Speaking from Among the Bones: A Flavia de Luce Novel

I only wish Flavia was real and I was 11 again so that we could be best friends. She is one of the most awesome characters I've ever come across and, hands, down, my favorite. I love every book in this series and this one more so: Flavia matures and opens up a little bit and that development is very satisfying; a twist happens that I've suspected since the second book (finally!); maybe it's just me, but it seems as if the discussion in chemistry is somewhat less so the book feels like it moves faster. I love this whole series. As an avid mystery/murder reader, I hate the all-too-predictable endings. Alan Bradley always has me wondering which direction he will be going in and he never gives the reader what they want just because it feels right. Sometimes he does, sometimes he doesn't. A very realistic approach to Flavia's microscopic dissection of life. And while I love all of the science and chemistry discussions, since I read late at night, I will often fall asleep during those sections. This book felt like it spent less time during those parts. I always love the cultural icon references or discussions and this one was no exception. I also really enjoyed the discussion of organ anatomy and pipes. Having played the organ before, but never an old one, I am itchy to tour somewhere where I can get my eyes on a really old, historic organ. The ambience of the books always has me hooked. And now I will be biting my fingernails until the next one comes out. aaaargh!

Flavia de Luce is so weirdly wonderful I can’t stop reading her story! Alan Bradley has the most bizarre imagination! Yikes!!!

The latest book in the Flavia de Luce mysteries continues the adventures of Flavia, a precocious 12 year old who lives with her Father and two very annoying older sisters in a decaying mansion set in a very picturesque English village circa 1950. All the ingredients of the typical British mystery are present: village people of varying eccentricity, the vicar, the doctor, the constable. The very rural setting adds a touch of feeling isolated from the world. Flavia is a budding genius in chemistry and has a laboratory "inherited" from her uncle Tarquin. Her passion is poisons. No, she's not the murderer, but she always manages to decipher and outsmart the police when odd deaths happen in Bishop's Lacey. Now, there's a name for a village! The books don't have to be read in order, but it is helpful to be acquainted with the characters, especially Flavia's family. In this particular book the church organist is found in the crypt of St. Tancred's church. Murdered, of course. There is a delicious side story of the opening of the saint's tomb and the discovery of a very strange person kept hidden away from the public by his domineering father. Not to mention a diamond of great value. As if that we're not enough, the book ends with an amazing announcement. I can't wait for the next one. However, you might find the chemistry lingo and experiments a bit obscure and daunting. I never liked chemistry class, so I might be a little biased about the fact that 12 year old Flavia is such a whiz at it.

Wow. Just wow. Flavia and I may have had a little spat after her last case--a closed-room style Christmas mystery ( I Am Half-Sick of Shadows (Flavia de Luce Mystery, Book 4) that wasn't as rich and layered as her other adventures--but we have totally made up now. It's rare that I don't want a book to end. Usually I'm peeking at my towering to-read stack out of the corner of my eye as the pages in my current read start feeling thing. But I kind of want to re-read this one immediately. So much happens. Every scene is dripping with detail, and all the characters are so rich and complicated. Flavia's relationship with her sisters is starting to change and we learn a little about long-term characters like the vicar and Mad Meg. Plus, this novel introduces an intriguing new character, Adam Sowersby, who studies ancient plants and has a few secrets of his own. The mystery is always the weakest parts of these novels. While I would like to say "this is no exception," that's too harsh of a criticism. This novel is so brilliantly structured and lush with details that even if I had spotted whodunnit on the first page (which I didn't) I wouldn't have cared. In fact, the mystery is convoluted in a good way, and the only reason I may have been disappointed by it is because the novel ends shortly after it is solved. If you're a Flavia fan, you cannot miss this one. There is so much character development, and so many exciting revelations, that it makes me excited (although a little bit anxious) to see what happens to her next.

I've read the first half of the books in the Flavia de Luce series. All of them are very good, in multiple ways, but Speaking from Among the Bones is one of the best. The more I read in the series, the more I realize what importance the author has given to the story of Flavia and her family, in addition to the mystery in each book. This book had one of the most surprising and educational mysteries, from beginning to end, and what was happening with her family made my jaw drop at the end. I'd advise anyone to read the whole series, preferably in order, and not just pick and choose among them. I have recently been rereading Agatha Christie's Miss Marple mysteries, which I like, but I think Alan Bradley's writing in this series is quite superior to Christie's. The portrayals are gemlike, but still relate to ordinary human life.

