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The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag (Flavia de Luce, #2)

Alan Bradley

Start date: October 17, 2020

Finish date: November 10, 2020

Discussion: Buddy reads

Why we're reading this: Second in the Flavia series, after group members enjoyed the first book.
[close] Second in the Flavia series, after group members enjoyed the first book.

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What Members Thought

May 08, 2017 Jazz rated it really liked it

Shelves: mystery-traditional, series, mystery-british, amateur-sleuth

4 STARS | In a word—delightful. When a traveling puppeteer is electrocuted during a performance of Jack and the Beanstalk, 11-year-old Flavia de Luce, budding chemist and amateur sleuth, steps in to work her own brand of magic. Riding her trusty bicycle Gladys, Flavia covers the countryside around Bishop's Lacey and its bucolic surroundings in pursuit of solving the mystery. This is a fun series, light on mystery but strong on humor. Flavia is an irresistible protagonist and her world is enchant ...more

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Nov 06, 2020 David Bryant rated it liked it

This is the second in the series of Flavia de Luce mysteries, and the second I have read.
This book was enjoyable and diverting (especially during the week of the 2020 US presidential election mess), but not on par with the first book. I found this one somewhat too facile. I got less of a sense of the charming 11 year-old girl than I did in the first book, which had me laughing out loud often as I read it.
Part of the difference could have been the more serious plot, involving the death of a chi This is the second in the series of Flavia de Luce mysteries, and the second I have read.
This book was enjoyable and diverting (especially during the week of the 2020 US presidential election mess), but not on par with the first book. I found this one somewhat too facile. I got less of a sense of the charming 11 year-old girl than I did in the first book, which had me laughing out loud often as I read it.
Part of the difference could have been the more serious plot, involving the death of a child, and mental illness. And my expectations may have been too high because of how charmed I had been by the first story.
In this story, Flavia seems to act essentially like an adult, and is (mostly) accepted in that role, at least in any moment when it matters. There is less of a sense of a young girl stretching her limits, either socially or intellectually, and more of a person who is solving a mystery quite readily, and who tells us she is only 11 but acts much older. Flavia is in only modest danger here. In the big climax, she fears she is in danger for a while, but actually turns out not to be. Quite the opposite, actually. Her start-to-finish revelation of the crime(s) to Inspector Hewitt might have been more effective if the plot had allowed her to reveal it more gradually. It left the Inspector looking and feeling quite foolish.
On a positive note, the story has several new and memorably interesting characters, especially the puppeteer (Rupert Porson), his assistant Nialla, Flavia's eccentric Aunt Felicity (who delivers some unexpected and welcome advice to Flavia), and Mad Meg, who contributes valuable artistry to solving the case. Each is described quite vividly and effectively.
A wonderful element was the description of the "Jack and the Beanstalk" puppet show, which Flavia quite rightly admires for its cleverness and artistry.
On another note, I appreciated the gentle and understanding way in which both the mentally ill women, Grace and Meg, were represented. I am glad we were spared learning more details about what might have been an unpleasant conclusion to Grace's story line, in particular.
All in all, good but not great. I shall look forward to reading more in the series, hoping the author will regain some of the charm from the first novel that I missed in this one.
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