The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag - Alan Bradley - 5 Stars

[Olivermagnus]

Flavia de Luce, the eleven year old sleuth and chemist obsessed with poison, meets famous TV star and puppeteer, Rupert Porson and his assistant Nialla, who have been stranded in their broken down van. They agree to put on a performance of Jack and the Beanstalk for the residents of Bishop's Lacey and Flavia swings into action to help set it up. During the matinee performance the audience realizes the "Jack" puppet looks liked five year old Robin Inglesby who was found hanging in the woods a few years earlier.

During the evening performance the audience will witness a shocking murder. Flavia quickly inserts herself into the investigation and will use her deductive skills and encyclopedic knowledge of chemistry to help solve the mystery. The village of Bishop's Lacey and the characters that live there are so well defined I can see them with my eyes closed. Flavia still lives in the crumbling mansion of Buckshaw with her detached widowed father and two awful sisters, Ophelia and Daphne, who devote themselves to mentally abusing Flavia. We are also introduced to eccentric Aunt Felicity in this book.

This may look like a children's book but Flavia is one of the greatest female detectives you'll ever meet. A mini Miss Marple with a dash of Sherlock Holmes. The dialogue is hysterical. At one point in her investigation Flavia says "I had no more intention of making tea than signing on as a coal pit donkey". Alan Bradley gives us a good feel for the 1950's time period and the crumbling mansion Flavia and her family live in. I thought the storyline was reasonably complex. It was slow to get into, but then turns into a classic British mystery.

I enjoyed this book even more because I listened to the audio. Jayne Entwistle is a phenomenal narrator and is the perfect voice of Flavia.

[Algernon (Darth Anyan)]

A delightful series. I have decided to save them for the December Holiday season, because they fit the comfort read category, despite the gory details.