strange and random happenstance: Miss Bodycote’s Female Academy

The Golden Tresses of the Dead by Alan Bradley
Published by: Delacorte Press
Publication Date: January 22nd, 2019
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
Rating: ★★★
To Buy

One would think one's sister's marriage to a dashing German would be the most exciting thing in one's life. They'd be wrong. Because Flavia is far more excited about Arthur Dogger and Associates, the detective agency her and her father's valet have founded after all the cases Flavia has solved over the years. For appearances sake Dogger's name is on the letterhead, but Flavia can't deny that whenever she's come up against a problem in her cases Dogger has always been there to be a sounding board and to offer her keen insight. Yet little does Flavia realize that the wedding will turn out to be far more interesting than she could have expected, because it yields her several mysteries. First, the best man is missing, Reggie Mould is MIA, second there's a problem with the wedding cake. As in there's a finger in the wedding cake. A severed finger. This makes Flavia's day. Not only does it elicit a piercing scream from Feely, but how often are you going to find a severed finger in a wedding cake? What's more, it's not a finger from someone recently deceased, it's been embalmed. Who would want to take the finger of someone already dead? Also such a distinct finger. Because Flavia and Dogger soon discover it is the finger of recently deceased guitarist Mme. Adriana Castelnuovo. But even that's not the most interesting thing. They have gotten themselves a client, an Anastasia Prill. Anastasia is worried about some missing correspondence and needs the help of Arthur Dogger and Associates. But she soon ends up dead. What's more, there's a connection between the finger and Anastasia, the guitarist's son, Colin Collier, is also the nephew of Anastasia! This can't be a coincidence. But with two missionaries foisted on Flavia by the vicar's wife her time is becoming more and more precious. Yet soon she starts to suspect the missionaries. Is everything connected or is she totally on the wrong track?

The Golden Tresses of the Dead is the unexpected ending to the successful Flavia de Luce. Unexpected in that the previous volume, The Grave's a Fine and Private Place, seemed to finally be setting up the next big arc of the series, Flavia and Dogger opening up a detective agency. Instead we got this book, wherein they did start their detective agency, but everything else is a bit of a muddle. In fact, after the initial six book arc, ending with the revelations about Harriet and pheasants, the series hasn't really been on solid footing. Perhaps if Flavia's adventures had continued on at Miss Bodycote’s Female Academy in Canada, transforming the series into something new, it's longevity might have been assured. Instead the series has been slowing declining until it ended with this. And really, what was this? What was the ending? It was all muddled with no real resolution. Sure Flavia finally realized she could use Undine as a tool to help in their investigations, but there needed to be something more. And by something more I don't mean Dogger transforming into Sherlock Holmes. Dogger has always been the most relatable of characters. His backstory is tragic, and how Flavia was the only one able to help him with his PTSD gave them a special bond which has resulted in him becoming more of a father figure than her own father ever was. But here he seems too different. I know he needed to step up when Flavia's dad unexpectedly and unnecessarily died, but he's too competent, too all knowing. Looking at Dogger here compared to where he was just in the previous volume makes me feel like I've missed a step. Something has irreparably changed and not in a way that makes sense. But really, nothing in this book makes sense. Other than the fact Alan Bradley was obviously watching Lark Rise to Candleford while writing this book. I agree, that show is my one weakness too.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments

Labels: Alan Bradley, Dogger, Flavia De Luce, Lark Rise to Candleford, Miss Bodycote’s Female Academy, Murder Most Foul, PTSD, Sherlock Holmes, The Golden Tresses of the Dead, The Grave's a Fine and Private Place

Thrice the Brinded Cat Hath Mew'd by Alan Bradley
Published by: Delacorte Press
Publication Date: September 20th, 2016
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
Rating: ★★★
To Buy

Canada and Miss Bodycote’s Female Academy are behind Flavia! Some might say expelled, Flavia might say freed. She expected a ticker tape parade, all hail the returning heir of Buckshaw! Instead she arrives to the bleak news that her father is ill in hospital. But he's her dad, he's always been there for her, he'll be fine while she avoids home as much as possible because dealing with her sisters and her cousin Undine is too much to contemplate. Therefore a murder landing right in her lap is a wonderful distraction from what's actually happening at home. So how did she get involved in yet another case? Well, Flavia gladly agreed to run an errand for Cynthia Richardson, the vicar’s wife. Flavia hopped on her trusty stead Gladys, probably the only one happy to see her, and set out to deliver a message to a reclusive woodworker. When she arrived at Roger Sambridge's house she found the seventy year old man crucified like St. Peter on his bedroom door. This seemed quite out of the ordinary, and it's obviously Flavia's first crucifixion, so she immediately set to searching the premise before reporting the murder to the police. All she found was a disinterested cat and a set of children's books by Oliver Inchbold, an author who was interestingly pecked to death by seagulls. Or at least Flavia finds that very interesting. One of the books is inscribed to Carla Sherrinford-Cameron, someone Flavia knows. What's more, Carla's aunt was Inchbald's paramour and also died in a freak accident. One freak accident could maybe be accounted for, but two, Flavia knows something is up and she knows that Roger Sambridge's reclusive neighbors are hiding something. Something Flavia is determined to uncover, rumors of witches be damned! Anything and everything to not face going home and dealing with the fact that her father might be sicker than she is hoping. Anything to delay the intrustion of reality for one more minute.

When you look at the beautiful jewel colored books written by Alan Bradley on your bookshelf there's always one that stands out like a sore thumb. Thrice the Brinded Cat Hath Mew'd doesn't just stand out for it's appearance but for it's content. While the events are important for the proceeding books, so much of what happens between it's covers feel bleak and unnecessary. Thrice the Brinded Cat Hath Mew'd throws Flavia back onto the shores of blighty with a desperate need to forget she ever went to Canada. From the author's point of view, not the readers. Because Bradley quickly dispatches with references to Miss Bodycote’s Female Academy, going so far as to quickly dispense with the teacher who accompanied Flavia to continue her education in a less formal manner. It feels like it's an attempt to return Flavia to the status quo, and yet everything that happens to her seems to be Bradley going out of his way to make sure that the status can never be quo again. The most human and therefore endearing aspect of Flavia is how she interacts with her family. By having her more adult and independent, more willing to lie in order to push her family aside means that she's cold. She's not lovably quirky like Sherlock Holmes in season one of Sherlock, she's an asshole, like Sherlock Holmes in season three of Sherlock. If this was done to somehow humble her when Bradley unceremoniously killed off her father, well, it failed. Because it just pissed me off. There was no earthly reason to kill off her father. None. At. All. It was a punch that missed it's mark. But so much of this book misses the mark. There are so many unfinished ideas that it felt scattered. You knew where it was going and what would happened but there seemed a lot of loose ends left loose, the explanation being that "life isn't ever that neat" isn't satisfying, it's annoying. This is FICTION, we can have all the closure we want and need! We don't need reality when we're following a precocious preteen sleuth with more chemistry knowledge than all the scientists in the world combined. As it is, it's a pretty thin veneer of reality we're working with here!