What Time the Sexton’s Spade Doth Rust – Alan Bradley (Flavia de Luce, Book 11)

Do you ever read every book in a best selling series and think only you alone have discovered it and “get it” and love it? That’s how I felt about Flavia de Luce from day one. She’s all mine: her precocious interest in chemistry, her eccentric, brilliant mind, her ability to drag adults into her world instead of joining theirs, her bicycle named Gladys… It is now and has been for several books obvious that Alan Bradley had a big and extended storyline planned from day one. It is also obvious that he needed a mini-Flavia, the once despised and now slightly more than tolerated Undine. This cousin seems to routinely get kicked out of church events for her inability to behave with conventional manners anywhere.

We have only known Flavia at ages 11 and 12 and she remains 12 in this eleventh entry, but she is more sophisticated and was forced to grow up a little as she deeply grieves her father’s recent death. She is unmoored, orphaned, and also is the heir to Buckshaw. Ophelia is on a continental tour with her new husband. One of her rejects, an American named Carl who works at a nearby base still around in the early 1950s, seems interested in Felicity. Felicity keeps her nose in various books and plans to go off to Oxford. Mrs. Mullet and Dogger seem to generally be holding down the fort when a neighbor who Mrs. Mullet works for is murdered. Mrs. Mullet, who cooked his breakfast, is a person of interest since he appears to have been poisoned by something he ate. Maybe mushrooms Mrs. Mullet gathered? Undine, clearly worming her way into Flavia’s heart but nonetheless a worm is very handy in finding things out and stealing key items from the crime scene. A definite apprentice to Flavia, though properly put in her place on a regular basis.

I will admit that I was initially turned off by the organization that various family members and acquaintances were involved in as it seemed an odd addition to a little village series, however it is central to the family structure and the long arc planned for this series. It nibbles around the edges of Flavia’s mind and dances along the various plot lines, including in this story. So, it has grown on me as Bradley has also made sure that Flavia’s voice remains appealing, funny, clever and devious. The recurring characters and the village itself remain central to the plots and keep things down to earth. A real favorite for me was the regular gathering of women at the church for the purpose of gossiping. I’ll let you enjoy the name of this group when you read the novel. The addition of Undine (who’s been around as only an enemy until now) will ensure a repartee between the two girls that will amuse into their old age, I suspect. Bradley should consider writing a foreshadowed entry with the two in their 80s.

As usual, with a mystery,, one cannot delve too far into the plot line, characters, etc. and I am not one for spoilers. So I will just say that Bradley hit the mark again. A true achievement in a long series. Read this series in order or you won’t know what’s going on in the arc I keep mentioning. Highly recommend.