The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag (Flavia de Luce, #2) in Pick-a-Shelf

Jul 19, 2010 Brian Maicke rated it really liked it

Shelves: mystery, historical, britain

The second Flavia de Luce mystery. An enjoyable historical mystery set following the events of the first book. The story is self-contained so that you can read the books in any order, but as with most historical mysteries you get more character development and background going in order.

Since the actual murder doesn't happen until halfway through the book, its hard to give any kind of review without spoilers. I can safely say this installment features traveling a traveling puppet show, Flavia tea ...more

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Oct 01, 2019 Marie (UK) rated it liked it

Shelves: 2019-reading-challenge

Number 2 in The Flavia De Luce Series. Flavia is a teenage girl with a passion for chemistry and a penchant for solving murders. Almost a teenage Miss Marple Flavia uses her intelligence and wit to solve the murder of Rupert Parsons - the puppeteer. Her Solution takes us back to an earlier death. This is an easy read with a likeable MC and a series to keep an eye on.

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Mar 18, 2012 Susan rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, mystery, fiction, series

There are times in this series when Flavia's passion for poisons, and for science in general, begins to seem a bit much, as she reports on her chemical musings much the same way another character would report on what she'd seen or heard. But for the most part, it's endearing, as is Flavia herself. An 11-year old in a house with a father obsessed with stamps and two older sisters with whom she has little in common, she finds what she can to amuse herself.

This particular mystery is one I didn't fi ...more

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Jan 17, 2015 Lahni rated it it was ok

Shelves: young-adult, mys-sus-thril, audiobooks, series

Weak plot. half the book was laying the foundation before the death even happened. And besides Flavia being way beyond the most precocious of 11 year olds, (can she be even a smidgeon of a believable character? I'd believe her more if she was 13 and those 2 years wouldn't have hurt the story any.) I couldn't get over how open the adults were talking to her about topics that would have been taboo among adults, let alone kids, during that time period. I can only suspend my disbelief so far and lac ...more

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Sep 08, 2011 KarenF rated it really liked it

Shelves: mystery, historical, library, cozy

I do love Flavia and her adventures around town. If you enjoyed the first one, you'll probably like this one as well. Flavia sticks a little closer to home but finds just as much trouble. If anything, I think she becomes a little more fleshed out as a character. Less of a caricature of the precocious child and more of a smart, resourceful, and sometimes lonely, girl. The mystery is intriguing with enough hints that the ending seems rational but not enough that I figured it out ahead of time. It' ...more

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