I Am Half-Sick of Shadows (Flavia de Luce Mystery - Book 4)

I love Flavia DeLuce, whom I first encountered in The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie. It's just after WWII, and Flavia, 11-year-old sleuth and chemistry fan (with a specialty in poisons), lives in a rambling estate in England, the daughter of a stamp collecting, absent minded father. She has two older sisters (Daphne and Ophelia) who torment her mercilessly and a deceased mother, about whom she wonders quite a bit. She rides her bicycle, named Gladys, all around her village of Bishop's Lacey, and much like Jessica Fletcher in Cabot Cove, Maine, is always happening upon crime of a murderous nature.

This book takes place over Christmas, when the DeLuce family has let their estate, Buckshaw, out to a film company to shoot a movie. Flavia's sisters are movie-crazy, so this is great fun for them, but not so much for Flavia. They have had to let it because their former fortune is mostly gone, with the bulk of it being in Flavia's mother's name, resorting to selling off bits and pieces of silver, antiques, furniture, and what not to keep their heads above water. With the film company money, the DeLuces can pay their taxes and be safe for another year or so.

A blizzard ensues as the film company arrives, including a famous actress, at Buckshaw for filming. Flavia finds herself enjoying the doings of the film crew, and of course, when one of their number is found dispatched in the house, she gets to work figuring out just what happened. This does not please the police, or really anybody else, who mostly treat her like an underfoot hindrance.

Flavia is full of keen observations, witty asides, and rather mature insights. She's never a kiddish child and someone I would have loved to have as a friend when I was a child, if she wasn't fictional and all.

I would definitely recommend this book to mystery fans, chemistry fans, and literature fans alike!

I've read all of the Flavia de Luce mysteries set in 1950s England and was looking forward to this fourth installment. The character of Flavia is brilliant as always. Alan Bradley has created a wonderful voice for his precocious 11-year-old heroine and her descriptions of the goings-on at Buckshaw never fail to bring a smile. Who else would describe someone's skirt like "the canopy of a seaside roundabout"? Indeed, Bradley's expert use of interesting metaphors and similes make his prose a joy to read. Flavia's chemistry know-how again comes to the fore, as she tinkers away in her laboratory concocting fireworks for a spectacular Christmas display and a birdlime glue to trap Santa. There is also a hint that Flavia's horrible older sisters may be thawing just a little and the final chapters have an almost poignant undercurrent in spite of the humour.

However, I was a little disappointed with the plot and felt it didn't live up to the high standard set by the other books in the series. One of the things I've loved about the earlier books is their original storylines. With so many mysteries on the market, it must be difficult to come up with something totally fresh each time. I felt this novel had a bit of overlap with "A Red Herring Without Mustard". In that third book of the series, a dead body suddenly turned up while half of the village were watching a puppet show in the church hall. In the latest book, a dead body is found while most of the villagers are snowed in at Buckshaw following a charity performance of the balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet. It's not that parts of it aren't interesting. I just didn't find it as fresh as the earlier ones. I also felt some aspects weren't developed as much as they could have been (e.g., Aunt Felicity's secret wartime activities), but perhaps this will be explored more in future plotlines.

Although this book could be read as a stand-alone mystery, there are some references to previous books and storylines. Therefore, I feel it would be better to read them in order so that the back story unfolds systematically. Overall, this was an enjoyable read and I'll definitely be sticking with the series. However, it's not quite as good as "Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie" or "A Red Herring Without Mustard".

I adore Flavia! Granted, if she were my child, I believe I would've probably had a nervous breakdown by now, what with all of her and her sisters' antics. However, as a fictional character, Flavia is not only the most original and compelling I've seen, she's also the most three-dimensional and undeniably real child character I've met. Usually, in fiction, even that directed towards children, child characters lack a sense of reality; they're either too precious or too nasty or just too underdeveloped. Flavia has courage, curiosity, neuroses, fears, dreams, imagination, bold ideas, harebrained schemes, and often does things at a moment's notice without truly thinking about the consequences--spot on behaviors for an 11-year-old. She tries to show her bravery in the face of her sisters' casual cruelty, yet crumbles at the last minute, succumbing to her fright or anguish. Yet, as with every book, she has her love of chemistry and all its potential uses for revenge to buoy her and propel her into the next set of adventures and dangers.

In this particular novel, it's winter, near Christmas time, and due to financial difficulties, Flavia's father, Colonel Haviland de Luce, has leased out the family manor, Buckshaw, to a film company (or a 'fillum' company, as the family cook/housekeeper/mother hen Mrs. Mullet puts it). The crumbling pile of stone that is Buckshaw soon finds itself swarming with all manner of actors, film crew and other assorted creatures and Flavia's elder sister, Ophelia (or 'Feely'), is in seventh heaven as she finds herself conscripted into the cast as an extra. Naturally, there is a great deal of off-stage drama, particularly involving the star of the movie, Phyllis Wyvern, and, also quite naturally, Flavia eventually stumbles upon a gruesome murder. With all the occupants trapped inside the house due to a ferocious winter storm (as well as orders from Flavia's nemesis/mentor, Inspector Hewitt), chaos is bound to ensue. In the midst of that, Flavia puts her chemical knowledge to good use by setting out traps to capture Father Christmas and finds herself catching the murderer instead (while also setting off the fireworks she created in her lab, thereby startling the entire countryside with their sonic booms).

As with all the Flavia books, the mystery isn't that involved or hard to figure out. Don't get me wrong, it's not done poorly; there's still plenty of 'whodunit' in the novel as various suspects and clues are found and discarded. However, the mystery is always secondary to the reactions and interactions of the characters involved, specifically Flavia. Watching her concoct everything from poisons to explosives in her chemistry lab, usually as a result of a confrontation with her sisters, with revenge being the driving force; watching her feverish brain deduct clues and scramble to solve the mystery and prove herself to Inspector Hewitt; watching her be the bright, precocious, fiendishly intelligent eleven-year-old she is is what truly drives each novel, in my opinion. What makes I Am Half-Sick of Shadows stand out is that Flavia finally confronts her sisters, something I've been eagerly urging her to do (yes, I know I'm urging a fictional character--get over it) since the very first Flavia novel. Nothing is particularly settled between the three sisters, except perhaps for a lovely Christmas truce; however, the question of 'Why do you hate me?' has been put out there by Flavia, perhaps to be answered in the next novel. And believe me, I'm most eagerly looking forward to it.

Alan Bradley takes his Flavia de Luce mysteries to new heights with I Am Half-Sick of Shadows, in which eleven-year-old Flavia, our coldhearted, hotblooded genius protagonist, copes with the chaos of a movie filming over Christmas at her home of Buckshaw Manor. The mishegoss includes on-set rivalries and injuries; the understated conflict between her family (who begrudge the filmmakers' intrusion but need their money) and the showbiz folk; terrible weather; amateur theatrics; a plot to kidnap Father Christmas; and, eventually, murder. In other words, aside from the movie angle, nothing Flavia hasn't handled before -- and at eleven, her powers are still increasing.

What makes this de Luce novel the best of the bunch so far isn't the mystery, which is so minimal as to be nearly rote. Nor is it the enjoyable characters -- especially Flavia, her sisters, her damaged father, and their loyal but even more damaged manservant Dogger; but also the other denizens of Flavia's native village of Bishops Lacey and the vivid new character, movie star Phyllis Wyvern. The characters are reason enough to follow the series, and they are developed here with Bradley's characteristic tantalizing deliberation, which left me (as always) hungry for more. But the real highlight here is the stellar quality of the prose.

Alan Bradley has always been a fine writer, but his debut, The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, was notable for the high-concept protagonist of young Flavia rather than for Bradley's clear, workmanlike writing. Here, though, Bradley, while never seeming self-indulgent (and always ready to use Flavia's mordant wit to cut through any incipient treacle), achieves a hypnotic sense of mood and place that I can only compare, in the mystery field, to some of Dorothy Sayers's finest work. As Sayers was in, for instance, Gaudy Night, Bradley is so riveting and evocative that I forgot for pages at a time that I was reading a mystery and just got lost in the characters and images. The opening dream sequence by itself is worth the price of the book. Flavia's chemistry metaphors have never been more compelling, and the descriptions of the snowy English winter at Buckshaw are so powerful that I found myself pulling my reading blanket tighter around myself as I read.

I am more eager than ever to read the next in the series. But if you haven't read the previous Flavia de Luce books (The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie,The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag,A Red Herring Without Mustard), then I suggest you start with the beginning and work your way up to this one. The others are more traditional (but lovely and excellent) mysteries, they'll lull you into a pleasant state of expectation, and then, if you're like me, Bradley will knock your socks off with this one.

Yes, Flavia can be..when she wants. And in I AM HALF-SICK OF SHADOWS, she is thoughtful more than usual, but still crafty!

As we fast approach Christmas ourselves, a Flavia de Luce novel taking place during Yuletide celebrations at Buckshaw is just the ticket. As the big day nears, Flavia inventively puts her chemistry genius to work to "catch" Father Christmas coming down the chimney. Although her older sisters can't believe an eleven-year-old still believes in the jolly old man who delivers presents, Flavia is determined to show them proof.

Meanwhile, the family's continued cash-lean circumstances push Flavia's father -- who prefers his stamp collections to face time with his daughters -- to rent out use of Buckshaw to a movie company, and soon the mansion is filled with show people. Flavia and others of the household are star-struck when famous actress Phyllis Wyvern sweeps into the house. And then there is Wyvern's co-star, Desmond Duncan, and her long-time director, Val Lampman. Ever inquisitive, Flavia gets to know Phyllis a little, and questions pop into the girl's mind about this worldly woman. As a blizzard squeezes not only the film cast and crew but also the villagers into the house after a special charity event, a death puts everyone there under suspicion, and Inspector Hewitt's investigation, as usual, also becomes Flavia's. She cannot leave the crime-busting to the professionals and in a nail-biting showdown, she has to scramble desperately for her very life.

Although I Am Half-Sick of Shadows: A Flavia de Luce Novel relates an interesting crime mystery, the novel is more geared to exploring Flavia and her family and friends during the holidays. Flavia and her sisters actually call a brief truce, and even without it, they manage to be less barbaric with one another than in previous outings. I liked that very much. Also, many of the characters who appeared in previous books took little bows in this one -- and that was very welcome. Flavia continues to wonder about her dead mother and how her absence has affected the entire family. She also yearns for the approval of Inspector Hewitt and even apologizes to him for something she did earlier. Also, the touching relationship between Flavia and Dogger gets good play in this installment. Generally, the "guests" don't hold half the interest as the core characters of Buckshaw, so it was great to see some meaty dialogue and plot to advance Flavia's personal story.

I always enjoy Flavia novels. This is one of my favorites so far. (4.5 stars.)

Now this novel at least varies the setting somewhat because it takes place in the dead of winter at Christmas time, and in the De Luce home at Buckshaw. Instead of the mysterious death occurring in the town, the town comes to Buckshaw and then gets stuck there due to heavy snow storms. As reculsive as Flavia's very distant father is, it is pretty unusual that a troop of actors can come and invade the privacy of this family and set up shop there to make a movie. We are to believe that this is allowed to happen because the Vicar needs money and the actors agree to put on a performance for the townspeople of Romeo and Juliet, at least the balcony scene, and all proceeds collected from the audience will go to the Church fund. Flavia once again puts herself in harm's way discovering, fighting off, and eventually revealing who the murderers are. It is refreshing that the murderers and the victim are not members of Bishops Lacey. Just how many of the townspeople can this small town lose to keep the Flavia series going? I have got to keep reading this series to see just how Bradley is going to sustain this archetypal plot type over and over. I liked how the reference to Hamlet being half sick of shadows (play acting) ties into the murder within family members plot in both Hamlet and this novel. Flavia never disappoints. The Lady of Shalott looking through the mirror at the real-life lovers behind her on the river shore also says I am half sick of shadows, meaning un-real life, or acting.

An overweight 11 year old who gets to solve murders in her little village? Sounds like the childhood I dreamed of. Except I'm a boy and she's a girl... And she lives in her family's estate home... And she LIKES her chemistry set... And murder turns up on her door step...

The highly descriptive visuals evoke the small community of which her family are the local aristocracy. The invasion of a movie production cast and crew.

With some unique plot twists and a tale being spun by an 11 year old this is a very enjoyable read.

I AM HALF-SICK OF SHADOWS is the fourth Flavia de Luce book I have read and I believe it is my favorite. Could be because it has a "movie theme" and I have been star-struck since I was Flavia's age (11 years old), or perhaps because the books are set in the 1950's when I was spending what extra money I had on magazines like Photoplay, Silver Screen and Motion Picture. Whatever the reasons, I have become a fan of the residents of Buckshaw, the de Luce estate located on the outskirts of the village of Bishop's Lacey. As in past stories, cold, hard cash is in short supply, Buckshaw is still in dire need of repairs and Flavia's father Colonel de Luce has, against his better judgement, been forced to "rent" the estate to a motion picture company.

The cast of "usual suspects" return in this Christmas adventure - Flavia is still enthralled with the study of poisons - and in this particular segment has packed away her trusty bike Gladys and has been busy in her laboratory devising a cunning trap to ensnare Father Christmas. She and her sisters are still bickering, her father Colonel de Luce continues to withdraw to his study and immerse himself in his stamp collection rather than face the real world, Dogger is still suffering from shell shock but managing to perform his duties around the house, the housekeeper Mrs. Mullet is still preparing inedible food and Inspector Hewitt continues to be the unwilling recipient of Flavia's powers of observation in helping to solve this latest murder.

Before I go any further let me say that while Flavia is a delightful character she is filled with inconsistent qualities and contradictions in her behavior. At times immature and childish as illustrated by her unshakable belief in Santa (Father Christmas) and her on-going urges to get even with her sisters, she is nonetheless a virtual chemistry whiz and is observant beyond her years displaying an uncanny logic and an ability to find clues that the professional detectives have overlooked. In addition, throughout four books none of this cast of characters has aged and the tiny village of Bishop's Lacey has been the scene of four murders. I'd say that's a lot of crime in a short time frame for a mid-sized city let alone a small English hamlet. These, however, are two small complaints and did not in any way hamper my thorough enjoyment of this latest Alan Bradley offering.

