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The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag (Flavia De Luce Mystery 2)

The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag (Flavia De Luce Mystery 2)

by Alan Bradley (Author)

  • Used

    Hardcover 2010

    $10.41
Synopsis

The story opens with the immortal words 'I was lying dead in the churchyard' (spoken, astonishingly, by Flavia herself), and ends with a funeral watched by the De Luce family on a newly installed television set. In between, Alan Bradley weaves a hauntingly nightmarish tale that involves Punch & Judy - and in particular Mr Punch's nemesis, the hangman, Jack Ketch - a frighteningly realistic puppet show and a hitherto unexplored corner of Bishop's Lacey known as Gibbet's Wood. The plot, beginning with the arrival in Bishop's Lacey of a travelling puppet show, features a grisly murder during a performance of Jack and the Beanstalk in the village hall and reaches back to an earlier, even nastier crime centring on an ancient, rotting gibbet that has lain like a shadow over the village for years. For Flavia, undoing the complex knot that ties these strands together will test her precocious powers of deduction to the limit - and provide a shocking insight into some of the darker corners of the adult world.

$10.41

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More Information

Format: Hardcover
 Pages: 352
 Publisher: Orion
Published: 15 Apr 2010
ISBN 10: 0752897136
ISBN 13: 9780752897134
Book Overview: The delightfully dark second volume in the acclaimed Flavia de Luce mystery series sees murder and puppetry coming to the village of Bishop's Lacey.

Media Reviews
Praise for the cosy crime Flavia de Luce Mysteries - perfect for fans of Agatha Christie and Midsomer Murders: The Flavia de Luce novels are now a cult favourite * Mail on Sunday *
Certain to become a national treasure * Daily Mail *
Delightfully entertaining * Guardian *
Flavia is enchanting * New York Times *
A breath of fresh air to the world of period-piece sleuthing * Independent *
Flavia is mercilessly addictive * Daily Telegraph *
A clever, witty and totally gripping read with lots of surprises * Essentials *
At once precocious and endearing. Flavia is a marvellous character. Quirkily appealing, this is definitely a crime novel with a difference * Choice *
It's like entering the lost world of the Mitford sisters where the girls are allowed to run completely wild * Crime Squad *
Hilarious, eccentric and mischievous * Deadly Pleasures *
Engaging, entertaining, bright and breezy; and above all, great fun! * Good Book Guide *
Readers ready to allow themselves to be led by Flavia's strong, cool intelligence and sharp wit and Bradley's deft evocation of a past that never quite existed, will certainly welcome the reappearance of this most original heroine -- Yvonne Klein * REVIEWING THE EVIDENCE.COM *
In this mystery, subtle humor abounds - the kind that kids who know they're really smarter than adults thrive on. It's Harry Potter territory without wizards and with more erudite writing... If Bradley's characters don't make it on the big screen, someone out there is reading the wrong stuff -- Sue Emmons * MYSTERY SCENE *
Precocious amateur sleuth and chemist Flavia de Luce returns in this charming and captivating sequel...This is a fresh and kooky crime novel that will leave you wanting more' * WATERSTONES BOOKS QUARTERLY *
Alan Bradley weaves a hauntingly nightmarish tale that involves Punch & Judy - and in particular Mr Punch's nemesis, the hangman, Jack Ketch - a frighteningly realistic puppet show, and a hitherto unexplored corner of Bishop's Lacey known as Gibbet's Wood. For Flavia, undoing the complex knot that ties these strands together will test her precocious powers of deduction to the limit - and provide a shocking insight into some of the darker corners of the adult world * TANGLED WEB *
This is a rich fruitcake of a book, chock-full of choice morsels, drenched in heartening spirit!...All will be revealed, of course, as the intricate plot unfolds, but there is such period charm to this book, and the precocious Flavia is so original a character, that on all fronts it's a joy to read from start to finish! * CORNFLOWER *
I didn't work out the ending until it happened ...and so Bradley and Flavia outwitted me which I enjoyed. I do like feeling very clever and having figured it all out myself but there are more twists and turns and with an addition of an old mystery thrown in you have lots more to contend with...I think this series is just going to keep on getting better and better. Its books like this that make reading such a pleasure * SAVIDGE READS *
Flavia de Luce, an 11-year-old sleuth, who first captured readers' hearts in The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie,, unravels a complex plot. There are some chilling moments in this ingenious novel * CHOICE *
memorably funny * HISTORICAL NOVELS REVIEW *
this is a rich fruitcake of a book, chock-full of choice morsels, drenched in heartening spirit!...The intricate plot unfolds neatly against a charming period backdrop of 1950s' England, while the precocious but indomitable Flavia is so original a character that the book is a joy to read * GOOD BOOK GUIDE *
Author Bio
Alan Bradley is a retired Director of Televison Engineering at the University of Saskatchewan, where he lectured on screen writing. He is the author of the memoir, THE SHOEBOX BIBLE, as well as the acclaimed Flavia de Luce mysteries.