The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag

★ ★ ★ 1/2 (rounded up)
This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
—
I think I'd have phrased things a bit differently, but in the interest of time, I'm just going to copy and paste from my thoughts when I read the book a couple of years ago and add in a bit for the audiobook:
The plucky young chemist with a nascent obsession with death is back in action. The case is a little less personal for Flavia de Luce this time, but that doesn't stop her from jumping in whole hog to get to the bottom of it.

Flavia runs into a couple of traveling performers with some car trouble and before you know it, she's got them some help–and a gig. While she hangs around the TV star and his assistant, she finds herself surrounded by some of her town's darker history and then face to face with a murder. And Flavia being Flavia, she can't resist sticking her nose in and making sure all the knots are untangled–particularly the ones adults are ignoring, despite them being painfully obvious to her.

We get less of Flavia's sisters (and the rest of the household, come to think of it) in this installment–but when they're around, their impact is greater. Clearly, as this series continues, there's going to be some serious drama on the homefront with some major implications for the de Luce family, I hope Bradley tackles that quickly, the foreshadowing's getting old quickly.

Unlike with so many other amateur sleuths (particularly juveniles), it's nice to see that her reputation and track record are acknowledged by some in the community – which is both a help and a hindrance, I hope to see more of that in the future.

Entwistle really impressed me again with her narration. Not just the way she nails Flavia – both the good and the bad aspects of her personality. But her work on the rest of the characters – the TV star's assistant in particular – really won me over, showing a little more range than we got to see, er, hear last time.

My only major quibble with this installment is that it takes far too long to set the main action of the novel up–in a 348 page mystery novel, you'd better get to the central crime before page 150 or so. Unless you've got a heroine like Flavia to focus on, I can't imagine being patient enough to wait that long to get the ball rolling. Entwistle's performance helps, but, man, it drags on awhile before Bradley's done setting things up and gets things moving.

Another fun (occasionally hilarious) read, with a mystery satisfyingly twisty, with just enough red herrings to get you through it.

Another witty installment in the series. A great beach read that is entertaining and also has you trying to solve the mystery along with Flavia. I enjoyed Flavia's insight, obsession with death and poison, and tenacity at stopping at nothing to figure out who did it. Definitely not a book for children despite the main character being a child because of some of the macabre themes but a great read for adults unlike anything else I've read before.

As posted on SFF Book Reviews

I devoured the first Flavia de Luce mystery while on holiday. I thought it would be perfect for a lazy afternoon at the beach and some light reading. While it wasn't a perfect book, I found myself missing that charming young protagonist with a passion for poisons and a knack for mystery-solving. It is not so much the plot of these stories as the voice in which it is told that captivated me and that I can't seem to get enough of.When a traveling puppet show sets up on the village green in Bishop's Lacey, death stalks the little stage. Flavia goes behind the scenes to learn the craft (so to speak) in order to catch an ingenious killer. Flavia thinks that her days of crime-solving in the bucolic English hamlet of Bishop's Lacy are over—and then Rupert Porson has an unfortunate rendezvous with electricity. The beloved puppeteer has had his own strings sizzled, but who'd do such a thing and why? For Flavia, the questions are intriguing enough to make her put aside her chemistry experiments and schemes of vengeance against her insufferable big sisters. Astride Gladys, her trusty bicycle, Flavia sets out from the de Luces' crumbling family mansion in search of Bishop's Lacey's deadliest secrets.

Our clever little sleuth of a heroine is back. And it doesn't take too long for somebody else to drop dead in her surroundings. There is puppetry, there are murdered children, there are (of course) poisons, and yes, the titular weed is the one you're thinking of. While I enjoyed the theme of this volume more than the first novel, it is not the plot that drew me in – and I suspect, this will continue as the series goes on. Flavia is solving the case of a puppeteer dropping dead during a show with a whole range of suspects, not a lot of motive, and the past catching up with the present...

