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    I Am Half-Sick of Shadows: A Flavia de Luce Novel
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    I Am Half-Sick of Shadows: A Flavia de Luce Novel
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    I Am Half-Sick of Shadows: A Flavia de Luce Novel
    Audiobook7 hours

    I Am Half-Sick of Shadows: A Flavia de Luce Novel

    Written by Alan Bradley

    Narrated by Jayne Entwistle

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    It's Christmastime, and the precocious Flavia de Luce-an eleven-year-old sleuth with a passion for chemistry and a penchant for crime-solving-is tucked away in her laboratory, whipping up a concoction to ensnare Saint Nick. But she is soon distracted when a film crew arrives at Buckshaw, the de Luces' decaying English estate, to shoot a movie starring the famed Phyllis Wyvern. Amid a raging blizzard, the entire village of Bishop's Lacey gathers at Buckshaw to watch Wyvern perform, yet nobody is prepared for the evening's shocking conclusion: a body found, past midnight, strangled to death with a length of film. But who among the assembled guests would stage such a chilling scene? As the storm worsens and the list of suspects grows, Flavia must use every ounce of sly wit at her disposal to ferret out a killer hidden in plain sight.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateNov 1, 2011
    ISBN9780307879462
    Unavailable
    I Am Half-Sick of Shadows: A Flavia de Luce Novel

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    Reviews for I Am Half-Sick of Shadows

    4/5

    939 ratings119 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Review from Badelynge.The de Luce family have suspended their usual Christmas preparations in order to try to generate some much needed cash, hiring out Buckshaw to a film company. Usually Christmas is the one time of the year that the warring sisters declare a temporary truce for the celebrations but that seems unlikely amongst the uproar of visiting film royalty. It's not long before things start going wrong and most of the population of Bishop's Lacy is camped out in the halls, pretty much snowed in and trapped with a killer at large amongst them. Much as Flavia de Luce loves a good murder to keep her 12 year old deductive skills finely honed, even she has to admit that juggling vital scientific experiments (proving the existence of Father Christmas) at the same time as digging into family history, while making sure the local police are suitably impressed with her cleverness and creating the firework display to end all firework displays, might be a little too much for even her array of skills.This one is possibly as good as the series debut. Flavia and co just dance off the pages which seem to evaporate under your fingers and into your brain. If you can get it into your reading schedule over the Christmas period then all much the better. Flavia is as fascinating and captivating as ever, straddling the line of cleverness and hopeless naivety and brought to life by Alan Bradley with lots of wit, cheekiness and flashes of surprising depth of feeling. Whether you buy into his somewhat Ealingesque image of 1950s rural England doesn't really matter - it's just too much fun to give a damn.
    • 3/5
      While Flavia de Luce is fun, it's now a not so must read as it was in the beginning of the series. Yes, Flavia is precocious. Yes, Flavia will do battle with Daffy and Fee. Yes, Dogger will be having PTSD in the corner somewhere and the father wil be absent. There will be a murder to solve and it will require her overly sharp Sherlockian sense of deduction to solve it. Flavia is a perpetual 10 year old who runs around in intelligent hellion delight much to her family's chagrin, but to the acceptance of the local inspector.

      I want Flavia, hell the whole family, to move forward - emotionally, chronologically, geographically, all the -ly words you can find. Even her interest in chemistry is seemingly lagging. Every book is _the same_. I Am Half-Sick of Shadows is no better nor no worse then the previous three titles except you may get slightly bored while reading it because you know it's the same plot, hook line and sinker, you've read three times before. Let Fee get married! Let Daffy become an actress! Explore more of Dogger's story! Explore more of Harriet's disappearance and presumed death! Something! Anything! Just move the story foreward and stop using the same plot and side stories over and over again.

      Alan Bradley is technically a good if not great writer, he gets points for style and ability but loses points for style and lack of originality.

