Kolmasti naukui kirjava kissa

Flavia de Luce #8

by Alan Bradley, Maija Heikinheimo (Translator)

Kaksitoistavuotias harrastelijasalapoliisi Flavia de Luce karkotettiin koruttomasti Neiti Bodycoten maineikkaasta tyttökoulusta Kanadassa. Hän on kuitenkin innoissaan seilatessaan yli Atlantin kohti kotiansa Englannin maaseudulla. Riemuisan jälleennäkemisen sijaan Flavia kohtaa kuitenkin ikävän uutisen: hänen isänsä on sairastunut ja vierailu sairaalaan ei tule kysymykseen ennen kuin isän terveys antaa periksi.

Rasittavien sisarusten ja ärsyttävän serkun seurassa Flavia kokee Buckshawin kotikartanon samaan aikaan sekä liian levottomaksi että autioksi. Paetakseen sukulaisiaan Flavia tarjoutuu auttamaan pastorin rouvaa kuljettamalla viestin seudun erakkoluonteiselle puunveistäjälle. Perillä häntä odottavat kuitenkin veistäjän eloton ruumis ja vieras kissa, joka on jostain syystä julman rikoksen tapahtumapaikalla kuin kotonaan. Flavian uteliaisuus herää silmänräpäyksessä, ja synkät pilvet haihtuvat hänen mielestään uuden ratkottavan mysteerin edessä. Flavia ei kuitenkaan voi aavistaa, kuinka voimakkaasti johtolankojen vyyhdin päässä odottava totuus tulee hänen elämänsä mullistamaan.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Audiobook, Historical, Young Adult, Crime

367 pages, Paperback

First published September 20, 2016

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

With an education in electronic engineering, Alan worked at numerous radio and television stations in Ontario, and at Ryerson Polytechnical Institute (now Ryerson University) in Toronto, before becoming Director of Television Engineering in the media centre at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, where he remained for 25 years before taking early retirement to write in 1994.

He became the first President of the Saskatoon Writers, and a founding member of the Saskatchewan Writers Guild. His children's stories were published in The Canadian Children's Annual, and his short story, Meet Miss Mullen, was the first recipient of the Saskatchewan Writers Guild Award for Children's Literature.

For a number of years, he regularly taught Script Writing and Television Production courses at the University of Saskatchewan (Extension Division) at both beginner and advanced levels.

His fiction has been published in literary journals and he has given many public readings in schools and galleries. His short stories have been broadcast by CBC Radio.

He was a founding member of The Casebook of Saskatoon, a society devoted to the study of Sherlock Holmes and Sherlockian writings. Here, he met the late Dr. William A.S. Sarjeant, with whom he collaborated on their classic book, Ms Holmes of Baker Street. This work put forth the startling theory that the Great Detective was a woman, and was greeted upon publication with what has been described as "a firestorm of controversy".

The release of Ms. Holmes resulted in national media coverage, with the authors embarking upon an extensive series of interviews, radio and television appearances, and a public debate at Toronto's Harbourfront. His lifestyle and humorous pieces have appeared in The Globe and Mail and The National Post.

His book The Shoebox Bible (McClelland and Stewart, 2006) has been compared with Tuesdays With Morrie and Mr. God, This is Anna.

In July of 2007 he won the Debut Dagger Award of the (British) Crimewriter's Association for his novel The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, the first of a series featuring eleven year old Flavia de Luce, which has since won the 2009 Agatha Award for Best First Novel,the 2010 Dilys Award,the Spotted Owl Award, and the 2010 Arthur Ellis Award for Best First Novel.

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie has also been nominated for the Macavity, the Barry, and the Arthur Awards.

Alan Bradley lives in Malta with his wife Shirley and two calculating cats.

Reviews

[Kathleen]

Where is the Flavia TV series, BBC?!?

[Jess · Rating 5 out of 5]

Flavia de Luce. One of my favorite literary sleuths and heroines. (She would most appreciate being called a heroine, I think). In all seriousness, I do simple adore this series. As I've read each book, I love Flavia little bit more... and dare I say even Feely and Daffy. Bradley has created a brilliant evolution in Flavia's character over eight novels. Her intelligence, thirst for knowledge, frank observations on human nature, and deductive reasoning all add to Flavia's charm. The cast of characters in Bishop's Lacey and Buckshaw represent the stoic British recovery from WW2 as well as the nostalgia of small town life. I could gush on and on about this series and this recent addition to it, does not disappoint.

Brief Synopsis: Twelve year old Flavia de Luce returns to England after a brief foray into the boarding school world in Canada. Though a banner of "Welcome Home, Flavia" was briefly entertained, faithful Dogger is who meets her in Southampton. She is greeted with the news her father, the solid adult figure and moral compass in her life, is in the hospital with pneumonia. Stiff upper lip and all that allow for her to reacquaint herself with Buckshaw and its inhabitants. She finds a few changes in her absence but overall, there is still the familiarity of Buckshaw. She makes her routine escapes from her siblings and cousin to Bishop Lacey. On an errand for the vicar's wife, she discovers murder victim. With some new skills and a friend acquired from her time in Canada, Flavia sets out to discover who could possible want to murder a wood-carver?