What I recommend is that you, like I, just abandon logic as you did as a youth reading the adventures of Nancy Drew or The Hardy Boys and just enjoy the antics of the irrepressible Flavia and the folks of Bishop's Lacey as murder and a raging snowstorm set the scene for another excursion into the heartwarming and whimsical adventures of Flavia de Luce, girl detective. Oh and by the way, this would also be an ideal holiday gift for the young adult reader in your family.

Book Description

It is almost Christmas at Buckshaw, and Colonel de Luce (in desperate need of money) has rented out his beloved estate to a film company. Naturally, his daughters (flirtatious Feeley, bookish Daphne and precocious Flavia) are thrilled ... after all, film star Phyllis Wyvern will be there! Besides the excitement of the film, Flavia--the 11-year-old aspiring chemist and part-time detective--has another project in the works: creating a glue to capture Father Christmas and figure out once and for all if he really exists or not. As the film company arrives, so does a blizzard, which leaves most of the Bishop Lacey villagers and the film crew stranded at Buckshaw after an impromptu performance of Romeo and Juliet to benefit the church roofing fund. So when Flavia discovers Phyllis Wyvern dead, it is a classic "locked door" mystery ... and Flavia is on the case once again.

My Thoughts

When I first met Flavia in The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, I was completely enchanted and delighted. Her wicked sense of humor, worldview, and appetite for mystery and chemistry captured my heart immediately. I threw myself into the first two books, reading them back to back. It turned out to be a bit of a mistake, as I quickly got my fill of Flavia. So I took a break (skipping the third book) and was curious to see if I'd find Flavia as enchanting as when I first met her. I'm pleased to report that I found her just as delightful and fun, which is a good thing because I think Flavia (and not the mysteries) are the main attraction of these books. Once again, I found the mystery a bit besides the point. In fact, I found that I didn't really care all that much about who the murderer was (and I almost felt like Bradley felt the same way). The main star of these books is Flavia. Aside from the fact that apparently Flavia still believes in Father Christmas (which seemed out of character for her), I thought this was another fun romp with the de Luce family and its most endearing member.

If you're reading these books for the mystery, I'm afraid you'll be disappointed. However, if you find Flavia to be a charming and fun character, this will be a satisfying, fast and fun read. As with most things, Flavia is best in small doses, and I look forward to visiting with her again in the next book.

Note: If you haven't read the first three Flavia books, you won't have any trouble following this one, but it does reference events in the previous novels and might be a tad "spoilish."

Recommended For: Fans of cozy mysteries, those who enjoyed the first three Flavia novels

I Am Half-Sick of Shadows by Alan Bradley arrived in my mailbox early last week. I looked at it and put it down, determined to save it for reading closer to Christmas. Looked at it again the next day and hid it under a couch cushion. But to no avail as I knew it was there and I just couldn't wait until December to devour the latest in the Flavia De Luce series.

For those of you unfamiliar with this utterly delightful series, I'll give you some background. It is 1950. Flavia is eleven years old and lives with her father and two older sisters in the crumbling old family home in Bishop's Lacey, England. Flavia has a penchant for cooking up chemical concoctions in the chemistry lab in the far off east wing. She considers herself on par with the local constabulary and often offers her assistance.

"While I could still become quite excited by recalling how I had dyed my sister Feely's knickers a distinctive Malay yellow by boiling them in a solution of lead acetate, followed by a jolly good stewing in a solution of potassium chromate, what really made my heart leap up with joy was my ability to produce a makeshift but handy poison by scraping the vivid green verdigris form the copper floatball of one of Buckshaw's Victorian toilet tanks."

Flavia's father has struggled with the upkeep of Buckshaw. He has reluctantly agreed to host a film crew over the holidays. Film star Phyllis Wyvern is in attendance and offers to be the star in a fundraiser to be held at Buckshaw. The entire village troops to the mansion, but are snowed in. And when a dead body is found, any one of the attendees could be the murderer...

And of course, since it's happening right under her nose, Flavia must jump in. "In my eleven years of life I've seen a number of corpses. Each of them was interesting in a different way, and this one was no exception."

I absolutely adore the character of Flavia! I've said it before and I'll say it again...."Flavia is one of the most endearing, captivating, curious, beguiling, precocious characters I've ever discovered in the pages of a book." I love her thought processes and inner dialogue. She is so old and yet still so young. Her attempts to puzzle out the identity of the murderer are at odds with the little girl concocting a super sticky glue to capture Saint Nick on the chimney and prove to her sisters that he is indeed real.

Although the murder plot line is good, for this reader, it is the characters that Bradley has created that capture and hold my interest the most. I love the quirky inhabitants of the village, the sparring sisters and how we learn a little bit more with each book about some of them. This time around we get to learn more about the enigmatic and mysterious Dogger - Buckshaw's man of many hats.

What is the appeal of an eleven year old protagonist for adult readers? Well, for this reader, it's the chance to vicariously relive my missed opportunities to become Nancy Drew and Harriet the Spy. And honestly, you can't read any of the books, without smiling and chuckling.

I can't wait for the next book in this planned six book series - Seeds of Antiquity. Highly, highly recommended! Perhaps Saint Nick will leave on at your house!

Yesterday it was cloudy, cold and windy, a perfect day to settle in with a good mystery. I decided on Alan Bradley's newest starring Flavia de Luce, an extraordinarily precocious pre-teen. I can't call her a child because she thinks more like an adult, in most situations.
For me this was one of those "can't put it down" mysteries as it seemed something was happening on almost every page.
Flavia has to contend with a somewhat absent-minded or even disconnected father, two older sisters that she thinks truly hate her and their home, a big old manor house, an estate that has fallen on hard times and which is slowly disintegrating because of the lack of funds for its upkeep. The family silver was sent to auction some time ago and while Flavia's father maintains his collection of stamps, he seems to have little ambition in looking for any other tangible assets to pull the estate out of the mess in which it is sinking.
The family's factotum, Dogger, does what he can to keep the place going but the job is way beyond what one person, even so multi-talented, can do.
This is a Christmas-themed mystery in that all the action takes place in the few days leading up to and just after Christmas, which seems like an odd time for a movie to be made but so it is and Flavia's father has rented the house to a film company for a production starring popular actors Phyllis Wyvern and Desmond Duncan, who figure prominently in the mystery.
There is a blizzard that traps half the village in the manor house, and then there is a murder - sounds like a typical "country house mystery" but there the similarity ends. Thanks to Flavia, it becomes more and more quirky.
Various locals have significant roles in the mystery, and some are viable suspects. Inspector Hewitt makes another appearance and is again Flavia's nemesis as well as her supporter.
Yet again Flavia has some ideas for "entertainment" that boggle the imagination but with her history in the prior books, one can almost guess where this is going, but not the road she takes to get there.
It's a fun read and I can't wait for the next installment.

I hope this series is a long one because I can easily believe that as Flavia gets into her teens, she is going to be even more industrious in her machinations.

absolutely love this mystery series. They are so much fun to read and I love the character of Flavia. What a sarcastic, smart sleuth! And she's only 11 years old.

This was another great book in the series. It has a bit of a Christmas theme to it. In order to save Buckshaw Hall, Colonel de Luce rents his home out to a film company. They will be shooting a movie starring none other than famous Phyllis Wyvern. Soon after the film crews arrival, the entire village attends a charity event at the de Luce home. Phyllis is found dead, strangled by her own film strip later that evening. With a house full of suspects due to a snowstorm that has kept everyone housebound at the hall, Flavia once again uses her brilliant deducting skills to launch her own investigation. But Flavia is also busy in her laboratory whipping up chemical concoctions that she hopes will help her solve the true identity of Father Christmas, as well.

If you love this series, then you will love this book. The entire story takes place at Buckshaw Hall, but it was a fun twist having the village all gathered at Flavia's home, with a raging winter storm blowing outside. It did not seem to have the twists and turns of the previous books, but that certainly did not take away from my enjoyment of this fourth installment. The author is a skilled writer who has created an amazing heroine and a wonderful series that I eagerly look forward to reading each time!

I've been greatly enjoyed the relatively new series of mysteries by Alan Bradley, featuring eleven-year-old sleuth Flavia de Luce. Flavia lives with her two older sisters and her father in the dilapidated family manor Buckshaw. The family's economic situation is dire -- old manor houses need so much money to maintain -- and Colonel de Luce rents Buckshaw to a film company who wish to make a movie there over the Christmas holidays. Flavia is disappointed at first: the presence of the crew will cramp her happy-go-lucky, unstructured life, and the family's usual holiday festivities will have to be deferred. But she quickly realizes the entertainment value of having a movie crew around 24/7, in particular the female lead, Phyllis Wyvern.

Like many of the books in this series, the author takes his own sweet time getting to the mystery, giving us lots of time to get to know (or become reacquainted with) the characters, particularly colorful Flavia, who is plotting a way to use chemistry to decide whether Father Christmas is real or, as her sisters keep telling her, a myth. Meanwhile movie star Phyllis Wyvern and her costar agree to put on a benefit show to help the vicar raise funds for restoration of the church. Into this holiday domesticity, murder strikes. Flavia finds Phyllis Wyvern's body in the middle of the night, and now a holiday snowstorm traps Flavia, her family, the movie company and many of the local villagers at Buckshaw until the police (ably assisted by Flavia) figure out the murderer.

As usual, Bradley has written a charming, light-hearted but affecting mystery that reads fast. His post-WW2 British countryside is full of local color and I enjoyed the book as much for the chance to hear about Flavia and her latest exploits as for the chance to enjoy figuring out the puzzles of the plot.

First Sentence: Tendrils of raw fog floated up from the ice like agonized spirits departing their bodies.

Young Flavia de Luce, in an effort to win the attention and affection of her family, works in her chemistry lab on a plan to capture Santa. Her family, struggling for means to maintain their family home, has rented portions of the house out as a set and housing for a film crew. But a death strangulation by celluloid film has Flavia looking for a killer.

Atmospheric descriptions immediately take us to a completely unexpected locale and introduce us to truly unique characters. Flavia is smart, clever and wonderfully imaginative. I love the relationship she has with Gladys, her bicycle, and Dogger, the houseman. Her two sisters are as emotionally cruel as only sisters can be.

The chemical information is fascinating. Bradley communicates the magic of science, as well as the majesty of those who believe science is separate from God. The facts about WWII, and those civilians who fought behind the scenes, exemplified British pride "She was more than brave." She said. "She was British."

Bradley's writing is visual, involving and at times, emotionally touching. His characters are ones for whom you come to care deeply. "I Am Half-Sick of Shadows" is a wonderful book in a completely enchanting series.

I AM HALF-SICK OF SHADOWS (Ama Sleuth-Flavia de Luce-England-Contemp) - VG+
Bradley, Alan - 4th in series
Delacorte Press, 2011

I read the first Flavia de Luce novel, The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, when it published a few years back and enjoyed it. This is the fourth installment, and the second book in the series I have read. The de Luce family, Flavia, her two older sisters Daphne and Ophelia and their father have fallen on hard financial times and must rent out their English estate to a film crew to avoid losing their home. British film star Phyllis Wyvern is in the movie and takes a shine to Flavia.

The murder doesn't take place until halfway through the novel, so when it does happen, we have gotten to know both the deceased and many of the suspects. Flavia is a British Nancy Drew, with a dash of CSI thrown in, as she has a laboratory in her wing of the estate. Although she is just eleven years old, she has helped the police before, and hopes to solve this case while everyone in town is trapped on her family's estate by a snowstorm.

Fans of Jacqueline Winspear's post WWI Maisie Dobbs series will like this series; it has some of the same sensibilities, although it strives for more humor. The setting is post-WWII, and like the Dobbs series, the war has repercussions to the story. The character of Dogger, a war compatriot of Flavia's father and Flavia's best friend, reminds me of Maisie's assistant Billy. They have both been physically and emotionally scarred by war, and they are very loyal to their bosses.

Like the Dobbs series, the author throws in lots of slang, which is fun to read. Flavia speaks of ''having a dekko of her own" (looking around), and taking a "quick jaunt to the jakes" (bathroom). I love learning new (or rather old) slang.

Flavia's family doesn't play a big part in this book, but perhaps that is because Flavia doesn't really have a close relationship to them, and the story is told from her viewpoint. I would like to know more about her sisters, especially Daphne, the lover of reading. We do learn more about her aunt, who ends up having some information important to the resolution of the murder. The identity of the killer and the reason behind it is surprising; I'm not sure anyone could guess who or why.

While this cozy mystery is not a YA book, it will appeal to young girls. They will like Flavia's unconventional personality and her ability to get herself in and out of trouble. I liked it, and it was a good little story to read by the fire on a cold winter's day.

Flavia deLuce lives on - and stoops to conquer along the way.
In Mistress deLuce's latest adventure, I AM HALF-SICK OF SHADOWS, author Alan Bradley puts the lass through her paces quite neatly. As in the previous deLuce novels (beginning with THE SWEETNESS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PIE), Flavia is an intelligent, impish girl/woman testing the waters of adulthood while refusing to admit the comforts she finds in childhood.

Like returning to a favorite haunt, Mr. Bradley has thoughtfully assembled the characters and the surroundings that Flavia's faithful readers have grown to love. Buckshaw is still castle-like and barren, Flavia's sisters are still haughty Bronte would-be's and the game amongst them is still growing strong with Flavia's chemistry potions always lurking too close for real comfort.

