The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches (Flavia de Luce, #6)

by Alan Bradley

[Whitney @ First Impressions Reviews]

In the sixth book Flavia's greatest mystery is revealed - the disappearance of her mother Harriet. The moment the series has been leading up to has arrived. It was not unexpected, but the storytelling itself was a treat.

Flavia grows up just a little in each novel and in The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches it is evident that she has matured and felt like a parent dropping their child off for the first day of kindergarten. While some of the innocence is lost her skills in deduction have increased. This mystery series is anything, but formulaic, and is far from Fred Jones pulling off a mask to reveal the culprit. Alan Bradley's stories are unique and keep you on your toes.

Like Michael Jackson's death overshadowing Farrah Fawcett's a small less memorable crime occurs, that of a man falling from the train tracks leaving two mysteries to solve. Although before this act he tells Flavia "Tell your father the Gamekeeper is in jeopardy" and like Citizen Cane's "Rosebud" this sends Flavia into a near obsession to discover who the Gamekeeper is, and through so we learn a great deal more about the de Luce family tree.

This could have been a "Kleenex please" novel, but Flavia's forever curious nature keeps that from happening and was one of the most enjoyable books in the Flavia series.

Farrah and Michael do a tango at the end with both mysteries intertwining creating a perfect conclusion to the missing leaves in the de Luce family tree leaving the reader with a very fulfilling conclusion.


I received a copy from the publisher for an honest review