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    A Red Herring Without Mustard: A Flavia de Luce Novel
    Unavailable
    A Red Herring Without Mustard: A Flavia de Luce Novel
    Unavailable
    A Red Herring Without Mustard: A Flavia de Luce Novel
    Audiobook10 hours

    A Red Herring Without Mustard: A Flavia de Luce Novel

    Written by Alan Bradley

    Narrated by Jayne Entwistle

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    Award-winning author Alan Bradley returns with another beguiling novel starring the insidiously clever and unflappable eleven-year-old sleuth Flavia de Luce. The precocious chemist with a passion for poisons uncovers a fresh slew of misdeeds in the hamlet of Bishop's Lacey-mysteries involving a missing tot, a fortune-teller, and a corpse in Flavia's own backyard.

    Flavia had asked the old Gypsy woman to tell her fortune, but never expected to stumble across the poor soul, bludgeoned in the wee hours in her own caravan. Was this an act of retribution by those convinced that the soothsayer had abducted a local child years ago? Certainly Flavia understands the bliss of settling scores; revenge is a delightful pastime when one has two odious older sisters. But how could this crime be connected to the missing baby? Had it something to do with the weird sect who met at the river to practice their secret rites? While still pondering the possibilities, Flavia stumbles upon another corpse-that of a notorious layabout who had been caught prowling about the de Luce's drawing room.

    Pedaling Gladys, her faithful bicycle, across the countryside in search of clues to both crimes, Flavia uncovers some odd new twists. Most intriguing is her introduction to an elegant artist with a very special object in her possession-a portrait that sheds light on the biggest mystery of all: Who is Flavia?

    As the red herrings pile up, Flavia must sort through clues fishy and foul to untangle dark deeds and dangerous secrets.


    From the Hardcover edition.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateFeb 8, 2011
    ISBN9780307576446
    Unavailable
    A Red Herring Without Mustard: A Flavia de Luce Novel

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    Reviews for A Red Herring Without Mustard