But in I AM HALF-SICK OF SHADOWS, author Bradley - while keeping Flavia a fun creature that you both want to pat on the head but fear such an act will result in the temporary loss of usage of your limb - seems more intent on building up to the mystery than actually rolling up his sleeves and getting into it. All the elements, quite classic and always appreciated, are there: the big, dark house; a roomful of cinema people who are each waging war with one another; a snowstorm cutting the town off from civilization; loves old and new - lost and found. But instead of relying on the reader's knowledge of the deLuce household, and the townspeople as well - after all, they are now officially branded as recurring characters - with I AM HALF-SICK OF SHADOWS, Alan Bradley very slowly rebuilds each character from the ground floor. As an introduction, this is a bit too much but somewhat harmless. But as Flavia has amassed quite a following, and his reconstruction only makes the characters exactly as they were in the previous three novels - nothing has been added or further explained - it not only tends to be tedious, long before the murder is announced, the reader has plowed through nearly one-third of the novel. Oh, you know something is lurking but before Bradley finally gets to it, you have been reading what amounts to nothing more than a detailed recap of the town and the people who live there.

When the story does get going, Mr. Bradley's particular powers are unleashed and your are instantly caught up in a jolly good English manor house mystery. After each chapter you feel you should have seen that coming or are pleasantly surprised by the turn of events. But the road to get there is almost as long and slowly travelled as the snowbound roads of the town.

Among mystery fans, the misadventures of Flavia de Luce, child prodigy and detective, have quickly risen to the heights of "When is the next book coming out?" The cheeky youngest daughter of a once wealthy English widower, left to ramble about his decaying manor house mourning the loss of his wife, lives by choice in the creaking East Wing of Buckshaw Manor, apart from the rest of the household. Her two older sisters, Daphne and Chloe, delight in tormenting her with doubts about her parentage, and poke unkind fun at her preoccupation with chemistry and penchant for poisons. Flavia, in turn, cooks up fiendish inventions of her own to get even.

The setting is the former grand estate towering above a small village in post-World War II England. Here, life goes on much as it had for decades before the Great War that forever changed the societal structure of the rest of England. The de Luce family estate resides in the name of Flavia's mother, Harriett, who died without a will in a skiing accident when Flavia was an infant. With no way to access his late wife's vast fortune, Father and his three daughters struggle to maintain their former lifestyle, including a dwindling but loyal staff, as if nothing had changed. Quietly and gradually, Father is selling off heirlooms as their living conditions decline.

Christmas approaches, and the sheriff has declared that if the back taxes remain unpaid, the family will lose everything. How Dickensian --- and fitting, given the romanticism of the two eldest sisters who spend their days in the lavish library, noses in the Brontes, Jane Austen, Emily Dickinson and William Shakespeare. Daphne firmly believes that "Books are like oxygen to a deep-sea diver...take them away and you might as well begin counting the bubbles."

Father has been reduced to agreeing to rent out the estate to a British film company as a setting for a movie, starring one of England's most famous actresses. Christmas, for the de Luces, has been cancelled, and all hands are on board as the stars and their entourages, lorries loaded with sets and equipment, and technicians arrive in a snowstorm.

The storm steadily develops into a blinding blizzard, ensnaring the huge crowd at the manse while Flavia and her sisters bask in the dazzle of theater. Suddenly, one of the main characters in the movie is found murdered in one of the upper bedrooms. It would not be a Flavia de Luce mystery if Flavia herself didn't trip over a dead body --- and our young genius sets out to solve the crime, frustrating the efforts of the local constabulary.

If this sounds a bit inane, let me assure you that in the hands of any less a writer than Alan Bradley, it could turn out that way. But Bradley has created one of the most original, charming, devilishly creative and hilarious detectives of any age or any time. Narrated in first person, Flavia's observations run merrily throughout the book. Her eldest sister, Ophelia ("Feely" to family), has suitors falling at her feet. Remember, this is shortly after the war, so it's not just the local boys, but decommissioned soldiers from other countries who have chosen to stay in England to seek out the beautiful Ophelia. One, an American GI, presents her with a beautifully wrapped Christmas gift. Flavia thinks to herself, "I could tell that Feely was torn between centuries of good breeding and the urge to rip into the gift like a lion into a Christian." The present was of a very American GI sort, a pair of nylons, recognized by Daphne as "scarce as unicorn droppings --- the Holy Grail of gift giving." Father, however, remembered them as war-time barter for female favors, so he grabs them from Feely's hands. To the horror of all, he flings them dramatically into the fire.

As the disastrous Christmas weekend plays out to its tumultuous end, the wonderfully drawn characters, including the reluctant hero, Dogger, play their parts with the usual British stiff upper lip. I AM HALF-SICK OF SHADOWS is a delightful holiday gift idea for Flavia fans, or for those who should be.

Reviewed by Roz Shea

Murder follows Flavia de Luce like shady ladies follow mining camps. In this 4th installment of the adventures of eleven-year-old amateur sleuth with a passion for poison, Winter is coming and Buckshaw has been taken over by a movie crew, there to film the next hit movie starring world-famous actress Phyllis Wyvern. A charity reading is staged at the ramshackle manor and almost all of Saint Tancred's is there. Sometime during the evening, two very predictable events will happen; everyone will be snowed in and at least one of them will be murdered.

Those who have previously read any of Alan Bradley's Flavia de Luce mysteries will already be familiar with this quirky character and her equally quirky family. Even those who are new to Flavia will quickly learn that her obsessively inquisitive nature is going to get her into a lot of trouble in very short order. This happens fairly quickly in Bradley's offering to the mystery genre's 'I'll be dead for Christmas' subcategory.

Of the three Flavia books I've read so far, the first is still the best, plotwise. Even so, I still enjoy reading them. On rare occasions the normally frosty relations between Flavia and her sisters softens and their common grief at the death of their mother almost makes humans of them. I'll keep reading in the hope that that day will finally come.

I was surprised to find that these books are not generally classified as young adult, even though Flavia is a young girl. Even so, I had no qualms about reading them to my daughters. Towards the end of this book she confesses that she exactly know what an affair was but said that Dogger had described it to her as "two people who had become the very best of friends, and that was good enough for me".

Cheeky, but cute. That's Flavia for you.

*Quotations are cited from an advanced reading copy and may not be the same as appears in the final published edition. The review copy of this book was obtained from the publisher via the the store Vine Program.

I'm a little surprised that I've never read an Alan Bradley book before, particularly because the Flavia de Luce books have come up on my recommendation queue several times over the years. Needless to say, I am going to remedy that right away, because I absolutely adored this book. It reminded me so much of the classic mysteries of Agatha Christie and Dorothy L. Sayers, where the case is far from simple, but it's handled simply and left to unravel without a hundred crazy twists (although there are a few). Much as I love suspenseful thrillers, it was refreshing to find a modern author who writes like this.

There's a certain amount of whimsy in the book, and it comes from its wonderful heroine. You can tell that Flavia takes herself very seriously, and she states her opinions with a certainty that only an eleven-year-old can possess. Even though she's smart and knows how to mix up a chemical compound that will essentially glue Santa to the chimney, the author never forgets that she's a child who occasionally want to use her knowledge for childish things, like getting revenge for her sisters' teasing by slipping a little something in their tea to make them nauseous (okay, so it's a little macabre, but you know you'd have had the same train of thought at that age). The only thing about Flavia that gave me pause was that she noticed glaring things about the crime scene that the police did not. I'm not sure if this ability is explained in previous books, and, if I'm honest, it didn't bother me all that much in the end, but I can see first time readers taking issue with that.

The setting only added to the whimsy, and in the best possible way. From the first page, I was transported to freezing, crumbling Buckshaw, and Bradley was very successful in creating the atmosphere of a small country town at Christmas. The household staff and village regulars added wonderful color, and I hope future books acknowledge why Flavia's older sisters harbor such resentment towards her and reveal more about Dogger's past.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a great, old-fashioned mystery, and I look forward to reading it again around the holidays.

It is Christmastime at Buckshaw, the English estate owned by the de Luce family and eleven year-old Flavia has nothing more on her mind than concocting a trap to catch Father Christmas to see if he really exists as her tormenting older sisters have stated that he doesn't. The budding chemist has created a sticky substance that will keep him trapped on the roof of Buckshaw. But then her father announces that he has been paid by a film crew to use Buckshaw to film a new movie starring the glamorous Phyllis Wyvern. Her father has been selling off the silver and doing what he can to keep from losing the grand estate.
Flavia is at first enchanted by Miss Wyvern and then intrigued by the the things she overhears. The vicar of Bishop's Lacey has persuaded Miss Wyvern and her co-star Desmond Duncan to give a small performance for the townspeople on Christmas Eve at Buckshaw, to raise funds for a new church roof. But there is a massive snowstorm during the performance and no one is able to leave. Flavia later discovers Miss Wyvern murdered and now has a huge list of suspects and is determined to solve this murder even though the local constabulary would like her to stay out of it.

I think this is my favorite installment yet of the Flavia mysteries. Flavia is a great character. At eleven, she is as smart as any scientist, with a particular fascination with poison, she is observant and deductive, yet still believes in Father Christmas and is forever tormented by her older sisters and haunted by the death of her mother when she was a baby. I love the setting of this small town, post WWII English countryside. The usual cast of characters are there but we see a bit more of them: Dogger, who was traumatized during the war but is a solid friend to Flavia; Daphne and Ophelia, her older sisters who we see a different side of in this novel; her Aunt felicity who has some secrets of her own.

This is a great, fun mystery novel, charming and quirky. And it's snowy, Christmas setting makes it perfect to read this time of year. I enjoyed this very much.
my rating 5/5

Yesterday it was cloudy, cold and windy, a perfect day to settle in with a good mystery. I decided on Alan Bradley's newest starring Flavia de Luce, an extraordinarily precocious pre-teen. I can't call her a child because she thinks more like an adult, in most situations.
For me this was one of those "can't put it down" mysteries as it seemed something was happening on almost every page.
Flavia has to contend with a somewhat absent-minded or even disconnected father, two older sisters that she thinks truly hate her and their home, a big old manor house, an estate that has fallen on hard times and which is slowly disintegrating because of the lack of funds for its upkeep. The family silver was sent to auction some time ago and while Flavia's father maintains his collection of stamps, he seems to have little ambition in looking for any other tangible assets to pull the estate out of the mess in which it is sinking.
The family's factotum, Dogger, does what he can to keep the place going but the job is way beyond what one person, even so multi-talented, can do.
This is a Christmas-themed mystery in that all the action takes place in the few days leading up to and just after Christmas, which seems like an odd time for a movie to be made but so it is and Flavia's father has rented the house to a film company for a production starring popular actors Phyllis Wyvern and Desmond Duncan, who figure prominently in the mystery.
There is a blizzard that traps half the village in the manor house, and then there is a murder - sounds like a typical "country house mystery" but there the similarity ends. Thanks to Flavia, it becomes more and more quirky.
Various locals have significant roles in the mystery, and some are viable suspects. Inspector Hewitt makes another appearance and is again Flavia's nemesis as well as her supporter.
Yet again Flavia has some ideas for "entertainment" that boggle the imagination but with her history in the prior books, one can almost guess where this is going, but not the road she takes to get there.
It's a fun read and I can't wait for the next installment.

I hope this series is a long one because I can easily believe that as Flavia gets into her teens, she is going to be even more industrious in her machinations.

absolutely love this mystery series. They are so much fun to read and I love the character of Flavia. What a sarcastic, smart sleuth! And she's only 11 years old.

This was another great book in the series. It has a bit of a Christmas theme to it. In order to save Buckshaw Hall, Colonel de Luce rents his home out to a film company. They will be shooting a movie starring none other than famous Phyllis Wyvern. Soon after the film crews arrival, the entire village attends a charity event at the de Luce home. Phyllis is found dead, strangled by her own film strip later that evening. With a house full of suspects due to a snowstorm that has kept everyone housebound at the hall, Flavia once again uses her brilliant deducting skills to launch her own investigation. But Flavia is also busy in her laboratory whipping up chemical concoctions that she hopes will help her solve the true identity of Father Christmas, as well.

If you love this series, then you will love this book. The entire story takes place at Buckshaw Hall, but it was a fun twist having the village all gathered at Flavia's home, with a raging winter storm blowing outside. It did not seem to have the twists and turns of the previous books, but that certainly did not take away from my enjoyment of this fourth installment. The author is a skilled writer who has created an amazing heroine and a wonderful series that I eagerly look forward to reading each time!

I've been greatly enjoyed the relatively new series of mysteries by Alan Bradley, featuring eleven-year-old sleuth Flavia de Luce. Flavia lives with her two older sisters and her father in the dilapidated family manor Buckshaw. The family's economic situation is dire -- old manor houses need so much money to maintain -- and Colonel de Luce rents Buckshaw to a film company who wish to make a movie there over the Christmas holidays. Flavia is disappointed at first: the presence of the crew will cramp her happy-go-lucky, unstructured life, and the family's usual holiday festivities will have to be deferred. But she quickly realizes the entertainment value of having a movie crew around 24/7, in particular the female lead, Phyllis Wyvern.

Like many of the books in this series, the author takes his own sweet time getting to the mystery, giving us lots of time to get to know (or become reacquainted with) the characters, particularly colorful Flavia, who is plotting a way to use chemistry to decide whether Father Christmas is real or, as her sisters keep telling her, a myth. Meanwhile movie star Phyllis Wyvern and her costar agree to put on a benefit show to help the vicar raise funds for restoration of the church. Into this holiday domesticity, murder strikes. Flavia finds Phyllis Wyvern's body in the middle of the night, and now a holiday snowstorm traps Flavia, her family, the movie company and many of the local villagers at Buckshaw until the police (ably assisted by Flavia) figure out the murderer.

As usual, Bradley has written a charming, light-hearted but affecting mystery that reads fast. His post-WW2 British countryside is full of local color and I enjoyed the book as much for the chance to hear about Flavia and her latest exploits as for the chance to enjoy figuring out the puzzles of the plot.

First Sentence: Tendrils of raw fog floated up from the ice like agonized spirits departing their bodies.

Young Flavia de Luce, in an effort to win the attention and affection of her family, works in her chemistry lab on a plan to capture Santa. Her family, struggling for means to maintain their family home, has rented portions of the house out as a set and housing for a film crew. But a death strangulation by celluloid film has Flavia looking for a killer.

