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Mar 02, 2018PimaLib_ChristineR rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
If you love the world and characters of Flavia de Luce, you'll still probably enjoy this entry in the series, but it is likely the weakest to date. As usual, Bradley does a good job of showing the childlike side of Flavia, as she schemes away in her laboratory, concocting a method to snare St. Nicholas and prove once and for all that her sisters are only being cruel to her, again, in insisting that St. Nick is a myth. On the other hand, her father, the Colonel, has let out Buckshaw for the holidays, to a film crew, hoping to stem the tide of their rising debts. With a blizzard on the horizon and a house full of melodramatic characters, both from the film and from the village, Bradley uses the time-honored trope of people being trapped in a confined space with the killer amongst them somewhere. It was here that I felt the story began to slip. While the Flavia novels are always a good romp, the murder side of the plot became increasingly unrealistic and unlikely. In fact, it started to feel slap-dash and in the need of a good edit. Despite its flaws, a bad day with Flavia is still better than a good day without her.