Flavia de Luce's bratty older sisters, Feelie (Ophelia) and Daffy (Daphne) have informed her that Father Christmas does not exist. Though only eleven, Flavia is an amateur chemist and well-versed in the scientific method. So she sets out to prove Father Christmas does, in fact, live and breathe among us. In the middle of this, a film crew shows up to the baronial estate, a famous actress is murdered (which Flavia, of course, investigates), and Flavia experiments with the chemical makeup of fireworks.
I Am Half-Sick Of Shadows is a merry jaunt through post-war England with a heroine who is complicated enough to be very sophisticated in scientific matters but completely clueless about things like what an affair entails. It never occurs to Flavia that she might fail in any of her schemes. There are other delightful characters in this book as well, including Dogger, a veteran of the Pacific Campaign. Also, the way it is written is much to be admired: witty alliteration, amusing imagery, and astute observations. If Jane Austen had been a preteen in the 1950's, she might have written something like this.
Other in the series:
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie In which we are introduced to Flavia and her environs, and her father is embarrassingly accused of murder.
The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag: In which a puppeteer is eletrocuted, and Flavia must play dumb to solve the case.
A Red Herring Without Mustard In which Flavia has two mysteries: that of a wronged Gypsy, and the fate of her mother.
Speaking from Among the Bones In which the town boosters dig up much more than the bones of St. Tancred.
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