Alan Bradley. I have not read the first, "The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie", but now I want to. Flavia de Luce is only eleven. But she has the perspicacity and unquenchable curiosity of a scientific savant, who by happy coincidence has discovered her dead uncle's well equipped laboratory in an unused wing of the gently decaying family manse. This manse is located in the English countryside, which everyone knows is rife
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Mar 19, 2011
Kimberly
rated it:
Just finished the second book in the Flavia de Luce series, The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag by Alan Bradley. The first book, The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, (click here for my review) introduced Flavia de Luce, brilliant amateur detective with a beyond-belief chemist's brain tucked inside her 11-year old head.
Of course, I am attracted to the setting: 1950 rural England, complete with a rough-around-the-edges country house (Buckshaw), a vicarage, a tea room, and tw More...
Of course, I am attracted to the setting: 1950 rural England, complete with a rough-around-the-edges country house (Buckshaw), a vicarage, a tea room, and tw More...
Mar 16, 2011
Gerf
rated it:
The weed that strings the hangman's bag by Alan Bradley.
Set in rural England in 1950 The weed that strings the hangman's bag by Alan Bradley very deliberately recreates the feel of classic English detective fiction but with a modern twist. The heroine and 'detective' is Flavia de Luce a precocious eleven year old girl with a passion for poisons and chemicals of all sorts. Flavia is never surprised by anything with a scientific foundation. Everything from pregnancy to cannabis is dealt More...
Set in rural England in 1950 The weed that strings the hangman's bag by Alan Bradley very deliberately recreates the feel of classic English detective fiction but with a modern twist. The heroine and 'detective' is Flavia de Luce a precocious eleven year old girl with a passion for poisons and chemicals of all sorts. Flavia is never surprised by anything with a scientific foundation. Everything from pregnancy to cannabis is dealt More...
Mar 15, 2011
Chandler
rated it:
In "The Weed that Strings the Hangman's Bag" Flavia de Luce becomes involved with travelling puppeteers. Of course little Flavia can't be involved in anything that does not involve murder and in this case the handsome, crippled, Casanova type puppeteer is murdered while performing "Jack and the Beanstalk" in the Church's parish hall.
This murder victim who just happened to travel into Flavia's little village of Bishop's Lane has long term connections there. Stran More...
This murder victim who just happened to travel into Flavia's little village of Bishop's Lane has long term connections there. Stran More...
Mar 12, 2011
Trina
rated it:
In the second Flavia de Luce mystery, we are once again back in the small town of Bishop's Lacey with the precocious amateur detective, not to mention chemist and poisoner. Whilst laying in the cemetery pretending to be dead, she encounters the brilliant and famous television puppeteer Rupert Porson and his assistant/lady friend Nialla. Their van has broken down and they are looking for a mechanic. While they are waiting for repairs, they are convinced to stay in town and perform one of their pu
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Mar 11, 2011
Eric
rated it:
Take one part Agatha Christie murder mystery, one part Hermione Granger, and one part P. G. Wodehouse screwball comedy, and what do you get? The adventures of 11-year-old sleuth Flavia De Luce. Flavia is an odd little duck, but she can somehow charm her way into nearly every household of Bishop's Lacey, the small English town where she lives, and where a murder seems to take place every so often. Armed with that charm and her knowledge of chemistry, she tackles the mysteries that stymie the loca
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Feb 27, 2011
The Weed that Strings the Hangman’s Bag, by Alan Bradley, b-plus, narrated by Jayne Entwistle, produced by Random House Audio, downloaded from audible.com.
This is the second book in a series involving Flavia de Luce, the 11-year-old with a passion for chemistry and a genius for solving murders. This time, Flavia finds herself untangling two deaths - separated by time but linked by the unlikeliest of threads. Rupert Porson is a puppeteer who wows the children on the BBC children’s sh More...
This is the second book in a series involving Flavia de Luce, the 11-year-old with a passion for chemistry and a genius for solving murders. This time, Flavia finds herself untangling two deaths - separated by time but linked by the unlikeliest of threads. Rupert Porson is a puppeteer who wows the children on the BBC children’s sh More...
Feb 18, 2011
Annie
rated it:
It was lucky that I had this sequel to read right after finishing the first Flavia de Luce mystery, The Sweetness At the Bottom of the Pie, because I didn’t like that book too much. But, I really enjoyed this one. Go figure. It’s dark, twisted, eerie and more layered in a way that makes more sense than the first, especially as far as motives go. Perhaps, I was used to Bradley’s style at this point but I felt he developed existing characters and relationships while vividly expanding Flavia’s
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Feb 12, 2011
Lorraine M.
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I read this book because I fell in like with the protagonist Flavia de Luce in "The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie". (And yes, I do sometimes select a book to read by its cover which is the main reason I picked up "The Sweetness...It had a crow on the cover and I am a huge corvoid fan!).
I just learned that there is a new Flavia book out and an totally looking forward to reading it.
Anyways, how can you not like a writer who pens:
"If More...
I just learned that there is a new Flavia book out and an totally looking forward to reading it.
Anyways, how can you not like a writer who pens:
"If More...
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Feb 08, 2011
Nancy
rated it:
Since I didn't care for the 1st book, I cannot say I was particularly disappointed with book 2, although I might well be asked why I read book 2 in the first place. I was short of reading material and it was on the library shelf, basically.
Flavia is up to her old tricks and is still 11. She seems to be very gifted in making her chemicals as she whipped off various distillations and separations in no time flat, it was quite astonishing, and even less believable than her obsession with More...
Flavia is up to her old tricks and is still 11. She seems to be very gifted in making her chemicals as she whipped off various distillations and separations in no time flat, it was quite astonishing, and even less believable than her obsession with More...
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Feb 08, 2011
Rupert Porson, famous TV puppeteer of Snoddy the Squirrel, has had his van break down in the small English village of Bishop’s Lacey. The whole village is excited to see a performance, and Flavia DeLuce gets to be his assistant while he’s in town! But Rupert is nothing like the kindly image he presents to the public, and it seems he has been around Culverhouse Farm, outside town, before. Flavia, of course, can’t help but poke her nose around.
When one of Rupert’s shows ends with his mur More...
When one of Rupert’s shows ends with his mur More...
Jan 15, 2011
Hersilia
rated it:
Despite not being a fan of "cozy" crime books, I often enjoy some of these books where the suspension of disbelief is a key element of the reading experience, and this book is one of those I really liked.
This is the second book in the Flavia de Luce series, set in Fifties Britain, where the eponymous protagonist is an extremely talented 11 year old girl with a passion for chemistry (and an unusually detailed knowledge of its workings) and “a fascination with death, with a particu More...
This is the second book in the Flavia de Luce series, set in Fifties Britain, where the eponymous protagonist is an extremely talented 11 year old girl with a passion for chemistry (and an unusually detailed knowledge of its workings) and “a fascination with death, with a particu More...
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