Bagthorpes Haunted: Being the Sixth Part of the Bagthorpe Saga Paperback – March 1, 1988

These are supposed to be hilarious books about a zany English family. All of the kids are supposed to be brilliant and precocious. It's light and frothy fun. Well, to me it mostly seemed rather labored and heavy and off-key.I do note that a few reviewers of the earlier books, (this is number 6), maintain that the series went downhill after the first four volumes. While that's pretty faint praise, it does suggest that if you're going to sample the series, start with an earlier volume.You know those commercials with insufferable, snotty kids who are supposed to be oh-so clever and cute? That's the same impression I got while reading this book. The special aspect of this one arises from the fact that the Bagthorpes are vacationing in Wales and the author never misses an opportunity to make rude and insulting observations about the rural and villager Welsh characters, who apparently are all crooks or idiots. There's no clever or even cheerful wordplay; the plot is silly; the characters really are very unappealing. Grandma cheats at board games. Daisy likes to set fires. And so on. We're all just "madcap" and "eccentric". It can get pretty grim.The first volume, "Ordinary Jack" was very warmly received and praised. It has nice touches of irony and deadpan resignation on the part of the "ordinary" Bagthorpe sibling who narrates it. One is amused and sympathizes. But, heretical though it may be, this volume seems to be for hardcore fans only.