Tuesday, April 19, 2011

The Weed that Strings the Hangman's Bag By Alan Bradley

Griff brought this purple beauty home from the library.  It's the next Flavia de Luce Mystery, and it didn't disappoint me.  If you liked The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, I think you'll like this.  She's still 10 going on 11, her family is the same and she solves another murder.  I thought it was another fun read, but the crime is a bit more tragic this time around.  Also, one of the things I liked about the first book was discovering Flavia's spunk and charm, but this time I already knew and loved her so that spark wasn't there. Even so, I loved reading her next adventure and I'm looking forward to A Red Herring Without Mustard.

Here are some quotes to further devote you to Flavia:

"Very well, then, I thought.  Actually, I thought more than that, but since I'm trying to be a better person..."

"You are unreliable, Flavia." he said. "Utterly unreliable."
Of course I was!  It was one of the things I loved most about myself!"

"At this, a great laugh went up from the children in the audience, and I have to admit I chuckled a little myself.  I'm at that age where I watch such things with two minds, one that cackles at these capers and another that never gets much beyond a rather jaded and self-conscious smile, like the Mona Lisa."

"All was in readiness.  The house lights had already been lowered to a level of delicious expectation.  Incidental music floated from backstage, and from time to time, the red velvet curtains on the puppet stage gave an enticing twitch."  I think this shows the perfect amount of description and adjectives.

If you were worried that the next book wouldn't be as good as first, you might be right.  But it's not far behind.  I recommend picking it up.

5 comments:

Sharlene, Mom, Grammy said...

I have to say the most intriguing thing about this book is its title. Holy cow. What a name.

Nice review. Thanks as always.
Love the quotes. That alone makes me want to read this series.

Kammy T said...

Yes, and each word is full of meaning.....

Lori said...

I've got this one on my list...you know, the someday list. I loved the first one and so did Emma (though I think some of it went over her head).

salty c-snake said...

i'm in the middle of this one. i agree, her spark is not so sparky the second time around. and i'm having a hard time with how this mystery is building. i guess the first one just seemed more organic, the mystery. this one seems forceed. but its definitely readable enough to finish it. i'll have to report back at the end. love that i have someone to "discuss" it with as i'm reading;)

Kammy T said...

Flavia is what kept me going because I think she's so interesting. But her sisters and father are barely in it. I also am hoping her aunt is a bit more involved in the next book, I kept waiting for more of her. I think maybe there were too many new characters involved in the mystery.