the dead in their vaulted arches by alan bradley

Also a nice counterpoint to Flavia’s growing up, the experiment reveals an almost desperate need to cling to childlike belief, because the potential payoff is so very high. We also get to see a classic Flavia de Luce science experiment, Flavia’s darkest and most disturbing attempt in the whole series, yet also the most fraught with emotional heft. She still has her delightfully childish moments, most often when dealing with unlikeable cousin and new character Undine, but overall, this is Flavia growing up, and kudos to Bradley for keeping it real and allowing us to see the character develop. Much more thoughtful than in previous instalments, Flavia appears very conscious of being twelve and on the verge of growing up. Vaulted Arches also introduces a more mature Flavia. We still get the classic Flavia elements - bickering older sisters, Dogger, Buckshaw - but the stakes are higher than ever before. There is espionage, matters of national importance, secret codes, and Flavia is caught up right in the thick of it. Bradley takes Flavia de Luce into Maisie Dobbs territory. There have always been hints in the background at a larger mystery involving the de Luce family (much of which I admit I chalked up to Flavia’s rich imagination) and Vaulted Arches finally tackles this mystery head on. Previous Flavia mysteries have had a cozy feel, Nancy Drew meets Miss Marple in a small village setting. All of this happens in the first chapter of the grandest Flavia de Luce adventure yet. Winston Churchill makes a cameo, there is a mysterious reference to pheasants, and Flavia returns to Buckshaw with her family. Waiting on the platform for her mother’s train, Flavia receives a hurried, whispered message from a mysterious man, who shortly after gets killed on the train tracks. The book begins with the return of Flavia’s long-lost mother Harriet, and what that means for the de Luce family. The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches takes the Flavia de Luce series in a completely different direction, and while the writing is still great and the mystery enjoyable, I’m not quite sure how I feel about this shift in the series.

The dead in their vaulted arches by alan bradley