"The core of the lipstick came out easily enough, and I relit the spirit lamp. Only a gentle heat was required to reduce the waxy stuff to a sticky mass. If Feely only knew that lipstick was made of fish scales, I thought, she might be a little less eager to slather the stuff all over her mouth. I must remember to tell her. I grinned. Later."
Ah, revenge is sweet! With her knowledge of chemistry, Flavia is quick to exact that revenge on her older sister, Ophelia...the result of the initial scene in this entertaining, engrossing mystery where her older sisters lock Flavia in a closet and leave her to her own defences to find her way out. Mother is dead, Father is oblivious to the goings-on in his household. He is much more interested in stamps that in his daughters' antics.
You all want to meet Flavia. She is a feisty, independent young sleuth intent on finding out what happened to the man found dead in their garden early one morning. She knows he has a connection to her father...she heard them arguing. As her investigative nose leads her from one small discovery to the next, we are happy to be travelling with her through the rural English countryside. We meet a cast of great characters, all have presence and purpose in her story. Aboard her trusty two-wheeler, or concocting new terror in her poison lab, Flavia remains curious, brave and quick witted.
It is a story of rare stamps, murder, false arrest, sibling rivalry, and resolution. Flavia proves her mettle with the family, the village and the local constabulary as she works to unravel this murder mystery. I could not put it down...reading quickly and always moving on with great anticipation.
I am delighted that this is the first in a series of adventures for an amazing young girl. On to the next...
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