The Grave’s a Fine and Private Place: A Flavia de Luce Novel

Fans of Bradley’s crime-solving chemistry prodigy Flavia de Luce will find much to enjoy in her latest post-WWII adventure, which, like previous series titles, is enlivened by actor Entwistle’s flawless interpretation of the plummy-voiced, aristocratic, slightly brattish British schoolgirl. Twelve-year-old Flavia and her two older sisters, whiny Daphne and moping Ophelia, are depressed after their father’s fatal bout with pneumonia. The family retainer, Dogger, whom Entwistle endows with a gruff, avuncular delivery, arranges for a seaside holiday for them. But as they travel down the river, Flavia discovers a corpse, partly submerged in the water. Together she and Dogger, acting as her Watson, are drawn into a tricky murder investigation. They meet an assortment of colorful villagers, including a patronizing, too-shrewd constable; a country-accented innkeeper and his wife; a stern, humorless chemist; and a very proper undertaker. What elevates this mystery is less the disclosure of whodunit than the alluring appeal of Entwistle’s on-target rendition of Bradley’s precocious yet charming young detective. [em]A Delacorte hardcover. (Feb.) [/em]