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AlanBradley’s 11 year old character Flavia de Luce is one of the most endearing,inventive and precocious characters in literature. She appears again inBradley’s latest novel in the series,I am Half-Sick of Shadows. It is winter in England and Christmas isapproaching, with Flavia immersed in her chemistry experiments–this timetrying to determine if Father Christmas is real. In the midst of a storm, aline of trucks appears and heads for the de Luce family home, Buckshaw. Itseems that Colonel de Luce, in order to keep his family from bankruptcy, hasrented out the estate to a film crew. Flavia is fascinated by the appearance offamous and not-so-famous actors and actresses who take up residence in her home.The lead actors agree to perform for a fund-raiser for the local church, andthe local village residents flock to Buckshaw for the show, only to be snowedin by a blizzard. With the house filled with visitors, Flavia comes upon thebody of a murdered actress, and of course, must immerse herself in solving thecrime, much to the dismay Inspector Hewitt. We learn more about Flavia’srelationships with her sisters, her father and Dogger, who served in the warwith Colonel De Luce. This is a delightful addition to this humorous andcharming series featuring the fiendishly inventive Flavia de Luce (start with The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie.)