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Flavia de Luce has settled into being my favorite heroine. And has managed to get me insanely excited about reading a good, old fashioned murder mystery. Who could resist a book written from the point of view of a brilliant, cheeky, poison-loving kid?
Now, I have heard some folks say that Flavia's inner monologue and actions are not true to that of an 11 year old, but I will point out I have met some brilliant kids, and honestly, had I the access to the chemistry this girl has in the depths of her ancient mansion of a home in the British countryside, I would probably have been experimenting just as happily as she. Her father is distracted, her sisters are more concerned with convincing her she was adopted then properly spending time with her, and her mother is dead. Left to her own devices, Flavia spends all her time in the ancient, well stocked lab of a relative, reading and researching, and the chemistry in the books is plausible and explained, from Flavia's POV, with such love and interest the reader can't help but be enthralled and excited by each bubbling test tube.
The way Hangman's Bag, and Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie before it, is written makes it a pure joy to read. Flavia is a brilliantly interesting POV character. She is funny, she gets into trouble, and she keeps trying to poison her sisters. I have sisters, I know how that goes. I love following every little twist to the stories, and the reveal was done in both books in such a way as to be interesting, and surprising. I never manage to 'guess' the murderer, or fully sort out their motives, until it all comes together in the end. Not a detail is wasted, and watching Flavia try to pull everything together is fantastic.
The setting of the books also helps maintain that rural small town atmosphere that gives Flavia a wonderful cast of neighbors to sneakily interrogate and secrets to uncover. Every town has their dark little stories, and Hangman's Bag shook quite a few out into the open.
I don't usually read mysteries, but I am merrily addicted to this series. Here's to many more murders for Flavia to tackle!
Now, I have heard some folks say that Flavia's inner monologue and actions are not true to that of an 11 year old, but I will point out I have met some brilliant kids, and honestly, had I the access to the chemistry this girl has in the depths of her ancient mansion of a home in the British countryside, I would probably have been experimenting just as happily as she. Her father is distracted, her sisters are more concerned with convincing her she was adopted then properly spending time with her, and her mother is dead. Left to her own devices, Flavia spends all her time in the ancient, well stocked lab of a relative, reading and researching, and the chemistry in the books is plausible and explained, from Flavia's POV, with such love and interest the reader can't help but be enthralled and excited by each bubbling test tube.
The way Hangman's Bag, and Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie before it, is written makes it a pure joy to read. Flavia is a brilliantly interesting POV character. She is funny, she gets into trouble, and she keeps trying to poison her sisters. I have sisters, I know how that goes. I love following every little twist to the stories, and the reveal was done in both books in such a way as to be interesting, and surprising. I never manage to 'guess' the murderer, or fully sort out their motives, until it all comes together in the end. Not a detail is wasted, and watching Flavia try to pull everything together is fantastic.
The setting of the books also helps maintain that rural small town atmosphere that gives Flavia a wonderful cast of neighbors to sneakily interrogate and secrets to uncover. Every town has their dark little stories, and Hangman's Bag shook quite a few out into the open.
I don't usually read mysteries, but I am merrily addicted to this series. Here's to many more murders for Flavia to tackle!
