This book had some incredibly racist bullshit in it and I can't believe I'm not seeing anything about it in other reviews.

I read a much later book in the Flavia De Luce series, Thrice the Brinded Cat Hath Mew'd, first, and liked it so much that I decided to read the rest of the series, starting at the beginning with this one. I'm sad to say that this was a huge disappointment. Firstly, Flavia was snottier, much more vindictive and mean-spirited, and her love for chemistry seemed more a love for murder routes. I am willing to concede that the character wouldn't have been as defined in the first book, and would also be younger and less experienced than in the volume where I'd already encountered her, but still, I don't believe that high intelligence necessitates a sneering disregard for everyone around her and plots to poison everyone who displeases her (and which are only foiled by Flavia being distracted or busy!). The other, and much more troubling aspect, is an extended, multi-page venture into racist, literal yellowface caricature of Chinese culture. The events it describes are set in 1920, and I have no doubt that they wouldn't have raised an eyebrow then, but the author was writing them in the 21st frickin' century and should ABSOLUTELY know and do better. The plot advancements in that scene could have been accomplished any number of ways without such a disgusting and needless display of bigotry. In addition, there is no hint of distaste from any character, leaving this awful activity to stand as perfectly okay. It has permanently changed the way I see both Flavia and Alan Bradley, and not for the better. I read through other reviews, expecting to see similar sentiments, and so far have seen nothing about it at all, which makes me hugely disappointed in not only this book and its author, but in the Goodreads community.