Brief Thoughts-
-we see more independence in Flavia in this book as she ventures to London by herself
-Flavia is bolder in her fibs as she gathers intelligence
-the same witty remarks and cutting comments between siblings guarantee a laugh or at least a smirk of appreciation.
-I'm glad to see Gladys is still around.
-what would the de Luce's do without Dogger? He's a brick.
-Flavia hasn't lost her precociousness or her reliance on science to help solve a case.
-I need to brush up on my chemistry.
-Colonel de Luce is a key character in this book and never makes an appearance.
-Alan Bradley- how you could rock our world with that ending? You moved me to tears.

My profuse and sincere thank you to Netgalley and Delacorte Press for allowing me to read this novel in exchange for my honest review. It truly was a privilege to do so.

[karen]

cover and title, you have my attention.

now lemme go read the seven previous books...

[Jeanette · Rating 3 out of 5]

First a disclaimer, that I love the Flavia de Luce series fare. Immensely. And each and every book, I do laugh and so enjoy Alan Bradley's writing skill re Flavia's thoughts as she is deducing. I especially love her descriptions of comparison in being shocked, or surprised, or physically reacting to extreme dislike or repulsion. Or of experiencing Gladys' functions as she rides in weather. So it was hard for me to rate this one only at 3 stars. It's fully a 3.5 star in character developments for several under characters, and especially for Undine and for Dogger as fixtures of Flavia's life, but moreover as distinct individuals. The plot had some aspects of strange and obscure happenstance that barely could be covered as probable or believable- not even in a fiction of this tongue in cheek genre. It was a 3.

I could not rate it more regardless of the humor and wit because this one is overlong and could have used some better editing. And the mood is so dire- too dire to sustain that length. The vicar's wife and Flavia's ally from the Canadian experience non-withstanding as to adding some warmth. Still! I needed more sister interplay and absolutely more chemistry as a pivot. She had more Dieter and Feely's post-boyfriends than she did of Feely. And Daffy was a quick chapter too. With the Dad so sick and with Flavia being gone so many months? It doesn't seem as a progression/ context to their "before Canada" habits. She was gone less than 6 months, not years.

It has gotten darker, but this one felt near to black. And that diminished much of my laughter in the thought patterns and escapades of sleuthing- as funny and clever as most of that copy is here.

Yes, it makes for a greatly grown up 12- when all is told.

Not my favorite, and I like it far more when she is in her lab than busybodying at this scale. And despite some marvelous Flavia dialogue, most of the other elements to Flavia's kin, mentor adults, Bishop Lacey structures- they all felt "off". Not impossible as some reviewers seem to feel (especially in the fact of her roaming continually with no "oversee" in this type or time period because I absolutely know how common that was)- but in the "after effect" of separation for 6 months context. Not even with such dire circumstance would all the individuals in the house remain so diverse of contact.

Well, the ending was as bad as one of the other books. So I'm fairly sure that this might be a point in the series that many loyal readers may drop their interest. It's bad to use that kind of device twice as Bradley did, IMHO. He must think his readers are quite a bit slower than the de Luce's to need such series bridging for continued sales.

[Berengaria · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

short review for busy readers:A very, very weak Flavia. The plot is scattershot, the wit not as present and being that it’s set at Christmas, there’s hardly any seasonal mention except for the icy weather. Rather a wash-out.

in detail:
I hate to give Flavia a dead average 2.5, but that’s really all this one deserves. It seems taped together in parts and a few of the characters who enter through the mystery door (not the series door) are too dumb to live.

Really, really too dumb to live.

The best part for me was how Flavia restored a misericord in the church of St Tankred with chewing gum and oak leaves. I bet that does work! (But the scene is like, what, 2 pages long?)

This more than delightful series seems to be running into some bumpy water in these later instalments with sinking quality levels and plots.

Hopefully, it will right itself, but I can’t half blame Bradley if it doesn’t. When you become as suddenly popular as he did, you have to keep crankin’ ‘em out for your fans, and he seems like one who needs time and space to work his magic.

Fingers crossed for the final 2 left in the series (that have been published thus far. I hear more are in the works)

I'm reading this series as part of the Serial Challenge 2024

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

In this eighth book in the 'Flavia de Luce' series, the 12-year-old budding chemist and amateur detective is sent home to England from Miss Bodycote's Female Academy.



Though the story could be read as a standalone, it would be better to have read at least a few of the previous books - to fully appreciate the characters.

*****

Flavia is sent home from school because her father, Colonel Haviland de Luce, is in the hospital with pneumonia. Flavia's sisters (Ophelia and Daphne)......





