Happy Sunday! Thanks to Deb Nance at Readerbuzz for hosting The Sunday Salon.
Weekly Reads Round Up:
Favorite Read of the Week
I post reviews on Instagram and Goodreads. What have you read this week?

What Time the Sexton’s Spade Doth Rust Flavia de Luce #11
About the Book: In the absence of adult supervision, Flavia has taken on the mentorship of her “pestilent” younger cousin Undine. Undine too seems fascinated by mayhem. Flavia has nigglings of doubt about her motivations. Has Undine inherited her dead mother’s darkness? Or worse?
A mysterious villager, Major Goodinall, a virtual hermit and former public hangman with stomach-curdling deeds in his past, has been found dead, killed by ingesting poisonous mushrooms.
In her search for the murderer, Flavia becomes entangled with the families of those who have lost relatives to the dead man, only to be led to the most unlikely of suspects.
My Review: Oh, Flavia, I had missed you so much!
I started reading the Flavia de Luce mysteries by Alan Bradley when they first came out in 2009 and read all of them as they were published. Set in 1950s England the series features a precocious motherless 11-year old named Flavia. Flavia is fascinated with chemistry and death, and she bicycles around the town of Bishop’s Lacey from her family’s ancient country house, Buckshaw. Book 10, The Golden Tresses of the Dead came out in 2019 and after that I wasn’t sure when or if we’d get a new one. Just last spring I saw an ARC available on Netgalley for book 11, What Time the Sexton’s Spade Doth Rust, and got super excited. I grabbed the galley and also immediately put the audiobook on hold, as that is my most favorite way to listen to Flavia tell her stories.
And this newest entry did not disappoint. It was such a busy week with not as much listening time as I liked, but I snuck it in my earbuds any time I could! This was just wonderful – the perfect combination of cozy, mysterious and funny. The writing is stunning. All my favorite characters were back and there were some serious jaw dropping moments. I do so hope we get more from Flavia. 5 glowing stars.
What I’m Reading & Listening to Now:

Reading: Death at the Old Curiosity Shop by Debbie Young (Look for my review on Friday October 11th)
Listening: Murder at the Piccadilly Playhouse (Cleopatra Fox #2) by C.J. Archer
Week in Review:
Warm temperatures came back at the end of the week and I am really hoping that was the last of 90 degree days. I participated in an online cozy mystery book club this week and enjoyed it so much. We discussed and heard from the author of Hummingbird Hollow B&B Mystery #1Murder on Devil’s Pond by Ayla Rose. For a busy week, it was nice to have such an interesting hour. I did get one nice walk in with our dog. Here’s Frenchy after the walk:

Something I’m Looking Forward To:
Hopefully cooler temps this week, some time to work on writing and seeing a production of The Mousetrap at a local high school. I also need to finish (well actually…START and finish) our book club’s monthly selection. (The Girl in the Castle by Santa Montefiore).
Posted Recently:
On the blog:
Five Star Reads: Monthly Favorites (September 2024)
Book Blast! Murder Among the Pyramids (1920s Lady Traveler in Egypt) by Sara Rosett
Book Review: Death at the Dinner Party (A Secret Bookcase Mystery #3) by Ellie Alexander
A review for a book I read earlier was published on Kings River Life News & Reviews. Check it out here:
Halloween Parade Peril by Victoria Tait



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