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4.1 AVERAGE
4.1 AVERAGE
I'm always happy with a new case for Flavia de Luce to solve and a new book in this series...but this one didn't have as many of the mystery elements as the rest of Bradley's books. It was almost too easy in the end. Granted, we finally got more of the back-story of Harriet and learned about de Luce secrets. Also, there wasn't a map in this one. Harumph, I love the maps of Bishop's Lacey and Buckshaw. I'm wondering how Flavia's stories will continue (if they do) with the ending now in place. We'll have to see!
'The Dead in their Vaulted Arches' is the sixth book in the absolutely brilliant Flavia de Luce mystery series. The series starts off with a massive bang in 'The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie,' and with a few hitches and starts, has rolled into the station with this book. At the heart of it all is the 11-year-old precocious child-cum-chemistry-genius Flavia de Luce, who narrates with such absolute charm and wit, you're mad not to fall in love with her.
Flavia's story is made up by her surroundings and family - she is being raised in 1950s England on the once grandiose Buckshaw estate, which technically belongs to her mother. But her mother has been missing for ten years, and presumed dead. Her father is enshrouded in a cocoon of grief and worry - grief over the missing mother, and worry because he is rapidly running out of money and may lost the estate. Mother has been officially declared dead, but with no will to be found, the family is unable to lay claim to the estate.
This is all presented to the reader in the first book; this, the sixth, wraps up a thousand different threads from the first five books, but leaves five or six dangling to ensure more stories are on their way. In this book, we learn that Flavia's mother has, indeed, died, and that her body has been found and is being returned for burial. There are hints that there's much more than meets the eye behind mother's death, as her body is brought back by the Home Office, and Winston Churchill is on hand at the train station to meet the coffin when it arrives.
Alan Bradley's treatment of these stories simply sparkles. If you could imagine a cross between Agatha Christie and P. G. Wodehouse, that would come close. So far this has been my book of the year, but I suspect that's only because of the totality of the series itself, which I cannot recommend highly enough. Five out of five stars.
Flavia's story is made up by her surroundings and family - she is being raised in 1950s England on the once grandiose Buckshaw estate, which technically belongs to her mother. But her mother has been missing for ten years, and presumed dead. Her father is enshrouded in a cocoon of grief and worry - grief over the missing mother, and worry because he is rapidly running out of money and may lost the estate. Mother has been officially declared dead, but with no will to be found, the family is unable to lay claim to the estate.
This is all presented to the reader in the first book; this, the sixth, wraps up a thousand different threads from the first five books, but leaves five or six dangling to ensure more stories are on their way. In this book, we learn that Flavia's mother has, indeed, died, and that her body has been found and is being returned for burial. There are hints that there's much more than meets the eye behind mother's death, as her body is brought back by the Home Office, and Winston Churchill is on hand at the train station to meet the coffin when it arrives.
Alan Bradley's treatment of these stories simply sparkles. If you could imagine a cross between Agatha Christie and P. G. Wodehouse, that would come close. So far this has been my book of the year, but I suspect that's only because of the totality of the series itself, which I cannot recommend highly enough. Five out of five stars.
Well done, Flavia. Well done, Mr. Bradley. Can't wait for the new book to come out!
Ooh, the deLuce saga is heating up! This is the first novel that we really see some actual movement in as far as the overall story arc goes, and it's got me chomping at the bit for more in a way the others haven't. :)
The plot didn't hang together for me as coherently as others in this series, but it's always a pleasure to spend time with Flavia and her pal Gladys.
One of my weird, reading habits, of which there are many, is that I don’t read an entire series back to back. I like to jump around to other books, read one every six or eight months, etc. So the fact that I rushed home after finishing book number five and picked up book number six is saying something.
I’ve thought long and hard about this, but I can’t think of another series of books that has kept me this invested for this long. I think the series is getting better actually. I loved all the background on Harriet in this book. As usual, the author does an exceptional job of tugging at your heartstrings, making you laugh, and writing a really good mystery.
The only thing that I kind of don’t like is that Feely and Daffy don’t get to be part of the Nide. Like aren’t there enough bad guys out there that the whole family could be involved? I really want them all to be friends in the end, like sister should be when they grow up.
Also, Mr. Bradley, if you’re reading this, please write a Flavia novel 10 years in the future when we get to see her as an adult.
I’ve thought long and hard about this, but I can’t think of another series of books that has kept me this invested for this long. I think the series is getting better actually. I loved all the background on Harriet in this book. As usual, the author does an exceptional job of tugging at your heartstrings, making you laugh, and writing a really good mystery.
The only thing that I kind of don’t like is that Feely and Daffy don’t get to be part of the Nide. Like aren’t there enough bad guys out there that the whole family could be involved? I really want them all to be friends in the end, like sister should be when they grow up.
Also, Mr. Bradley, if you’re reading this, please write a Flavia novel 10 years in the future when we get to see her as an adult.
I really enjoyed this installment of the series... It wasn't what I was expecting at several different moments in the book but it was a satisfying read for sure and certainly opens up many possibilities in the future!
While I'm not sure this was my favorite Flavia book, it did give some clarity to some long-running questions throughout the series. I began my Flavia journey with book #7, so I'm excited to go back and see it in its context!
I cannot get enough of this series. I want to read the next one, but I don’t want to read the next one because I will have gotten that much closer to the end of the series and that just cannot happen. Flavia is so much a little girl and an emerging young lady all at the same time. In this episode the return home of her long-lost mother, albeit in a casket, both brings you to tears and skin-tingling suspense. So easy to emotionally struggle with Flavia and delight in sifting through all the tantalizing characters that arrive with the train. Flavia will take some big steps forward in this one and will finally learn what It really means to be a DeLuce…
If you haven’t read at least one of these yet, do it now. But be forewarned. They get better with each book. At least so far…On to #7. But not too soon. There are only 11.
If you haven’t read at least one of these yet, do it now. But be forewarned. They get better with each book. At least so far…On to #7. But not too soon. There are only 11.