.....and cousin (Undine) are at Buckshaw - the house Flavia's mother left her.



All the girls are being looked after by Dogger (the caretaker/guardian), and Mrs Mullet (the culinarily challenged cook).





When Flavia is asked to do an errand for the vicar's wife, she discovers the dead body of ecclesiastical wood-carver, Roger Sambridge, hanging upside-down on his bedroom door.



Most people would be put off by such a discovery, but Flavia is thrilled. She adores solving murders, and hopes to get the jump on Inspector Hewitt - whom she considers her competitor in the crime-solving arena.



Flavia examines the body and the contents of the room, being careful not to leave fingerprints. Her investigation reveals a lottery ticket and a set of children's books by deceased author Oliver Inchbold. Moreover, one of the books is inscribed to Carla Sherrinford-Cameron, a girl Flavia knows.



When Flavia leaves the house she sees a curtain twitch across the street, and knows she's been seen. So Flavia hustles back to the vicarage, and - pretending to be distraught - announces Sambridge's death.

The wood-carver's demise is considered suspicious and Flavia uses all her 'abilities' - sneakiness, lying, impersonation, chemistry knowledge, etc. - to try to identify the perpetrator. Some of Flavia's escapades stretch credibility - like when she passes herself off as a biographer to a London publisher (a 12-year-old kid.....really??) - but this is a humorous cozy after all.



During her inquiries Flavia asks Carla about the inscribed book at the crime scene, and learns that Carla's late aunt, Louisa Congreve, was close to the author - Inchbold. Flavia also learns that Inchbold - whose stories were supposedly about his adorable young son - was actually abusive to the boy.

Further investigation discloses that the house with the twitching curtain belongs to Lillian Trench, who's reputed to be a witch.



Flavia is warned to stay away from her - but of course she does no such thing - and finds an eccentric middle-aged man staying at Lillian's house.....along with a cat! Could this be a diabolical witch's familiar?

It's not clear how all this is connected to the unfortunate victim, Roger Sambridge, but Flavia carries on to discover the truth.

Between investigative exploits Flavia tries to visit her hospitalized father, but Dogger reports that the Colonel is too ill for visitors. So Flavia makes do with Gladys, her bicycle, which she rides everywhere and regards as a friend. According to Flavia, Gladys likes to pretend she's being abducted and takes in the ambiance when she's waiting outside for her owner.



We don't see Flavia do many chemical experiments in this book, though she does fix bacon and eggs in her laboratory, using beakers and such. LOL

I admire Flavia's genius, but she's a bit too conceited to be totally likable (for me). Flavia is just SO gleeful when she's manipulating and fooling people - it puts me off. Still, it's fun to read about Flavia's investigations; her sisters and their beaus; Mrs. Mullet's not-so-tasty meals; and Dogger's devotion to his charge. I'll be interested to see what Flavia does in the next book.

I'd recommend the book to fans of Flavia de Luce.

You can follow my reviews at http://reviewsbybarbsaffer.blogspot.com/

[Richard Derus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: 4* of five

The Publisher Says: Hailed as “a combination of Eloise and Sherlock Holmes” by The Boston Globe, Flavia de Luce returns in a much anticipated new Christmas mystery from award-winning and New York Times bestselling author Alan Bradley.

In spite of being ejected from Miss Bodycote’s Female Academy in Canada, twelve-year-old Flavia de Luce is excited to be sailing home to England. But instead of a joyous homecoming, she is greeted on the docks with unfortunate news: Her father has fallen ill, and a hospital visit will have to wait while he rests. But with Flavia’s blasted sisters and insufferable cousin underfoot, Buckshaw now seems both too empty—and not empty enough. Only too eager to run an errand for the vicar’s wife, Flavia hops on her trusty bicycle, Gladys, to deliver a message to a reclusive wood-carver. Finding the front door ajar, Flavia enters and stumbles upon the poor man’s body hanging upside down on the back of his bedroom door. The only living creature in the house is a feline that shows little interest in the disturbing scene. Curiosity may not kill this cat, but Flavia is energized at the prospect of a new investigation. It’s amazing what the discovery of a corpse can do for one’s spirits. But what awaits Flavia will shake her to the very core.

My Review: What?! ::incoherent word salad::
EDITED AFTER SLEEPING OFF INDIGNANT OUTRAGE
Yes, that's right, this book ended on a note that raised within me the Category 5 hurricane of outrage and indignation. I won't discuss what it was because it would make me utterly completely furious to know this turn of events before I got there and would, indeed, sour me on the read altogether.

Because it's a very sour thing that happens.

As is his habit, Author Bradley (that dreadful gong farmer {see text for this *hilarious* new old insult} whose misdeeds I'm not quickly going to forgive) starts with Flavia making wonderfully trenchant observations:

There are those persons, I suppose, who would criticize me for loving a chicken to distraction, but to them I can only say "Boo and sucks!" The love between animal and human is one that never fails, as it does so often among our own sorry tribe.

