Alan Bradley wove another enjoyable and intriguing tale starring Flavia de Luce, the darker, British version of Harriet the Spy. I had already fallen hard for Flavia when reading The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie and The Weed that Strings the Hangman’s Bag — books one and two in the Buckshaw Chronicles.

In the third installment of this bestselling, award-winning, sister-poisoning, bicycle-riding, murder-investigating, and utterly captivating series, Flavia de Luce must draw upon Gypsy lore and her encyclopaedic knowledge of poisons to prevent a grave miscarriage of justice.

“You frighten me,” the old Gypsy woman says. “Never have I seen my crystal ball so filled with darkness.” So begins eleven-year-old Flavia de Luce’s third adventure through the charming but deceptively dark byways of the village of Bishop’s Lacey. The Gypsy’s vision opens up old wounds for our precocious yet haunted heroine, and sets her mind racing in search of what it could mean.

When Flavia later goes to visit the Gypsy at her encampment, she certainly doesn’t expect to find the poor old woman lying near death in her caravan, bludgeoned in the wee hours. Was it an act of retribution by those who thought that the woman had abducted a local child years before? But how can she prove this crime is connected to the missing baby? Did it have something to do with the weird sect who met at the river to practice their secret rites?

While still pondering the possibilities, Flavia stumbles upon a corpse—that of a notorious layabout and bully she had only recently caught prowling about Buckshaw. The body hangs from a statue of Poseidon in Flavia’s very own backyard, and our unflappable sleuth knows it’s up to her to figure out the significance.

Pedalling her faithful bicycle, Gladys, across the countryside in search of clues to both crimes, Flavia uncovers secrets both long-buried and freshly stowed—the dodgy dealings of a local ironworks, the truth behind the Hobblers’ secret meetings, her own ancestor’s ambitious plans—all the while exhausting the patience of Inspector Hewitt. But it’s not long before the evidence starts falling into place, and Flavia must take drastic action to prevent another violent attack.

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As soon as I finished the first book in the Buckshaw Chronicles, The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, I picked up my ARC of The Weed That Strings the Hangman’s Bag. I got this copy through LibraryThing’s Early Reviewers Program. I am so pleased I had it for when I finished Sweetness because I just wanted to carry on with Flavia and her journey. I think it will be interesting to watch her grow in the next book as she is only 11 years old and incredibly bright.

Eleven-year-old Flavia de Luce didn’t intend to investigate another murder — but then, Rupert Porson didn’t intend to die. When the master puppeteer’s van breaks down in the village of Bishop’s Lacey, Flavia is front and centre to help Rupert and his charming assistant, Nialla, put together a performance in the local church to help pay the repair bill. But even as the newcomers set up camp and set the stage for Jack and the Beanstalk, there are signs that something just isn’t right: Nialla’s strange bruises and solitary cries in the churchyard, Rupert’s unexplained disappearances and a violent argument with his BBC producer, the disturbing atmosphere at Culverhouse Farm, and the peculiar goings-on in nearby Gibbet Wood — where young Robin Ingleby was found hanging just five years before…

[From the publisher, Random House of Canada]

While I found The Weed That Strings the Hangman’s Bag to be a good book, and perfectly capable of standing alone, it didn’t have the same intrigue as The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie. It was interesting getting to know more of the characters in Bishop’s Lacey, as well as some that we’d already encountered. But I think what I liked so much about the first book was that while Inspector Hewitt never included Flavia (per se) in the investigation, she was a big part of it. Also, it was sort of like finding the skeletons in your own family’s closet.

That’s not to say that The Weed That Strings the Hangman’s Bag isn’t a good read. As I said, it stands alone as well as fits nicely with the first book. And it wasn’t too repetitive if you’d already read the first book. It was a little bit predictable, but what would a mystery novel be if you couldn’t try to solve the case along with the characters? I really enjoyed Flavia’s sleuthing and I am looking forward to the third book, A Red Herring Without Mustard.

I think that Alan Bradley has found a lovely balance between YA and adult literature. Adults can enjoy the book and identify with Flavia on certain levels, but the text isn’t too heavy that a young adult reader wouldn’t enjoy it. It reminds me very much of the accessiblity of The Book Thief… but Alan Bradley’s subjects are a little more light-hearted. It also makes me think of those Agatha Christie detective shows and some of the British soaps; the ones where you think, ‘why would anyone live in that village? Everyone ends up dead!’ but it’s so plausible at the same time.

Visit the Website for the Buckshaw Chronicles | Join the Flavia de Luce Fan Club

I have been remiss in posting this review because I’m already absorbed in the next book in the series. However, I really enjoyed The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley and believe it should get the attention it deserves. I first heard about the book when it came into the office; Alan Bradley is a Canadian author and The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie is his first work of fiction. In July 2007 Bradley received the debut fiction award from the British Crime Writers’ Association based on only 15 pages of Flavia’s adventures.

