Mystery

The Weed that Strings the Hangman's Bag finds Flavia again stumbling upon an unexpected death, which turns out to be a murder. In this installment, 10 year-old Flavia becomes involved with a traveling puppet show, complete with a surly puppeteer and his put-upon assistant. When the puppet master dramatically turns up dead, Flavia is in the thick of it again. Her almost super-human powers of observation serve her well, and with a little tinkering in her chemistry lab, she proves her hunches.

While trying to avoid her father's wrath, her sisters' tauntings and her aunt's prickly presence, Flavia makes her way around town questioning all possible sources of information and untangling the connections and relationships that lie underneath the surface. Bishop Lacey's inhabitants are a motley crew of charming eccentrics, and Flavia manages to coerce even the most guarded townsfolk into dropping tantalizing nuggets of information.

Luckily for us, Flavia misses nothing, and her discoveries build a complex tale of love, need, sorrow, revenge and madness. With her fabulous chemistry lab, ubiquitous notebook, and trusty bicycle, Gladys, there's no containing the force that is Flavia. I wish many long years of fruitful writing upon Alan Bradley. The man is, like no one else, uncannily able to crawl inside a 10-year-old girl's precocious mind. Bravo!
Recommended by Dianah, Powells.com

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New - Compact Disc

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