Thus Flavia on the first problem she encounters when returned from Canada to the loving embrace of her homeland and family. The combination of childish taunt with accurate character assessment of our species is the trademark thing this series offers. It's clearly a taste, and not everyone's favorite. I confess to needing a long break after As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust, a most unsatisfactory entry into the series that left me disgruntled if not outright annoyed. I didn't like the silliness of the Nide and its cover story. But there one is, a long-running series must make an effort to freshen itself up if not reinvent itself or the dreaded series sag will set in.

Flavia's current case, which she must solve before the winter of 1951 ends (references are made to "His Majesty" and to Christmas, so it's before 6 February 1952 when George VI died), is the death of a strange duck named Sambridge. Flavia discovers his body in a completely unexpected way, exactly as one would expect. Being a sleuth to her core she uses her only chance to view the crime scene to observe many details but seems not to have a lot of joy from them. Her strangest find is a book that belonged or belongs to a girl with whom she's acquainted, one Carla Sherrinford-Cameron, whose ghastly pretentious artsy-fartsyness causes Flavia actual pain:

Carla Sherrinford-Cameron, her hands clasped together at her waist like lobster's claws, was singing "The Lass with the Delicate Air," and I found myself wishing that I had thought to bring a firearm with me—although whether to put Carla out of her misery or to do away with myself, I had not quite yet decided.

(That's a song I have to admit made me wince even when Julie Andrews emitted it.) But what was the dreadful Carla's book doing at the scene of old Mr. Sambridge's murder? Why was he murdered? What significance does his quite strange habit of carving weird creatures for churches have?

All in good time. This is Author Bradley's show so we'll let him elucidate his purposes in his own way and at his own pace. The usual suspects are deployed, Inspector and Mrs. Hewitt, Cynthia the vicar's wife, sisters Feely and Daffy, Dogger...all present and accounted for. New series regular, it would seem, is Mrs. Mildred Bannerman late of the Nide. Her assistance to Flavia in this case is invaluable. Why is she taking such an interest in Flavia? Is there a deeper purpose to this lady's presence in England? And what goddess placed a helper whose connections are *the*exact*ones*needed* in Flavia's pursuit of a killer?

I will say I found the resolution to the murder far-fetched and impractical, and a bit less than believable even within the heightened reality I've come to expect from the series. But the major shocker is not even to be hinted at. It is a shocker. But you'll see, series readers. Those joining the party just now: Don't start here. Nothing will make sense, none of the pleasures will please, which is a waste and a shame. Read the books in order for them to be at all worth your eyeblinks.

[☮Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

- I fear our world is changing, Miss Flavia, and not necessarily for the better.

Wise old Dogger utters these prophetic words to Flavia in the first chapter, after she's come home from boarding school to no reception, her pet chicken gone, and her father in hospital with a bad case of pneumonia, no visitors allowed. But for our Flavia, now twelve and shaken up by it all, life goes on as usual mostly. She's pretty free to roam the countryside on her own, and one day discovers a dead body while on an errand. She performs her own investigation of the premises before calling in the authorities, and from then on is consumed in the case. The case was rather complicated, but not for Flavia. As usual, she seems to know all the right places to go and people to see, moreso than the official investigator.

As I write this, it occurs to me that one could write virtually the same blurb and the same review for every one of these books (Flavia discovers a body, Flavia rides her bike Gladys through all sorts of weather sorting out clues, Flavia solves the case). They certainly do follow a pattern. Yet the pattern never gets old! It's like visiting an old friend. This time our friend is growing up, like it or not.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher.

[DeB · Rating 4 out of 5]

Flavia is back, and delightfully on home turf at Buckshaw. In rapid order, she's stumbled into another corpse, a slew of interconnected mysteries and a grand new group of eccentrically interesting Brits to investigate. Ah, pure pleasure!

I pondered how slowly this young miss has aged since I first became acquainted with her; in 2009, she first appeared in The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, as an eleven year old wild child. Seven years later, Flavia is feeling a much matured twelve - and little wonder - with all that her creator Alan Bradley has put her through! In this latest episode, Flavia is trying to show tact and acts with more restraint than previous novels; she is developing empathy and a willingness to express compassion, which her self-absorbed older sisters are wont to do. With Flavia's father in hospital with bacterial pneumonia, and her unable to see him after her return from Canada due to his precarious condition, Flavia experiences a sense of rootlessness, as well as contradictory feelings of responsibility as the heir of Buckshaw.

There is much room and time for further novels in this series, I'm happy to note. At the rate of Flavia's aging, I expect that she might just be falling in love and finding a partner in her twenties in thirty years, when I'm in my nineties! I always love having a future in a series to look ahead to!

