Distracting Flavia from her efforts is the cast and crew of Ilium Films. Her father, the Colonel, has just consented to rent Buckshaw to them, except for his study and his late wife’s bedroom.  Everyone in the village is a bit star struck, including the local vicar, as ingénue Phyllis Wyvern is in residence. She has agreed to stage a scene from Shakespeare in Buckshaw as a fundraiser. But no sooner has the curtain come down when all in attendance are stranded at the estate in a terrible snowstorm, sans heat or electric – of course, the perfect setting for murder. 

The victim is Phyllis and though she was beloved by her many fans, those who were closest to her were no fans of hers.  The snow keeps Inspector Hewitt at bay, so Flavia knows it is up to her to unravel the clues, as tight as the celluloid tied around the actress’s neck, and have a murderer under lock and key when the constabulary finally arrives.  

Flavia is a delightfully geeky child, trying desperately to fit into a world not quite ready for her.  She is a genius in many things, but a child in others, making it easy for her to sluice out information from many and be a witness to things others think no one is seeing. 

On the other hand, she is Feely and Daffy’s bratty kid sister, properly pesty to them as they experience their own growing pains without their mother and with an often absent-minded, yet doting, father.  The atmosphere is marvelous – English cozy at its best: guests snowed in at a country estate with Christmas just days away.  The murder plot is pedestrian and easy to figure out given the limited suspects and even the motive is fairly obvious, but the setting and delightful characters, especially the irrepressible Flavia, set the tone for another pleasant entry into this series.

--Jennifer Monahan Winberry