Alan Bradley

Young chemist and aspiring detective Flavia de Luce uses her knowledge of poisons and her indefatigable spirit to solve a dastardly crime in the English countryside while learning new clues about her mother's disappearance.

A Flavia de Luce Novel

The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches

Even ghosts have secrets... Two deaths, ten years apart, give Flavia de Luce the distraction she needs at a time when her family are more remote and dysfunctional than ever. Especially when a bizarre series of deadly events is casting a long shadow over everyone at Buckshaw. For Flavia, a gruesome crime to solve is only one of the mysteries confronting her, as she begins to unravel the shocking revelations surrounding the mysterious disappearance of her mother. And as she starts putting the clues together, she discovers an extraordinary tale of espionage and betrayal that may also be the key to her own destiny. Praise for the historical Flavia de Luce mysteries: 'The Flavia de Luce novels are now a cult favourite' Mail on Sunday 'A cross between Dodie Smith's I Capture The Castle and the Addams family...delightfully entertaining' Guardian Fans of M. C. Beaton's Agatha Raisin, Frances Brody and Alexander McCall Smith will enjoy the Flavia de Luce mysteries: 1. Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie 2. The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag 3. A Red Herring Without Mustard 4. I Am Half Sick of Shadows 5. Speaking From Among the Bones 6. The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches 7. As Chimney Sweepers Come To Dust 8. Thrice the Brinded Cat Hath Mew'd 9. The Grave's a Fine and Private Place If you're looking for a cosy crime series to keep you hooked then look no further than the Flavia de Luce mysteries. * Each Flavia de Luce mystery can be read as a standalone or in series order *

Kim Tyo-Dickerson

At long last, and to her family's deep grief, Flavia's long-missing mother, Harriet, comes home. Nothing is as it seems, however, as the train carrying Harriet's body, frozen from her death ten years before in the Himalayas, immediately becomes the setting for the gruesome murder of a man who manages to whisper a dark warning to Flavia on the station's platform right before his death. Questions begin to pile up as Flavia plots a startlingly grim, but purely scientific, way to bring Harriet back to her father, whose grief has reached a new, inaccessible level and their beloved family home Buckshaw, crumbling from the elements and lack of funds for its upkeep, is under new de Luce family threats. This insalment is more about character, grief, and family than solving crimes, though there are also crimes to be solved and understood. Highly recommended sixth book in the series for ages 14 and up.

Kaitee Tredway

This is the best one so far. I like that I stuck with the series to get here, though the tone of the first few books is very different. I found this book to have more substance and bigger questions than Flavia solving a murder. It’s been satisfying to see her grow up a bit, and move into a bigger story.

Luca Masters

On a spring morning in 1951, eleven-year-old chemist and aspiring detective Flavia de Luce gathers with her family at the railway station, awaiting the return of her long-lost mother, Harriet. Yet upon the train's arrival in the English village of Bishop's Lacey, Flavia is approached by a tall stranger who whispers a cryptic message into her ear. Moments later, he is dead, mysteriously pushed under the train by someone in the crowd. Who was this man, what did his words mean, and why were they intended for Flavia? Back home at Buckshaw, the de Luces' crumbling estate, Flavia puts her sleuthing skills to the test. Following a trail of clues sparked by the discovery of a reel of film stashed away in the attic, she unravels the deepest secrets of the de Luce clan, involving none other than Winston Churchill himself. Surrounded by family, friends, and a famous pathologist from the Home Office--and making spectacular use of Harriet's beloved Gipsy Moth plane, Blithe Spirit--Flavia will do anything, even take to the skies, to land a killer.

Nora 

C. Alan Bradley

Eleven-year-old chemist and aspiring detective Flavia de Luce's sleuthing skills are put to the test when a stranger whispers a cryptic message into her ear and then is mysteriously pushed under a train. Her investigation leads to the discovery of a reel of film that unlocks the most guarded secrets of the de Luce clan, involving none other than Winston Churchill himself.

The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches A Flavia de Luce Novel

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