Strong four stars!

[Miss M · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think i'll have to let this series go...
Not that I expect all sugar and spice, but this was too much.

[Judy Lesley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received an e-ARC of this novel through NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group, Ballantine.

My rating for this novel is 2.5 stars rounded up to 3 because the writing is definitely better than deserving of only 2.5 stars. Unfortunately for me that's about all I can say that pleased me with this eighth novel in the series. The portions of this novel which caused me to lower my rating are the types of things which would be considered spoilers and I certainly don't want to spoil the book for any other reader.

I read this book almost three weeks ago, I even read it a second time. I was hoping to find that the second reading would show that I had just not been in the proper receptive mood the first time, but that is not the case. I still didn't like the portrayal of this Flavia nor the ending of the novel which I consider to be terrible. In this story the de Luce family is suffering through a crisis but at times that plot element is pushed so far into the background that I began to wonder if the author had forgotten about it. I realize that Flavia is now 12 years old, but it is also important to remember that she left for Canada in September and she is now back at Buckshaw in late December. No matter how much we as readers want to allow this child to grow up and mature that simply wasn't enough time for her to have made the leaps required to do the things she did in this story. And where were the adults who should have been supervising her? Only Dogger paid any attention to the places she was going and even he left her alone to do as she pleased most of the time.

The mystery itself in this book was not very satisfactory from many angles but I found myself really disturbed by the reaction Flavia had when she found the body. This was a death scene which was truly bizarre and yet she never slowed down for a second in reaction to the circumstances. The whole book was filled with incidences that I felt were going too far to expect a 12 year old to deal with in such an unemotional way. The ending was not just a shock to me, it also put me at the end of my patience with the series. Two books in a row, each unsatisfactory for me in its own way adds up to me knowing it is time for me to say farewell to this series. I'm truly sorry about that.

[Carolyn Walsh · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars
Hurrah! Our favorite 12 year old sleuth/snoop, busybody,and chemist specializing in poisons is back in the eighth book about her adventures. Flavia de Luce is a delightful and unique fictional character, but in real life I think she would be an annoying little girl.

For those who have not had the pleasure of being acquainted with Flavia in print yet, here are some of her thoughts expressed in this book:
A friend remarks that it must have been a shock to find the body. "Yes", I said, "it was ghastly. I'd rather not think about it."
I was fibbing, of course. How I tell ..... that finding another dead body was everything but dreadful? On the contrary: It was thrilling; it was exciting; it was invigorating; to say nothing of electrifying and above all,satisfying. How could I tell the dear man that murder made me feel so gloriously alive.

Flavia is sent by the vicar's wife to deliver a request to an elderly man. The message is meant to ask him to restore some artistic wood carvings he had done to decorate the church. On arriving at his home she finds him dead in circumstances indicating a gruesome murder, perhaps even a satanic ritual. The mystery is a complex one of hidden identities and complicated family ties, relationships and emotional/mental problems. Needless to say our tenacious sleuth on her trusty bicycle often is a step ahead of the local police in her investigations.

[Ellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thrice the Brinded Cat Hath Mew'd by Alan Bradley.

This was the 8th in the Flavia de Luce series and one of my favorites. The author Alan Bradley is the winner of the Crime Writers' Association Debut Dagger Award, The Barry Award, the Agatha Award, the Macavity Award, the Dilys Award and the Arthur Ellis Award for the Flavia de Luce series.

Flavia has arrived home at Buckshaw after her stay at Miss Bodycote's Female Academy in Canada. She arrives to a non existent celebration of her homecoming. That is except for Dogger who is waiting for her at the dock with some sad news. Colonel de Luce is in the hospital gravely ill with pneumonia.

Flavia mounts her trusty Gladys (bicycle) and attempts to fill the boredom by accommodating the Vicar's wife who needs a message communicated to an elderly wood carver Roger Sambridge. Flavia arrives at his home and is ready to deliver the message when she discovers the wood carver hanging upside down on the back of his door imprisoned in a contraption of his won making.

The cast of characters furthers the excitement as Flavia travels on her path deducing each clue a step at a time. My highest recommendation for this book and this series. This is one of my favoites in the flavia de Luce series.

[Jaline · Rating 5 out of 5]

From Macbeth, by William Shakespeare:
1 WITCH. Thrice the brinded cat hath mew'd.
2 WITCH. Thrice and once, the hedge-pig whin'd.
3 WITCH. Harpier cries:—'tis time! 'tis time!
1 WITCH. Round about the caldron go;
In the poison'd entrails throw.—
Toad, that under cold stone,
Days and nights has thirty-one;
Swelter'd venom sleeping got,
Boil thou first i' the charmed pot!
ALL. Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn, and caldron bubble.
2 WITCH. Fillet of a fenny snake,
In the caldron boil and bake;
Eye of newt, and toe of frog,
Wool of bat, and tongue of dog,
Adder's fork, and blind-worm's sting,
Lizard's leg, and owlet's wing,—
For a charm of powerful trouble,
Like a hell-broth boil and bubble.
ALL. Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn, and caldron bubble.

