The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag by Alan Bradley

My 4-star review of The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie.From Dagger Award–winning and internationally bestselling author Alan Bradley comes this utterly beguiling mystery starring one of fiction’s most remarkable sleuths: Flavia de Luce, a dangerously brilliant eleven-year-old with a passion for chemistry and a genius for solving murders. I will definitely be continuing with the series. Flavia is a character I will always remember. I recommend this series for readers who like precocious, strong female narrators. Now that I’m used to her, I can’t imagine reading these books in any other format. She had grown on me by the end of that book so I continued in audio with this second installment. In my review of The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, I wrote about my love/hate relationship with narrator Jayne Entwistle. But we all need human contact now and again, even self-sufficient Flavia. That makes her sound like a needy brat and she’s not she’s mostly happy tinkering away in her chemistry lab alone. She wants some attention and pushing their buttons is the only way to reliably get it. Her sisters get downright vicious when she pushes them far enough. She is so smart and funny and prickly but she is hurting inside. Once the big reveal arrived, I completely bought it. The mystery twisted and turned and I had absolutely no idea whodunnit. I guess I like to keep my head in the sand. I know it happens, but I prefer to read in a world where it doesn’t. I typically steer clear of books that involve children’s deaths. I think this one felt a bit too dark for me.

This didn’t quite have the charm and originality of the first book, but it was still good.

The second shock comes when Rupert, not the giant, comes crashing down onto the stage, dead. He looks just like a young boy who died in the village. The first shock of the show comes when the puppet of Jack appears. The vicar and Flavia help the pair out and the vicar asks Rupert to put on a show for the townspeople.

His van has broken down and they are stranded. Read more on my affiliate page.įamous puppeteer Rupert Porson rolls into Flavia’s village with his assistant in tow one day. I will earn a small commission at no additional cost to you if you purchase merchandise through links on my site.

I have an affiliate relationship with and Malaprop's Bookstore in beautiful Asheville, NC.

The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag by Alan Bradley