Atmospheric descriptions immediately take us to a completely unexpected locale and introduce us to truly unique characters. Flavia is smart, clever and wonderfully imaginative. I love the relationship she has with Gladys, her bicycle, and Dogger, the houseman. Her two sisters are as emotionally cruel as only sisters can be.

The chemical information is fascinating. Bradley communicates the magic of science, as well as the majesty of those who believe science is separate from God. The facts about WWII, and those civilians who fought behind the scenes, exemplified British pride "She was more than brave." She said. "She was British."

Bradley's writing is visual, involving and at times, emotionally touching. His characters are ones for whom you come to care deeply. "I Am Half-Sick of Shadows" is a wonderful book in a completely enchanting series.

I AM HALF-SICK OF SHADOWS (Ama Sleuth-Flavia de Luce-England-Contemp) - VG+
Bradley, Alan - 4th in series
Delacorte Press, 2011

I read the first Flavia de Luce novel, The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, when it published a few years back and enjoyed it. This is the fourth installment, and the second book in the series I have read. The de Luce family, Flavia, her two older sisters Daphne and Ophelia and their father have fallen on hard financial times and must rent out their English estate to a film crew to avoid losing their home. British film star Phyllis Wyvern is in the movie and takes a shine to Flavia.

The murder doesn't take place until halfway through the novel, so when it does happen, we have gotten to know both the deceased and many of the suspects. Flavia is a British Nancy Drew, with a dash of CSI thrown in, as she has a laboratory in her wing of the estate. Although she is just eleven years old, she has helped the police before, and hopes to solve this case while everyone in town is trapped on her family's estate by a snowstorm.

Fans of Jacqueline Winspear's post WWI Maisie Dobbs series will like this series; it has some of the same sensibilities, although it strives for more humor. The setting is post-WWII, and like the Dobbs series, the war has repercussions to the story. The character of Dogger, a war compatriot of Flavia's father and Flavia's best friend, reminds me of Maisie's assistant Billy. They have both been physically and emotionally scarred by war, and they are very loyal to their bosses.

Like the Dobbs series, the author throws in lots of slang, which is fun to read. Flavia speaks of ''having a dekko of her own" (looking around), and taking a "quick jaunt to the jakes" (bathroom). I love learning new (or rather old) slang.

Flavia's family doesn't play a big part in this book, but perhaps that is because Flavia doesn't really have a close relationship to them, and the story is told from her viewpoint. I would like to know more about her sisters, especially Daphne, the lover of reading. We do learn more about her aunt, who ends up having some information important to the resolution of the murder. The identity of the killer and the reason behind it is surprising; I'm not sure anyone could guess who or why.

While this cozy mystery is not a YA book, it will appeal to young girls. They will like Flavia's unconventional personality and her ability to get herself in and out of trouble. I liked it, and it was a good little story to read by the fire on a cold winter's day.

Flavia deLuce lives on - and stoops to conquer along the way.
In Mistress deLuce's latest adventure, I AM HALF-SICK OF SHADOWS, author Alan Bradley puts the lass through her paces quite neatly. As in the previous deLuce novels (beginning with THE SWEETNESS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PIE), Flavia is an intelligent, impish girl/woman testing the waters of adulthood while refusing to admit the comforts she finds in childhood.

Like returning to a favorite haunt, Mr. Bradley has thoughtfully assembled the characters and the surroundings that Flavia's faithful readers have grown to love. Buckshaw is still castle-like and barren, Flavia's sisters are still haughty Bronte would-be's and the game amongst them is still growing strong with Flavia's chemistry potions always lurking too close for real comfort.

But in I AM HALF-SICK OF SHADOWS, author Bradley - while keeping Flavia a fun creature that you both want to pat on the head but fear such an act will result in the temporary loss of usage of your limb - seems more intent on building up to the mystery than actually rolling up his sleeves and getting into it. All the elements, quite classic and always appreciated, are there: the big, dark house; a roomful of cinema people who are each waging war with one another; a snowstorm cutting the town off from civilization; loves old and new - lost and found. But instead of relying on the reader's knowledge of the deLuce household, and the townspeople as well - after all, they are now officially branded as recurring characters - with I AM HALF-SICK OF SHADOWS, Alan Bradley very slowly rebuilds each character from the ground floor. As an introduction, this is a bit too much but somewhat harmless. But as Flavia has amassed quite a following, and his reconstruction only makes the characters exactly as they were in the previous three novels - nothing has been added or further explained - it not only tends to be tedious, long before the murder is announced, the reader has plowed through nearly one-third of the novel. Oh, you know something is lurking but before Bradley finally gets to it, you have been reading what amounts to nothing more than a detailed recap of the town and the people who live there.

When the story does get going, Mr. Bradley's particular powers are unleashed and your are instantly caught up in a jolly good English manor house mystery. After each chapter you feel you should have seen that coming or are pleasantly surprised by the turn of events. But the road to get there is almost as long and slowly travelled as the snowbound roads of the town.

Among mystery fans, the misadventures of Flavia de Luce, child prodigy and detective, have quickly risen to the heights of "When is the next book coming out?" The cheeky youngest daughter of a once wealthy English widower, left to ramble about his decaying manor house mourning the loss of his wife, lives by choice in the creaking East Wing of Buckshaw Manor, apart from the rest of the household. Her two older sisters, Daphne and Chloe, delight in tormenting her with doubts about her parentage, and poke unkind fun at her preoccupation with chemistry and penchant for poisons. Flavia, in turn, cooks up fiendish inventions of her own to get even.

The setting is the former grand estate towering above a small village in post-World War II England. Here, life goes on much as it had for decades before the Great War that forever changed the societal structure of the rest of England. The de Luce family estate resides in the name of Flavia's mother, Harriett, who died without a will in a skiing accident when Flavia was an infant. With no way to access his late wife's vast fortune, Father and his three daughters struggle to maintain their former lifestyle, including a dwindling but loyal staff, as if nothing had changed. Quietly and gradually, Father is selling off heirlooms as their living conditions decline.

Christmas approaches, and the sheriff has declared that if the back taxes remain unpaid, the family will lose everything. How Dickensian --- and fitting, given the romanticism of the two eldest sisters who spend their days in the lavish library, noses in the Brontes, Jane Austen, Emily Dickinson and William Shakespeare. Daphne firmly believes that "Books are like oxygen to a deep-sea diver...take them away and you might as well begin counting the bubbles."

Father has been reduced to agreeing to rent out the estate to a British film company as a setting for a movie, starring one of England's most famous actresses. Christmas, for the de Luces, has been cancelled, and all hands are on board as the stars and their entourages, lorries loaded with sets and equipment, and technicians arrive in a snowstorm.

The storm steadily develops into a blinding blizzard, ensnaring the huge crowd at the manse while Flavia and her sisters bask in the dazzle of theater. Suddenly, one of the main characters in the movie is found murdered in one of the upper bedrooms. It would not be a Flavia de Luce mystery if Flavia herself didn't trip over a dead body --- and our young genius sets out to solve the crime, frustrating the efforts of the local constabulary.

If this sounds a bit inane, let me assure you that in the hands of any less a writer than Alan Bradley, it could turn out that way. But Bradley has created one of the most original, charming, devilishly creative and hilarious detectives of any age or any time. Narrated in first person, Flavia's observations run merrily throughout the book. Her eldest sister, Ophelia ("Feely" to family), has suitors falling at her feet. Remember, this is shortly after the war, so it's not just the local boys, but decommissioned soldiers from other countries who have chosen to stay in England to seek out the beautiful Ophelia. One, an American GI, presents her with a beautifully wrapped Christmas gift. Flavia thinks to herself, "I could tell that Feely was torn between centuries of good breeding and the urge to rip into the gift like a lion into a Christian." The present was of a very American GI sort, a pair of nylons, recognized by Daphne as "scarce as unicorn droppings --- the Holy Grail of gift giving." Father, however, remembered them as war-time barter for female favors, so he grabs them from Feely's hands. To the horror of all, he flings them dramatically into the fire.

As the disastrous Christmas weekend plays out to its tumultuous end, the wonderfully drawn characters, including the reluctant hero, Dogger, play their parts with the usual British stiff upper lip. I AM HALF-SICK OF SHADOWS is a delightful holiday gift idea for Flavia fans, or for those who should be.

Reviewed by Roz Shea

Murder follows Flavia de Luce like shady ladies follow mining camps. In this 4th installment of the adventures of eleven-year-old amateur sleuth with a passion for poison, Winter is coming and Buckshaw has been taken over by a movie crew, there to film the next hit movie starring world-famous actress Phyllis Wyvern. A charity reading is staged at the ramshackle manor and almost all of Saint Tancred's is there. Sometime during the evening, two very predictable events will happen; everyone will be snowed in and at least one of them will be murdered.

Those who have previously read any of Alan Bradley's Flavia de Luce mysteries will already be familiar with this quirky character and her equally quirky family. Even those who are new to Flavia will quickly learn that her obsessively inquisitive nature is going to get her into a lot of trouble in very short order. This happens fairly quickly in Bradley's offering to the mystery genre's 'I'll be dead for Christmas' subcategory.

Of the three Flavia books I've read so far, the first is still the best, plotwise. Even so, I still enjoy reading them. On rare occasions the normally frosty relations between Flavia and her sisters softens and their common grief at the death of their mother almost makes humans of them. I'll keep reading in the hope that that day will finally come.

I was surprised to find that these books are not generally classified as young adult, even though Flavia is a young girl. Even so, I had no qualms about reading them to my daughters. Towards the end of this book she confesses that she exactly know what an affair was but said that Dogger had described it to her as "two people who had become the very best of friends, and that was good enough for me".

Cheeky, but cute. That's Flavia for you.

*Quotations are cited from an advanced reading copy and may not be the same as appears in the final published edition. The review copy of this book was obtained from the publisher via the the store Vine Program.

I'm a little surprised that I've never read an Alan Bradley book before, particularly because the Flavia de Luce books have come up on my recommendation queue several times over the years. Needless to say, I am going to remedy that right away, because I absolutely adored this book. It reminded me so much of the classic mysteries of Agatha Christie and Dorothy L. Sayers, where the case is far from simple, but it's handled simply and left to unravel without a hundred crazy twists (although there are a few). Much as I love suspenseful thrillers, it was refreshing to find a modern author who writes like this.

There's a certain amount of whimsy in the book, and it comes from its wonderful heroine. You can tell that Flavia takes herself very seriously, and she states her opinions with a certainty that only an eleven-year-old can possess. Even though she's smart and knows how to mix up a chemical compound that will essentially glue Santa to the chimney, the author never forgets that she's a child who occasionally want to use her knowledge for childish things, like getting revenge for her sisters' teasing by slipping a little something in their tea to make them nauseous (okay, so it's a little macabre, but you know you'd have had the same train of thought at that age). The only thing about Flavia that gave me pause was that she noticed glaring things about the crime scene that the police did not. I'm not sure if this ability is explained in previous books, and, if I'm honest, it didn't bother me all that much in the end, but I can see first time readers taking issue with that.

The setting only added to the whimsy, and in the best possible way. From the first page, I was transported to freezing, crumbling Buckshaw, and Bradley was very successful in creating the atmosphere of a small country town at Christmas. The household staff and village regulars added wonderful color, and I hope future books acknowledge why Flavia's older sisters harbor such resentment towards her and reveal more about Dogger's past.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a great, old-fashioned mystery, and I look forward to reading it again around the holidays.

It is Christmastime at Buckshaw, the English estate owned by the de Luce family and eleven year-old Flavia has nothing more on her mind than concocting a trap to catch Father Christmas to see if he really exists as her tormenting older sisters have stated that he doesn't. The budding chemist has created a sticky substance that will keep him trapped on the roof of Buckshaw. But then her father announces that he has been paid by a film crew to use Buckshaw to film a new movie starring the glamorous Phyllis Wyvern. Her father has been selling off the silver and doing what he can to keep from losing the grand estate.
Flavia is at first enchanted by Miss Wyvern and then intrigued by the the things she overhears. The vicar of Bishop's Lacey has persuaded Miss Wyvern and her co-star Desmond Duncan to give a small performance for the townspeople on Christmas Eve at Buckshaw, to raise funds for a new church roof. But there is a massive snowstorm during the performance and no one is able to leave. Flavia later discovers Miss Wyvern murdered and now has a huge list of suspects and is determined to solve this murder even though the local constabulary would like her to stay out of it.

I think this is my favorite installment yet of the Flavia mysteries. Flavia is a great character. At eleven, she is as smart as any scientist, with a particular fascination with poison, she is observant and deductive, yet still believes in Father Christmas and is forever tormented by her older sisters and haunted by the death of her mother when she was a baby. I love the setting of this small town, post WWII English countryside. The usual cast of characters are there but we see a bit more of them: Dogger, who was traumatized during the war but is a solid friend to Flavia; Daphne and Ophelia, her older sisters who we see a different side of in this novel; her Aunt felicity who has some secrets of her own.

This is a great, fun mystery novel, charming and quirky. And it's snowy, Christmas setting makes it perfect to read this time of year. I enjoyed this very much.
my rating 5/5

Flavia de Luce is one of my all-time favorite characters. She is exceedingly clever and observant, and her relatively young age lets her display just the right amount of charming innocence to balance her darker side. She would be such an interesting kid to meet - she named her bicycle Gertrude, loves chemistry (especially poisons), is able to analyze a murder in a cool, rather detached way, yet she maintains a delicate vulnerability in her somewhat enigmatic relationship with her older sisters.
In the first chapter, Bradley does a great job of giving new readers a quick primer on who's who without boring long-time fans, so it is possible to read the series out of order.
The story is very well laid out, with a believable mystery/solution and wonderful character development. We learn a bit more about Aunt Felicity, and are given a few tantalizing hints about Dogger's intriguing history. Several characters seem to have quite a few surprises bubbling just under the surface. I hope that we can learn more about them in future installments.
I was sad to reach the end, because I miss being immersed into the world of Flavia and her fascinating family and friends. "I Am Half-Sick of Shadows" is a great addition to a wonderful series.