    4/5

    1,009 ratings123 reviews

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    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      Review from BadelyngeThis third outing of Alan Bradley's irrepressible Flavia De Luce gets the series back up to top form. Flavia saves the life of an old Gypsy fortune-teller who has been beaten and left for dead. Ok our young heroine had almost managed to burn her to a crisp the previous evening but the less said about such details the better. Flavia sets out to track down the assailant, trampling over several crime scenes in the process, bamboozling the local constabulary and driving her family to new levels of embarrassment. Flavia can't resist the siren call of an unsolved serious misdemeanor, so when a body is found hung on an ornamental fountain in the grounds of Buckshaw Flavia is ecstatic. Never mind justice - think of the opportunities to prove her cleverness to that lovely man Inspector Hewitt. Perhaps he'll even invite her to tea.The second book stepped over the line a few times with the added absurdities of the world of the puppet show. The fun, tongue in cheek adventures of Flavia combined with the exaggerated staginess of puppeteering didn't quite complement each other. This one is much more to my liking. We also get the introduction of a new character called Porcelain Lee who is a great inclusion, mainly because of her ability to bamboozle the bamboozler. She also gets a wonderful scene homaging perhaps Du Maurier's Rebecca, as she appears on the staircase dressed as Flavia's late mother Harriet. It's the ability to bring off that sort of a poignant vibe counterpointing the cheeky adventures of our precocious investigator that sets these books aside from a lot of its competitors. Bravo to Mr Bradley. And please sir, can we have some more.
    • 5/5
      Flavia De Luce is one of the more enchanting characters I've encountered in a long, long time.
    • 4/5
      Bravo! I couldn't put it down, and Flavia had me in stitches throughout.
    • 4/5
      Set in 1950s Bishop's Lacy, England, at the church fete, eleven-year-old Flavia de Lucie decides to get her fortune told. But when things go wrong she accidentally sets fire to the tent when the gypsy gives her a fortune about her dead mother and runs off. She comes forward to Dr. Darby to confess what she has done and offer to pay, but the gypsy woman, Fennella, says it was an accident and there are no charges. However, Fennella does not have a place to stay so Flavia offers up the Palings, an area of land on her dead mother's estate for Fennella and her horse and caravan to stay.On the way there, Mrs. Bull, who is camped out there, freaks out and accuses Fennella of stealing her baby that went missing several years ago. Flavia gets her out of that situation and settled for the night. The next morning when she goes to check on her she finds her barely alive having been bludgeoned nearly to death. She sets out for the doctor's and brings him back and Fenella's life is saved, though she is in a coma.Her granddaughter, Porcelain comes down to look after her grandmother. Flavia hides her in her section of the house, which she uses sometimes when she isn't accusing Flavia of attacking her grandmother because Flavia's father kicked her grandparents off of the property years ago which caused the death of her grandfather.But there are others up and about that night acting mysteriously. Brookie Harewood. is paid money by his mother to stay away. But that doesn't seem to be enough money because he was seen by Flavia inside her home returning two fancy fireplace pokers. Then not long after that Porcelain and Flavia find him hanging from the Poseidon's trident with a lobster fork shoved up his nose. She calls in Inspector Hewett but doesn't tell him about Brookie's break-in at Buckshaw, her home.Flavia plays inside her laboratory concocting chemical compounds that help her solve the mystery. She will need the help from her odioius older sisters Feely and Daffy who abuse her awfully, but upon whom she will seek her revenge. Did the same person attack Fennella and kill Brookie or were they separate crimes? Why are there more than one set of fireplace pokers? Will Flavia figure out who the killer or possibly killers are in time? Flavia is a delightful child who is clever, yet longs for a friend. She hopes Porcelain will be that friend but is sometimes disappointed. She is such a unique child that there is no one like her to be friends with her. She constantly feels as though she is pitting her wits against Inspector Hewett and seeks his approval. This is a fabulous book and I give it a four and a half stars out of five.QuotesThere are times that I see, but do not observe.-Alan Bradley (A Red Herring Without Mustard p 10)“Love’s not some big river that flows on and on forever, and if you believe it is, you’re a bloody fool. It can be dammed up until nothing’s left but a trickle…” “Or stopped completely,” I added.-Alan Bradley (A Red Herring Without Mustard p 155)Chemistry has more gods than Mount Olympus and here in my solitude I could pray to the greatest of them: Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac (Who, when he found a young assistant in a linen draper’s shop surreptitiously reading a chemistry text which she kept hidden under the counter, promptly dumped his fiancée and married the girl); William Perkin (Who had found a way of making purple dye for the robes of emperors without using the spit of mollusks); and Carl Wilhelm Scheele, who probably discovered oxygen, and---more thrilling than even that—hydrogen cyanide, my personal pick as the last word in poisons.-Alan Bradley (A Red Herring Without Mustard p 185)I had always marveled at the way in which three clear liquids—nitric acid, hydrochloric acid, and water—when combined could produce, as if by magic, color—and not just any color, but the color of a flaming sunset.-Alan Bradley (A Red Herring Without Mustard p 244)
