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The Grave's a Fine and Private Place (Flavia de Luce, #9)

Alan Bradley

Start date: March 15, 2023

Finish date: April 8, 2023

Discussion: Buddy reads

Why we're reading this: Next in this series for our Flavia fans.
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Aug 10, 2022 David Bryant rated it it was amazing

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This, the ninth in the Flavia De Luce series, and is a marked departure in several ways from most of the earlier books. It is the first after the major family tragedy that we read about in the previous book, and it is one in which the roles of the family are quite remarkably changed. The book takes place in a different English village, away from Buckshaw, the ancestral home, so we see and hear essentially nothing of Mrs. Mullet and her cooking, Flavia is away from her precious chemical laborator This, the ninth in the Flavia De Luce series, and is a marked departure in several ways from most of the earlier books. It is the first after the major family tragedy that we read about in the previous book, and it is one in which the roles of the family are quite remarkably changed. The book takes place in a different English village, away from Buckshaw, the ancestral home, so we see and hear essentially nothing of Mrs. Mullet and her cooking, Flavia is away from her precious chemical laboratory, and Inspector Hewitt is (mostly) out of the picture until the very end. Flavia and her sisters are united in their sadness and less antagonistic to each other, a refreshing change. Most remarkably, Dogger and Feely are working to help solve the crimes! The mind reels at all the changes, but the changes are all to the good, I think.

I particularly enjoyed the way Dogger and Flavia work together. Dogger had always helped Flavia, subtly and in the background, but now he is overtly keen on working on the investigation. From this change and the hint on the last page, I can see the direction of the series possibly changing, especially if Alan Bradley writes more than the ten we know about.

Dogger also is shown to reveal himself in another way, and we begin to learn just a bit more about his past. The personal side of him is revealed in a subtle, sweet way, which adds to his humanity (and also contributes to the investigation).

One other notable characteristic of this book is that it ends without the readers learning the whole story of the crime(s). And remarkably, Flavia is happy to turn over the investigation to Inspector Hewitt. She has plowed the ground but also come altogether too close to becoming a victim herself.

There are some details I could quibble about. Probably the one that flummoxed me the most was the discussion of books between Feely and Flavia at the Oak & Pheasant – that was just too literary and I was out of my depth (which is on me, not on the author, in all fairness). Another intriguing but ultimately unsatisfying scene was when Mr. Clemm (the assistant canon?) brought Flavia up to the roof of the church – What were his intentions? Did she escape only through Dogger’s arrival?
Ultimately, I was satisfied with the outcome, not of the investigation (which is incomplete) but of the narrative. Flavia, Dogger, Feely, and Daffy have all been altered by their experiences and their relationships have matured, I think. I look forward to book ten – and maybe more!

PS: I realized late in reading this that one of the reasons I was enjoying it so much was the absence of Undine, the obnoxious cousin who appeared 2 or 3 books earlier. I find her character to be totally unpleasant and of no redeeming value. I may be proven wrong when I read book 10 (in which she reappears), but for now I was glad for her absence in this one! ...more

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