      I will read book #5 and if it hasn't changed from book #4, I'm done with this series.
    • 5/5
      Set in the 1950 English countryside this latest book in the series finds eleven-year-old Flavia de Lucia's father the Colonial has rented out the family home to a film crew for the holidays in a desperate attempt to earn some money to get them through until next year. Daffy and Feely are pretty excited as their favorite actress is in it, Phyllis Wyvern. Also in it is the famous actor Desmond Duncan and the actress Marion Trodd. And as usual the same Brish crew she always works with including the same director she always works with Val Lampman. Wyvern confesses to Flavia that she is actually fifty-nine-years-old.Wyvern gets Lampman to agree, though he is not happy about it, to put on a show for the locals to raise money for their church roof. Wyvern and Duncan do the balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet and Gil Crawford, a local, misses her lighting, so she comes over and slaps him across the face and then goes back to the stage where the lighting is now correct and performs perfectly, but the Vicar who had planned on having others perform after her, decides against it after that display.Soon they realize that the snow is too much and everyone is snowed in and must stay for the foreseeable future. Flavia can't sleep and goes out in search of some company with Phyllis whom she knows stays up late watching her old films. She can hear one end as she makes her way across the house. When she goes into her room she finds her dead with film wrapped around her neck in a bow. She goes and gets the trusted Dogger and he says she was indeed strangled and to go and get the doctor. Flavia had noticed that someone had made up her face and dressed her in the outfit that went with the film that was playing.Who killed Phyllis? Was it Val who it turns out is her son? Or one of the other actors? Or was it Gil or one of the members of the crew for some hidden reason? Flavia also plans to set off some explosive fireworks for Christmas Eve from the roof of the house. She has also been working on her secret birdlime formula for Father Christmas that she plans on using to slather on top of the chimneys so that he'll stick to them, or he won't and that'll be proof that he doesn't exist. Will she find out one way or another? Will she be able to figure out who killed Phyllis in time too? Flavia is a true delight to read about with her chemical mixtures and fanciful detecting trying to outwit the actual detectives while seeking the Chief Inspector's approval at the same time. Meanwhile, her two sisters treat her admissibly and she is forced to return the favor except when they are holding their truces. And she will need help from her sisters to solve this case. This is a wonderful book and a great read. I give it five out of five stars. QuotesOlder sisters are much alike the world over: half a cup of love and half one of contempt.-Alan Bradley (I Am Half-Sick of Shadows p 34)Theater, I suppose, is a form of mass mesmerism, and if that’s the case, Shakespeare, despite his chemical shortcomings, was surely one of the greatest hyponists who ever lived.-Alan Bradley (I Am Half-Sick of Shadows p 129)Because it is a well-known fact that more than two men shut up together in an enclosed space for more than an hour constitute a hazard to society.-Alan Bradley (I Am Half-Sick of Shadows p 159)Perhaps, I thought, whenever we began to breathe the breath of others, when the spinning atoms of their bodies began to mingle with our own, we took on something of their personality, like crystals in a snowflake. Perhaps we become something more, yet something lesser than ourselves.-Alan Bradley (I Am Half-Sick of Shadows p 163-4)One does not preach sense to a Church of England clergyman.-Alan Bradley (I Am Half-Sick of Shadows p 165). Well, there are those of us who create because all around us, things visible and invisible are crumbling. We are like the stonemasons of Bablyon, forever working, as it says in Jeremiah, to shore up the city walls. -Alan Bradley (I Am Half-Sick of Shadows p 201-2) She was more than brave. She was British. -Alan Bradley (I Am Half-Sick of Shadows p 222)
    • 5/5
      Loved this one as much as I did the previous ones. Simply adore Flavia, she's a riot. Can't wait to start the next book!
    • 4/5
      Cin you were right.... This book was better than the 1st two, but I will stick to my belief that Bradley does not have the voice of an 11-year old girl.... He's so "affected", but now I can ignore that.Flaiva (11 yr-old girl) is a chemistry wizard enamored of poisons... She lives with a semi-absent father & two self-absorbed older sisters.The house has been rented out during the christmas season to a film crew and the film's star has agreed to present a short scene from Romeo & Juliet as a benefit for the Parish Church's much needed new roof and most of the town has turned out to see it.Unfortunately no one is able to leave after the performance (as they have been snowed in) so they all settle down for the night; that is except Flavia who decides to have a midnight chat w/ the star. Upon nearing the star's room, Flavia hears an odd flapping sound; and when Flavia enters the room she finds the sound coming from a film projector with it's film run out & spinning on its reel. She also finds the star dead in her chair staring w/ dead eyes at the now blank screen dressed in the same costume she had been wearing in the film.....It was interesting, not overly long..... not much detail to the procedures of the police but a good short story.
    • 4/5
      Always enjoyable.
    • 4/5
      Incoherent but enjoyable as usual. The performances are, again, vividly described.
    • 4/5
      I adore this series! As long as Mr. Bradley goes on writing of Flavia's adventures, I will be along for the ride.
    • 4/5
      Christmastime in England at Buckshaw. The Major has allowed a film company take over the house to film a movie. Cast, crew and equipment to be found almost everywhere and Flavia and her family are to keep out of the way.Along with the take over come secrets that play into the event. Secrets that slowly reveal themselves after the murder of the star, Phyllis Wyvern. Found dead, dressed in a costume from an older movie, this murder attracts Flavia and her scientific approach to find the solution.Prior to the murder, Phyllis agrees to a small performance for the village populace to help raise funds for St. Tancred's upkeep. The performance takes place at Buckshaw, and the whole village turns out. On that particular evening the weather turns into a nasty blizzard, and after the body is found all must remain on the premises. With such a house full of suspects there are many clues to sort out to get to the killer.While Flavia is working on finding the murderer she has a side project of concocting fireworks to be set off from the roof top as a surprise event for the surrounding area. She is using the recipes found in some of the books of her Uncle Tar.There is plenty of action in this book (#4) and things get pretty hairy for Flavia. It also seems that she is maturing a little from the last adventure, yet she still maintains her accute interest in science and trying to figure out where she fits in her family.A Goodread and I am looking forward to the next book in the series!
    • 4/5
      Flavia de Luce with a holiday theme?! Loved it!
    • 4/5
      Flavia is always fun, even if she'd have to drive her family mad.
    • 3/5
      While Flavia de Luce is fun, it's now a not so must read as it was in the beginning of the series. Yes, Flavia is precocious. Yes, Flavia will do battle with Daffy and Fee. Yes, Dogger will be having PTSD in the corner somewhere and the father wil be absent. There will be a murder to solve and it will require her overly sharp Sherlockian sense of deduction to solve it. Flavia is a perpetual 10 year old who runs around in intelligent hellion delight much to her family's chagrin, but to the acceptance of the local inspector.