All of the Flavia De Luce novels by Alan Bradley are brilliant and entertaining. De Luce in latin means "Of Light" and Ms. De Luce is the delightful, pardon the pun, prodigy and heroine of these wonderful tales. Each character is rendered in full color. The plot and the story move along with every page. Can you figure out the solution to the mystery before Flavia? It is such a treat to read an adventure story about a very modern young girl, who is brilliant, clever, witty, and kind. For an added treat, listen to the recorded version of these books, available from Audible. The reader, Jayne Entwistle, captures the exact right voice for all the endearing characters, but especially for Flavia. I am a granny and I revel in these escapades. I plan to give this series to my grand daughter when she turns 12. The stories are all a bit dark, dealing as they do with a murder or two, and also quite openly with sibling rivalry. So when a child is ready to read these stories will of course depend on each individual child.

This review is not so much about this fourth book in the series, as it is about the entire series.

I'm not a huge fan of mysteries and a friend told me about these books and that I really needed to read them. So, I bundled off and bought all four of them and settled in. All I can tell you as a potential reader, is that they are at once humorous, sad and extremely entertaining.

It was difficult for me to believe that I could come to love an eleven year old girl that is extremely intelligent, horribly immature, over the top brash and can be both very secure and yet, at the very same moment, completely insecure in her life! She is all of these things and you cannot help but love her.

Her ability to play adults, know how to get what she wants from them, and at the same time be trying so hard to please them for their love and acceptance is just something you have to read to believe. Alan Bradley is simply one of today's best writers of extremely sharp novels that are mysteries, yes...but more a study of human relationships in a most entertaining and compassionate way.

Read these books...but read them in order so as to better develop with the characters. Wonderful literature.

I Am Half-Sick of Shadows - Alan Bradley
4 stars
...............spoilers...............

"Tendrils of raw fog floated up from the ice like agonized spirits departing their bodies."

Alan Bradley gets me every time. Flavia is asleep; she is having a dream. But, I completely buy into it; right up to the "GOTHCHA !" when she wakes up. The thing is, Flavia's behavior in dreams is only slightly more outrageous than her waking behavior.

It is Christmastime at Buckshaw. The house has been rented to a film company in an attempt to fend off the debt collectors. The village comes to attend a charity performance. All and sundry are stranded by a blizzard. There is a murder. It's a situation straight out of Agatha Christie. However, we must do without Miss Marple, and stand back with delight while Flavia goes to work.

The murder certainly adds to Flavia's work load. Her Christmas preparations already include: setting a birdlime trap for Father Christmas to establish once and for all the question of his existence, and mixing gunpowder with various other dangerous chemicals to produce a Christmas Eve fireworks spectacular. ("It was important to keep in mind the fact that winter fireworks required a different formula than those designed for summer, The basic idea was this: less sulfur and lots more gunpowder.")

There are some rough spots in this story. A character from a previous book drops in for no particular reason other than to give birth. The villains and their motives are either poorly developed or become secondary to the delightful workings of Flavia's devious, precocious brain.

It's holiday time Flavia style. Merry Christmas!

I Am Half-Sick of Shadows: A Flavia de Luce Novel is the fourth Flavia de Luce mystery by Alan Bradley. As Christmas arrives at Buckshaw, the de Luce family estate, the cash strapped Colonial (Flavia's father) has rented out the mansion to a movie company to generate cash. In the middle of a charity performance for the local church by the movie stars, a blizzard hits, and the characters are trapped in the mansion. Suddenly, there is a murder. Classic British cozy murder set up. Flavia sets out to solve the murder. While I have enjoyed this series immensely and love Flavia, this one came up short. After the murder, the plot stalled out. The characters were not particularly well developed. I am afraid that Bradley is responding to the success of his series by pushing out product. Also, while I love the setting, there have been a lot of murders in the house in a very short period of time. Bradley needs to move his detective out of the mansion to other locations if this series is going to hold together. Pass on this mystery but read any of the previous ones for a unique and wonderful character and mystery. Sorry, Flavia.

Flavia grows and changes just a little in each book, moving between concrete and abstract thought as children at that developmental stage do. She's truly a remarkable character, and one whose company I enjoy very much. At the same time she's realizing that her family has much more depth and substance than she'd realized, and her tenderness and instinctive behavior with her friend Dogger is exceptional. I look forward to learning more about the characters in the next addition.

It's finally happened: due to Colonel de Luce's lack of funds and the necessary repairs needed on the family estate "Buckshaw" has led him to rent the home out to a movie crew, one of which is famous actress Phyllis Wyvern. Even precocious Flavia, youngest daughter forever tormented by her sisters and a devotee of chemistry (especially poisons), is charmed by Miss Wyvern (although Flavia is soon to spot that Miss Wyvern has her disagreeable side) and is surprised when the actress actually seems to like her. But when the acting company puts on a benefit show at Buckshaw, a body and a snowstorm toss the de Luces, the townsfolk, and the movie company into close quarters and closer suspicions.

This fourth in the Flavia de Luce series has a Christie-ish plot complication, and of course our precocious heroine becomes involved in the murder investigation. But, proving that brilliant deductions or not, Flavia is still a little girl, she is also plotting to catch Father Christmas coming down the chimney, and her two projects eventually intersect, leading to an exciting conclusion. A rather dark Christmas romp, but with some additional revelations about Harriet, Flavia's late mother, and her relationship with her sisters.

Trouble seems to follow Flavia de Luce everywhere, even in the halls of Buckshaw, the de Luce family estate. In an effort to stave off bankruptcy, Colonel de Luce has agreed to rent Buckshaw to a movie studio to film their newest feature starting the famous Phyllis Wyvern. Once the Bishop's Lacey townsfolk hear about the goings-on, a charity performance of the Romeo and Juliet balcony scene is scheduled for Christmas Eve. Tragically, a cast member turns up dead just after the performance. Coincidentally, an unexpectedly harsh storm has buried the countryside in snow and trapped all of the villagers inside. Soon Flavia and the police are hard at work trying to find the killer among the crowd while trying to keep everyone calm, warm, and fed.

As usual, Flavia is charming, creative, and curious. Her chemistry hobby is in full view here: she's mixed up a concoction to trap Saint Nicholas to prove once and for all to her sniveling sisters that he is real. However, this entry in the series also gives us more insight into those closest to Flavia - in the storm she can't escape them and is forced to mingle. Both Feely and Daffy show moments of warmth to Flavia, and we see a bit more of their personalities (though I still have trouble differentiating them from one another). Dogger is the biggest surprise of all, coming to the medical aid of all in need during their locked in phase at Buckshaw. I look forward to learning more about his past, and hope Alan Bradley keeps developing his characters!

Eleven years old Flavia de Luce can count on three things: chemistry, irritating her older sisters, and her family being broke. To bring in some needed money in time so the family can eat during Christmas, her parents rent out the rotting Buckshaw estate to a film crew.

While her sisters look forward to handsome actors, Flavia plans to prove to these ill advised siblings that Santa exists. Thus in her lab, she creates a concoction of birdlime. Meanwhile all the local residents of Bishop's Lacey arrive at Buckshaw to watch the famous actress Phyllis Wyvern performing on Christmas Eve while a blizzard hammers the area and the Vicar begs the star to raise money for a new roof on St. Tancred. However at midnight instead of exposing Santa, she becomes embroiled with a final curtain call with a film strip necktie.

The latest Flavia 1950s amateur sleuth (see A Red Herring Without Mustard, The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie and The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag) is a superb locked country house mystery as the blizzard limits travel. Flavia is her usual precocious self as she finds the aging actress performing Juliet a bit strange but appreciates the fact that the woman knows who she is from the publicized Bonepenny case. Readers will enjoy this exciting historical village cozy as Flavia wins bets with her sisters, works the Santa scenario, and a murder mystery.

Harriet Klausner

Yaroo! Alan's Bradley's 11-year-old chemist-sleuth Flavia de Luce is back!

It's Christmastime and in order to stave off creditors, Flavia's father, Colonel Haviland de Luce, has leased out Buckshaw to a film studio. Movie star Phyllis Wyvern is among the cast members who will make Buckshaw their home for the next few weeks.

When asked by St. Tancred's vicar to put on a performance as a church fundraiser, Miss Wyvern and her co-star agree. Many Bishop's Lacey townspeople make the trek to Buckshaw for the performance, only to be snowed in.

When Flavia makes a late-night visit to Miss Wyvern's room that night, she finds her dead. Of course, Flavia takes on solving the murder, despite being told not to by Inspector Hewitt.

Besides figuring out who murdered Miss Wyvern, Flavia is also trying to see if Father Christmas indeed exists. She puts to use her extensive chemistry skills in setting a trap for him.

"I Am Half-Sick of Shadows" reunites readers with the de Luce family. Besides Flavia and her father, there're Flavia's sisters, Feely and Daffy, who pick on Flavia mercilessly. Dogger is the family's jack-of-all-trades. Mrs. Mullet is cook. And Aunt Felicity is the Colonel's sister.

Readers both old and new to the series will enjoy Bradley's fourth Flavia de Luce mystery. She is delightfully mischievous and a hoot. Yaroo!

This mystery is set in post-WW2 Britain. It is reminiscent of Agatha Christie and our heroine is reminiscent of Kay Thompson's Eloise, that precocious child that turned the Plaza Hotel upside down.

Flavia is in turn very bright and yet at times utterly innocent. There is much wit and wisdom intertwined with the mystery of whodunit. The methods Flavia uses to capture St. Nick are nothing short of genius. Her detctive skills are good enough to impress the village's detectives and often frustrate them with her meddling.

I enjoyed this step back into another era and the cozy mystery drama of books I haven't read in awhile. I had forgotten how much fun a well written mystery could be. The author spent a good deal of time on the characterization of Flavia and her family dynamic. The book was not without pathos as well as comedy.

This is the 4th Flavia mystery novel but it is a standalone read with some mention of scenes from the former books in the series. I have every intention of reading the other novels in the series.

I have now read all of Alan Bradley's books in the Flavia DeLuce series. My 35-yr-old daughter mentioned them. Now my parents have read them, too. All have a mystery with a twist and are different from previous books. Each stands on its own, but it helpful to read them in order to have more of the background of the family, friends, townspeople and time period. I just finished Thrice the Cat Hath Meowed. Flavia gets into many scary, dangerous situations that most 12-yr-olds would not be able to handle, but she is a chemistry wizard and a wonder child with a strange household.

Love, love, love Flavia de Luce. This is the newest in the series and I am half sad that I've already read it as now begins the wait for the next in the series. I've read through several of the reviews and I have to agree that this title has a weaker plot line and is much shorter than the first three books. Having said that, despite it's faults, sending time with Flavia is worth a four star rating. Flavia de Luce is such a wonderful creation that she and her escapades are able to stand alone, at least for this reader.
There was a suggestion by a reviewer that Flavia age appropriately from novel to novel. Not so sure about that, Nancy Drew stayed the same age for years and years. Something about picking up one of Alan Bradley's stories and knowing that we are going to slip into the world of a rather clever 11 yr old is comforting......she is perfect as is !
The Christmas theme of the book is timely and lends itself to gift giving as, perhaps, a good "starter" book for a younger reader, an introduction to this delightful series. It is on my shopping list for a couple of young grand-daughters.

Alan Bradley's new Flavia de Luce novel I am Half-Sick of Shadows is the fourth in a series about an extremely precocious eleven-year-old girl. Flavia is an accomplished chemist and an amateur sleuth who lives with her father and two fairly obnoxious older sisters plus a small staff in Buckshaw, a British country estate. Mr. Bradley's first three books with Flavia have been extremely entertaining, and this new one continues in the same mode.

Close to Christmas a film crew arrives at Buckshaw to shoot a movie starring Phyllis Wyvern, a famous actress of the time. The entire village of Bishop's Lacey turns out in a blizzard to watch the actress. However, the conclusion of the evening turns out to be the discovery of a body strangled with a strip of film. It is then that Flavia goes to work.

Mr. Bradley's books are great fun to read. Flavia is an intriguing character, and her age makes no difference whatsoever. The books are not aimed at eleven-year-olds. I highly recommend the entire Flavia de Luce series.

It's Christmastime at Buckshaw and Flavia devises a plan to check Father Christmas in the act. But as the house fills up with a movie crew she has other things on her mind as well. The movie crew arrives at Buckshaw after Colonel de Luce lets them tape there in exchange for money (their money situation is still dire). Flavia becomes fast friends with the star of the movie, Phyllis Wyvern. When someone from the movie crew is suddenly murdered Flavia investigates the murder. During her investigation of the murder and her plot to catch Father Christmas Flavia finds herself in danger, will this Christmas be her last?

This is by far my favorite book of the Flavia de Luce series. Just when I thought I couldn't like Flavia any more than I do, she turns up even more precocious and loveable as ever. I loved her devised plan to catch Father Christmas, and all through the book it felt like it was Flavia and me plotting together. Flavia is like the little sister I never had but always wanted. I would recommend this book to people who have read and enjoyed the other Flavia de Luce books and enjoyed them. This is even a good read for those who haven't read the other books.

Eleven year old Falavia de Luce has perfected an adhesive (consisting largely of bird-lime) with which she hopes to trap Father Christmas as he delivers his sackload of presents to Buckshaw Manor. Her sisters have been sowing doubts in her mind as to the existence of the jolly red philanthropist and Flavia, an intriguing mix of childlike niaivety and scientific precocity, is hoping to prove them wrong.

She is diverted by the arrival at the family mansion of a film-crew, invited to use Buckshaw as their base by Colonel de Luce, who is even more strapped for cash than usual. This event has the village in a ferment of excitement and even Flavia's unpleasant sisters start to take an interest. In fact there are signs of a slight thaw in their attitude to their youngest sister and it is this development of relationships with the series which is one of its charms. The others being the rural, 1950's setting in an English village, the humour and the dastardly ingenuity of the muuder methods.