There is definitely double trouble in this latest of Alan Bradley’s books, and Flavia de Luce’s confidence that her banishment to Canada has matured her into a sophisticated young woman is challenged by double toil. Her father has fallen ill and no-one has been allowed to see him. The vicar’s wife sends Flavia on a simple errand to request help from an old master wood-carver, and Flavia finds him dead – in a most horrific way.

Worried about her father, Flavia throws herself into the mystery – murder? Accident? Who is behind the curtain? Who knows more than they are telling the Inspector or her? Sulphur smells, a witches threats, and a cat who shows up where it doesn’t belong - and just which human belongs to the cat? The mysteries continue to unfold, even bringing forward previous mysteries that were supposedly resolved.

As always, this book is peppered with literary references, and also some fine and startling new ways of thinking about things. For example:

“Playing the clown is not an easy task. Clowns, I have come to believe, are placed upon the earth solely to fill the needs of others, while running perilously close to ‘Empty’ themselves.”

“I could already see that conversation with this woman was doomed to lurch along in a series of freezes and thaws, like all of the earth’s Ice Ages advancing and receding and advancing again in speeded-up motion, as in a comedy from the days of the silent cinema.”

“. . . my sister was the kind of person who is sometimes described as ‘monosyllabic’. (Why, incidentally, does a word meaning ‘a single syllable’ require a five-syllable word to describe it? The world, as Mr. Partridge remarked in a recent talk on the wireless, is surely going to hell in a linguistic handbasket.)”

This series is so much fun to read – for the mysteries and watching Flavia’s mind at work when she is relaxed and in her childlike mode, completely open to anything. It is not heavy reading, but a delightful and refreshing change from more hard-boiled thrillers or deep drama, historical or current.

Flavia reflects, “My sister Daffy, for instance, can prattle on about flyleaves, colophons, and first editions not only until the cows come home, but until they have put on their nightcaps, gone to bed, switched off the lights, and begun snoring in their cowsheds.”

I can definitely relate – maybe not the colophons so much, but I’m definitely “barmy about books”, as Flavia put it a bit earlier in the paragraph, and to read and then share a sentence like that is one of the reasons why.

[Holly in Bookland · Rating 5 out of 5]

I know that I've said this before, but I just want to adopt Flavia and give her all my love. I'm also very happy that she's back at Bishop's Lacey! I didn't mind her so much in Canada but I missed all the secondary characters. It makes a difference when you have the whole gang back. Although, Flavia didn't get the welcome home that she deserved! You could definitely see her mature a little bit more in this book. She's only 12 but she's very smart for her age:) I never can understand any of the chemistry she talks about! She still likes her murders though! (BTW--she's not the one doing the murdering...haha) She does, however, like to solve them when she stumbles upon someone that has been done in. This is the 8th outing with Flavia and I think I'm loving her more and more through each book. Its one of my favorite series. I'm always looking forward to "seeing" her again and what new weird title Alan Bradley comes up with. Very unique!

I wavered between a 4 or 5 star rating but in the end I went with 5 because I think Flavia deserves it:)

**Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Kevin · Rating 5 out of 5]

How to know if you're reading a great book:
-longing and hungry anticipation for the publishing date
-after purchasing running your hands over the book and putting it on your "most-seen" book shelf
-putting off reading it for a week so you don't just open the cookies and eat all the cookies in one sitting
-finally being unable to put it off any longer, you open the book, and read it every possible minute until finished
-a hint of disappointment now that it is over and longing for the next in the series.

Alan Bradley and Flavia are simply literary treasures. Flavia is someone I wish was real so I could be her favorite uncle. I can think of only one other series that I have looked forward to in the same way.
"Real life is messy, and it's possibly best to keep that in mind. We must learn never to expect too much."

[Susanna - Censored by GoodReads · Rating 4 out of 5]

My ARC courtesy of Random House and NetGalley - much thanks! The opinions are my own.

A stronger installment than the last - it was good to be back at Bradshaw and Bishop's Lacey.

[Alan (The Lone Librarian) Teder · Rating 2 out of 5]

If Wednesday Addams was a Detective
Review of the Doubleday Canada hardcover edition (September 20, 2016)

FIRST WITCH. Thrice the brinded cat hath mew’d.
SECOND WITCH. Thrice, and once the hedge-pig whin’d.
THIRD WITCH. Harpier cries:—’Tis time, ’tis time.
FIRST WITCH. Round about the cauldron go; - The opening of Shakespeare's Macbeth Act IV Scene 1.