      I want Flavia, hell the whole family, to move forward - emotionally, chronologically, geographically, all the -ly words you can find. Even her interest in chemistry is seemingly lagging. Every book is _the same_. I Am Half-Sick of Shadows is no better nor no worse then the previous three titles except you may get slightly bored while reading it because you know it's the same plot, hook line and sinker, you've read three times before. Let Fee get married! Let Daffy become an actress! Explore more of Dogger's story! Explore more of Harriet's disappearance and presumed death! Something! Anything! Just move the story foreward and stop using the same plot and side stories over and over again.

      Alan Bradley is technically a good if not great writer, he gets points for style and ability but loses points for style and lack of originality.

      I will read book #5 and if it hasn't changed from book #4, I'm done with this series.
    • 4/5
      Unlike the previous three, this story deals more with Flavia and her interactions with the people around her, particularly her family, and not so much on the solving of the mystery. Although Flavia isn't about to let her family dynamics get in the way of some clever sleuthing. With her usual flair and boldness, she goes about "assisting" the local constabulary - much to their dismay. Flavia has a delightful and heart-breaking mix of maturity and innocence. She is growing up, and has many truths about life to face, which as a reader and adult, I both dread and look forward to seeing her mature. The mystery of her mother, and the past of her family got even more tangled and twisted. Like the previous three, I listened to this via Audiobook, read by the incomparable Jane Entwistle. Entwistle gives such a lively voice to Flavia, It's enchanting to listen to her speak the story. I highly recommend this story, either by book or audiobook.
    • 1/5
      I reallly wanted to love this series but after a 2nd try, I am aborting. I didn't care for the main character - see was a bratty kid to some extent. There were plenty of references to previous story lines so I feel if you read the series in order you had the advantage. The setting is a large drafty English estate, snowy and Christmas time. Should have been right up my alley.....I tried to read the 1st in the series some time ago. Gave the book away and then ordered the book again so time later because again I reallllly wanted to love the series.

      I gave this book 125 pages - meh.
    • 5/5
      Flavia de Luce is back in a Christmas novel, and it's a hoot! As usual, there is a dead body, and Flavia arrives at the solution to the crime at about the same time, if not before, the police. Finances are still perilous for the de Luce household, and her father has rented the manor out to a film crew just before the Christmas holidays in order to raise cash. A special performance is given for the community, and a blizzard strikes, stranding everyone at the manor. It is at this point that the crime occurs, making it a closed house mystery. The ending is perilous for Flavia and quite exciting. I can't wait for the next installment in this wonderful series!
    • 5/5
      No one can be Flavia de Luce BUT Jayne Entwistle. Brilliant interpretation and highly engaging.
    • 5/5
      A quick little read, nothing taxing...but still enjoyable time spent with Flavia de Luce et al. Some interesting backstory about Dogger comes out as well, and it seems as though the permafrost between Flavia and her sisters is thawing...just a teeny bit...or is it?
    • 4/5
      fiction/mystery set in 1950s British country village manor over Christmas
      I'm glad I re-read #2 right before this, because I never would have remembered Nia's character otherwise.
    • 3/5
      Not my favorite of the series, but still fun. I love Flavia.
    • 4/5
      The 4th book in the charming series. It's a fun and cozy mystery. The 11 year old sleuth does not disapoint. Just because the main character is 11 does not mean that this book is for young adults. Young adults could read it but the target readers are adults.
    • 5/5
      I think this may be my favorite so far of the Flavia De Luce series. She is an utterly delightful character.
    • 5/5
      Flavia de Luce is back in a Christmas novel, and it's a hoot! As usual, there is a dead body, and Flavia arrives at the solution to the crime at about the same time, if not before, the police. Finances are still perilous for the de Luce household, and her father has rented the manor out to a film crew just before the Christmas holidays in order to raise cash. A special performance is given for the community, and a blizzard strikes, stranding everyone at the manor. It is at this point that the crime occurs, making it a closed house mystery. The ending is perilous for Flavia and quite exciting. I can't wait for the next installment in this wonderful series!
    • 3/5
      When a film crew arrives at Buckshaw, Flavia De Luce is just one of the many excited fans who can't wait to catch a glimpse of the famous actors. But when tragedy strikes, Flavia might be the only one who can unravel the mystery.

