I was very excited to read Alan Bradley's latest Flavia de Luce novel What the Sexton's Spade Doth Rust (#1,272) especially after discovering that the first book in the series, The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie is being made into a TV series. While I liked this book very much, I did think it was much darker in tone. Young Flavia has always delighted in murder, but up until this point, the crimes have been pretty much one-offs with Flavia playing the starring role in their solution. Here, she realizes what a small cog she actually is in the scheme of things.
Flavia's father is dead, her oldest sister is on her honeymoon in Europe and her other sister Daffy has plans for her future which she has not bothered share across the breakfast table. Life at Buckshaw has settled into a dull routine, broken only by the antics of her brattish cousin Undine, a constant thorn in Flavia's side. But the morning that Major Greyleigh's body is found in his cottage nearby, and their housekeeper Mrs. Mullet is the chief suspect in his death, everything changes. No one Flavia has grown up with is exactly whom she thinks they are as one secret after another is revealed and even Flavia's life is on the line.
So much to deal with and Flavia is still not old enough to qualify for her official driver's license! She's growing up fast, but she's still barely a teenager. The weight and responsibilities of duty are settling on her shoulders... I can't wait to see where this series will go next.
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