I enjoyed the latest adventures of Flavia
583288
I enjoyed the latest adventures of Flavia.  However, I felt this book did not flow as smoothly as the others in the series and there seemed to be a few loose ends.  All in all another good read and Flavia is growing up.
4099833
I have been hooked on the Flavia series (this is the fifth book), and have pre-ordered them since I read the first book. Mysteries are my favorite genre, and Bradley's Flavia series are a delight!

I love Bradley's metaphors and his descriptions. Each book begins with a sumptuous opening and ends with a cliff-hanger--this title has a huge surprise ending!

I gave the book a four because I felt it rambled at bit during the first half. It seemed to take off in so many directions I had trouble seeing where it was going. It finally started coming together later in the story.

Flavia is starting to show growing pains as she wrestles with new feelings that surprise herself. I enjoyed this new aspect to her personality.

Bradley is no slouch when it comes to research and we see it here in the amount of detail work provided in chemistry and history.

With this cliff-hanger ending, I can't wait to get my hands on book number six!
1973065
Flavia is a favorite, like Falco before her.  I enjoy all of the "informer" books, like old friends. Well worth a read.
4451794
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.
3016844
this book was not quite as good as the others in the series. However it was a short story while the others were not. These well written books intended for young adult reads. I enjoy the characters and plots anyway and am completely in love with Flavia, the 11 year old girl who keeps finding dead bodies and then solves the murder in her laboratory before the police. Fun to read for children and adults.
1534862
I really enjoy the main character of these books, Flavia deLuce.  I was surprised by the outcome and enjoyed the reading.
71958
The latest book in the Flavia de Luce mysteries continues the adventures of Flavia, a precocious 12 year old who lives with her Father and two very annoying older sisters in a decaying mansion set in a very picturesque English village circa 1950.  All the ingredients of the typical British mystery are present:  village people of varying eccentricity, the vicar, the doctor, the constable.  The very rural setting adds a touch of feeling isolated from the world.  Flavia is a budding genius in chemistry and has a laboratory "inherited" from her uncle Tarquin.  Her passion is poisons.  No, she's not the murderer, but she always manages to decipher and outsmart the police when odd deaths happen in Bishop's Lacey.  Now, there's a name for a village!  The books don't have to be read in order, but it is helpful to be acquainted with the characters, especially Flavia's family.  In this particular book the church organist is found in the crypt of St. Tancred's church.  Murdered, of course.  There is a delicious side story of the opening of the saint's tomb and the discovery of a very strange person kept hidden away from the public by his domineering father.  Not to mention a diamond of great value.  As if that we're not enough, the book ends with an amazing announcement.  I can't wait for the next one.
However, you might find the chemistry lingo and experiments a bit obscure and daunting.  I never liked chemistry class, so I might be a little biased about the fact that 12 year old Flavia is such a whiz at it.
1782882
I resisted starting this as long as I couldjust a few days. I knew that Id race through it and then be sorry when it ended. The good news is, things are set up nicely for more adventures to come!

The birth of Joe and Dulcies kittens has added a new dimension to the human and feline relationships in the ongoing saga set in Molena Point. As far as Joe and Dulcie are concerned, theres a believable, tender mixture of human-like and feline emotions as they watch their little ones grow.
I loved Murphys writing in this story as well. Her descriptions are delightful and often lyrical.

Should I sit down and reread it right now? Well see.
1660742
This installment of Mr. Bradley's chemist prodigy sleuth, Flavia, is entertaining.  as with all the previous novels her little corner of England is rift with murder, intrigue and of course her horrible older sisters, a father who is still mourning his wife's death years ago, and a cadre of unique local characters.
these novels are ones you and your older kids will definitely enjoy.
133723
Another good flavia De luce novel by Alan Bradley dot dot dot dot dot dot dot dot dot dot dot
2764740
As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust by Alan Bradley is the highly recommended seventh book featuring the precocious chemist and toxicologist Flavia de Luce.

In As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust Flavia has been sent away from her family home in Bishops Lacey, England, to Canada where she has been enrolled in her late mothers alma mater, Miss Bodycotes Female Academy. Flavia can immediately discern that "the faculty of Miss Bodycotes Female Academy had one thing in common: They were all dead serious. There was no frivolity: no laughter and no lipstick." The academy is "the slap in the face with a velvet glove, the sting in the smile, the razor blade in the butter." Even in a new environment without her normal support and lab available, Flavia proves to be an intelligent, astute investigator.

On Flavia's first night at the academy another student, P.A. Collingwood, bursts into her room, pummeling her, until she realizes that Flavia is not the student she thought. Then, when an angry knock at the door makes it clear that the girls are about to get caught by Miss Fawlthorne, the head of school, Collingwood shimmers up the chimney to hide. This action results in a charred mummified body falling out of the chimney and the detached skull rolling across the floor.

Flavia likes nothing better than having a murder to solve. She learns that three girls have gone missing at the school. Could one of them be the body? Luckily, from all the movies Flavia has watched at the cinema with Daffy and Feely, Flavia already has a handle on her first foreign language and learned it well, so she is able to converse with the locals. Even in the new setting and apart from her normal set of confidantes, Flavia relishes trying to solve the murder mystery.