      I love any book that features a morbid eleven year old chemist. This is not the best in the series, though--the mystery was properly odd but is resolved seemingly very quickly, with very little detective work required. I love these little glimpses into the odd De Luce household, but I wish this one had a little more meat to it.
    • 4/5
      Entirely agreeable, with the ghastly camp of an Ealing comedy. The murder seems to be chucked in to give everyone something to do.
    • 4/5
      I really like it when writers take on a classic mystery setting and make it their own. In this outing Alan Bradley has given us a classic English manor house mystery. Of course the manor house is Buckshaw, home of the de Luces, and the sleuth is Flavia herself.It is close to Christmas and the de Luce finances are at an all-time low. In an effort to keep hold of Buckshaw Flavia's father has decided to allow a film company to use it as a setting. In fact the whole company is going to be housed in Buckshaw including the leading lady, Phyllis Wyvern. The whole village of Bishop's Lacey is agog at having such a star in their midst. The vicar sees an opportunity to raise some funds for the church roof so he asks Miss Wyvern if she would do a short scene. She agrees to do the balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet with her co-star and tickets are snapped up. Unfortunately it has been cold and snowing for days and the town hall can't be used. Mr. de Luce offers up Buckshaw as the hall and so almost everyone in the village traipses out to Buckshaw. Unfortunately everyone gets snowed in and then the murder happens. Of course, it has to be someone in the house. Flavia sets out to find out who was the perpetrator while also setting a trap for Father Christmas and organizing a fireworks show for Christmas Eve.Flavia's chemistry abilities know no bounds. She can whip up fireworks and a tanglefoot adhesive that Father Christmas will never be able to extricate himself from. She knows all the toxins from every plant. She can even whip up a decent cup of tea in her lab. She also has astute deductive abilities; since she is stuck at Buckshaw it is lucky that the library has an extensive assortment of books.This was a quick but delightful read. Recommended to any mystery lovers.
    • 4/5
      Good book, though it did not play fair in terms of cluing or characters. I enjoy the characters. We were re-introduced to people from all the previous books, but little forward motion was made in terms of the overall situations.

    • 4/5
      Enjoyable, light-hearted read about Flavia and her bizarre family. who are badly in need of some extra income, so her father invites a movie company in to film in their atmospheric house. Murder, as usual, ensues.
      Flavia is at her delightful best as she finds clues in her own insightful way, despite a jaundiced police presence.
    • 4/5
      I love Flavia de Luce and all the scrapes and shenanigans that she gets up to. This is a Christmas-themed mystery, but it's Christmas like only Flavia can make it with fireworks and chemical experiments and plots to try to capture Father Christmas. It's just a few days before Christmas and Flavia and her family have their house full to the rafters with a film crew who want to use Buckshaw for a movie set. Almost the entire village have made their way out to Buckshaw to watch an excerpt from Romeo and Juliet performed by two very well-known actors. It's the day before Christmas Eve and while the performance is on, a huge snowstorm hits that traps everyone in Buckshaw for a couple of days. Of course a murder happens when the house is full of potential suspects and Flavia just has to figure out what happened and why. This is a rollicking good Christmas read for those who like their yuletide murder mysteries.
    • 3/5
      I just love Falvia and all the people she encounters. I picked this one up at the perfect time - it has a Christmas theme.
    • 4/5
      So, this book overall wasn't as good as the first three. But, as you can see, I liked it. Flavia is still Flavia. There was no pulling back on her character. It was very nice to visit again and I miss her again already. And the writing was every bit what I've come to expect. It just didn't seem like there was as much to this story as there had been with the others. I didn't feel like I had my fill when it was over. Who knows, maybe I'm just craving more after such long waits. It's a relief to expect to be out from under some of the financial pressure, and there certainly is more to Aunt Felicity then I ever guessed, which I think is going to come into play on a future mystery. How can it not? So unless I come back and change it, it's pushing upwards from four stars trying to reach the cutoff for rounding up. And Flavia's still one of my favorite characters of all time.