Sorry to the Flavia fans out there, but the charms of the 12-year old morbid chemist and child detective are lost on me. The 'case,' such as it is, involves Flavia finding a local wood sculptor bound upside down and dead in a wooden contraption attached to a door of his house. She proceeds to meddle and sneak around and discovers a tie-in to a well-known children's author who disappeared. A neighbour 'witch' attempts to discourage her investigation, but all is revealed in the end in what can only be tagged with an Unsatisfactory Ending Alert™.

Although this takes place around Christmas time, there is no joy in it and a Deceptive Cover Alert™ is also warranted. There is a cat (can't remember if it was striped) that appears twice and Flavia does get scratched by a holly bush. Feline and/or Christmas fans will be disappointed by those brief cameos.

Trivia and Link
Without giving too much away, there is somewhat of parallel between the fictional author in this book to the real-life A.A. Milne, the writer of the original Winnie the Pooh stories.

[Julie Durnell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading a new Flavia story is always a treat! The incorrigible chemistry lab ace- girl sleuth has returned to Buckshaw and her unfeeling family, gamboling about Bishop's Lacey on her trusty bicycle Gladys, only to stumble upon a dead man. Nothing uplifts her spirits more than a corpse and to match wits with Inspector Hewitt!

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Twelve year old Flavia de Luce is rightly expecting a big welcome when she returns home from boarding school in Canada. She thinks the family will be there with banners and balloons when the ship docks in Southampton and she is excited. Reality is that there's only Dogger, family friend/right hand man, to greet her. Not only that but he has the bad news that her father is in the hospital with pneumonia.

Worried sick and thwarted in her efforts to visit him in the hospital, Flavia decides to visit Cynthia, the vicar's wife, on the first day back. It's Christmas time and there is no Christmas cheer or decorations at her beloved home. Cynthia sends her on an errand to a woodworker. Unfortunately he has been murdered and Flavia discovers the body.

There's nothing to take her mind off her sick father than a murder investigation so she's off on the trail. I really like her scientific experiments and her logical mind. The search involves a beloved children's book author, a Scout, a witch and a little girl with a terrible singing voice. The story takes some interesting twists.

The end of the book is life changing. It's great to see how Flavia is growing in each of her books and I can't wait to see where she goes next.

Thanks to Net Galley and Delacorte for the book in exchange for a fair review.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

(3.5) A return to form after the misguided jaunt to Canada in As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust, but not quite as good as The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches, the best in the series so far. “It’s amazing what the discovery of a corpse can do for one’s spirits…murder made me feel so gloriously alive,” Flavia crows. This installment sees her jetting back and forth to London to investigate the mysterious death of a local children’s author. Multiple cases of false identity make for plenty of twists and turns.

“‘I fear our world is changing, Miss Flavia,’ Dogger said at last, ‘and not necessarily for the better.’” It’s quite a dark book overall, and I wished there had been more about Flavia’s family. It will be interesting to see where the series goes from here. I break all my usual self-imposed rules – no mystery novels, no series fiction, no child narrators – for Flavia de Luce and her chemistry crime capers.

[Embarrassing “replace all” error when adapting this book for the British market: two instances of “Colourado”!]

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

“I have always found there to be a certain sadness about mirrors, since they double the space in a house which needs to be filled with love.”

Thrice the Brinded Cat Hath Mew’d found Flavia, now 12 years, back at home after being banished from the Canadian boarding school. She could never quite shed her homesickness for her family and Buckshaw in the few months she spent at the school. Unfortunately, Flavia’s homecoming isn’t how she had imagined. With only faithful Dogger awaiting her at the dock, she arrived home late at night to find only Mrs. Mullet awake. Then, she was told that her father had taken sick and was in the hospital with pneumonia.

The next morning, she was prevented from visiting her father, so she busied herself to alleviate her worry. During a visit to the vicar’s wife, she ran errand for her to a local woodworker. Finding a dead body at the house was no surprise (, Flavia had been back home 12 hours at this point). Of course, this not being her first glimpse at a corpse, she was in no hurry to alert the police. Instead, she began her investigation. In solving this mystery, Flavia relied on interviews, observation, and deduction rather than unraveling chemical secrets as was her usual. This mystery had a literary tie-in that I found enjoyable. By the end of the book, she has all the answers. Which she kindly shared with the inspector in a Hercule Poirot-like reveal.

My favorite part of the book was Flavia. Her sharp wit, her inquisitive mind, her references about her bicycle, Gladys, whom she treated like a bosom buddy. The further I get into this series the more my interest shifts to enjoying the growth in Flavia’s character arc more than the mystery. It was clear in this book that Flavia had matured; She’s growing up. Catching the subtle undercurrents of situations and adjusting her behavior was something she’s only recently considered.

This time we see little of Flavia’s family except for Dogger, Mrs. Mullet, and her cousin Undine. Her family situation was uncertain with her father sick. It seemed like no one was responsible for the running of the house. Desperate for comfort and affection yet unable to bring herself to hug others. It looked like it would be a sad Christmas at Buckshaw sans decorations.

