A Red Herring Without Mustard ~Alan Bradley
–published 2011
–Delacorte Books
–398 pages
–9/10
In the fall of 2009 an apple green book cover filled me with such delight that I adopted it from my local purveyor of fine books and brought it home. Aesthetic-inspired love soon turned to the real thing as I was introduced to eleven-year-old Flavia de Luce, lover of chemistry (especially as pertains to the creation of poisons) and soon-to-be amateur sleuth. Two years on, having turned the final page of the third book in the series, I am every bit as enamored with Alan Bradley’s creation as I was at the beginning.
In A Red Herring Without Mustard murder returns to the village of Bishop’s Lacey and Flavia de Luce cannot help but find herself caught up in the investigation. Alan Bradley’s mysteries rest comfortably in the cozy mystery niche carved out by the great Agatha Christie and others. While paying homage to those who have have come before, Bradley’s books step out of the shadow of the greats in their character examination of Flavia and the members of her family, both living and dead. It has become more and more apparent that the real mystery in the Flavia de Luce novels is not the one sparked by the murder du jour, but that one originating in the death of a young mother which continues to have deep and painful repercussions on the de Luce family.
In previous reviews of Alan Bradley’s books I have been reluctant to discuss many details of the adventure that Flavia embarks upon because I believe that to do so would spoil the story for the reader. I will follow that established course with this review. But for those who have not read any of the Flavia de Luce novels, an perhaps have not read my previous reviews, I will give you a little background.
The Flavia de Luce novels are set in England in the 1950’s and the effects of World War II continue to be seen in the lives of the folks who inhabit Bishop’s Lacey. Flavia de Luce lives in the ancestral mansion of Buckshaw with her father, two older sisters Ophelia and Daphne–Feely and Daffy–, and their servant Dogger, a man who often suffers the effects of shell shock from his time in the service. Mrs. Mullet, always a source of local gossip, comes in to cook for the family. The strongest presence in the de Luce family is that of the girls’ mother Harriet, who we learn early on died while Flavia was yet an infant.
In A Red Herring Without Mustard a visit to the village fete results in a visit with a fortune teller that is dramatic in both its revelations and the resulting damage to the fortune teller’s tent. Having been the cause of the damage, Flavia de Luce invites the gypsy to park her caravan in the Palings, a wooded part of the Buckshaw estate. The adage that “no good deed goes unpunished” soon proves true as an attempt is made on the gypsy’s life. Flavia takes on the mantle of Good Samaritan by fetching the doctor and soon finds herself embroiled in mystery and murder.
As I indicated earlier, there is much more going on in the Flavia de Luce stories than the cozy mystery around which the novel is structured. This has become more true with each successive novel. One thing you will realize as you read Bradley’s books is that the story meanders far from the course of the mystery being investigated. What could be seen as a weakness in some novels becomes the Flavia de Luce series’ greatest strength–there is a deeper, more plausible, and much more painful thread of mystery which weaves the lives of the de Luce family together and that pain is examined more closely in A Red Herring Without Mustard. Flavia’s father is distant. Her two older sisters are mean-spirited and spiteful. Flavia is allowed to run all over the countryside, live in the most dilapidated wing of the house, and practice chemistry in the lab left by her late uncle. It appears to be a combination of one-dimensional characterization and implausible parenting until you actually start getting into the stories. What is revealed is a family with a great deal of dimension, defined in large part by grief over the death of wife and mother. This is a family in which moments of candor reveal a deep love for each other but unresolved grief quickly overshadows those moments, leaving the reader with a strong affection for all of these characters and a nearly overwhelming desire to give them all a good long hug.
What I am trying somewhat unsuccessfully to say is that Alan Bradley is building something here. At times it is subtle and at others more apparent, but with each successive story a new layer of the de Luce family is examined and the mystery about Harriet and what happened to her and why the de Luce family has chosen to deal with her loss in this way is revealed. And like any good mystery, new insight reveals even deeper mysteries to be solved. But please don’t get the impression that these stories are something maudlin and tragic. Despite my seeing a stronger thread of grief running through A Red Herring Without Mustard, it is every bit as fun as the previous two novels in the series.
Flavia de Luce continues to be an absolute delight. One of my favorite things about Flavia is her relationship with her bicycle, named Gladys. Gladys has a more prominent role in A Red Herring Without Mustard and I enjoyed it every time she made an appearance. The Buckshaw estate has grown to be more and more of a character in and of itself with each novel and it remains a place that I would love to explore. The inhabitants of Bishop’s Lacey, from Flavia’s family to the vicar to Inspector Hewitt grow more interesting with each story. And as the title indicates, there are enough red herrings in Alan Bradley’s latest novel to make Dame Agatha proud.
I have discovered a true gem in the adventures of Flavia de Luce and I am thrilled that Alan Bradley is hard at work on her latest mystery. I don’t often read mysteries, but the Flavia novels have become must-reads and are numbered among the more special books in my collection. I cannot recommend them highly enough. If you are interested, please check out my non-spoiler reviews of the first two Flavia de Luce novels:
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie
The Weed that Strings the Hangman’s Bag
Then for gosh’s sake get out their and buy these books!
oh gawd Carl, gimme a break! lol.. they do sound really good but at the moment..my plate runneth over!
