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A Red Herring Without Mustard (2011)

by Alan Bradley(Favorite Author)

4.06 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

0385342322 (ISBN13: 9780385342322)

languge

English

genre

Historical Fiction

publisher

Delacorte Press

series

Flavia de Luce

review 1: Flavia de Luce mi sta proprio simpatica. Ficcanaso, viziata, vive in una magione circondata da ettari di terreno nelle campagne inglesi, avrebbe tutti i motivi per fare la smorfiosa e invece si caccia sempre nei guai nel tentativo - riuscito, ovvio - di risolvere dei delitti. Flavia e la sua passione per la chimica, nel laboratorio ereditato da un suo avo. Flavia e la sua bicicletta Gladys, amica e complice fedele. Flavia che non ha paura di nulla e pur di vederci chiaro non si ferma di fronte a nessun pericolo. Flavia che sente la mancanza della mamma anche se è morta quando lei era ancora in fasce. Flavia che ragiona come un'adulta ma ha le reazioni istintive di una bambina.Dopo Il delitto nel campo di cetrioli, un altro romanzo godibile, appassionante e divertente, una... more sorta di giallo atipico con una protagonista davvero ben riuscita.
review 2: Now that's better!Even though Flavia ostensibly hasn't aged a day and is on her third cadaver (or is it fourth? Or fifth? Well it depends how you count), this installment was much more enjoyable than the first two. This is due in great part to the fact that she is much less in Mary Sue mode, making her a taste more believable. She's much more like an eleven-year-old kid, if you forgive her imitation of Jessica Fletcher at the end in what I call the "library scene." (You know..."I know you're all wondering why I've gathered you here today" and all is revealed.)Flavia has her fortune told by a real gypsy at the village fete, and finds herself obliged to see the old lady to her campsite. When someone tries to kill said gypsy, Flavia does manage to save her life, but this time indirectly and much more believably. This eventually leads to Flavia meeting the gypsy's granddaughter, who rejoices in the unlikely (especially for the 1950s) name of Porcelain Lee. This moniker is never explained, just dropped in there for the reader's....um, delectation? Portia I could have believed, but Porcelain? Whatever. Maybe it's an attempt to make someone in the story as weird as Flavia herself.Lunatic fringe religious sects, antiques that appear and disappear and reappear in several places at once, and Adventures Underground kept me entertained. The interaction between the sisters was much more realistic this time around (yes, we are cruel to each other sometimes, as anyone who's ever had an older sister knows). I was ready to write a really scathing review, but fortunately the author has matured his craft to the place that I don't have to. Light and insubstantial as candyfloss, with no bitter aftertaste. less

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