Flavia is Back in England and Brilliant as Ever

THE GRAVE'S A FINE AND PRIVATE PLACE
Flavia de Luce # 9
Alan Bradley
Bantam Books
February 6, 2018


Flavia is home in 1952 England after her time in Canada in school. The unexpected death of her father has everyone plunged into grief, and the strife between Flavia and her older sisters Ophelia and Daphne (Feely and Daffy) has only escalated. To make things worse, her father's sister, Aunt Felicity, is down from London and making decrees about the future of the girls. Among the decrees is that the beloved family home, Buckshaw, must be sold. Never mind that Flavia is now the sole owner of Buckshaw, thanks to her mother's will. Flavia is "only" twelve, so possibly she will have little input. Flavia de Luce is a twelve-year-old like no other, however. In an attempt to "smooth the waters" long time servant, Dogger, suggests a trip down the river; days of paddling followed by nights at country inns. Upon approaching St. Mildred's-in-the-Marsh the trip takes an unexpected turn. Flavia is trailing her hand through the water and snags a corpse floating just under the surface. St.Mildred's is notorious because it's vicar, Canon Whitbred, was hanged for the poisoning of three parish women, at the Communion rail. The body in the river turns out to be the son of the "Poisoning Parson." What is an intrepid adolescent chemist/ sleuth to do but ferret out the solution to this mystery?

Describing the plot of a Flavia de Luce novel is always tricky, because of their sheer inventiveness and one might even say unbelievability. How does a twelve-year-old get involved in all these odd situations? The answer is that Flavia has one of the most original voices in fiction; brilliant, funny, and ultimately, touching. I sometimes forget between books how much I enjoy her until I am in the midst of the story again. Flavia's "cases" are often ghoulish but always offset the ghoulishness with humor. The loyal Dogger takes center stage along with Flavia in The Grave's a Fine and Private Place. Dogger is still suffering from the effects of his captivity in a WWII POW camp in Burma. Flavia's father and Dogger were captives together and formed an unbreakable bond. That bond is now transferred to Flavia and her sisters. Dogger shows signs of coming to terms with his hideous memories and the two make a formidable team. Flavia is growing up and the relationships among the sisters settling down at least somewhat. A slightly rushed ending is my only caveat but it didn't detract from my enjoyment.

Thanks to NetGalley and Bantam for an advance digital copy. The opinions are my own.

RATING-5 Stars