    • 4/5
      Flavia, the precocious 11=year-old sleuth, feels she has to make amends to an old gypsy fortune teller when an accident burns down her tent at the nearby fete. Offering up the use of the Palings, a grove by the river on the family estate, which might not have been such a good idea when the gypsy reveals a past visit when she and her husband were thrown off the property when Flavia's mother died. When Flavia returns to see if the gypsy has settled in okay she finds her almost beaten to death it sets her off on another of her investigations. Her discoveries include secret passageways, old-time religion and, of course, a dead body. Can Flavia uncover the truth of the matter while also administering justice to her sisters who are still behaving beastly to her?This 3rd instalment of the series continues to enchant. While Flavia may not be a lovable character, her exploits continue to provide more than sufficient entertainment for the reader tp enjoy. A little more family history is revealed and the current state of the family fortune, or more likely the lack thereof, finally hits home with Flavia but told with cute reminiscences with the family silver. Most of the regular characters make an appearance at some stage as well as a few more local residents to meet. With an emphasis more on field work than in the laboratory I found this book to be a quicker read than the previous two and that might just make it my favourite of the series so far.
    • 5/5
      Loved the latest escapades of Flavia's life. This one is just as great as the previous two. It's chalked full of murder, mystery, mayhem and sister drama. Cant wait to read the next one.
    • 4/5
      Flavia goes to the "fete" and visits the Gypsy to have her fortune told, which results in disaster; for as the Gypsy tells Flavia that she sees her mother alive, Flavia jumps up, knocks over a candle & the Gypsy's tent burns to the ground.....Flavia take it upon herself by making amends & takes the Gypsy back to the estate & allows her to camp (as once did Flavia's mother), thus making an odd friendship...Later, when Flavia goes back to visit she finds the Gypsy dead, her skull bashed in, thus setting off a sting of events uncovering the past lies of the townspeople.I didn't particularly like the characters, I especially do not like Flavia's oldest sister... Such a Nasty Pill. I also do not understand why Bradley never has Flavia get older, I've read 3-4 now & she is still 11, which makes for a murder every 3-4 months!
    • 4/5
      Flavia. What a spunky, nosy young girl. This series is straight up mystery and I get a little worn out by the end with any mystery and these are the same. They are good but I get tired of storing all the details, lol. I'll read the next book in due time.
    • 4/5
      This series is always entertaining!
    • 4/5
      I wish I had a friend like Flavia when I was young!
    • 5/5
      I just love this series! If he writes 20 more Flavia de Luce books, I will happily read every one.
    • 4/5
      I enjoyed this book a great deal, although I don't know why. Perhaps it is all the cycling by our heroine as she follows up clues in the various villages. The narrator does a fine job, conveying breathless excitement, or snarky arrogance, every other paragraph or so.
    • 4/5
      For the first book completed in 2017, I return to the Flavia de Luce cozy mysteries. Flavia is a 11-year-old amateur sleuth, and an avid chemist who has seen more murder in than many police officers. The murder victim in this book is a light-fingered poacher who is discovered pierced through a nostril with a lobster fork hanging from a stature of Neptune on the de Luce estate. Soon after, Flavia discovers the gypsy befriended by Flavia after she inadvertently burns her tent down. After providing sanctuary on Flavia's family estate, she is discovered severely injured after being hit over the head with the gypsy's crystal ball. As in the previous novels, she gathers clues analyzing them with the scientific method collecting them while traveling around the fictional village of Bishop's Lacey, on her faithful steed, her bicycle, Gladys.I have become captivated with this precocious English preadolescent who continue to have a love-hate relationship with her two older sisters, who are frequently the victim of Flavia's chemical pranks. I listen to an audiobook of this novel narrated by Jayne Entwhistle, a British voice-over actress. Initially, I found her narration jarring (think of Sharon Osbourne); however, I soon found that this actress'voice fit Flavia. I look forward to listening to the following novels.
    • 4/5
      Bradley has managed to maintain a consistent quality with this series. Flavia is back again and ends up in the middle of a murder investigation. This one starts with an attack on a Gypsy fortune teller staying near her home.

