I Am Half-Sick of Shadows (Flavia de Luce, #4) in Special chat with Charles Todd, Alan Bradley, and Tasha Alexander

Sep 07, 2011 Kathy rated it it was amazing

Shelves: england, favorites, mystery, highly-recommend, favorite-authors, series, favorite-covers

There is but one word that appositely describes this book and its predecessors, "delightful." The plot, the setting, and the wonderful character of Flavia de Luce take the word "delightful" and fill it out to its bursting seams. I want to read these stories as fast as I can, and, yet, I want them to never end. I highly recommend this book and the others to anyone who needs a smile, a tug of the heart, a warm fuzzy feeling of comfort and joy. In this latest tale, Flavia's beloved Buckshaw, decayi ...more

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Nov 09, 2011 Robin rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: books-in-11

Another fabulous Flavia De Luce mystery. Who could possibly resist Christmas at Buckshaw? Especially this Christmas, when there's also a movie crew in attendance. Toss in vicious sisters, a murdered actress, and a snowstorm that catches most of Bishop's Lacey at Buckshaw, and you have a holiday most of us could only hope for.

While we don't learn (much) new about dear departed Harriet, we do learn some fascinating things about Aunt Felicity and the De Luce family tree. The picture becomes (margin ...more

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Dec 02, 2011 Joni rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: completed-listening

Thoroughly enjoyed this fourth volume in the Flavia DeLuce stories. Told at Christmastime...still has the quirkiness of earlier books, but seemed shorter.

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Mar 29, 2010 Tami Traylor rated it it was amazing

Of course, I was thrilled to get the newest in the Flavia de Luce series. My daughter practically squealed with delight when I told her we had it.

This new volume in the series doesn't disappoint. In the form of the perfect English Manor House Mystery, it's set almost entirely at Buckshaw. I admit, I did miss Flavis traipsing all over the idyllic countryside of the Buckshaw Estate and through the streets of Bishop's Lacey on her beloved BSA Keep Fit Bicycle, Gladys. However, the wintery storm set ...more

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Aug 04, 2011 Edwin Arnaudin rated it liked it · review of another edition

The fourth go-round with Flavia is arguably more charming than the rest, but the mystery in which she finds herself entwined is solved far too easily and is over way too soon, leaving it bereft of quite the tension and wonder so vividly displayed in her prior adventures. Some will recall my Memento-like iPod misadventures with The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag, and while I occasionally thought I'd skipped a disc here, that was not the case.

Considering the de Luces, a film crew, and a numbe ...more

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Oct 10, 2011 Melyssa rated it really liked it

Shelves: first-reads, read-in-2011

I was pleased to win this in a Goodreads giveaway because I've read and enjoyed the first two Flavia de Luce mysteries. I was a little concerned that I hadn't yet read the third book, but that didn't affect my enjoyment of this one.

This one is set at Christmas, with a film crew using Flavia's home. The author takes his time with the story, with the mystery beginning at the book's halfway point. I really enjoy the character of Flavia, her family, and especially Dogger, the all-around handyman. Th ...more

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Jul 14, 2011 Sherry rated it really liked it

The best part of the Flavia de Luce books is not the mystery of whodunit, rather it is the mystery of Flavia herself, the push and pull of her emotions, the revelations about the world around her and her place in it. I think I actually liked this the best of the 4 books (so far). Flavia was less of a know-it-all, there was less fighting with her sisters, and there was more of the tender relationship Flavia shares with Dogger. Flavia is charming, insightful, and, as always, too smart for her own ...more

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