The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag

In The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag, the second novel in the Flavia de Luce series, author Alan Bradley again brings us the bright, precocious heroine. It s rural England in 1950 and Flavia is lying in the graveyard of St. Tancred's church thinking how sorry her family would be were she to die! While she is contemplating this she hears a woman crying. The tears are coming from Nialla, an assistant to Rupert Porson, a well-known puppeteer.

Since Porson's van has broken down, the local vicar suggests the pair give a performance while the vehicle is being repaired. However before the second show can begin someone is murdered with most of the village watching. Once again Flavia must put her sleuthing skills to use. As in book one, The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, Flavia performs experiments at her home laboratory at Buckshaw, the crumbling family mansion.  With a visit from her Aunt Felicity and a new character, Dieter, a former German POW working on a farm, and Mad Mag the local crone spouting cryptic remarks, there is plenty for Flavia to investigate. 

Flavia jumps on her trusty bicycle, Gladys, and begins asking pointed questions all over the county. If you like old fashioned mysteries the Flavia de Luce series brings 1950s England to life. The language is clean and amusing. This would be a good series to suggest to younger readers. 

**Book three in the series, A Red Herring Without Mustard, was released last month.