As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust is a strong addition to the YA series that is enjoyed and heralded with equal fervor by many adults. It is a bit different from the others in the series because Bradley has set Flavia down in a totally new environment without her familiar people and tools available to help her investigation. This new setting requires some time spent on describing the new setting and characters. Bradley is up to the task and does an excellent job presenting this latest adventure. There will be a surprise at the end that should please fans.

Disclosure: My advanced reading copy for the Kindle was courtesy of Random House for review purposes.
3234944
Other reviewers will do a better job than I describing Flavia and the joys of this delightful book. What struck me and has become the key to why I will want to return again to follow this series is the author's fine attention to detail. The most stirring moments in the book are created as our young slueth describes a brief but insightful history of stamp collecting, the way a particular piece of classical music stirs her soul, or how she uses the recitation of chemical equations to calm her mind, or her keen observations into the human character. This attention to detail draws the reader into the world of post-war England and under the spell of the captivating young Flavia. Bravo, Mr. Bradley!
4953760
This series has been a delight to read. I didn't think at first that as an adult, an 11-12 year old female protagonist would hold my interest in a mystery, especially written by a grown man, but it has; through the entire series. Due to the slight late Downton Abbey-ish rural setting, and shades of Miss Marple, it has been thoroughly enjoyable. I hope Bradbury continues Flavia de Luce's adventures into the future.
4602964
I read this in March of 2011 and wrote this review.

Another successful offering in the Flavia de Luce series. This time, Flavia becomes involved with a puppeteer and his companion when their van breaks down in Bishop's Lacey.

Author Alan Bradley weaves the death of a young boy from six years ago into the current story and death of the puppeteer. Flavia manages to run her own investigation even though Inspector Hewitt would prefer she keep out of things. She also continues to work in her lovely chemistry lab and I enjoyed reading about her various experiments.

We learn that Harriet, Flavia's mother, owned Buckshaw, and upon her death, the property did not go to her husband. The family's financial problems are mentioned, and I do hope they don't have to leave Buckshaw in future books.

Dogger, Mrs. Mullet, and other characters from the first book are still here, giving readers that comforting feeling of knowing some of the personalities involved.

Again, I highly recommend this series.
340366
Fans of Lindsey Davis' Falco series should be happy with this one. The usual set of family and friends are involved. I like this series because I like the descriptions of ancient Rome. I spent t3 days there a couple of years ago. The books increased my enjoyment and the trip enhanced the reading. In these books as in most of my favorite mysteries the mystery is secondary to the characters and setting.
1153562
Thrice the Brinded Cat Hath Mew'd is the eighth book in Alan Bradley's mystery series set in 1950s England featuring Flavia de Luce, a twelve-year-old chemistry genius and expert on poisons.  After being expelled from a boarding school in Canada, Flavia returns to her family house, Buckshaw.  She expects a warm welcome from her father, her two older sisters, Feely (Ophelia) and Daffy (Daphne), and the family's faithful servant, Dogger.  But when she arrives in England, only Dogger is there to meet her.  She learns that her father is in the hospital with pneumonia and is too ill to see her.  Her sisters do not appear to have missed her, and her obnoxious cousin, Undine, has taken her place in the household.

To escape from the unhappy atmosphere at home, Flavia rides her bicycle, Gladys, to deliver a letter from the vicar's wife to a wood-carver who's supposed to repair the gargoyles in the church.  But she finds the man dead, hanging upside-down from his bedroom door.  The only witness is a cat who doesn't seem at all concerned.  Flavia, as usual, does her own investigation before calling the police.  She finds several first editions of children's poetry in the dead man's room, and wonders why the man, who had no children or grandchildren, kept these volumes in his bedroom.  As she continues her investigation, Flavia discovers that the author of the poetry met a mysterious end several years before, and that he had been involved with the aunt of an acquaintance of Flavia's, a woman who had also died a suspicious death.  What is the connection between these people and the latest victim, and what does the wood-carver's neighbor, a woman who's rumored to be a witch, know about these deaths?

The intrepid Flavia is one of the most original heroines in current mystery fiction.  She's strong-minded, highly intelligent, adventurous, but vulnerable.  After all, she is still a child in years.  In this volume, she shows a new maturity, as she travels to London by herself and tries to balance her wish to see her father with her desire to solve the crime.  I will not give too much away, but at the end of this book, the series takes a dark turn, and it will be interesting to see what's in store for Flavia in the next volume.
4450339
This is the 6th book in the series, and it's one I don't think a reader ought to attempt without having read at least some of the previous books.  This one simply wraps up too many of the other carry-over items from the first five books; a reader jumping into this one first would likely be confused.
In this book we learn what happened to Harriet, a bit more about Dogger and Father during the war, a few more of Aunt Felicity's exciting secrets, and what is to become of Buckshaw.
Yes, this volume definitely feels like an end.
Except that it doesn't.
Without giving any spoilers, I believe I can safely say that the book ends with Flavia ready to start a new chapter in her life.  It also leaves many questions unanswered, especially regarding Father's weeping apology/confession overheard by Flavia near the coffin.
Yes, I could most certainly see a second series featuring Flavia growing out of this book.
And I rather hope it happens.  :)