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The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches: A Flavia…
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The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches: A Flavia de Luce Novel (edition 2014)

by Alan Bradley

Series: Flavia de Luce (6)

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
1,65913810,493 (4.04)230
Fiction. Mystery. Thriller. Historical Fiction. HTML:NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

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.

BONUS: This edition includes an excerpt from Alan Bradley's As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust.

Praise for The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches
 
“Part Harriet the Spy, part Violet Baudelaire from Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events, Flavia is a pert and macabre pragmatist.”The New York Times Book Review
 
“[Alan] 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.”Library Journal (starred review)

“Bradley’s latest Flavia de Luce novel reaches a new level of perfection as it shows the emotional turmoil and growth of a girl who has always been older than her years and yet is still a child. The mystery is complex and very personal this time, reaching into the past Flavia never knew about. . . . These are astounding, magical books not to be missed.”RT Book Reviews (Top Pick)
 
“Excellent . . . Flavia retains her droll wit. . . . The solution to a murder is typically neat, and the conclusion sets up future books nicely.”Publishers Weekly (starred review)
 
“It’s hard to resist either the genre’s pre-eminent preteen sleuth or the hushed revelations about her family.”Kirkus Reviews
 
“Flavia . . . is as fetching as ever; her chatty musings and her combination of childish vulnerability and seemingly boundless self-confidence haven’t changed a bit.”Booklist
 
Acclaim for Alan Bradley’s beloved Flavia de Luce novels, winners of the Crime Writers’ Association Debut Dagger Award, Barry Award, Agatha Award, Macavity Award, Dilys Winn Award, and Arthur Ellis Award
 
“If ever there were a sleuth who’s bold, brilliant, and, yes, adorable, it’s Flavia de Luce.”USA Today
 
“Irresistibly appealing.”—The New York Times Book Review, on A Red Herring Without Mustard
 
“Original, charming, devilishly creative.”—Bookreporter, on I Am Half-Sick of Shadows
 
“Delightful and...
… (more)
Member:VivienneR
Title:The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches: A Flavia de Luce Novel
Authors:Alan Bradley
Info:Delacorte Press (2014), Hardcover, 368 pages
Collections:Your library, A stack, Reviewed, Books Read, revisit, Read 2014 (inactive)
Rating:*****
Tags:Canadian mystery, England, Flavia de Luce, Read 2014

Work Information

The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches by Alan Bradley

  1. 01
    Love and murder by Gail Bowen (BookshelfMonstrosity)
    BookshelfMonstrosity: Both of these cozy mysteries have darker aspects, with family secrets affecting young girls. Preteen Flavia de Luce, the intrepid sleuth in Dead in Their Vaulted Arches and adult Joanne Kilbourn investigating Love and Murder make and resolve astonishing discoveries.… (more)
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» See also 230 mentions

English (138)  German (1)  All languages (139)
Showing 1-5 of 138 (next | show all)
spoiler do not read if you haven't read.
Not sure how to feel. Thought it was well done, as always, and understand the thinking that maybe a change of venue was needed, but a whole genre jump. There is already a Harrier the spy in childrens lit. , do we need another? I'll have to read the next one before I pass judgement ( )
  cspiwak | Mar 6, 2024 |
The sixth outing in the Flavia de Luce cosy crime series takes a different tack as, although a murder does occur early on in the proceedings, Flavia is more concerned with the emotional fallout of her mother Harriet's 'return' to Buckshaw. I won't say a lot about the story as just about anything is a spoiler, but we do learn finally that Flavia's odd childhood has had a hidden agenda all along, and certain things said in an earlier book are now explained.

I enjoyed most of the book immensely and it was building up to a 5 star rating, but the hasty denouement in the church somewhat detracted from things. I had felt sure that Flavia, invited to a picnic after the funeral by someone she eventually realises is the murderer, was about to face a tense confrontation where her life hung in the balance, but the police suddenly intervened and everything was resolved somewhat disappointingly. However, the very end does leave an interesting glimpse of the future, with everything turned upside down including Flavia's relationship with her family. ( )
  kitsune_reader | Nov 23, 2023 |
No, I'm sorry, I tried. Admittedly, I read four of the ten books in the series out of order, but Flavia (Flave-ia) didn't take long to change from a smart and quirky Scout Finch style narrator into an obnoxious enfant terrible of Little Britain. And oh dear, there's a story arc too, about a secret society - I hate story arcs!

