The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag by Alan Bradley

A special thank you to Goodreads First Reads for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

3.75 stars! I forgot how delightful this series is. After reading Bradley's The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie I remembered thinking that I needed to get my hands on the next book as I was so enchanted by the 11-year-old sleuth Flavia de Luce. Flavia is a brilliant and unique child, absolutely charming—Bradley does a great job with her voice.

Flavia is quite the detective, and Bradley brings a fresh approach to the classic mystery—again, this is done through Flavia's narrative and his spot-on writing.

The Weed That Strings the Hangman’s Bag works as a sequel to the earlier book rather than as a stand-alone novel; readers may not get the family dynamics and Flavia's quirky love of all things poisonous. Bradley walks a fine line with Flavia's precocity and childishness. She seems to be so intellectually advanced, yet stunted emotionally. I think this is what makes her such a successful sleuth and I cannot wait to see where Bradley takes her in the next installment.

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ALAN BRADLEY is a New York Times bestselling author. His first Flavia de Luce novel, The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, received the Crime Writers’ Association Debut Dagger Award, the Dilys Winn Award, the Arthur Ellis Award, the Agatha Award, the Macavity Award, and the Barry Award, and was nominated for the Anthony Award. 

Bradley was born in Toronto and lives in Vancouver.