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Nominations for November 2025 group read
By Judy · 18 posts · 21 views
By Judy · 18 posts · 21 views
last updated Sep 05, 2025 03:20PM
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Sept 25: Lonesome Road (#3 Miss Silver Mysteries) by Patricia Wentworth
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By Susan · 13 posts · 11 views
last updated Sep 03, 2025 12:03PM
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By Judy · 4475 posts · 483 views
last updated May 21, 2019 12:15PM
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Starting/joining in with buddy reads
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By Judy · 1332 posts · 371 views
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Kindle Deals etc up to August 2020
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last updated Aug 31, 2020 12:50PM
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By Judy · 1516 posts · 212 views
last updated Oct 02, 2020 11:38PM
What Members Thought

I LOVED this book When I first read it years ago - what a delicious heroine! Set in the post-WWII English countryside, this is the kind of adventure/mystery that always appealed to me, even as a kid - the "invisible" kid detective/hero/heroine who, through luck or circumstance, manages to escape a lot of adult supervision and spend all their time delving into a mystery or whatever their fascination happens to be (in Flavia's case, chemistry - poisons in particular!) When a dead body turns up in
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I started out really enjoying this, and then it tapered off a bit. It was still enjoyable, and I'm still going to give the next one a go, but I'm not as enthralled as everyone else seems to be. Flavia started fairly believable, but got less so as it went on (I'm all for precocious children narrators, but...). The mystery lagged a bit as it went on, too. Still, a fun read and I did get a glimpse of what people like so much, I just found it wanting a bit.
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May 07, 2009
Jenn Estepp
rated it
really liked it
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review of another edition
Shelves:
sleuths-and-gumshoes,
libraries-are-great
it took me a little while to get into the story - the voice/tone wasn't immediate for me - but once i did i was totally hooked and thoroughly enjoyed the story of flavia and the strange circumstances that surround her. it's a very promising start to a quality, literary mystery series and i'm looking forward to hearing more from bradley.
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An entertaining murder mystery set in 1950. Flavia de Luce, a precocious 11-year-old girl with a passion for chemistry, finds a man dying in the garden of her family home, and her father is suspected of having killed him. Flavia is convinced he is innocent, and sets out to prove it.
This book has some interesting characters and an ingenious plot. I didn't get any particular sense of a 50s atmosphere though, and I find it hard to believe that anyone in 1950 really refered to the telephone as 'the ...more
This book has some interesting characters and an ingenious plot. I didn't get any particular sense of a 50s atmosphere though, and I find it hard to believe that anyone in 1950 really refered to the telephone as 'the ...more

I found this a fun, easy read. I thought the mystery part was pretty stupid but I got quite a kick out of the 11 year-old sleuth, Flavia. Also, I loved the librarian. I'm a sucker for any book with a sympathetic librarian.:) I can't help but feel that she'll be a co-sleuth in future books.
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This is a fun book - 11 yr old Flavia de Luce is quite the heroine! And it's the first in a planned series! I can't wait for the next one!
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When I was 11 years-old --the age of heroine Flavia de Luce -- I lived in Agatha Christie books, and imagined myself an amateur sleuth. Flavia's adventure is my most outrageous imaginings with the precocious and intrepid meters turned up to eleven. Negatives: The mystery/puzzle plot wasn't the best; a bit too much repetition when going over the clues and conclusion. 3.5 stars
ETA: This a good introduction to Flavia, but the next few books in the series are excellent! ...more
ETA: This a good introduction to Flavia, but the next few books in the series are excellent! ...more

Apr 20, 2010
Lindy-Lane
marked it as to-read

Jun 04, 2011
Vivien
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Oct 06, 2011
Mary Dagel
marked it as to-read

Apr 12, 2014
Elena
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Oct 01, 2014
Shannon
marked it as to-read

Dec 20, 2014
Bryan
marked it as to-read