{"id":4537,"date":"2014-04-11T16:51:58","date_gmt":"2014-04-11T20:51:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/?p=4537"},"modified":"2026-09-13T09:56:41","modified_gmt":"2026-09-13T13:56:41","slug":"a-red-herring-without-mustard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/4537","title":{"rendered":"A Red Herring Without Mustard"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Red Herring Without Mustard<\/a><\/em> (2011) Alan Bradley<\/a><\/p>\n

\"red-herring-without-the-mustard\"<\/a><\/p>\n

This is the third Flavia de Luce book, and the de Luce family still hovers on the edge of ruin. I’ll actually be curious to see how long into the series this particular sword hangs over their heads.<\/p>\n

But that is not the start–or even the main part–of the story. The story begins with a fortune teller, looking a Flavia’s fortune, and seeing perhaps also he past. Her pronouncements freak out Flavia who then, accidentally burns down the woman’s tent. Looking to make amends, Flavia tries to do what she can, only to discover that this old woman was familiar with her mother–Harriet who disappeared when Flavia was a year old.<\/p>\n

There end up being multiple crimes, and it was the old crime that seemed so out of place to me. Well, not the crime itself (that seemed somewhat obvious to this veteran reader of mysteries) but instead why Flavia became interested in Hobblers. (I think the Hobblers were not a real religion, but were based on the Dunkers. But I did only a cursory search of both the Internet and my memory.) I mean, the Hobblers were interesting to me, but I remain fascinated by comparative theology. It doesn’t really seem like Flavia’s thing, and I don’t quite see what turned her onto them.<\/p>\n

This wasn’t a game breaker, it was just a bit off.<\/p>\n

Through this story, Flavia remains obsessed with chemistry, her father with stamps, and her two sisters continue to torment her, although we see glimpses that they–despite everything Flavia does–still love her. <\/p>\n

I slipped stealthily into the picture gallery, which occupied nearly the entire ground floor of the east wing. <\/p>\n

An army of de Luce ancestors gazed down upon me as I passed, in whose faces I recognized , uncomfortably, aspects of my own. I wouldn\u2019t have liked most of them, I thought, and most of them wouldn\u2019t have liked me. <\/p>\n

I did a cartwheel just to show them that I didn\u2019t care.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

There were also views of Post WWII England that seemed likely, even if they weren’t necessarily real.<\/p>\n

The third film, The Maintenance of Aero Engines: Part III, must have been something left over from the war\u2014 a film that was being shown simply because it happened to be in the same box as the others.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

That seems so very much like something that would happen, it just tickled my fancy. As did Flavia’s thoughts on prayer.<\/p>\n

Thinking and prayer are much the same thing anyway, when you stop to think about it\u2014 if that makes any sense. Prayer goes up and thought comes down\u2014 or so it seems. As far as I can tell, that\u2019s the only difference.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Although I still don’t see why Flavia became interested in the Hobblers, it was still an interesting story, and enjoyable.
\nRating: 7\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n

Published by Delacorte Press<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Red Herring Without Mustard (2011) Alan Bradley This is the third Flavia de Luce book, and the de Luce family still hovers on the edge of ruin. I’ll actually be curious to see how long into the series this particular sword hangs over their heads. But that is not the start–or even the main […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[30,48,33,8],"tags":[244,243,992],"class_list":["post-4537","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-british","category-female","category-historical","category-mystery","tag-alan-bradley","tag-flavia-de-luce","tag-post-world-war-ii-era"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/piQkW-1bb","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4840,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/4840","url_meta":{"origin":4537,"position":0},"title":"The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches","author":"Michelle","date":"September 21, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches (2014) Alan Bradley The previous book ended with the news that Harriet de Luce had been found. This book opens with Harriet's body returning to Buckshaw, in all pomp and circumstance--none of which does Flavia and her sisters and father much good, since their\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "British"","block_context":{"text":"British","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/british"},"img":{"alt_text":"The-Dead-in-Their-Vaulted-Arches","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/The-Dead-in-Their-Vaulted-Arches.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4820,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/4820","url_meta":{"origin":4537,"position":1},"title":"I Am Half-Sick of Shadows","author":"Michelle","date":"August 23, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"I Am Half-Sick of Shadows (2011) Alan Bradley It's almost Christmas, and Flavia has grave suspicious about St. Nick. How he really come down the chimney to leave gifts? And if he does, can he be caught? 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She has two older sisters who dislike and torment her, and a father who is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "British"","block_context":{"text":"British","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/british"},"img":{"alt_text":"The-Weed-that-Strings-the-Hangmans-bag","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/The-Weed-that-Strings-the-Hangmans-bag.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4178,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/4178","url_meta":{"origin":4537,"position":3},"title":"The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie","author":"Michelle","date":"November 21, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie (2009) Alan Bradley As usual, I didn't re-read the blurb before diving in, so I had no idea what was was starting, besides a mystery. The title made me think of the South, and cotton plantations, and pecan pie. I was very\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"sweetness-bottom-pie","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/sweetness-bottom-pie-200x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4830,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/4830","url_meta":{"origin":4537,"position":4},"title":"Speaking from Among the Bones","author":"Michelle","date":"September 1, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Speaking from Among the Bones (2013) Alan Bradley The wolves are no longer at the door. Her father can no longer keep up with the creditors, and they're out of money. Meanwhile, the vicar is excavating the bones of Saint Tancred, on the 500th anniversary of his martyrdom. But as\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "British"","block_context":{"text":"British","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/british"},"img":{"alt_text":"Speaking-from-Among-the-Bones","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/Speaking-from-Among-the-Bones.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5449,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/5449","url_meta":{"origin":4537,"position":5},"title":"Acqua Alta","author":"Michelle","date":"October 11, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Acqua Alta (1996) Donna Leon The fifth book in the Commisario Brunetti series finds the city of Venice a major character, as the Acqua Alta threatens the city with flooding. We also return to Flavia Petrelli and Brett, the women from the first book. 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