Flavia de Luce is an extremely intelligent and interesting eleven-year-old girl. She is the youngest of three sisters being raised by a single father. She is extremely interested in chemistry, particularly poisons. You instantly fall in love with Flavia and the de Luce family. I didn’t want to put the book down each night, yet felt satisfied with each chapter as it progressed.

The summer of 1950 hasn’t offered up anything out of the ordinary for eleven-year-old Flavia de Luce: bicycle explorations around the village, keeping tabs on her neighbours, relentless battles with her older sisters, Ophelia and Daphne, and brewing up poisonous concoctions while plotting revenge in their home’s abandoned Victorian chemistry lab, which Flavia has claimed for her own.

But then a series of mysterious events gets Flavia’s attention: A dead bird is found on the doormat, a postage stamp bizarrely pinned to its beak. A mysterious late-night visitor argues with her aloof father, Colonel de Luce, behind closed doors. And in the early morning Flavia finds a red-headed stranger lying in the cucumber patch and watches him take his dying breath. For Flavia, the summer begins in earnest when murder comes to Buckshaw: “I wish I could say I was afraid, but I wasn’t. Quite the contrary. This was by far the most interesting thing that had ever happened to me in my entire life.”

Did the stranger die of poisoning? There was a piece missing from Mrs. Mullet’s custard pie, and none of the de Luces would have dared to eat the awful thing. Or could he have been killed by the family’s loyal handyman, Dogger… or by the Colonel himself! At that moment, Flavia commits herself to solving the crime — even if it means keeping information from the village police, in order to protect her family. But then her father confesses to the crime, for the same reason, and it’s up to Flavia to free him of suspicion. Only she has the ingenuity to follow the clues that reveal the victim’s identity, and a conspiracy that reaches back into the de Luces’ murky past.

[From the publisher, Random House of Canada]

I really enjoyed reading Flavia’s mystery; it was a delight from beginning to end. I followed the clues with her and although the next ‘step’ in solving the mystery was occasionally predictable, I was enthralled enough with the characters and setting to not care. I love reading books that take place in England after spending so much time there, and a semi-historical period (from 1950) is also very appealing. Flavia is very quick-witted and Bradley’s writing can be quite humourous. I finished the book feeling very satisfied and contented, yet still wanted more Flavia!

I quickly picked up the second Flavia de Luce mystery, The Weed that Strings the Hangman’s Bag. Expect a review very soon! I also intend to read A Red Herring without Mustard, which is the third Flavia book that Alan Bradley is currently writing. Some interesting links:

• The Weed that Strings the Hangman’s Bag
• Quill & Quire Author Profile of Alan Bradley
• Flavia de Luce website (for “The Buckshaw Chronicles” series)
• Flavia Fan Club (Book Ning)
• Author Spotlight for Alan Bradley at Random House of Canada

The BC Book Prizes announced the 2010 Finalists on Thursday, March 11. Yes, this is self-promo since I work with the BC Book Prizes, but I really believe in what we do so I don’t care! There are some great authors and illustrators listed for seven different awards. We also organize a free Soirée and right now we’re planning our 7th annual BC Book Prizes On Tour. This tour takes finalist authors all over the province — we’re planning three legs: Northern BC, Kootenays, Okanagan and Vancouver Island. Sign up for email newsletters on our website to get all the updates.

Canada Reads 2010 also concluded the debates on Friday, March 12. The winner was Nikolski by Nicolas Dicker, translated by Lazer Lederhendler. In my review of Nikolski, I mention I was pleasantly surprised by the translation. However, I’d like to comment that the Canada Reads debates weren’t as intriguing for me this year compared to last year. I remember painting my bedroom last March/April and listening to the debates. I kept thinking “oh I want to read that” for each of the books. I loved The Book Of Negroes and still really want to read Fruit: A Novel About A Boy and His Nipples by Brian Frances and Outlander by Gil Adamson. I think that this year they spent too long debating what makes a book “Canadian”, which was never really the point of Canada Reads. I guess that they [CBC/Canada Reads] need to make their criteria less vague (“A book that all Canadians should read”) so that they [the champions] spend more time talking about the books themselves.

The UK’s Orange Prize for Fiction also released the 2010 longlist today. The Guardian newspaper in the UK has a great mini-site set up so you can browse through the titles. Some of the books have now been added to my TBR mountain, including Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel which also won the Man Booker Prize in 2009 and The Very Thought of You by Rosie Alison, one of seven debut novelists.

Also, of note:

• The 2010 Pulitzer Prize (Pull it, Surprise!) awards will be announced April 12.
• On March 8, 2010, the Jury for the 2010 Scotiabank Giller Prize was announced. The Gillers announces their longlist in September, shortlist in October, and winner in November.

P.S. If anyone knows of anything I missed, please let me know! I love hearing about new things in the publishing community.