Shock! You’re left in shock at the very last sentence of the book! But I digress... I really appreciated the signs in this novel indicating that Flavia, our 12 year old heroine, is growing up. There are a number of very tender moments, when the three sisters, Flavia, Daffy (Daphne) and Feely (Ophelia), are positively civil with each other. There’s hope that they may continue to turn to each other, with understanding, love, and support to help ease their crushing emotional burdens they bear, caused by the loss of their mother some 10 years earlier, and the precarious financial disaster that looms heavily over their father and the family Victorian estate at Buckshaw. Flavia is in perfect form as she dashes around the quaint rural village of Bishop’s Lacey, on her bicycle, Gladys, anxious to take part in the exhumation of the local patron saint, St Tancred, buried these 500 years in the crypt at the local Church of England parish, St Tancred’s. But before they can open the tomb, the church organist’s body is found atop the crypt, face adorned with a ruffled cloth and wearing a gas mask. Flavia is ecstatic about this latest opportunity to match her wits and extraordinary competence in chemistry against the mysterious riddles she unearths in the church and adjoining cemetery. Of course it would help if she can keep from scaring Cynthia Richardson, the Vicar’s wife, to death, or over-testing Police Inspector Hewitt's patience, or worst of all, becoming a murder victim herself. But undaunted, she sets about in her usual Flavia wit, spunk, and dogged persistence, to solve this latest mystery, gain some understanding of her father and sisters, and possibly save Buckshaw from financial ruin. This is my favorite of the Flavia de Luce novels so far, however I might advise someone new to this series by Alan Bradley, to start with one of the earlier volumes in the set first, so that a clearer understanding of the characters and circumstances can prepare them for the power of this latest book. In fact, if you will read them from the very first story, the more powerfully will the last sentence of this book hit home. It’s has been a while since I have felt this much eagerness to read the next novel in a series, but oh how wonderful is the anticipation! And for the real book lover, I strongly advise you to NOT look ahead and peek at that last sentence. It would only reduce your own enjoyment and satisfaction in coming to those shocking words in their proper place and time. The skill of a very competent author has put them where they will have the best effect, and like life, when things come to us at the proper time, in the proper place, and after the proper preparation, they can be savored with the fullest joy and appreciation. Enjoy!

Had unabridged audio version. Initially, the accent of the reader made it difficult for this old listener. But once I started listening attentively, it was great. No it is not a slasher and fairly bloodless. But ms De Luce is a gem and the reader captures her character beautifully. Well written, with the only criticism being that at times we are left hanging for a full chaptr before a point is brought to closure. Addtionally not all items tied up. This is mixed, as you want to hear the next book....now! Note: I listened to the first audio book in the series after this, and it is even better. Plan on listening to all of them. Second note: my wifte and I (grandparents) loved it, and I know my eleven year old graddaughter would lo ve it as well. Great for any bright precotious preteen/teen. And that is a perfect descriptor for our "princess."

Flavia, 11 years old, and smarter, better educated, and more informed about almost everything than all the adults in Bishops Lacey, even than Sherlock Holmes would be were he there too. It is pretty unlikely, isn't it. One wonders why she never goes to school. She never has friends her age. She is partially orphaned in a very dysfunctional and unloving family, and yet, she thrives. Her only confidante is a shell shocked, former prisoner of war, named Dogger. It is pretty unlikely, isn't it that she'd be the heroine. And in every Flavia de Luce novel she is frequently the one who finds the body, and definitely the one who solves the mystery of the death. It is pretty unlikely isn't it. And just how many murder/mysterious deaths can occur during an 11 year old's life in one small English shire before she turns 12? And could she really, really be the chemist she is portrayed to be? Unlikely. This novel is particularly weird because everything occurs in a Church's graveyard or crypt anyway. And even weirder is that there are two possible murderers, or at least they think themselves to be. And only Flavia can explain it all to the police inspector Hewett. Pretty unlikely, isn't it. And yet, as unlikely as this heroine, and the repetitive mysterious death plot in every novel is, this series is really fun reading. It speaks to Bradley's good writing, doesn't it.