      Although I enjoyed this novel, there were a couple of things not resolved by the end of the book that really should have been. For one thing the friend of the artist really had it in for Flavia, but the reason for her animosity was never explained. Another was the gypsy woman's granddaughter. As the narrator Flavia foreshadowed something ominous about the girl a couple of times, but nothing came of it. I'm fairly certain these two characters will not be back in future books, so these questions will remain unresolved.

      One thing I did like was that Flavia was finally called on all the things she did wrong -- tampering with evidence, withholding evidence, and generally being a nuisance. Although the detective struck me as fairly dumb not to suspect her of doing this from the start. He should know by now not to trust Flavia and keep a closer eye on her. But I liked that he finally reprimanded her for interfering.
    • 5/5
      This is the third book in Bradley's Flavia de Luce series which features eleven-year-old Flavia. Taking place in 1950's England, the series features motherless Flavia, her two evil older sisters, and their hapless father who is totally immersed in his postage stamp collection. They live in an old pile of a manor house, which is falling down around them. Flavia lives for chemistry and also for riding her bike, Gladys. She also has a predisposition for getting involved with crimes of various sorts. This time an elderly Gypsy fortune-teller is attacked shortly after telling Flavia's fortune. Flavia tries to track down the attacker in order to "assist" the police. The results are quite amusing with Flavia triumphing in the end. This series is a total delight to read!
    • 4/5
      The fun continues but I do feel sorry for Flavia when her sisters tease her about being the unwanted or changeling one. There is more to Harriet than we've seen so far, waiting for that plot line to emerge.
    • 5/5
      A fun and literate read/listen. I sometimes had a hard time understanding the reader's spoken words though.
    • 5/5
      The best one so far...I hadn't read any Flavia mysteries in a while and I realize how good they are. They steep you in English culture and language, and Flavia De Luce is a very satisfying heroine. I'll be getting the newest one stat!
    • 4/5
      Flavia de Luce is back in another rollicking adventure with gypsies, strange religious sects, murderous cutlery, and, of course, plenty of chemistry! Follow the budding young sleuth as she tries to solve duel crimes that are committed on her family's very own estate.
    • 3/5
      Could I be getting a little tired of Flavia de Luce? She seems to be beginning to reach a rapproachment with her sisters, but that's going rather slowly. The central mystery was ok, but not stellar. Maybe I wasn't in the mood for it,
    • 4/5


      Another excellent book in the series. Flavia DeLuce, a fairly awful child who is tormented by her sisters and ignored by her father, once again bicycles about putting herself in danger and dabbling in chemistry. This one involves gypsies, stolen antiques, and a sect called Hobblers.
    • 4/5
      I am so sad now, because I'm caught up on all the Flavia books that my local library has in audio. Sigh. I see one of two choices in my future. I either break down and read the next one in print--but how can I enjoy Flavia if she is not voiced by the inimitable Jayne Entwhistle?--or finally join Audible just so I don't have to wait. Decisions, decisions...
    • 5/5
      I think I'm in love with this series...! I know I'm in love with Flavia de Luce and her family. I just hope the problem with the family gets worked out, so Ms. Flavia can continue solving wonderfully bizarre mysteries, with panache and real intelligence. <3 <3 <3
    • 5/5
      The first book that I've read. I am on to filling in the others that I haven't read. :)
    • 5/5
      Love the series. Particularly enjoyed this taking place at Christmas, Flavia figuring out Father Christmas, the film crew descending upon Buckshaw, and Flavia connecting with her father over stamp glue! The scene on the roof was overlong but it was part of the story. Love the narrator too!
    • 5/5
      Always fun to visit Bishop's Lacey with Flavia as she outwits both the criminals and Inspector Hewitt
    • 4/5
      I so enjoy these books. Flavia herself, her relationship with the adults around her (and her two awful sisters), and her methods of nit-picking mysteries are entertaining and whimsical. Wouldn't you love to meet her? She's my new favourite sleuth.
    • 4/5
      Pint-size Flavia and her eccentric family, friends, and neighbors have me hooked.
    • 5/5
      This, the third volume in the Flavia de Luce mystery series, might be the best yet as far as the mystery part is concerned. With a tangle of deaths, a multiplicity of suspects, a myriad of secret doors, a couple of gypsies, and a fair amount of tea and biscuits, it certainly kept one jumping. The character aspects were also a bit deeper this round, though I found that the particular developments made me a little sad. In this book, rather than giggling madly at Flavia's antics and asides all the time, we start to see a little more of the damage she has suffered from the family dynamics and tragedy (both recent and past) to which she has been exposed. In many ways, this is a shade more serious than I remember the previous installments being, but for me that makes the narrative richer. Flavia is still quite herself, cheekily pursuing her own criminal and chemical investigations with attitude. I adore these books and started reading the next as soon as I finished this one, so that should tell you something.
    • 5/5
      Love this book. The author has found a great balance with this precocious detective. She's not too arrogant and highly competent.