The audio book, narrated by Jayne Entwistle, was excellent and comfortably paced. The voice of Flavia matched perfectly to her character. Voices of the others were easy to recognize. The audio captured an essence of Flavia that reading alone I didn’t get.

On my review of book 7, I wondered if a fellow bibliophile had already compiled a list of books mentioned in this series. I shouldn’t have doubted. It’s called Daffy's Reading List.

This book made me feel a wider range of emotions than I anticipated. But in a good way. That ending! Wow. How will this affect Flavia’s life? I can’t wait to read The Grave's a Fine and Private Place.

[Cammie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The 8th book in Alan Bradley’s Flavia de Luce series, Thrice the Brinded Cat Hath Mew’d, follows Flavia back to Buckshaw from her exile at boarding school in Canada to find her father hospitalized with pneumonia. Despite the fact that Flavia’s mother Harriet has been missing/dead for the entirety of the series, Book 8 is the saddest in the series so far. In fact, Flavia hardly interacted with her family at all in this book except for a few conversations with Dogger, Mrs. Mullet, and her annoying cousin Undine.
As usual Flavia discovers a dead body and investigates the mystery, discovering facts that lead the police to the mystery’s resolution. Flavia finds herself in a life-threatening situation which is typical of the series; however, she prevails in the end. One Flavia element that I felt was missing from Book 8 was Flavia’s trademark chemistry. Flavia didn’t use much chemistry to solve the “crime” nor did she dabble in her laboratory much throughout the story; however, she did make bacon, eggs, and toast in her lab which made me chuckle.
I am looking forward to the last two books in this series, but at the same time, I am sad to see the series end.

[Cindy Burnett (Thoughts from a Page) · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5-4 stars

Flavia is one of my favorite child characters in literature. There are so many great and quirky things she says and does including referring to her bicycle as Gladys and giving the bike human qualities. In Thrice the Brinded Cat Hath Mew’d, Flavia was as much fun as ever, but I felt the story was a little slow at times. I did feel for Flavia with her father in the hospital and no one else to really look after her. The mystery was fine and had a satisfactory resolution, but Flavia is really the star of this series. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Olivier Delaye · Rating 4 out of 5]

First time for me to read a Flavia de Luce mystery and certainly not the last. I love her wits and personality, and the plot itself is extremely well-crafted, very reminiscent of Agatha Christie’s novels. A winner from start to finish!

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Flavia receives almost no welcome back from Canada, finds a dead body and solves the case. Bad news for the family at the end. This series is so entertaining. Flavia de Luce is such a character. I love her relationship with Dogger and Gladys (her bicycle ) too!

[Ariel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Flavia de Luce is as precocious as ever. Having been kicked out of the Canadian boarding school she is back home at Buckshaw. Upon her return she finds out that life has gone on in her absence. For one thing her beloved Esmeralda the chicken has been turned into soup to nourish her father who now resides in a hospital suffering from pneumonia. Flavia's thoughts are soon occupied by her discovery of a local wood cutter found dead upside down in an apparatus on his door. With her trusty bike Glady's by her side no murderer is safe from the keenly probing mind of chemist extraordinaire, Flavia de Luce.

The mystery was difficult to follow and I really didn't care about it. Bradley has the English village filled with suspects like Agatha Christie but the mystery lacked depth. I still love Flavia though. I appreciate how Bradley develops the characters each book so that they are always evolving. I am looking forward to The Grave's a Fine and Private Place.

[Petra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Visiting with Flavia is always fun. The audio narrations are wonderful.
I'm glad to see Flavia back in Buckshaw and Bishop's Lacey. It's where she belongs.
I'm really enjoying learning more of the De Luce family as the series progresses. Flavia, Feely and Daffy make a wonderful group. Undine adds to this vibrancy.
Such an ending! Where will the story go now?!

[Anmiryam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Flavia, so good to have you back in England where you belong. As always, it's the pleasure of your company, not the mysteries themselves, that make these novels such a treat. The admixture of brilliance, precocious maturity and flashes of childishness that mean you are unpredictable and utterly charming keep me turning the pages so quickly that I rarely remember the premise of the mysteries you solve from one book to the next. It never matters though -- it's you I'm coming back to spend time with. I'm glad you have a wonderful group of adult to support and care for you -- you're going to need them.

[Vanessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this series. They keep ending on a cliffhanger, too. This one made me shed a tear, and then BAM acknowledgements. Really? What sort of torture is this? Now I have to wait for the next book. Well played, Mr. Bradley, well played. In a way, this was fairly easy to figure out, despite being exceptionally convoluted. At the same time, the actual murderer is not as easy to discern. This one also has a lot less science to it, which was a little disappointing. Overall, I definitely recommend it, but you should start at the beginning to get the full Flavia de Luce experience.