The Bukowski Agency - A Red Herring Without Mustard

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RIGHTS SOLD

US: Delacorte Press, 2011
US large print: Thorndike Press
N. America English-language audio: Random House Audio (US)
UK: Orion Books, 2011
UK large print: Magna
Canada: Doubleday, 2011
Italy: Mondadori, 2011
Germany: Blanvalet, summer 2011
Spain: Editorial Planeta
France: Editions JC Lattès
Korea: Munhakdongne Publishing
Brazil: Editora Saraiva
Mainland Chinese (simplified characters): Beijing Hongwenguan Publishing & Planning Co. Ltd.
Taiwan, Hong Kong & Macao (Chinese complex characters): Azoth Books
Polish language: Vesper
Russia: AST
Romania: Editura Trei, 2011
Lithuania: Leidykla VAGA
Croatia: Naklada Ljevak
Holland: Sijthoff
Japan: Tokyo Sogensha
Catalan language: Columna Edicions
Norway: Forlaget Press
Portugal: Planeto Manuscrito
Hebrew: Matar
Bulgaria: AMG
Korea: Munhakdongne

ABOUT ALAN BRADLEY

Alan Bradley (Photo: Jeff Bassett)
(Photo: Jeff Bassett)

Alan Bradley is the nationally bestselling author of many short stories, children’s stories, newspaper columns, and the memoir The Shoebox Bible. His first Flavia de Luce mystery, The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, received the Crime Writers’ Association Debut Dagger Award, the first Saskatchewan Writers Guild Award for Children’s Literature, the Dilys Award, and the Agatha Award, and has been nominated for both the Macavity and Barry awards. His second Flavia de Luce mystery is The Weed That Strings the Hangman’s Bag. Bradley lives in Malta with his wife and two calculating cats, and is currently working on the next Flavia de Luce mystery.

A Red Herring Without Mustard

by Alan Bradley

THE THIRD INSTALMENT OF THE FLAVIA DE LUCE MYSTERY SERIES

A Red Herring Without Mustard - UK coverMulti-award-winning author Alan Bradley returns with another beguiling novel starring the insidiously clever and unflappable eleven-year-old sleuth Flavia de Luce. The precocious chemist with a passion for poisons uncovers a fresh slew of misdeeds in the village of Bishop’s Lacy, including a missing child, a fortune-teller, and a corpse.

After asking the old gypsy woman to tell her fortune, Flavia stumbles across the poor soul in the wee hours, bludgeoned by her own crystal ball. Was she murdered by people convinced that the soothsayer abducted a local child years ago? Could this crime be connected to the missing baby? While pondering the possibilities Flavia stumbles upon another body, that of a local character who earlier was caught prowling about the family’s drawing room.

Pedalling Gladys, her trusty bicycle, across the village in search of clues to both crimes, A Red Herring Without Mustard - Russian coverFlavia uncovers some odd new evidence. Most intriguing is her introduction to an elegant woman with an object in her possession that opens the door to the biggest mystery of all: Flavia’s mother’s disappearance.

As the red herrings pile up, Flavia must sort through clues fishy and foul in order to solve this latest batch of mysteries.

PRAISE FOR A RED HERRING WITHOUT MUSTARD

“The Flavia de Luce novels are now a cult favourite.”  — THE MAIL ON SUNDAY, UK

“Bradley’s characters, wonderful dialogue and plot twists are a most winning combination.”  — USA TODAY

“The book’s forthright and eerily mature narrator is a treasure.”  — THE SEATTLE TIMES

“… the unsinkable, articulate Flavia de Luce …”  — THE NATIONAL POST

“A delightful read.”  — THE MONTREAL GAZETTE

“Alan Bradley has created one of the most endearing protagonists the traditional mystery genre, typified by the works of Agatha Christie, has seen in a very long time … The book is beautifully written, with fully fleshed characters … The descriptions are vivid and lyrical … With this, his third novel in the Flavia de Luce series, Bradley, a Canadian who now lives in Malta, secures his position as a confident, talented writer and storyteller.”  — THE GLOBE AND MAIL

“Irresistibly appealing.”  — THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW

“This idiosyncratic young heroine continues to charm.”  — THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

“This isn’t a dainty tea-and-crumpets sort of mystery. It’s shot through with real grit.”  — ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY

“… our cheeky heroine is a delight. Full of pithy dialog and colorful characters…”  — LIBRARY JOURNAL

“[A] spirited, surprisingly innocent tale, despite murky goings on at its center. Think of Flavia as a new Sherlock in the making.”  — BOOKLIST

“A splendid romp through 1950s England led by the world’s smartest and most incorrigible preteen.”  — KIRKUS REVIEWS, starred review

“Outstanding … In this marvelous blend of whimsy and mystery, Flavia manages to operate successfully in the adult world of crimes and passions while dodging the childhood pitfalls set by her sisters.”  — PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, starred review

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

“Wonderfully entertaining . . . sure to be one of the most loved mysteries of the year.”  — CHICAGO SUN-TIMES

“If ever there was a sleuth who’s bold, brilliant, and, yes, adorable, it’s Flavia de Luce … [A] scrumptious first novel.”  — USA TODAY

“A five-star performance for young and old . . . written with Dickensian flair, Sherlockian suspense and tongue-in-cheek fun.”  — MYSTERY BOOKS NEWS

MORE FLAVIA DELUCE MYSTERIES

Book 1: The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie
Camped in her horse-drawn caravan at Buckshaw, a young Gypsy woman is charged with the abduction – and then the murder – of a local child, and Flavia must draw upon her encyclopaedic knowledge of poisons – and Gypsy lore – to prevent a grave miscarriage of justice.

Book 2: The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag
When a travelling puppet show sets up on the village green in Bishop's Lacey, death stalks the little stage. Flavia goes behind the scenes to learn the craft (so to speak) in order to catch an ingenious killer.

Book 4: I Am Half-Sick of Shadows
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 trap Saint Nick. But she is soon distracted when a film crew arrives at Buckshaw, the de Luce’s decaying English estate, to begin shooting a movie starring the famed Phyllis Wyvern.

 

 

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