As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust

Reviewers and readers love FLAVIA!

The
DEAD
in
THEIR VAULTED ARCHES

#1
Library Journal
pick
#6
New York Times
bestseller
#3 Indie bestseller
#3 NPR bestseller
#10
Publishers Weekly
bestseller

“Bradley’s award-winning Flavia de Luce series … has enchanted readers with the
outrageous
sleuthing career of its precocious leading lady.… This latest adventure contains all the winning elements of the previous books while skillfully establishing a new and intriguing story line to explore in future novels.… Fans will be more than pleased.”

—
Library Journal
(starred review)

“Bradley’s latest Flavia de Luce novel reaches a new level of perfection.… These are
astounding, magical
books not to be missed.”

—
RT Book Reviews
(Top Pick)

“It’s
hard to resist
either the genre’s pre-eminent preteen sleuth or the hushed revelations about her family.”

—
Kirkus Reviews

“Excellent … Flavia retains her droll wit.… The solution to the murder is typically neat, and the conclusion sets up future books nicely.”

—
Publishers Weekly
(starred review)

“There is period detail, as well as deft portraiture of the entire de Luce family and friends, in this character-driven series.… 
The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches
moves the series in an
exciting
new direction. Flavia will surely remain as brilliant and stubbornly contrary as ever.”

—
Library Journal

“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.”

—National Public Radio

SPEAKING FROM AMONG
the
BONES

“The precocious and irrepressible Flavia
continues to delight
. Portraying an eleven-year-old as a plausible sleuth and expert in poisons is no mean feat, but Bradley makes it look easy.”

—
Publishers Weekly
(starred review)

“Bradley’s Flavia cozies, set in the English countryside, have been
a hit
from the start, and this fifth in the series continues to charm and entertain.”

—
Booklist

“An excellent reminder that crime fiction can
sparkle with wit, crackle with spirit and verge on the surreal …
 Flavia, once more, entertains and delights as she exposes the inner workings of her investigative mind to the reader.”

—
National Post
(Canada)

I AM HALF-SICK
of
SHADOWS

“Every Flavia de Luce novel is a reason to celebrate
, but Christmas with Flavia is a holiday wish come true for her fans.”

—
USA Today
(four stars)

“This is a classic country house mystery in the tradition of Agatha Christie, and Poirot himself would approve of Flavia’s skills in snooping and deduction. Flavia is everything a reader wants in a detective—she’s smart, logical, intrepid and curious.… This is a
refreshingly engaging
read.”

—
RT Book Reviews

“This is a
delightful read through and through
. We find in Flavia an incorrigible and wholly lovable detective; from her chemical experiments in her sanctum sanctorum to her outrage at the idiocy of the adult world, she is unequaled. Charming as a stand-alone novel and a guaranteed smash with series followers.”

—
Library Journal
(starred review)

“Bradley masterfully weaves a ghoulish Yuletide tale.… The story breathes characters full of charisma, colour and nuance.… Bradley gives
a thrilling ride
.”

—
The Globe and Mail

A
RED HERRING
Without
MUSTARD

“Bradley’s third book about tween sleuth Flavia de Luce will make readers forget Nancy Drew.”

—
People

“Outstanding … In this
marvelous blend of whimsy and mystery
, Flavia manages to operate successfully in the adult world of crimes and passions while dodging the childhood pitfalls set by her sisters.”

—
Publishers Weekly
(starred review)

“Oh, to be eleven again and pal around with irresistible wunderkind Flavia de Luce.… A splendid romp through 1950s England led by the world’s smartest and most incorrigible preteen.”

—
Kirkus Reviews
(starred review)

“Think preteen Nancy Drew, only savvier and a lot richer, and you have Flavia de Luce.… Don’t be fooled by Flavia’s age or the 1950s setting:
A Red Herring
isn’t a dainty tea-and-crumpets sort of mystery. It’s shot through with real grit.”

