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A review by thenovelbook
The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches by Alan Bradley
4.0
I received this advance copy as a Goodreads giveaway.
This story zips along from start to finish. And while it has some macabre moments, overall it is probably the strongest of the series to date.
It resolves the cliffhanger from the last book, so that one is essential reading before picking up this one.
The story of Flavia de Luce's family, so troubled and enigmatical for so long now, is finally explained in this story. Why did Flavia's mother leave her young family ten years ago to be a supposed thrillseeker in the Himalayas? Why do Flavia's sisters resent her so much more than seems reasonable? What exactly happened to her father and Dogger during the war?
Some of the plot at first glance just seems bizarre, but you have to remember that you are reading the wishful thinking of an 11-year-old. An incredibly intelligent 11-year-old, but still, also one who has grown up bereaved of a mother in a very unusual family, and remains fairly naive about things other than chemistry.
And the explanations that come from Aunt Felicity are also, in a way, straight out of an 11-year-old's box of "amazing things that should happen." And yet there's just enough detail and characterization that you as a reader are mostly willing to accept it.
This series has just crossed into new territory. It'll be interesting to see where it goes next.
This story zips along from start to finish. And while it has some macabre moments, overall it is probably the strongest of the series to date.
It resolves the cliffhanger from the last book, so that one is essential reading before picking up this one.
The story of Flavia de Luce's family, so troubled and enigmatical for so long now, is finally explained in this story. Why did Flavia's mother leave her young family ten years ago to be a supposed thrillseeker in the Himalayas? Why do Flavia's sisters resent her so much more than seems reasonable? What exactly happened to her father and Dogger during the war?
Some of the plot at first glance just seems bizarre, but you have to remember that you are reading the wishful thinking of an 11-year-old. An incredibly intelligent 11-year-old, but still, also one who has grown up bereaved of a mother in a very unusual family, and remains fairly naive about things other than chemistry.
And the explanations that come from Aunt Felicity are also, in a way, straight out of an 11-year-old's box of "amazing things that should happen." And yet there's just enough detail and characterization that you as a reader are mostly willing to accept it.
This series has just crossed into new territory. It'll be interesting to see where it goes next.