Probablement le meilleur livre de la série, "gothique" à souhait : intrigue centrée autour de l'église et de son cimetière, de catacombes et de souterrains reliant des tombes, exhumation d'ossements, maladie dégénérative et saturnisme, chasse au trésor et amours trahies, sans parler de la tension grandissante liée à la perte toujours plus imminente de la propriété familiale et les révélations sur les personnages récurrents! Probably the best of the series, and the most "Goth" styled : the plot develops around the local church and graveyard, it is packed with tombs, underground mazes, bones & the ancient funk of corpses, plumbism and freaks, treasure hunt and betrayed love! Besides, The tension is cranking up again as Buckshaw, the family mansion is on the verge of getting sold and the book is also plenty of revelations about the regular characters of the series. A must-read!

“I wanted to cry. I also wanted to go to my laboratory and prepare an enormous batch of nitrogen triiodide with which to blow up, in a spectacular mushroom cloud of purple vapor, the world and everyone in it.” Flavia Alan Bradley has done it again. I was not expecting this one to turn out this good because never before has a mystery series kept me this hooked. Flavia is her usual precocious self; slipping out in the middle of the night, planning to poison her sisters and other people, casually lying here and there. It is a great pleasure to read about Bishop Lacey and it's inhabitants again. Upon the five-hundredth anniversary of St. Tancred’s death, the English hamlet of Bishop’s Lacey is busily preparing to open its patron saint’s tomb.Everybody is excited about it and Flavia especially (the dead fascinate her). But the plans go a little awry when a murder takes place, and our amateur sleuth is at it, this time with a little competition. The Flavia series is a gem, each book delving deep into the life of people at Buckshaw. I highly recommend it.

Die Flavia-de-Luce-Serie ist seit Harry Potter die vergnüglichste Lektüre für Leser ohne Altersbeschränkung. Das gilt auch für den mittlerweile fünften Band der Reihe. Die Zutaten stimmten von Anfang an: eine ungewöhnliche elfjährige Detektivin mit einer Leidenschaft für Chemie, insbesondere für Gifte, ihre biestigen großen Schwestern, ihr aller Zuhause, ein verfallener Landsitz, ein melancholischer, chronisch klammer Vater, eine verschollene Mutter, ein typisch englisches Dorf Anfang der 1950er Jahre voller skurriler Bewohner. Dieses Mal steht die Ausgrabung des Dorfpatrons St. Tancred an und natürlich tauchen bei der Exhumierung nicht nur dessen 500 Jahre alte Gebeine auf. Bradley gibt in den fünf Bänden nach und nach immer mehr Mosaiksteine der Familiengeschichte und –geheimnisse der de Luces preis. Die Frage ist sicher berechtigt, wie weit er dieses Spiel treiben kann, bevor es langweilig wird. Noch jedoch ist es spannend und Band 5 endet gar mit einem atemberaubenden Cliffhanger. Bradley zeichnet seine Charaktere mit soviel Witz und Liebe, die Geschichten sind gleichzeitig so charmant, packend und mit interessanten Wissensdetails gespickt, nicht nur was Chemie angeht, dass die Bücher für Jugendliche wie Erwachsene gleichermaßen ein Riesenspaß sind. Und das ganz ohne Zauberei!

Great fun as theses novels always are . Great local characters abound and even Feely seemed human for once . The next novel promises to be quite momentous for the fortunes of the De Luce household . can't say why without giving away the last lines of the book.

"Speaking from Among the Bones" is Alan Bradley's fifth Flavia de Luce novel, and it is, as ever, delightful. The 500th anniversary of the death of Tancred, the local saint, is fast approaching, and the parish and some archeologists are planning to exhume the body in honour of that event. Someone, however, doesn't want the saint's bones to be disturbed, and that person is willing to go to great lengths - even murder - to prevent its occurrence. Meanwhile, it appears that Flavia's ancestral home, Buckshaw, is going to have to be sold, and where will the family go then? Not to mention the fact that older sisters Feely and Daffy are acting rather oddly lately, which mystifies our sleuth. Yes, Flavia has more than enough detective work to carry out this time around! .... If you haven't yet met Flavia de Luce, there is no time like the present. Did I mention that she's 11 years old, and the stories take place in the early 1950s, in the English countryside? Flavia's real passion is chemistry, and there's nothing she likes more than whipping up poisons in her well-appointed laboratory, except when she likes being a detective more. She's smart, bold, irrepressible and utterly adorable, and every new entry into this series is a reason to celebrate. It's best, of course, if you start at the beginning of the series ("The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie"), but I suspect that if you start with this one, you'll simply immediately go back to read the others; very highly recommended!