As with previous reviews, I am drawn to the audio edition of this series of books, but I was sucked in to the end of the tale and downloaded the kindle book to get through the events in the last several chapters too eager for listening speed. I started it with the intent of finishing Christmas week but the last two parts did not download correctly and I found it to be as appropriate for winter as it was for Christmas and a wonderful way to start a new year of books by finishing a Flavio de Luce book started in the prior year. A delightful mystery, this time all the events were tied to Buckshaw which I truly enjoyed. The subtle development of relationships as the books progress is also heartwarming to me. Looking forward to the next installment.

Flavia is trying to prove to her princess sisters Father Christmas exists by mixing up something sticky to trap him with. A film crew is shooting at her house, Making Buckshaw the " it" place to be.

The mystery was a fluke, I had it figured in five minutes flat. The story surrounding the mystery is Wow. Flavia taught me about chemistry and the way England was once upon a time. Flavia is a scream too. I love her eleven year old musings about life.( Like when she is dreaming about an ice skating rink in her room.) Making fun of the three kings visiting Buckshaw with gifts. Or wanting to hug her dad , but not being allowed. But the real mystery seems to be Dogger. Who was he besides a P.O.W ? Does he have any kids? He seems very paternal. The stories he tells the things he knows. Same goes for prickly Aunt Felicity.

One more thing, the audio version is awful.The voices are overdone and the woman reads so fast you have to listen to it like three times to understand what she is saying. If I hadn't like the story so much, I would have gave up on it.

Flavia is trying to prove to herself whether or not Santa Claus exists. This means it is Christmas time in the village, with all the weather options available to a writer of English village fiction. Bradley takes full advantage. Of course there is a mystery - who killed the famous actress? Flavia tackles this question with her usual verve and occasional lack of discretion.

Flavia is a character that readers tend to love or dislike intensely. I am solidly in the camp of the former. I am delighted that Mr. Bradley has managed to sustain her charm and her uncanny ability to annoy virtually everyone in her vicinity without making her trite or nasty. I'd like to have been her best friend when I was her age - think of all the fun, and the adventures! Think how much my parents would have been unsure about the adviseability of letting me "hang out" with that DeLuce child. I'd have learned so much.

If you enjoy the series, this won't disappoint you. If you haven't read any Flavia, please do start at the beginning.

Another Flavia de Luce novel and I think it's my favorite so far. I say so far because all indications are that Mr. Bradley will continue to write these wonderful books, thank goodness. I love Flavia and her sleuthing!

Flavia de Luce is a precocious, Chemistry-loving, mystery-solving, 11-year-old girl living in rural 1950's England in a big old drafty mansion that her father cannot afford since her mother, the inheritor, passed away without a will. He gives in to the necessity of allowing a movie to be filmed in the home. Flavia and her sisters are thrilled and even put aside their bickering when the crew arrives just before Christmas. Flavia has conjured up a super-sticky glue which she slathers inside the chimney in order to catch Father Christmas but even that is forgotten when a murder occurs.

What I loved about it: Flavia, of course, but even secondary characters are well-described. Dogger is one of my favorites. I also love that all of Feely suitors end up at the house at the same time. Oh, and I love that Flavia still believes in Father Christmas as smart as she is.

Even if you haven't read them, you've probably heard about the Flavia de Luce mysteries. Set in the rural English town of Bishop's Lacey in the 1950s, Alan Bradley's world is a wonderfully charming place to sink into. And his eleven-year-old protagonist, the chemistry-obsessed Flavia, is one of the best amateur detectives in recent literature. When she's not contemplating the delightful properties of cyanide or lacing her older sister's lipstick with an extract made from poison ivy, she's zipping around on her trusty bicycle (Gladys) and finding her way into the hearts of murder investigations.

A review of a Flavia book really has to be about two things: the self-contained story within the book, and its place in the overall series, specifically how it forwards the overarching stories and mysteries of the de Luce household. With regard to the latter, the book is wonderful. Bradley's writing is crisp and witty. We see the world through Flavia's bright, curious perspective, and her voice is incredibly true: it's really amazing how Bradley, an older Canadian gentleman, so ably and consistently writes her worldly-but-young British voice.

We always get a wonderful cast in every Flavia book, be they murderous philatelists, puppeteers, gypsies, or, as is the case here, ciné folk. In Shadows, Buckshaw (the de Luce ancestral home) is being rented out by a film crew in order to help Flavia's father cope with his chronic money problems. We also get to see some of the luminous and quirky cast from previous books, including the Misses Puddock, "two creaking relics...who had managed to insinuate themselves into every public performance in Bishop's Lacey since the year dot"; Dogger, the reliable house man who is tormented by his past as a prisoner of war, and who is Flavia's dearest friend; and Inspector Hewitt, the lead police officer on all of Flavia's mysteries. Hewitt strikes a great balance between antagonist and mentor, half-exasperated at Flavia's involvement in these murders, half-amazed by her insights. This book doesn't disappoint as its characters grow, develop, and interact with one another.

With regard to the self-contained plot, though, I found myself quite disappointed by Shadows. I did love Flavia's devious plan to use chemistry to capture Father Christmas and prove his existence once and for all--it's so funny and so very Flavia. But the mystery itself is slight: the murder doesn't happen until page 127, which leaves just over half the book to deal with the discovery, the calling of the police, the search for clues and suspects, and the final confrontation. The plot is constrained by its setting: half the village plus the ciné crew are snowed in at Buckshaw. There are only so many places to go within the house itself, and only a couple of days for all of the action to occur. We don't even have the luxury, since it's a snowstorm in December, of following Flavia into the village and out into the countryside beyond. Buckshaw is dear, and wonderful to come back to as a reader, but it's also a bit tiring when it's the only place we get to see in this book.

The ending had me leafing back through to see if I'd missed a chapter or two inadvertently--not because it didn't make sense, but because it just felt so rushed and too easy a tie-up for a murder mystery. With A Red Herring Without Mustard debuting just over half a year before this one, I'm left wondering if I Am Half-Sick of Shadows was rushed into production to come out just in time as a Christmas title.

Overall, the book is worth reading. It's charming and it feels like visiting old friends. It's great to spend time in Flavia's company. I just wanted more from the book's self-contained plot.

I adored the first novel in the Flavia de Luce series, The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, but my enthusiasm soon flagged. An eleven- year- old, precocious protagonist is tiresome over the long haul.

However, I couldn't resist the Christmas novel, I Am Half-Sick of Shadows-- very Agatha Christie.

CAST OF CHARACTERS
The de Luce family-Father; sisters Ophelia, Daphne, and Flavia
Dogger-faithful retainer
Phyllis Wyvern- famous film star
Val Lampman-famous Director
Ilium Films crew, Buckshaw staff, villagers

COUNTRY HOUSE
Buckshaw- enormous and decrepit home of the de Luce family. Location of the latest Lampman film.

CIRCUMSTANCES
During a charity performance of Romeo & Juliet at Buckshaw to benefit the church roof fund, a violent snow storm traps all the characters/suspects in the house overnight.

If you aren't familiar with this series, it is fun in small doses.

Eleven-year old Flavia De Luce gets involved, once again, in a murder that she thinks only she can solve, and she happily goes about getting into all manner of trouble best avoided. This is a fun series and I enjoyed reading the book. Flavia is a terrific character, very intelligent but still with a child's maturity level. She is obsessed with chemistry, especially poisons, and as odd as that sounds, it makes for entertaining reading.

Having said that, I would have rated the book more highly if it had been the first one I'd read in the series. It is too similar to the other two I've read with just a change of minor characters. It just didn't seem fresh and new to me. I also wondered why someone as bright and logical as Flavia would still believe in Father Christmas at her age, so that part of the story didn't ring true to me. Nevertheless, it is a pleasant story, and I can't help but like the irrepressible Flavia.

I understand that a number of the reviewers of I AM HALF-SICK OF SHADOWS have been writing from the perspective of long-time readers familiar with the various Flavia de Luce novels by Alan Bradley. I approach this novel as a reader unfamiliar with the series, looking for diversion over the holidays. Alan Bradley presents an engaging character in Flavia, and, while I appreciate the validity of the less positive reviews of the book (particularly the rushed nature of the narrative and the formulaic progression of some chapters), as a new reader of the series, I found the book compelling enough to read the earlier novels in the series. Another plus in this book's favor, however, is that my children have enjoyed the HARRY POTTER series and the SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS books, so they should enjoy an introduction to Flavia.

Without a doubt, this is one of the best mystery series out there. I cannot tell you how thrilled I am to be able to read another adventure of Flavia de Luce. It was wonderful to be back at Buckshaw with all of the de Luce's and Dogger.

We are given a few more clues to Dogger's past. And I cannot help thinking that everything is leading up to Harriet returning at some point....wishful thinking maybe...Flavia desperately needs a mother and to be loved. In the meantime, our favorite budding chemist is plotting up a storm in order to try to capture Father Christmas on Christmas Eve. Throw in a film crew and an aging movie star and the fun begins.

Of course there is a murder and we know who will solve it! But that is just a bit of the fun. The best part is just being at Buckshaw in England in the 1950s.

Alan Bradley is a wonderful and skilled writer. I love Flavia de Luce. How could I not? As long as you are willing to suspend disbelief when faced with Flavia's overly precocious behavior, knowledge and reasoning abilities above those of all other 11 year olds (How is it that she is a genius at chemistry but completely clueless when it comes to her relationship with her sisters, but not clueless when dealing with Dogger's PTSD?), this series is immensely entertaining and almost irresistible.

This was perhaps my least favorite of the novels. It felt formulaic and rushed. (I was not comforted when I opened the front cover and discovered that the Publisher had put in a gift inscription page complete with "To:" "From: Flavia and [fill in your own name]", making this the perfect gift, out just in time for the holidays.)

The murder held no intrigue or shocking twists that I haven't read or seen elsewhere. I also felt unnecessarily teased. Clues, mystery, and suspicion have been presented since the first book regarding Dogger's past, the death (or is she?) of Flavia's mother, and general family secrets. And yet, nothing is ever revealed to capture my attention. More questions, never any answers. I understand building mystery but after 4 books I feel as if I deserve something.

Alan Bradley is a brillant writer. Flavia is a delightful character. This particular book just left a lot to be desired for me. However, I enjoy this series so much that it will take more than a little annoyance and formulaic plot to keep me from looking forward to the next novel.

Flavia De Luce is at it again as a film crew chooses Buckshaw as the locale for the newest production for a famous film star named Phyllis Wyvern. Flavia's father is again on the brink of losing the ancestral home and has opened the doors to Buckshaw to attempt to save their home.

During filming of the production, one of the stars is murdered and Flavia turns her sleuthing skills towards finding the killer. The murder mystery is a good one and Flavia, as always, has a number of humorous tricks up her sleeve that inevitably help to ensnare the murderer.

Another good, good read by Alan Bradley. The writing is a pleasure and the insight into Flavia's mind and feelings are so enjoyable. I can't get enough of Flavia and her family and the mysteries that Flavia helps to resolve.

Flavia de Luce returns in this wintry tale of mystery and discovery. The de Luce family is saved from eviction at the eleventh hour when the Colonel rents their home to a movie company for filming over the Christmas holidays. Naturally murder and mayhem ensue. Flavia is busy with several mysteries of her own, but still manages to assist her friend Inspector Hewitt in solving the case.

Alan Bradley has created a most delightful character in Flavia and surrounded her with a wonderfully quirky supporting cast. Flavia's life and the impishly precocious workings of her inner mind are by far the starring roles in this story. This is the fourth Flavia de Luce mystery. You don't need to have read the previous books to enjoy I Am Half-Sick of Shadows; but why miss out?

I Am Half-Sick of Shadows (2011) is the fourth Amateur Detective novel in the Flavia de Luce series, following A Red Herring without Mustard. The initial volume in this sequence is The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie.

In the previous volume, Flave is attending a church fete. She tries the fortune teller and receives a shock. The Gypsy knows about Harriet and her fall in the Himalayas. She jumps up and knocks over the candle. The tent goes up in smoke.

Flavia rushes out of the tent and takes cover near her sister. Daffy is looking through the old books. Flavia finds one about sixteen century England that looks good.

Then Flavia observes Brookie manhandling Colin. He thinks Colin started the fire in the gypsy tent. Colin says that he still has three matches.

Then Flavia notices the caravan behind the ashes of the fortune teller's tent. She learns that Fanella had camped at the Palings on the Buckshaw property before Harriet had died. So Flavia invites her to do so again.

Flavia rides along on the caravan while Fenella hold the reins. They go to the Palings by the Gully road, passing the Bull shack. Mrs. Bull comes out yelling that the gypies have come back and telling Tom to bring the axe.

Flavia improvises a lie about a movie being made in the vicinity. Mrs. Bull is fooled and Fenella is impressed. They go on to the Palings and Flavia helps the gypsy woman lie down for a rest.

Later, Flavia comes back to the camp and finds Fenella lying in a pool of her own blood. Flavia rides the gypsy's horse back to get the doctor and they drive back to the Palings. Together, they take Fenella out of the caravan on the door and insert it into the passenger seat.

In this novel, Flavia Sabrina de Luce is the eleven years old daughter of Haviland de Luce. Her mother Harriet was lost in the Himalayas when she was a baby. Her older sisters Ophelia and Daphne recall something of their mother, but Flave was too young to remember anything.

Arthur Wellesley Dogger is the gardener on the estate. Dogger has had various jobs -- including valet and chauffeur -- but has requested the changes because of his spells. He is very loyal to Colonel de Luce.

Felicity is Haviland's sister. She keeps urging her brother to remarry.

Denwyn Richardson is the vicar of Bishop's Lacey. He is married to Cynthia.

Phyllis Wyvern is a British stage and film star. She is well known for her prewar films.

In this story, Flave is skating in the portrait gallery. She is swopping up and down the long gallery on the ice. She had filled the room with a foot or so of water and left it to freeze. Now she is enjoying it.

