Customer Reviews

The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches (Unabridged)

I was desperate to read this book and equally desperate not to reach the end. I love this series. Each and every book is a gem and this book is perhaps the brightest gem of all. I hope Flavia lives forever and I pray that the next instalment is not too far away.

There are few writers who can pull you in so effectively as Alan Bradley. He conveys scene, time and characters memorably, and with humour. He conveys emotion particularly well, and it is difficult not to be outraged, sad, or upbeat along with Flavia as she describes her world. There are only a few novelists I can't wait to read when they produce a new book. Alan Bradley is one of them.

If you have read the previous novels, you won't be disappointed in this latest addition. Enjoy!

I gave up long ago on modern living authors and new books but Alan Bradley has restored my faith. How eagerly I have awaited this sequel - the last book ended with the news that Harriet, Flavia's mother, has at last been found. More and more of Harriet's wartime history is revealed and also that of Flavia's father, Aunt Felicity and even the faithful Dogger. The author has captured perfectly Britain in the 1950s and what it is like to be a 12 year old girl! I cannot recommend the Flavia books enough. My only complaint, it's a long wait for the next Flavia book.

In 'The Dead in their Vaulted Arches' Alan Bradley gives us another wonderful episode in the life of Flava de Luce. This time although there is a murder to be solved (and it is) that is almost incidental. Instead we are provided with a suitable climax to the story of Harriet - with surprising revelations; are introduced to a new and wonderfully strange new relative and are prepared for a whole phase in Flava's life - the best is yet to come!

Thoroughly enjoyed it. Characters and plot as engaging as ever. I like the E Nesbit touches within the plot and characters ie humour and fortitude in the face of danger, adversity and the loss of a parent. A good new plot development emerging. Would recommend any readers new to this series to start at the beginning.

First Sentence: 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.

Flavia de Luce’s mother disappeared when Flavia was so young, she doesn’t even remember her, yet she has always naturally longed for her. Now her mother has been found and is coming home by train. At the station, a stranger whispers a message in Flavia’s ear. Shortly after, he ends up dead under the train. Suicide? Murder? A roll of film found in the attic lead Flavia on an investigation involving Winston Churchill and a Gipsy Moth airplane.

Bradley has such a remarkable voice. You are completely absorbed in the story from the very first page, begins with a twist, and then we are met with one surprise after another.

Flavia is such a wonderful character, and so alive we can sense her emotions. She has the brilliance of a prodigy, the naiveté of a teen, and an insecurity which gives her the overwhelming need to know she’s as loved as anyone else in her family. Some readers find her rather terrifying. However, one could interrupt Flavia as a character who has always felt outside her family. Rather than letting this overwhelm her, she uses her strength and her brilliance to prove her worthiness to herself and to others. In this, she becomes a particularly good role model to young readers.

In Undine, her cousin, Flavia has an intellectual challenger. Dogger, a shell-shocked war veteran seems to be the one person who understands Flavia. In this book, more of his background, as well as his relationship to Flavia’s father, is revealed.

All the scientific and technical information is fascinating. It doesn’t slow the story at all. Instead, it provides the reader with fascinating bits of information.

“The Dead In Their Vaulted Arches” is a wonderful book in an absolutely delightful series. Hopefully, Flavia will take a long time growing up so that we have her adventures for many more years to come.

THE DEAD IN THEIR VAULTED ARCHES (Ama. Sleuth-Flavia de Luce-England-Cont) – VG+
Bradley, Alan – 6th in series
Delacorte Press, 2013

I've really enjoyed this series and i know Flavia can't stay 11 for ever, but the author seemed to be in a great hurry to finish it off - maybe he has another ready to go? If so he will find it a hard task to find a heroine as appealing!

Brilliant ending to a fine series (If ending it was - I hope actually to read more of Flavia's exploits as she moves abroad??) I was hooked from the first book and have mentioned them to everyone (more than once - I'm told:) Thank you Alan Bradley for a real treat and a wonderful protagonist in Flavia de Luce.

Loved the earlier books in this series. Well written, good story lines and if you can't accept the odd 'Americanism' then you need to lighten up a bit.
This one was SLIGHTLY less enjoyable than the others but still looking forward to the next instalment.

Another brilliantly written Flavia mystery and the story of the De Luce family continues to unfold in ever surprising ways. Love it!