—
Entertainment Weekly

“Whether battling with her odious sisters or verbally sparring with the long-suffering Inspector Hewitt, our cheeky heroine is
a delight
. Full of pithy dialog and colorful characters, this series would appeal strongly to fans of Dorothy Sayers, Gladys Mitchell, and Leo Bruce as well as readers who like clever humor mixed in with their mysteries.”

—
Library Journal
(starred review)

“[Flavia] remains irresistibly
appealing
as a little girl lost.”

—
The New York Times Book Review

“
Delightful
 … The book’s forthright and eerily mature narrator is a treasure.”

—
The Seattle Times

“Bradley’s characters, wonderful dialogue and plot twists are a most winning combination.”

—
USA Today

The
WEED
That
STRINGS
the
HANGMAN’S BAG

“Flavia is incisive, cutting and hilarious … 
one of the most remarkable creations in recent literature.”

—
USA Today

“Bradley takes everything you expect and subverts it, delivering
a smart, irreverent, unsappy mystery
.”

—
Entertainment Weekly

“The real delight here is her droll voice and the eccentric cast.… 
Utterly beguiling
.”

—
People
(four stars)

“
Endlessly entertaining
 … The author deftly evokes the period, but Flavia’s sparkling narration is the mystery’s chief delight. Comic and irreverent, this entry is sure to build further momentum for the series.”

—
Publishers Weekly
(starred review)

The
SWEETNESS
at the
BOTTOM
of the
PIE

THE MOST AWARD-WINNING BOOK OF ANY YEAR!

WINNER:
Macavity Award for Best First Mystery Novel
Barry Award for Best First Novel
Agatha Award for Best First Novel
Dilys Award
Arthur Ellis Award for Best Novel
Spotted Owl Award for Best Novel
CWA Debut Dagger Award

“
Impressive
as a sleuth and enchanting as a mad scientist … Flavia is most endearing as a little girl who has learned how to amuse herself in a big lonely house.”

—Marilyn Stasio,
The New York Times Book Review

“Sophisticated, series-launching … It’s
a rare pleasure
to follow Flavia as she investigates her limited but boundless-feeling world.”

—
Entertainment Weekly
(A–)

“
A delightful new sleuth
. A combination of Eloise and Sherlock Holmes … fearless, cheeky, wildly precocious.”

—
The Boston Globe

I
F YOU
’
RE ANYTHING LIKE
me, you adore rot. It is pleasant to reflect upon the fact that decay and decomposition are what make the world go round.

For instance, when an ancient oak falls somewhere in the forest, it begins almost at once to be consumed by invisible predators. These highly specialized hordes of bacteria lay siege to their target as methodically as an army of barbarians attacking an enemy fortress. The mission of the first wave is to break down the protein forms of the stricken timber into ammonia, which can then be easily handled by the second team, which converts the smelly ammonia to nitrites. These last and final invaders, by oxidation, convert the nitrites into the nitrates that are required to fertilize the soil, and thus to grow new seedling oaks.

Through the miracle of chemistry, a colossus has been reduced to its essentials by microscopic life forms. Forests
are born and die, come and go, like a spinning penny flipped into the air: heads … tails … life … death … life … death … and so on from Creation to the farthest ends of time.

It’s bloody marvelous, if you ask me.

Left to the mercies of the soil, dead human bodies undergo the same basic 1—2—3 process: meat—ammonia—nitrates.

But when a corpse is swaddled tightly in a soiled flag, stuffed up a brick chimney, and left there for a donkey’s age to char and mummify in the heat and the smoke—well, that’s an entirely different story.

“B
ANISHED
!”
THE WILD WIND
shrieked as it tore at my face.

“Banished!”
the savage waves roared as they drenched me with freezing water.

“Banished!”
they howled.
“Banished!”

There is no sadder word in the English language. The very sound of it—like echoing iron gates crashing closed behind you; like steel bolts being shot shut—makes your hair stand on end, doesn’t it?

“Banished!”

I shouted the word into the tearing wind, and the wind spat it back into my face.

“Banished!”

I was standing at the heaving prow of the R.M.S.
Scythia
, my jaws wide open to the gale, hoping that the salt spray
would wash the bad taste out of my mouth: the taste that was my life so far.