This instalment is about the repatriation and burial of Flavia's mother, who died on a mountain in the Himalayas when Flavia was a baby, but the characters are so rigid and 'stiff upper lip' that I wasn't even affected by the family's grief. Lots of welling eyes and hyperbolic tributes to the late great Harriet - Winston Churchill tells Flavia that 'she was England', which made me gag - and Flavia herself decides to 'resurrect' her ten years dead mother's corpse with vitamin B. Okay, sweetie.

I wish whatever magic the second book had could have lasted, but I couldn't care less about the Nide and Flavia's future role in saving England. If she ever hits twelve, I won't be at the party, I'm afraid. ( )
  AdonisGuilfoyle | Sep 29, 2023 |
This is really more like a 41/2 star read, but I'll round down because I have high hopes that a future Flavia de Luce adventure will rate the 5th star. This was pretty close though, in this pivotal, transformative novel
In this increasingly intriguing series. One of my biggest pet peeves of the story is even being resolved! Anyway, this mystery follows hard on the heels of the previous book, which dropped a major bombshell just at the end. Flavia's long-lost mother has returned to Buckshaw, and everything in Flavia's world is in an uproar. Secrets never even hinted at before are explosively revealed, and deep political and international intrigue are discovered. All this in the midst of great emotional turmoil and the coming of age of a young girl who is realizing she is growing up, whether she likes it or not. Flavia's world has changed dramatically, and I look forward to seeing how she copes with it. ( )
  karenchase | Jun 14, 2023 |
One of my favorites--I was hooked after "Sweetness...", but enjoyed "the weed...," "A Red Herring ..," "I Am Half-Sick..," and "speaking..." Just as much. ( )
  2skl | Feb 27, 2023 |
Showing 1-5 of 138 (next | show all)
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» Add other authors (3 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Bradley, Alanprimary authorall editionsconfirmed
Entwistle, JayneNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Heikinheimo, MaijaTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Montgomery, JoeCover designersecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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Epigraph
The Marble Tombs that rise on high,
Whose Dead in vaulted Arches lye,
Whose Pillars swell with sculptur'd Stones,
Arms, Angels, Epitaphs and Bones
These (all the poor Remains of State)
Adorn the Rich, or praise the Great;
Who while on Earth in Fame they live,
Are senseless of the Fame they give.
- Thomas Parnell, A Night-Piece on Death (1721)
Dedication
Beloved Amadeus
First words
"Your mother has been found." (prologue)
To begin with, it was a perfect English morning: one of those dazzling days in early April when a new sun makes it seem suddenly like full-blown summer.
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(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
Disambiguation notice
Titles taken from official website.
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Canonical LCC

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Wikipedia in English (1)

Fiction. Mystery. Thriller. Historical Fiction. HTML:NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

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.

BONUS: This edition includes an excerpt from Alan Bradley's As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust.

Praise for The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches
 
“Part Harriet the Spy, part Violet Baudelaire from Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events, Flavia is a pert and macabre pragmatist.”The New York Times Book Review
 
“[Alan] 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.”Library Journal (starred review)

“Bradley’s latest Flavia de Luce novel reaches a new level of perfection as it shows the emotional turmoil and growth of a girl who has always been older than her years and yet is still a child. The mystery is complex and very personal this time, reaching into the past Flavia never knew about. . . . These are astounding, magical books not to be missed.”RT Book Reviews (Top Pick)
 
“Excellent . . . Flavia retains her droll wit. . . . The solution to a murder is typically neat, and the conclusion sets up future books nicely.”Publishers Weekly (starred review)
 
“It’s hard to resist either the genre’s pre-eminent preteen sleuth or the hushed revelations about her family.”Kirkus Reviews
 
“Flavia . . . is as fetching as ever; her chatty musings and her combination of childish vulnerability and seemingly boundless self-confidence haven’t changed a bit.”Booklist
 
Acclaim for Alan Bradley’s beloved Flavia de Luce novels, winners of the Crime Writers’ Association Debut Dagger Award, Barry Award, Agatha Award, Macavity Award, Dilys Winn Award, and Arthur Ellis Award
 
“If ever there were a sleuth who’s bold, brilliant, and, yes, adorable, it’s Flavia de Luce.”USA Today
 
“Irresistibly appealing.”—The New York Times Book Review, on A Red Herring Without Mustard
 
“Original, charming, devilishly creative.”—Bookreporter, on I Am Half-Sick of Shadows
 
“Delightful and...

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