Then she wakes up in bed. The hands of her clock stand at half past six. She wonders briefly why she wanted to rise that early, but then remembers that the film crew will be coming today.

Father had announced that a film crew will be using the house, but with certain areas reserved for the family. Ilium Films has offered a handsome fee to shoot scenes in the vintage house. Father says the family needs the money, so don't interfere with the crew.

While eating breakfast, Flave hears something outside. She opens the front door, but the snow is too thick to see through. Then she sees a flash of color and a giant truck comes into view. It is followed by six smaller vans. They all have Ilium Films painted of the sides.

Flave and Dogger go outside and meet the film crew. They send the vans around to the back of the house. The film crew are shown their bedrooms and start to unload the vans.

Flave is halfway up the stairs when the doorbell rings. She opens the door to find a tall chauffeur standing on the front steps. A black Daimler is parked outside. The man announces that Phyllis Wyvern has arrived. Flave asks why they are early.

This tale shows Flave much about movie making. She sits halfway up the stairs and watches the crew lay wire and other tasks. One of their neighbors is hired as an electrician on the crew, but the crew chief doesn't allow him to talk to Flave.

Aunt Felicity also comes to Buckshaw for the holidays. The vicar asks Phyllis if she could give a short skit to raise money for the church roofing fund. Phyllis chooses the balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet.

Flave lays a trap for Father Christmas on the roof. She also makes fireworks and sets them around the chimneys. She has some problems with the igniter.

Half the village comes to Buckshaw and are snowed in. The next installment in this sequence is Speaking from Among the Bones.

Highly recommended for Bradley fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of murder mysteries, young detective, and a bit of teenage romance. Read and enjoy!

-Bill Jordin

I find it difficult to give much credibility to the critics of this book. It seems that they would give Shakespeare one star. This is a fun, thoroughly absorbing book, not meant to save the world or cure cancer. Just enjoy the book, folks. Your literary aspirations are a bore. This is a book about a lonely little girl, who happens to be a genius, who has created her own strange world of chemistry and detection. It provides original, as well as quirky, characters, and creates an atmosphere of the time.

Many children wonder if Father Christmas (Santa Claus) is real or imaginary, but only Flavia de Luce wants to solve this by setting a trap for him with a concoction she created in her laboratory. Flavia is eleven. Oh, and she solves crimes.

It's Christmastime at Buckshaw, the family estate, in Bishop's Lacy, set just after World War 2, and things are getting complicated. A film crew with legendary movie star Phyllis Wyvern set up to film a movie in the spacious (and moody) estate and the on-screen drama isn't even half the drama that the troupe bring to Buckshaw and the de Luce's. Things get much more interesting when the famous film actress agrees to put on a charity production of a scene from Romeo and Juliet and half the town shows up only to get stuck at the estate because of a massive snow storm. And then Phyllis Wyvern is strangled to death on Christmas Eve and Flavia decides she is going to solve the murder.

I say that as a throw away because that's how this story goes. This is a story about a chemistry-loving eleven year old sleuth who solves cases, but more than that it really is a story about family. The murder is almost exactly half way into the quick novel and finding the murderer(s) takes a back seat to watching this delightful young girl flit from character to character building a world for the reader that is at once quaint and also imminent. As much as I wanted the story to move faster, I found that I just couldn't stay upset with Flavia and her charming world.

Flavia's newest adventure is an example of a great Christmas novel - set at Christmas but not overbearingly Christmassy. I Am Half-Sick of Shadows is decidedly and unashamedly PG and is safe enough for the whole family to read and witty enough for the more mature reader to enjoy.

If you're looking for a murder-mystery then you may be slightly dissatisfied, but if you're looking for a great book for the whole family that engages the readers, matter-of-factly praises science and learning, and has a knack for whimsy then look no further.

A note about the reader, Jane Entwistle: From page (or CD as the case may be) one, Entwistle embodies Flavia with curiosity, charm and cleverness. You can hear the smile in her voice as she reads Flavia to us! While I worried at first that it would grate, I found that it was refreshing and appropriate. Other characters have their own voices and it was very easy to follow who was who simply on tone. Males sounded male, females sounded female. She contributed just enough personality to bring Flavia to life and not a bit more that may hinder an enjoyable story. Very well done.

The book and the audio book are both highly recommended.

This book was provided by the publisher as a review copy.

My wife and I have read all of Alan Bradley's previous Flavia de Luce novels, and have enjoyed them very much. The first one in the series ("The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie") was absolutely charming. The next two were not quite as captivating, but nonetheless were enjoyable reading. Sadly, this one is not up to par.

"I am Half Sick of Shadows" is like a buffet of left overs from Bradley's previous novels, put together for a disappointing Christmas dinner. Throwbacks to characters from the earlier books in the series are sprinkled throughout the story, but it is not at all clear that they have any relationship to the (surprisingly weak) plot of this story.

We wonder if Alan Bradley actually wrote this book. A few witty repartees from Flavia are scattered throughout, but nowhere near as frequently as they appeared in the earlier books of the series. There is one brief mention of Flavia's bicycle, Gladys, but that is all there is about her beloved bike that carries her far afield in search of new clues.

It seems that by confining the story to within the walls of the de Luce mansion, Buckshaw, the author has removed most of the possibility of the story carrying the same interest as the earlier stories. Most of the narrative is flat and devoid of the brilliance of Flavia's previous adventures.

We will still look forward to Flavia's next mystery, but with not quite the same eager anticipation as we have in the past.

I'm not a big fan of Flavia de Luce as a character -- there's too much whimsy and too much eccentricity for her to be a person you can really believe might exist somewhere in real life. She's simultaneously precocious and naive; hyper-aware of others and yet unaware of herself, to a degree I don't find convincing in any 11-year-old girl. And yet...

I have found myself warming up to this series over time, as the world that author Alan Bradley crafts and which Flavia inhabits has captivated me. I could vividly imagine her icy cold stately home, the sisters with whom Flavia squabbles and yet hopes to find some common ground; the mother long dead and yet still mourned by her reclusive father. And I found myself turning one page after another, eager to see how Bradley draws the reader into the story of the movie production company who takes over the manor house over Christmas, and how murder follows them. The format isn't novel at all: long before the victim succumbs, it's clear who that victim is going to be and an array of possible murderers has been introduced for the reader's consideration. But Bradley writes well; his descriptions are compelling and the plot only began to feel slightly improbable long after I had closed the book and returned it to the library. Anyone who has read the three previous books in this series will be familiar with the way that Flavia throws herself into the investigation (to the irritation of the police) out of a mixture of scientific interest and sheer curiosity; the upside of this series is that it's quite possible for a reader to jump in begin with this book, in contrast to many series. (That's an upside because, in my opinion, it's the best in the series so far.)

That doesn't mean I'm going to become a rabid Flavia de Luce fan. To some extent, that's due to my own biases: if I'm going to follow a series of mysteries, I prefer one where the recurring characters evolve and change from one book to the next -- Julia Spencer-Fleming's series featuring Claire Fergusson and Russ van Alstyne, the latest of which is One Was a Soldier: A Clare Fergusson/Russ Van Alstyne Mystery (Clare Fergusson / Russ Van Alstyne Mysteries) is an example of that. In books like that, I'm drawn in to the latest episode for two reasons: I want to read about the mystery, but I also want to find out what happens to the characters I've come to know, and how the author will move their lives forward and in what unexpected directions. A series such as this is more like the mysteries of old -- Hercule Poirot or Miss Marple, say -- where little changes except for the details of the specific crime. Flavia's sisters torment her; her father is still obsessed by his stamp collection; Flavia still feuds with the vicar's wife, and none of them emerge as three-dimensional characters. Happily, in Bradley's hands, that potentially unpromising combination somehow emerges as a lively and engaging mystery. I'd give it 3.5 stars, but have no problem rounding it up to 4 stars, and giving Bradley big kudos for so completely imagining and recreating the world of early 1950s England. It's a pity that I've read interviews with Bradley in which he says he doesn't want to write about Flavia as getting older; I'd love to read a mystery novel in which an adult Flavia has become a forensic scientist...

Hard to like an 11 year old know it all, but one warms to Flavia with her quirks and odd behaviors, particularly as she solves the riddle of yet another death at Buckshaw. The tale moves quickly and is well crafted by Mr. Bradley, with the usual twists and turns of the plot keeping the reader turning the pages. Flavia’s near-PhD level of chemistry knowledge is a bit unbelievable (for an 11 year old), but it only emphasizes the uber-quirky nature of Flavia.

It's Christmas time at Buckshaw and Flavia has plans to catch Saint Nick in action. With her trusty chemistry set, she's concocted a mixture that will trap Santa in his tracks. But she'll have to solve a murder first. And with half the town of Bishop's Lacey snowed in at Buckshaw with an out of town film crew to boot, the list of possible suspects seems to be growing.

This fourth in the Flavia de Luce series is a good starting point for folks who may not have read the first three (like me). It's a holiday themed mystery that will no doubt please fans and provides no confusion for newbies. What's more, it's a fun mystery that will keep you guessing to the very end.

This book was so slow to get started and then, bang, everything seems to happen within the last twenty or thirty pages. The author seems so intent on introducing all sorts of new characters from the movie crew, sort of partially developing a little interest in their character, then dropping them completely to never mention them again. Because of this lack of development in the characters when Mr. Bradley tries to cast suspicion on anyone you are left wondering why, this person was barely introduced and nothing particularly 'shady' was done by them. Frankly, this story was so lacking that the ending wasn't so much of a surprise twist but more of a way to finish up a story that didn't really seem to have any direction. I think the books in this series are more suited to young adult readers, even the younger spectrum of that group. There are some funny little interactions between Flavia and her sisters but nothing in this book stands out to me as a must-read. I think die-hard fans of this series will enjoy this but I wouldn't recommend this to anyone who is a casual reader of the series or new to this series in general.

I agree with another reviewer that I read this series more for Flavia, than the contrived little mystery, she always seems to get involved in.

Mr. Bradley has struck gold with this precocious little girl who has her nose in everything, and it is a true pleasure to follow her escapades. I find myself getting increasingly attached to the characters, each more eccentric than the last.

Unbelievable situations, and solutions. Truly, who would allow a little girl to get so involved in solving serious crimes?

Nevertheless, I am so looking forward to the next book, scheduled to come out in January.

This is one of my favorites in the series right next to the first book and the latest installment, Speaking From Among the Bones. There are plenty of surprises here and the protagonist, Flavia, is in top form as we see more into her irascible personality. The author really knows how to keep you turning the pages and has come up with a unique character that he seems to be able to make more believable and endearing with each book. The book is witty, fun, thought provoking, with great characters and a quickly moving plot. For this genre it's nearly a perfect read.

This fourth tale about Flavia de Luce is set at Christmas time and finds Flavia once again caught in the dichotomy of being a genius but also eleven years old. She cleverly finds clues to the murder that's taken place within the walls of their estate, Buckshaw, while trying to trap Father Christmas to determine if he's real or myth. Her voice is funny and entertaining, as always. This book explores a little more her relationship with her father's valet, Dogger, and provides a few more clues to his past as well as a surprising revelation about Aunt Felicity. Another well-told tale.

Reason for Reading: next in the series.

Oh, the sweet pure pleasure of reading a Flavia de Luce mystery, the witty and wise 11yo chemist with a propensity for poisons. Book 4 in the series is as fresh and original as book 1 and, I think at this point, my favourite in the series. Making a great Christmas gift as our action takes place on Christmas Eve this is sure to please fans and newcomers alike. Fans will be pleased to see familiar faces but newcomers won't miss a thing just jumping in with this series. A great character study and return to the traditional British mystery, Bradley has the Christie flair down to a "T". The book entices us with two mysteries actually as the murder does not take place until 2/3s of the way into the book. While the reader is kept guessing as to who will be murdered for the larger part of the book they are then rewarded with a splendid crime that has members of Flavia's own family on her list of suspects and her own life in danger at the climax. Bradley has outdone himself! If you have mystery lovers on your Christmas list, consider them taken care of!

Flavia de Luce is not your ordinary eleven year old genius. She sees an entirely different world than the rest of us, one populated by chemical symbols and a total disregard of convention. The result is an amusing and believable sojourn into the 1950 English countryside complete with mayhem and mystery.

Flavia makes her fourth appearance when a London film crew comes to Buckshaw Manor, and the actress turns up dead in a wingback chair. In this very Agatha Christie-setting, half the village is snowed in at Buckshaw while attending a benefit performance for the village church roof. Meanwhile, Flavia is making plans to trap Santa Claus with a glue of her own distillation. Enjoyable but not on a par with Sweetness and Red Herring.

This fourth novel featuring aspiring chemist-cum-sleuth Flavia De Luce is a wonderful addition to the canon with more focus on Flavia than on the murder mystery. Though the mystery of a world-famous actress cruelly killed while prepping to film a movie at cold and crumbling Buskshaw over the Christmas holiday is never really that engaging, it was the insights into Flavia and her relationships with her friends and family that are revealed which kept me reading late into the night. Flavia, determined to use science to capture Father Christmas, is a charming blend of naivete and experience, a mini-adult in some ways still struggling to come to terms with her childhood in others. Flavia is growing up and asking questions, revealing in the process a compelling vulnerability and emotional depth that was less evident in the eariler books. Heck, she didn't even try to poison anyone this time around!

All in all a great addition to any library; certainly a wonderful idea for a gift this holiday season!

This young sleuth continues to charm in this series. It's Christmas time and what we start to think will be a bleak time for the Holiday turns out to be the best book to date in this series.

Flavia is determined to trap Father Christmas to prove his existence, a movie production company rents out the family estate and murder follows. Our sleuth continues to outwit all, and brings a lot of christmas cheer to readers during her exploits.

I considered this novel to be my dessert on Christmas evening and I was not disappointed!

