Again, as with the first book in the series, whilst I enjoyed this murder mystery written from the view of the 11 year old prodigy Flavia de Luce, I found the self consciously "English" eccentricity a little too overdone, almost as if we were in a post WWII theme park version of the UK. The anglophile POW was just a step too far for me. All in all a pleasant read but I won't be seeking out the rest of the series. ( )

The Flavia de Luce books are just SO cute. Is it weird that I find an 11 year old would-be toxicologist and her investigation of murder mysteries adorable? For all the kids who grew up wanting to be detectives with best friends who were obsessed with botanical toxins (spoiler: that's me) there's something really satisfying and really nostalgic about reading Flavia's stories. The spooky Punch and Judy vignette recalled my favorite childhood books, especially The Magicians of Caprona, by Diana Wynne Jones and Mr. Punch, by Neil Gaiman.

I continue to find Flavia a totally plausible child protagonist, and I continue to be completely charmed by seeing the world from her point-of-view (my favorite: her sincere outrage at not being treated with collegiate equality by the police inspector.) Yeah, the mystery is a little thin and the ending is SUPER rushed, but that's not really the reason I read these books. ( )

It took me almost halfway into this book before I got to the stage where I didn't want to put it down. Maybe because that was when the murder happened. I enjoyed this one, though I wonder how long I will be able to take the endless precociousness of Flavia de Luce (11 years old? really? I already don't really believe it). Also I'm suspicious of little towns where so many murders seem to happen. However, for now, this series continues to be entertaining. I think the good thing about "small town murder mysteries" is that there is a constant sense of surprise, by the protagonists, that the friends and neighbours they have known all their lives can harbour such dark secrets. Because that always seems to be at the root of these things. In this case, the stranger passing through town may not be such a stranger, and his murder might not be such a mystery, when some of those dark secrets begin to come out. But I can't say much more without spoiling, so I won't! But I will continue to dip back into this series, even if I don't eat them all so ravenously. ( )

Torna la terribile e precocissima detective undicenne Flavia de Luce, con la sua passione pericolosa per la chimica e per la soluzione di omicidi misteriosi. Siamo sempre nella magica atmosfera della campagna inglese degli anni Cinquanta, e questa volta Flavia si ritrova alle prese con ben due morti, separate nel tempo ma collegate nel più inverosimile dei modi. Proprio quando la nostra eroina pensava che la sua carriera di investigatrice fosse finita, l'adorato burattinaio Rupert Porson ha uno sfortunato e fatale appuntamento con la corrente elettrica attraverso le corde che reggono le sue marionette di legno. Ma chi può aver voluto una cosa del genere e perché? La vicenda è talmente curiosa che Flavia lascia perdere i suoi esperimenti chimici e i suoi progetti vendicativi contro le sorelle maggiori Ophelia e Daphne e, inforcata la fidata bicicletta Gladys, parte dall'antica magione di famiglia decisa a risolvere questi misteri mortali. La pazza che vive a Gibbet Wood sa più di quanto non dica? E che ruolo hanno nella faccenda uno strano pilota tedesco ossessionato dalle sorelle Bronté, una zia zitella acidissima, per non parlare di una scatola di cioccolatini avvelenati? Ma la figura più enigmatica si rivela Nialla, l'affascinante e bizzarra assistente di Porson. Tutto sembra rinviare a un legame con una morte sospetta, avvenuta anni prima, e a un caso che la polizia locale non riesce a risolvere. ( )

Fantastic series, terribly fun characters, good solid mysteries. I love this series. ( )