I do love though when a book is just throughly enjoyable like this is for you. I find when I get one like that I just don’t want it to end.. and I don’t want the smirk to leave my face showing how much I enjoyed my time in that book! ahhh ok.. glad this was a good one for ya!!
Deslily: Yes, it was a tough choice between rushing through this and trying to make it last. Once I started though I just couldn’t stop reading it. Now the long wait for the next one begins.
I was planning to save book two for the R.I.P. challenge, but I might read the second one soonish and save the third for the R.I.P. challenge… Maybe… Decisions, decisions.
Hope all is well with you, Carl. We haven’t really talked so far this year. Maybe we can read a Charles de Lint together sometime this year?
glad to hear Bradley is keeping up the good work. Looking forward to this one. Need to scrounge up some cafe money and find myself an afternoon in a bookstore.
Oh hooray! I didn’t realize another Flavia novel was out! This will be a rush-out-and-get!
Gypsi: That is exactly what I thought, which is why I did just that. 🙂
L: Loved what you had to say about the last one and cannot wait for your thoughts on this one.
Kailana: That would be great, I’d love it. And of course my vote is for reading Flavia now!
Love to hear it was another good read. I did enjoy the first book quite a bit. Hopefully I can get to book two this year. Love the covers as well for this series.
I read this as soon as I got it too (posted about it today as well!) and I think it might be my favorite of the series so far. I loved the complexity that was added to Flavia’s character this time around. I’m sad that there are only three books left in the series though. I would love to follow Flavia into adulthood at just this pace.
the lines for the first book are so long at the library and at Paperback BookSwap, I may never read any of these!
Ooh! I can’t wait to read this! I agree — something is building. I noticed it more (of course) in the second book. I really can’t wait to see what happens in this one. I’m glad we get to learn more about the family.
I just finished this one yesterday! I really liked it as well. I need to buy my own copies!
Melanie: Ooo, I need to come check out your review if you’ve done one. And I agree with you, these are the kind of treasures that you just want to own your own copies of.
Daphne: I’m not sure if I noticed as much of the back-story building in the second book. I might have but it certainly wasn’t as apparent to me as it was in reading this book. But I don’t always catch things when I read stories the first time. If you’ve enjoyed the other two then you are in for a treat with this one.
RkR: That doesn’t surprise me, the buzz is quite strong for these books. I hope when you finally get around to reading the first one that you find it worth the wait and aren’t overwhelmed by expectations.
Kristen M: I’ll be over to read your review. I wouldn’t disagree with you about this being the best thus far. Now it is hard to top the first one just because it is the first one, but I do think this one is more complex and accomplishes much more. But it is hard to separate it from the first for comparison just because they are all three so interwoven with each other.
Jeff S: You can always borrow from the Carl V. Anderson library. 😉
I just started this last night — and I have my father hooked on the series as well. I agree, the family is getting darker and more complex with each novel. Thanks for your review — it’s not easy to give insight into a mystery and still give no secrets away, but you did it!
I’m so glad the latest is good. I loved the first two and have been looking forward to this one.
Col: I got my wife hooked on them as well, and hopefully (it sounds like) my friend Jeff! Thanks for the kind thoughts. I hate doing spoilers at all and try my best not to do so.
Melissa: It is, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
In your currently reading images, that Swamplandia cover is great.
Did you visit the blog and see the new bookcases yet?
Just did. WOW!!! Can’t wait to see them now with books on them.
I really like the Swamplandia cover as well. I was over on Juliana Swaney’s blog (an artist I like) and she had a picture of it and mentioned it being a book that pulled her out of a reading slump, so that put it on my radar.
That’s quite a recommendation, isn’t it? I don’t have reading slumps often, but when I do I usually start thinking about finding a “comfort read”.
I was so enamored by your post of the apple green book with Flavia de Luce I bought a copy for myself. Still haven’t read it, but I will, Carl, and I thank you for reminding me of the series.
Gah I wanna read this series SO badly!!! You’re the one to finally convince me to read it. I have the first book too. Why is it that there are so many wonderful things that I want to read right now…
Chris: You need to! I must be getting rusty, I should’ve sold you with the review of the first book. 🙂
Bellezza: I do believe you’ll enjoy it when you get a chance to read it. I know you have a bunch of stuff you’re trying to get to, as we all do.
RkR: I look for a comfort read sometimes when I’m in a slump. If I don’t have a “go to” book I’ll often grab something for a re-read because I know I’ll enjoy it and it will get me back on track.
I haven’t read any of these yet. I’ve been meaning to try the first one, and now I really want to! Thanks, Carl 🙂
Carl, I’ve had these on my list for some time, but you are the first person I know whose actually read them! Now, they are moving up to the top! Thanks!
Thank goodness for book bloggers. Somehow I had managed to forget that a new Flavia book was going out this year until I saw this post! I actually held off on reading this until I read the book last weekend. I thoroughly enjoyed the book, too, especially all the Gladys moments 🙂
Emily: I hear you. So much of my book news comes from book bloggers. Not sure what I would do without them. I’m glad you enjoyed the novel and don’t blame you for waiting to pop back here until after you were done. I try hard to be a non-spoiler reviewer but the reality is that you never quite know what might spoil the story for someone.
Rebekah: I hope you love them as they are precious books.
Susan: You are welcome. The first one made me glow with the enjoyment of it and the last two have been great as well.
That cover is fantastic and it’s good to hear that the book lived up to it.I’ll be adding this one to my must read list.
I do love these books.