The Golden Tresses of the Dead by Alan Bradley, 327 pages

Although it is autumn in the small English town of Bishop’s Lacey, the chapel is decked with exotic flowers. Yes, Flavia de Luce’s sister Ophelia is at last getting hitched, like a mule to a wagon. “A church is a wonderful place for a wedding,” muses Flavia, “surrounded as it is by the legions of the dead, whose listening bones bear silent witness to every promise made at the altar.”

Flavia is not your normal twelve-year-old girl. An expert in the chemical nature of poisons, she has solved many mysteries, sharpening her considerable detection skills to the point where she had little choice but to turn professional. So Flavia and dependable Dogger, estate gardener and sounding board extraordinaire, set up shop at the once-grand mansion of Buckshaw, eager to serve—not so simple an endeavor with her odious little moon-faced cousin, Undine, constantly underfoot. But Flavia and Dogger persevere. Little does she know that their first case will be extremely close to home, beginning with an unwelcome discovery in Ophelia’s wedding cake: a human finger. 

The Grave's a Fine and Private Place by Alan Bradley, 363 pages

Flavia is enjoying the summer, spending her days punting along the river with her reluctant family. Languishing in boredom, she drags a slack hand in the water, and catches her fingers in the open mouth of a drowned corpse.

Brought to shore, the dead man is found to be dressed in blue silk with ribbons at the knee, and wearing a single red ballet slipper.

Flavia needs to put her super-sleuthing skills to the test to investigate the murder of three gossips in the local church, and to keep her sisters out of danger. But what could possibly connect the son of an executed killer, a far too canny police constable, a travelling circus, and the publican's mysteriously talented wife?

Thrice the Brinded Cat Hath Mew'd by Alan Bradley, 326 pages

These Flavia de Luce books keep tearing my heart out. I want to bundle her up and take her home with me, to comfort and love.

As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust by Alan Bradley, 266 pages

I LOVE Flavia de Luce, she is one of my all time favorite characters. I was heartbroken during the last book, especially at the end, thinking it was possibly the end of the series. So this one was a delight, letting me know Flavia would continue. I love her passion, her quirkiness, and her utter determination to continue no matter what.

Speaking from Among the Bones by Alan Bradley, 475 pages

This is the latest book in the Flavia de Luce series. This 11-year-old avid chemist and detective has seemed to develop a penchant for stumbling across dead bodies, and the trend continues when she finds the missing church organist in the tomb of the local church's patron saint on it's reopening. Flavia searches out clues and guilty parties alike, and as always, is determined to find the answers, even if she might join the line up of deceased.