Thrice the Brinded Cat Hath Mew’d – Alan Bradley (2016, Doubleday Canada)
The eighth book in the Flavia de Luce mystery series packs a right-between-the-eyes knockout punch – and no, I won’t spoil it for you, other than to say this is an even bigger deal than her temporary “exile” in Canada, where she attended a private boarding school, solved a weird murder involving a body stuffed up a chimney, and learned more about her family’s connection to a secret organization which I shouldn’t discuss further. (Go get book seven, As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust, and read it right now. It’s a ragged and uneven go, but it serves as a decent set up for the new book). In Thrice the Brinded Cat Hath Mew’d, Flavia returns home to her beloved Buckshaw just before Christmas, to find that her father is ill and the household is unsettled and cold. The accidental finding of the body of a wood carver while running an errand cheers Flavia up immensely, as she goes to great lengths and concocts elaborate lies to uncover the murderer. Despite remaining endearingly irrepressible, Flavia is definitely taking on a more mature, experienced voice (if that can even be possible) as the series develops and she approaches her teenage years.
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What are you reading this weekend?
The Billion Dollar Spy: A True Story by David E. Hoffman.
Sounds interesting. I’m reading a little book by a fellow blogger, Paul Handover called “Learning from Dogs.”
A few weeks ago I read “The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie.” While the book is as far from reality as a story can get, I did enjoy Flavia’s irrepressible character and the novel’s ripping narrative momentum.
That’s a perfect way to describe these books!
I love this series, Sheryl. So much back story gets revealed in each book. Didn’t realize there’s a new one. Thank you.
They are truly entertaining reads!
Wow! This sounds like a series for me. I’ll start at the beginning. You have the best book recommendations, Sheryl. I just started reading “My Year of Living Danishly”. So far, so good.
I like this series a lot–love Flavia’s gumption–but had sort of lost track of it and haven’t read either of these last two. Now I’ll go looking!
Flavia is a real delight!
What an interesting sounding book.
Shoko and Kali
It’s an enjoyable series to read – and written by a Canadian, to boot!