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3.94 AVERAGE
3.94 AVERAGE
Wow. For the first time ever, I was able to put down a Flavia de Luce mystery. What was hard was picking it back up.
I know Bradley has struggled recently but this is a very disappointing installment and the mixed quality of recent titles did not prepare me for what this book contained.
Gone are beloved characters. The often incomprehensible but nurturing relationships and provocative inner thought processes that made Flavia so special are totally missing.
Now that she is growing up, he clearly has no clue what to do with our heroine.
Undine is whiny. And I fear that her role will be to make Flavia embrace traditional feminine traits.
The plot is getting a tad fantastical. What next? Will he introduce a weather machine that will be stolen by an evil character who wants to rule the world?
I know Bradley has struggled recently but this is a very disappointing installment and the mixed quality of recent titles did not prepare me for what this book contained.
Gone are beloved characters. The often incomprehensible but nurturing relationships and provocative inner thought processes that made Flavia so special are totally missing.
Now that she is growing up, he clearly has no clue what to do with our heroine.
Undine is whiny. And I fear that her role will be to make Flavia embrace traditional feminine traits.
The plot is getting a tad fantastical. What next? Will he introduce a weather machine that will be stolen by an evil character who wants to rule the world?
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
funny
mysterious
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Back in 2019, it appeared that Flavia de Luce, everyone's favorite cheeky pint-sized mad scientist and amateur detective, had completed her literary journey. Book 10 ([b:The Golden Tresses of the Dead|38763327|The Golden Tresses of the Dead (Flavia de Luce, #10)|Alan Bradley|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1527196119l/38763327._SY75_.jpg|60348245]) was supposedly the final volume. Now, five years later - but less time in Flavia's world - Flavia has returned for further musings on chemistry and delighting in murder and mischief.
My experience with the Flavia de Luce series is hit-or-miss. Flavia and her world are rather static - some books are simply variations on the same thing, with the characters evolving little or not at all from book to book. However, by the end of the series Bradley had managed to introduce some events and characters to keep the series from being completely stagnant. My favorite books were the ones where something occurred to move the overall story forward.
It was bittersweet when I thought Flavia de Luce would end. There had been a lot of changes, some sad, some happy, but Flavia was in a good place. Flavia's father had died and she had inherited the family pile of Buckshaw. Her oldest sister, Ophelia, was married. Flavia's obnoxious younger cousin - her foil - had moved into the house to irritate and inspire her. And Flavia had begun an investigative agency to solve crimes with her stalwart partner Dogger.
We pick up again about where we left off...and instead of moving forward, it feels like the narrative has moved backward. I thought Flavia/Dogger having an investigative service meant they could work on new and more interesting crimes, instead of having yet ANOTHER person die mysteriously in Bishop's Lacey. Nope, instead some character we had never heard of who had recently moved to the village has died. Flavia's longtime family cook, Mrs. Mullet, is under suspicion for potentially feeding him poisonous mushrooms. But no one, not even Mrs. Mullet, seems too concerned that the police think she is a potential murderer. It's clear that Flavia will find the true culprit.
Bradley does the thing that I absolutely hate that mystery writers sometimes do: turn their cozy mystery series into a conspiracy series ([a:Louise Penny|194243|Louise Penny|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1591027995p2/194243.jpg] is the absolutely worst offender for this). Bradley had previously introduced the concept of the Nide, a secret society of which Flavia's deceased mother and her very much alive Aunt Felicity were members. I didn't mind when the Nide appeared in the series - it was at least another layer to the world. But in this book Bradley leaned heavily into it. Why do authors think they need some grand conspiracy to keep their mysteries fresh? Agatha Christie never had Miss Marple uncover a secret society that followed her from book to book! Keeping it in the cozy realm is absolutely fine, and Bradley had the best way to keep it fresh but cozy right there - Flavia and Dogger's investigative agency, which did not get any use in this novel! Even worse in terms of sliding backwards,
After reading this, I wish the series had finished with Book 10. Maybe I will pretend it's over - I'm not sure I will continue. I still love Dogger. I still like Flavia's macabre glee. I love her relationship with Undine. But the mystery itself was almost farcical in this one and I don't want to read more books that keep the world and characters the stationary, or undoes the progress that was previously made.
My experience with the Flavia de Luce series is hit-or-miss. Flavia and her world are rather static - some books are simply variations on the same thing, with the characters evolving little or not at all from book to book. However, by the end of the series Bradley had managed to introduce some events and characters to keep the series from being completely stagnant. My favorite books were the ones where something occurred to move the overall story forward.
It was bittersweet when I thought Flavia de Luce would end. There had been a lot of changes, some sad, some happy, but Flavia was in a good place. Flavia's father had died and she had inherited the family pile of Buckshaw. Her oldest sister, Ophelia, was married. Flavia's obnoxious younger cousin - her foil - had moved into the house to irritate and inspire her. And Flavia had begun an investigative agency to solve crimes with her stalwart partner Dogger.
We pick up again about where we left off...and instead of moving forward, it feels like the narrative has moved backward. I thought Flavia/Dogger having an investigative service meant they could work on new and more interesting crimes, instead of having yet ANOTHER person die mysteriously in Bishop's Lacey. Nope, instead some character we had never heard of who had recently moved to the village has died. Flavia's longtime family cook, Mrs. Mullet, is under suspicion for potentially feeding him poisonous mushrooms. But no one, not even Mrs. Mullet, seems too concerned that the police think she is a potential murderer. It's clear that Flavia will find the true culprit.
Bradley does the thing that I absolutely hate that mystery writers sometimes do: turn their cozy mystery series into a conspiracy series ([a:Louise Penny|194243|Louise Penny|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1591027995p2/194243.jpg] is the absolutely worst offender for this). Bradley had previously introduced the concept of the Nide, a secret society of which Flavia's deceased mother and her very much alive Aunt Felicity were members. I didn't mind when the Nide appeared in the series - it was at least another layer to the world. But in this book Bradley leaned heavily into it. Why do authors think they need some grand conspiracy to keep their mysteries fresh? Agatha Christie never had Miss Marple uncover a secret society that followed her from book to book! Keeping it in the cozy realm is absolutely fine, and Bradley had the best way to keep it fresh but cozy right there - Flavia and Dogger's investigative agency, which did not get any use in this novel! Even worse in terms of sliding backwards,
Spoiler
the big secret is that Flavia's father isn't really dead. That's right, he faked it because the big conspriacy (the Nide) made him. And this book's murder victim saw him and told someone, so the Nide had the murder victim killed. Because despite bringing Flavia's father back to his hometown - making it likely he would run into someone he knew - it was such an important secret that the organization needed to kill to protect it. They could have just kept him away! And the whole poignancy of his death/aftermath is lost, because he was never really dead. It's just...operatic. When very dead characters are suddenly brought back to life because of "conspiracy" then what are the stakes?After reading this, I wish the series had finished with Book 10. Maybe I will pretend it's over - I'm not sure I will continue. I still love Dogger. I still like Flavia's macabre glee. I love her relationship with Undine. But the mystery itself was almost farcical in this one and I don't want to read more books that keep the world and characters the stationary, or undoes the progress that was previously made.
Fun catching up with Flavia, but I thought the plot jumped the shark . I suppose that’s a risk with a character like this, who is so extremely precocious, what exactly is believable? Anyway, listened to this as I prepped for Thanksgiving and the time passed pleasantly.
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes