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mthorley23's review against another edition
4.0
Loved it! Four stars because I thought the end wasn’t tied up as well as I wanted.
tiffbaker's review against another edition
4.0
I really want to give this a 4 but I was not a fan of the ending. Still love Flavia.
ardaigle's review against another edition
4.0
Whenever someone posts a generic "what should I read" status on social media, and if mystery is a genre they enjoy, I often to go this Alan Bradley series. Flavia de Luce, the youthful Angela Fletcher of 1950s England, is fun to follow on her exploits. It is just refreshing to have a fun female character to follow! Bradley has done a good job of keeping it fresh - though the murder mystery portion is formulaic, we have watched Flavia grow as she has faced family adversity and tragedy. The main characters have changed as the years have passed, but have stayed true to their characters. These are not flashy books, and predictable mysteries, but they are comforting and nice read when you want something familiar.
This book focuses a little more on one of Flavia's sister's, who is normally relegated to more of a back of house role. Also, a change in scenery as they have taken a family trip gives a new environment to explore. In addition, this book focuses heavily on the relationship between Dogger (the family servant) and Flavia which gives that relationship a little more room to breathe.
I did struggle a bit to get through this book - I think it just wasn't capturing my attention in the moment. I saw it at the library and snagged it out of habit, rather than actual desire, so it was a big of a forced march. I checked out the next one in the queue which I think I might return and wait to read, rather than force it at present.
This book focuses a little more on one of Flavia's sister's, who is normally relegated to more of a back of house role. Also, a change in scenery as they have taken a family trip gives a new environment to explore. In addition, this book focuses heavily on the relationship between Dogger (the family servant) and Flavia which gives that relationship a little more room to breathe.
I did struggle a bit to get through this book - I think it just wasn't capturing my attention in the moment. I saw it at the library and snagged it out of habit, rather than actual desire, so it was a big of a forced march. I checked out the next one in the queue which I think I might return and wait to read, rather than force it at present.
xenlinde's review against another edition
4.0
Reading how Flavia and her sisters are coping after the death of their father has been quite helpful for me since my father passed away just over 6 months ago. Bradley, has managed to put into words some of the same feelings I've had. It's been good therapy. Not that this is a large part of the book either - it just touches on it enough.
eacolgan's review against another edition
3.0
I'm rounding down 3.5 stars to 3 for this one. There are things I loved about it-- more of Dogger, Flavia's growing relationships with him and with her sisters, and the setting outside Bishop's Lacey. However, my criticisms are fairly serious, the main of which is that as an installment in an ongoing series, the book didn't feel like it advanced very much of the overall story.
Admittedly, I might still be suffering from disappointment that the series didn't turn into the story of Flavia moving through Miss Bodeycoate's learning how to be a baby spy.... that would've been a bitchin' series, and the books since As Chimney Sweepers Come To Dust have maybe felt a bit directionless to me because I can't quite tell where things are heading now that they're NOT going that way. Once you're nine books into a series, there has to be something keeping the reader's interest that's different from the earlier books-- the scientific experiments and Flavia's small cons with townsfolk are still funny, but not measurably different from her exploits in earlier books, so if I found myself needing a fix of Flavia's cleverness, why wouldn't I just reread earlier books?
Anyway-- the writing continues to be good, the mystery was fine, and of course Flavia continues to have one of the strongest narrative voices in literature currently. The series overall is great, and the audiobooks are so much fun. But I'm losing steam to keep pushing new installments to the front of my list as they're released; there hasn't been enough new material in the later volumes to merit displacing things at the top of my to-read list.
Spoiler
The death of the de Luce patriarch was glossed over with a "six months later..." sort of fade-out that was a big letdown after the cliffhanger of the last installment. And so little happened to change things for Flavia or her family-- the question of Buckshaw's fate seems to still be imminent (in the beginning of the book it sounds like Aunt Felicity has decreed that Flavia has to sell it, but by the end she's talking about her future plans for it), Feeley and Dieter are no closer to the altar, there's no sense of what Flavia is going to do with the rest of her life except go back home and keep stumbling upon dead bodies.Admittedly, I might still be suffering from disappointment that the series didn't turn into the story of Flavia moving through Miss Bodeycoate's learning how to be a baby spy.... that would've been a bitchin' series, and the books since As Chimney Sweepers Come To Dust have maybe felt a bit directionless to me because I can't quite tell where things are heading now that they're NOT going that way. Once you're nine books into a series, there has to be something keeping the reader's interest that's different from the earlier books-- the scientific experiments and Flavia's small cons with townsfolk are still funny, but not measurably different from her exploits in earlier books, so if I found myself needing a fix of Flavia's cleverness, why wouldn't I just reread earlier books?
Anyway-- the writing continues to be good, the mystery was fine, and of course Flavia continues to have one of the strongest narrative voices in literature currently. The series overall is great, and the audiobooks are so much fun. But I'm losing steam to keep pushing new installments to the front of my list as they're released; there hasn't been enough new material in the later volumes to merit displacing things at the top of my to-read list.
jennutley's review against another edition
4.0
Strange to find a mystery with a murder a comfort read but this is what these are for me. An interesting new setup with Flavia and Dogger hanging their shingle should make for new adventures.
epgr's review against another edition
4.0
Oh, Flavia. You never disappoint. I'm not sure I even care that much who the murderer is. I just like hanging out with you and your clever brain.
meganstreb's review against another edition
4.0
It feels a bit more fanciful than other Flavia deLuce stories. Very enjoyable.
craiggors's review against another edition
3.0
Bradley is very much losing interest in the mystery side of his novels, but honestly at this point I'm not picking them up for crafty whodunnits anymore, anyway. Flavia and the crazy cast of characters around her are the real draw here, and I loved seeing her discreet sleuthing with Dogger in this book. As always, I would have liked more scenes with Feely and Daffy, and more insight into how the de Luces are processing the tragedy from Book 8, but I have a feeling with the wedding coming up in Book 10 we'll get a lot more of that. Onward!