Red Herring Without Mustard by Alan Bradley

Alan Bradley is adept at getting into the mind of an eleven year old English girl traversing the 1950s countryside around her family's aristocratic stately home. As an amateur sleuth Flavia de Luce uses her Uncle Tar's laboratory to concoct chemical recipes to solve crimes around Bishop Lacey. In Red Herring Without Mustard, she encounters a gypsy and, after accidentally burning down the gypsy's fortune teller tent, offers the gypsy a retreat on the Buckshaw grounds. Without adult supervision, Flavia comes and goes as she pleases, finding a ring of antique thieves and questions villagers about the disappearance of a baby and the murder of a poacher - and that's just scratching the surface of this intriguing story . . .

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

I didn't realize that The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie was part of a series so it's been a few years since I have read a Flavia de Luce mystery. Alan Bradley does a wonderful job at setting the reader down in a 1950s English country village with Flavia de Luce (the chemistry wiz) flying pell mell over the hills and dales on her trusty bike she has named Gladys. The Weed that Strings the Hangman's Bag involves a puppeteer, his assistant, a young boy who was found hanged and a wild woman living in the woods. As if that isn't enough to keep the reader intrigued, Flavia's two sisters constantly tease and bait her which results in a few chemistry experiments as acts of revenge.

This is a book that I found magnetic from beginning to end and will be added to my list of favorites for 2015.

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley

I loved this book.


Alan Bradley has beautifully captured the mind of an eleven year old girl growing up in 1950s England. But this is no ordinary pre-teen. Flavia de Luce has a passion for chemistry and has a lab, left behind by a de Luce ancestor, in which she conducts experiments that she often tries out on her haughty sisters. Apart from the well plotted story, Alan Bradley peppers his novel with metaphors and similes that give his vivid descriptions a touch of humor.


The mystery takes many twists and turns as Flavia tries to solve the murder of a man found in the cucumber patch. Along with the mysterious events surrounding the stranger's demise, we are introduced to the world of philately and in particular the Penny Black stamp. Flavia takes us with her on her trusty bicycle named Gladys, on a wild journey of intrigue and danger.