Thrice the Brinded Cat Hath Mew'd by Alan Bradley (2016)

I hadn't listened to a Flavia de Luce novel for a while, so I thought I would try one again. She does grate on my nerves, but is one spunky and brilliant twelve year old. I have skipped a few of the books in the series and a part of me wants to go back and see why she was sent to Canada and how she fared there, and I'd like to see how she continues growing up, so maybe I will go for some more. Maybe it is the voice of the reader, though it is perfect for Miss know-it-all Flavia, that makes it even more annoying.

For half this book, Flavia is gallivanting about on her bike Gladys - in the winter, often not sufficiently dressed, or taking trains into London. She is asked to deliver a message to Roger Sambridge, a carver, but she find him hanging dead from the back of his bedroom door. She records the details of the scene before she reports it and then goes about following up on all those that may be connected in some way. She finds first editions of Oliver Inchbald's famous children's books, and one inscribed to a girl Flavia knows named Carla - who has a terrible singing voice, but mentions an adventurous deceased aunt Louise Congreve. Of course she figures it all out and passes her deductions to Inspector Hewitt. I never was sure how much he had figured out himself.

In her personal life, Flavia has just returned from Canada, but doesn't like her sisters, so she avoids them. Her father is ill in the hospital with pneumonia, which concerns her greatly, but she somehow never gets around to visiting him over the course of the book. I understand being so concerned that you want to avoid an unpleasant situation, but to be told he shouldn't have visitors would have never stopped anyone like Flavia. Her best friend seems to be the butler Dogger. With her mother gone, at least there is Mrs. M. looking out for her - to the extent she allows herself to be looked after.