Alan Bradley has given Flavia de Luce the most charming voice I could imagine. Much like the Alexia Tarabotti novels, this series lives from its wit and its remarkably clever heroine as much as from what is simply good writing. Flavia, as much as I liked her already, has grown ever so much more dear to me. Who wouldn't want to be friends (or a mother to) that kind of eleven-year-old? Her passion for chemistry is still as powerful, even though it isn't vital to the plot. It does give her personality more depth though and teaches me quite a few little tidbits about the subject. Hurrah for educating your readers, Mr Bradley!

As Flavia leads us past that fateful puppet show, meets new characters and shows us more of Bishop's Lacey, we both read an entirely new and separate story – good for standalone-lovers – but we also get a glimpse of novelty. Flavia's home life, her family and the nearby village all grow a little in depth. Which is exactly what I was hoping for, as we didn't see a whole lot of it in the first book. If the series continues in the same vein, with standalone crime stories and an overarching continuation of Flavia's life in general, I will go so far as to call myself a fan.

My suspicions as to who the murderer(s) was showed once more that I'm not well-read when it comes to the crime genre. Who is really pulling the strings in this game of memory and secrets came as a surprise to me, even though I had all the necessary clues. More experienced readers of the genre may not be fooled as easily but personally, I enjoyed this little adventure very, very much.

THE GOOD: A charming heroine with a quick mind and great storytelling abilities.
THE BAD: There is still room for improvement. I would like (even) more family life, more de Luce craziness and more quaint villagers.
THE VERDICT: Another light and fun mystery story with an endearing leading lady and a clever murderer.

RATING: 7/10 Very good.

The Flavia de Luce books are just SO cute. Is it weird that I find an 11 year old would-be toxicologist and her investigation of murder mysteries adorable? For all the kids who grew up wanting to be detectives with best friends who were obsessed with botanical toxins (spoiler: that's me) there's something really satisfying and really nostalgic about reading Flavia's stories. The spooky Punch and Judy vignette recalled my favorite childhood books, especially The Magicians of Caprona, by Diana Wynne Jones and Mr. Punch, by Neil Gaiman.

I continue to find Flavia a totally plausible child protagonist, and I continue to be completely charmed by seeing the world from her point-of-view (my favorite: her sincere outrage at not being treated with collegiate equality by the police inspector.) Yeah, the mystery is a little thin and the ending is SUPER rushed, but that's not really the reason I read these books.

Flavia de Luce is back!

Flavia is a precocious little girl whose passions are chemistry and... mystery solving. In this second installment, she meets a puppeteer who may have more secrets than tricks in his bag. His visit to town brings joy to all the children, small and tall, but also wakes up the sad memories of the death by hanging of a local boy.

I love Flavia! She's smart, curious and have great observation skills. And is still having problems with her big sisters. This second novel in the series is a little different from the first in that the murder does not happen for some time and so we know more of the victim when he dies. It was also interesting to meet more of Flavia's neighbors.

I read the first in the series a few months back because the title intrigued me and was really excited that the Flavia was back. And my excitement was not for nothing. This second installment is as fun as the first and I cannot wait for my next meeting with Flavia and company. I warmly recommend this series.

I lost momentum with his book. When I reached page 100 without any actual idea if or when a crime was to be committed, I lost interest. Yes, I find Flavia a charming heroine and I love that she jets bout the countryside on a vintage bicycle and loves chemistry but the storytelling started to get in the way of the story. My bookshelf is too full and my life is too short to wait around for an author to get to the point. I'm sorry Mr. Bradley, I couldn't wait. I've heard the third volume is better (or by some, worse) than this one so I may have to just remember [b:The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie 6218281 The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie (Flavia de Luce, #1) Alan Bradley http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255740234s/6218281.jpg 4543476]and be happy with the memories.

A puppet show has inadvertently come to town and Flavia couldn't be more excited to dig in and help bring it to stage. During the show, however, it appears a murder has taken place...in front of the entire audience. Who would want to kill the puppeteer? It's up to 11yr old Flavia to sort the clues and solve the crime.

I absolutely love this series so far. Flavia is an intelligent and charming girl who loves her chemistry and has a knack for solving crime. I also love the era and the writing.