The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag Audiobook By Alan Bradley cover art

The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag

A Flavia de Luce Mystery

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The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag

By: Alan Bradley
Narrated by: Jayne Entwistle
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From Dagger Award–winning and internationally bestselling author Alan Bradley comes this utterly beguiling mystery starring one of fiction’s most remarkable sleuths: Flavia de Luce, a dangerously brilliant eleven-year-old with a passion for chemistry and a genius for solving murders. This time, Flavia finds herself untangling two deaths—separated by time but linked by the unlikeliest of threads.

Flavia thinks that her days of crime-solving in the bucolic English hamlet of Bishop’s Lacy are over—and then Rupert Porson has an unfortunate rendezvous with electricity. The beloved puppeteer has had his own strings sizzled, but who’d do such a thing and why? For Flavia, the questions are intriguing enough to make her put aside her chemistry experiments and schemes of vengeance against her insufferable big sisters. Astride Gladys, her trusty bicycle, Flavia sets out from the de Luces’ crumbling family mansion in search of Bishop’s Lacey’s deadliest secrets.

Does the madwoman who lives in Gibbet Wood know more than she’s letting on? What of the vicar’s odd ministrations to the catatonic woman in the dovecote? Then there’s a German pilot obsessed with the Brontë sisters, a reproachful spinster aunt, and even a box of poisoned chocolates. Most troubling of all is Porson’s assistant, the charming but erratic Nialla. All clues point toward a suspicious death years earlier and a case the local constables can’t solve—without Flavia’s help. But in getting so close to who’s secretly pulling the strings of this dance of death, has our precocious heroine finally gotten in way over her head?
 Amateur Sleuths Historical Mystery Crime Suspense Fiction Thriller & Suspense

Critic reviews

“Flavia is incisive, cutting and hilarious . . . one of the most remarkable creations in recent literature.”—USA Today

“Utterly beguiling . . . wicked wit . . . The real delight here is [Flavia’s] droll voice and the eccentric cast.”—People (four stars)

“Bradley takes everything you expect and subverts it, delivering a smart, irreverent, unsappy mystery.” —Entertainment Weekly

“A pitch-perfect performance that surpasses an already worthy debut.”—Houston Chronicle

“Discovering Alan Bradley’s Flavia de Luce books is several steps beyond pleasure—it’s a sheer delight.”—Winston-Salem Journal

“Wickedly funny.”—The Times-Picayune

Featured Article: The Best Cozy Mysteries to Keep You Warm This Holiday Season


We’ve rounded up a list of some of the best cozy mystery audiobooks to help brighten up your winter listening. Here you'll find contemporary and historical cozies, classic whodunits and ingenious heist stories. While varying in tone, plot, and setting, these picks all share an irresistible holiday atmosphere. You'll find snowstorms galore, bakeries full of tasty holiday treats, glittering get-togethers, and picturesque English villages decked out in their holiday finest.

Featured Article The Best Cozy Mysteries to Keep You Warm This Holiday Season
Clever Mystery • Engaging Plot • Perfect Narration • Precocious Protagonist • Vivid Descriptions • Emotional Delivery

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Excellent mystery, writing, and narration. Flavia has a very curious combination of mature and little girl thoughts. It works, though.

Outstanding!

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This is the second book in the series of 10 and it did not disappoint. Flavia, the 10 year old character in 1950s Englund is so delicious to listen to.
Her process of solving mysteries is always engaging. Listening to the book is really great because the accents and young voice of a 10-11 year old makes her come alive.

Love this series - Can't wait to read the next one

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These stories are too much fun! Flavia is an eleven year old young Sherlock.
I'm saving Book Three to enjoy another time. Something to look forward to.

Love Flavia - A Favorite Listen

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I don’t know how Jayne Entwhistle can channel a twelve year old girl and a score of other characters, but she transports me to 50’s England and the delightful Flavia, who solves mysteries with pluck, chemistry and mischief.

Fantastic heroine

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I just love this series. Such a fun read. can't wait to stay the next book.

always a pleasure

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