I enjoy this series but by the time the third novel rolls around even an 11-year-old who knows about fingerprints should know better than to leave them at the scene of the crimes she investigates. Flavia De Luce is a wonderfully unique little girl whose interests are far different from those of many girls her age. She loves chemistry, experiments in her uncle's laboratory which has become her own, rides a bicycle named Gladys which belonged to her mother and which is her companion on most of her investigative treks. In this novel, she has her fortune told by a gypsy which seems too close to truth for comfort. In her discomfort she accidentally sets fire to the gypsy's tent. Feeling guilty for her clumsiness, she leads the gypsy to a spot on her father's land to park her wagon. Later, she checks on the gypsy woman and finds her injured inside her wagon, finds a doctor to aid her and visits her in the hospital. The woman's granddaughter, Porcelain, appears, adding more complexity to the story. The two find a local layabout hanging from a statue. Now, she has two interesting incidents to investigate: who injured the gypsy woman and who murdered the man hanging from the statue. As she goes about her investigations, one cannot help but smile at the antics of both adults and the children including Flavia's sisters, who torment her endlessly.
Always a delightful read !!I do so love Flavia De Luce !1