I am a HUGE fan of Flavia de Luce! I finished this book too quickly (as usual) and am stuck waiting for the next one. One of the best things about this series is that I never figure out the end. Mr. Bradley keeps me guessing and laughing at Flavia's antics. This time I especially loved that Flavia wanted to capture Santa on her roof and the forethought she put into that plan! I love that this is a series I can read with my book club (which we've done) or share with my older kids. Please keep them coming!

Alan Bradley's fourth Flavia De Luce novel finds our precocious eleven year old sleuth still solving mysteries, poking her nose in where no one wants her, feuding with her dreadful sisters and cooking up surprises in her chemistry lab. In this installment, a film crew arrives at her family's crumbling English manor home at Christmastime and murder ensues, of course. Sometimes classified as a 'young adult' series, but popular with adults, this series fits neatly into the 'cozy mystery' genre. 'I am Half-Sick of Shadows' is recommended for Flavia fans. Others, start with the first in the series, 'The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie' and continue if you like it.

As much as I loved the first two books of this Alan Bradley series, admittedly the books are now getting rather predictable. Flavia de Luce, our 11 year old heroine, is still 11 years old. Each character remains of equal importance and we know little more about them than we did after the first novel. The mysteries and danger that present themselves right in Flavia's path play out much the same way each novel. I am starting to expect that the rest of the series might well be the same. As charming as the books are, there must be something to keep the reader coming back for more and I'm afraid that this book simply did not do that for me.

It's likely that I will read the next book in the series, but it will be a library book for me and no big rush at that.

Flavia De Luce is one of my favorite characters. Bradley is a wonderful writer--one doesn't generally expect beautiful writing in a cozy mystery, but Bradley is a master. Yes, you have to suspend disbelief about 11 year olds, but get in the spirit with Flavia and it's a ride you'll enjoy! All of Bradley's Flavia books are truly fun reads. Her warfare with her sisters, her wry observations about village life, and her enthusiasm for pursuing her goals make me laugh.

While I'd give the entire Flavia series five stars, this latest entry earned only four. All the Flavia de Luce books are witty and charming--and I find a brainy, precocious 11-year-old to be a refreshing lead character in a mystery series--but the other books contain more complex and thought-provoking mysteries. As others have noted, this one seems to center more around the holiday theme than the mystery itself, which I found fairly non-compelling. The book was still enjoyable, though, and well worth a read.

This is definitely just as delightful as any in the series, and perhaps even more fast-paced, but the one thing that perplexes me about the last few books in the Flavia de Luce series is the character of Dieter. He's a former Nazi soldier and recent prisoner of war who decided to remain in Britain after the war. The series takes place in 1950, so the atrocities of the war would be all too present in the characters' minds, yet none of them has a problem with welcoming a Nazi into their home. He's even considered a likely--and suitable!--candidate to become a member of the family by courting one of the de Luce sisters. Why the Nazi sympathy, Mr. Bradley? It's the one thing that bothers me in an otherwise flawless series.

For more reviews, please visit my blog, CozyLittleBookJournal.

I love the time period, the place, and the characters! This one goes further into the development of almost all the characters...can't wait to read the next one. And I can't wait to see the series adapted for television. Flavia de Luce is my favorite detective, after Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot, Jane Marple, and Inspector Alleyn (and maybe Precious Ramotswe).

Another great murder mystery solved by chemical deductions in the mind of young Flavia de Luce! This series contains some of the best mysteries for modern-written books. Read this one in December if you won't mind a little murder with your Christmas.

There is no doubt whatsoever that the precocious, delightful Flavia de Luce is one of the two most significant creations to grace the mystery field in the past decade, the other being Stieg Larsson's Lisbeth Salander. One can only thank our lucky stars for that moment of inspired genius when she popped into Alan Bradley's head. That said, I am becoming increasingly impatient with our horrid little heroine, and Bradley's haphazard (dare I say "sloppy") storytelling. First of all, I think it's significant that in the first book the murder was discovered (if I recall correctly) at the end of Chapter One. In "Half-Sick," the murder doesn't take place until the end of Chapter Eleven. Which means that there's a great deal of time spent on local color, life at Buckshaw and what passes for "set-up," although most of the latter turns out to be wholly insignificant. The mystery itself and its denouement aren't all that interesting (or important, apparently), and while this has always been true of the de Luce books, it's even more so here (or is it less?). And because we never get to know the suspects beyond their superficial characteristics, we're never invested in "whodunit."

Look, I get it, people read the de Luce books for one reason only and that's to spend time with Flavia -- and why, not, she's great company. Bradley is masterful at getting into the mind of this smarter-than-we'll-ever-be pre-teen, with her contradictory emotions. (Her growing pains in this volume are particularly well represented.) Miss de Luce is wickedly funny, touching and true to life (despite her fascination with death), and the supporting characters surrounding her have become sharper and more real with each book. (I have not, admittedly, read the third in the series.) But there's just so much of Flavia I can take when the mystery aspect of these mysteries is so weak. If only Bradley had a better handle on how to construct a plot, or reveal information that kept us riveted and eager to find out what happens next. In "Half-Sick," Bradley sets up an interesting and crucial premise (Buckshaw snowed in with half the village under its roof), but has no idea what to do with it. There's no tension whatsoever, no sense of foreboding or urgency. Flavia herself takes great chunks of time out from catching the killer to catch...Santa Claus. Amusing as this is, it completely works against the mechanics of the mystery. The book is flaccid and meandering.

I understand that Flavia is the point of the Flavia de Luce books, and I'm glad to have her on the literary landscape. But Bradley as Pygmalion seems so enamored of his pint-sized Galatea that he thinks simply putting her in a book is enough to keep us coming back for more. It's worked to a point, but I skipped the third and may skip the fifth if I don't get a sense that Bradley's storytelling has matured, even if his heroine has not.

Christmas Eve, a howling blizzard, dozens of visitors stranded inside Buckshaw, Flavia de Luce's family home. A bizarre murder, too many suspects. An auspicious beginning, and then.. The killer leaps out of hiding and attacks Flavia. She wins the fight and the killer is arrested. But there is no proof, and the killer is a minor, peripheral figure. And when Flavia reveals the motive, it is totally inadequate for such a horrendous crime. The reader is left asking, "what happened to the middle of the book? What happened to the rules of the mystery?"

If books were edible, Bradley's Flavia de Luce mysteries would be my favorite food, and this one would be the most perfectly prepared so far. If you haven't read them, you simply must. Start with the first, "The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie." This is his fourth, but don't worry, you will fly through them lik the first courses of a delicious dinner in Italy and find yourself here, salivating over a dessert filled with answers to your "but I wonder...." questions and titillating new "what about...?" questions, all set in England at Christmas. Bradley and Flavia, yaroo!!! And please don't keep us waiting too long for the next course. Now that I've acquired a taste for you, there's very little else that will satisfy.

This is an enjoyable, if not credible, series. However, this review is limited to the audiobook versions read by Jayne Entwistle. Flavia is a young girl from an upper class family in post-World War II England. To gain some idea of how she might have sounded listen to Queen Elizabeth's speeches of that period. While Miss Entwistle captures the tone and urgency of the character, Flavia certainly did not have the slight Liverpool accent that Miss Entwistle gives her. Perhaps this is not noticeable except to a native Briton but for me it is an unnecessary distraction.

and probably not alone in that. Yes, in this series she's been a precocious narrator of her own brilliant, amateur sleuthing as well as infatuation with chemistry, especially concerning poisons. There's been a good amount of good humor, as well as violent denouements which don't fit the overall setting.
The setting, a large, old estate in a small town, must have been begging for the full blown "cozy" treatment, because this one delivers that, in your face, to the point that in the end, the Inspector (who actually has shown more competence this time around, not being so ridiculously shown up by a pre-teen amateur) has to point out that it's "rather like an Agatha Christie" mystery. No sh**, Sherlock.
But, I found the plot way too "staged," and the characters too stock and much less interesting than in prior books (I can't say if that would be true to a new reader), the humor thinner, and the violent penultimate scene too unreal (as in prior books). It dragged so much that I sort of "sped read" my way through. I won't be in such a hurry to read the next one. Maybe the entire book was supposed to be tongue in cheek??, but that could have been done in a much smaller manner (or manor).
And an afterthought: One element of the plot is Flavia's serious attempt to catch or trap Father Christmas on the rooftop where he must obviously go to drop down the chimney. Seriously. And it's not until the end that this brilliant student of science figures out that maybe the Santa Claus scenario has some logical flaws?? Maybe I'm the dummy, assuming this book was aimed at those smarter than a 5th grader.

I thoroughly enjoyed I Am Half-Sick of Shadows. What a cast of characters! The story really sped along nicely which is surprising when considering that the entire story takes place at Buckshaw - I love learning more about that grand old place and the people who live there. I admit that I get a little weary of the hateful relationship between the three sisters, so it was a bit refreshing to see that they really do love one another. A few secrets were partially unveiled allowing for greater character development which I really appreciated. Flavia's brilliance coupled with her occasional moments of childlike innocence and fragility hit just the right notes. Loved every page!

It is the writing that keeps you coming back. If you read the other comments you get the picture of Flavia, her sisters and the supporting cast at Buckshaw. What keeps you coming back is the most clever intertwining of characters, mystery, time, humor and sometimes pathos that fills your imagination.
I feel the best books leave you with a special `after taste' that sticks with you long after the last page. These books are very satisfying in that regard. Please read them in order and enjoy.

Once again Flavia de Luce shows her intelligence and spunk by solving a murder which happens in her own home. She continues to feud with her sisters, miss her mother and antagonize the Inspector who really does not want an eleven-year olds help to solve mysteries. I hope Mr. Bradley will have another coming in the spring - his usual schedule.

I stumbled onto Alan Bradley as I was scrounging for a good mystery to read. Happily, I found that I LOVE Flavia de Luce! I will read these books out of order with no regret because of the wonderfully confident, cocky, yet childlike character of the unrecognized genius of 12 year old Flavia. If you like British mysteries this entire series won’t disappoint.

When I want a light mystery/who done it but I don't want to worry about inappropriate content in a day when many books are filled with unnecessary smut, I always reach for a "Flavia de Luce" novel. The wit and undercurrent story-line is fun too. This book didn't let me down in my quest!

Like many other reviewers I have pounced on every new Flavia novel. She and her family are true eccentrics and spending time with them is a pleasure.

However, this novel seemed flat and formulaic. I found myself skipping passages as the events of previous novels were revisited. The new characters seemed superficial and above all, it was predictable.

It was also quite short. In terms of buying as an e-book I thought it was quite expensive for such a short novel.

I still love Flavia but I won't be jumping at the next novel. Maybe Mr Bradley could spend some more time on the next novel and return the series to its former glory.

A wonderful addition to the Flavia de Luce novels! Bradley gives you a chance to get to know more of Bishops Lacy's lovable characters. This story has plenty of action, mystery and a truly wonderful ending for the de Luce family. Perfect holiday read as it takes place just before Christmas.

I've read all of the Flavia books and I have found them entertaining enough to pick this one up too. I have never found the mysteries to be particularly compelling since I can usually figure out the mystery well before the characters figure it out for themselves. To be fair, I can do this with every episode of Monk as well. This was the first time I was unable to discover the killer and it wasn't because Alan Bradley has gotten better at his craft. Sadly, it is because there isn't much of a mystery here; it doesn't even occur until over half-way through the book. The investigation is practically non-existent and the reveal of the murder was so sudden that I felt it must be a red herring. There are lots of plot threads that get started and never resolved and way too many characters forced into the book for no other reason than this is supposed to be a Christmas Special.

Although the murderer is impossible to id before the end, the end of the book is telegraphed from the first page. If you didn't think Flavia's "experiment" was going to have the effect it did, you weren't paying much attention.

Sadly, fame seems to have made Alan Bradley lazy. Let's hope his next book is better.

I enjoyed this book well enough... I adore the main character but that's mostly all that held me through the book. I have to say they are starting to feel a little unbelievable to me. Not sure if I'll read the next one.

Movie stars, Christmas, and fireworks contribute to fine mysteries for Flavia during a huge snowstorm. The deLuce family's characters continue to become more fascinating. What an outstanding series.

I've tried to find reading pleasure in the Flavia de Luce series. I read "The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag" but found it incomprehensible. I was recently reading "I Am Half-Sick of Shadows," but abandoned it after only four chapters. Try as I might, I just don't find precocious children as reliable and enjoyable narrators of detection fiction. It could be the stories are too English, the slang and cultural references too dated for my American tastes.

But no more Flavia de Luce for me. This is the first detective series which I've had put down. The current effort gets only two stars as a courtesy to what, I hope, is decent writing.

I've read the previous Flavia books, and they were slowly falling in quality. But this one I actually was offended by as a reader. The first few chapters are well written, and the story is compelling. Then suddenly nothing makes sense, especially after the murder is committed. The characters are poorly drawn, the plot is laughably amateur, and characters from past books pop in for NO reason, and they do absolutely nothing. I love the Flavia books, but honestly this may be my last one, I feel ripped off, as if the author is just churning this one out because there is demand, not because he is inspired or even TRYING very hard.

I've tried to find reading pleasure in the Flavia de Luce series. I read "The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag" but found it incomprehensible. I was recently reading "I Am Half-Sick of Shadows," but abandoned it after only four chapters. Try as I might, I just don't find precocious children as reliable and enjoyable narrators of detection fiction. It could be the stories are too English, the slang and cultural references too dated for my American tastes.

But no more Flavia de Luce for me. This is the first detective series which I've had put down. The current effort gets only two stars as a courtesy to what, I hope, is decent writing.

I've read the previous Flavia books, and they were slowly falling in quality. But this one I actually was offended by as a reader. The first few chapters are well written, and the story is compelling. Then suddenly nothing makes sense, especially after the murder is committed. The characters are poorly drawn, the plot is laughably amateur, and characters from past books pop in for NO reason, and they do absolutely nothing. I love the Flavia books, but honestly this may be my last one, I feel ripped off, as if the author is just churning this one out because there is demand, not because he is inspired or even TRYING very hard.