THE GOLDEN TRESSES OF THE
DEAD starts off with Flavia's sister Ophelia getting married. Flavia
is delighted when Ophelia discovers a severed human finger in the cake
and she rushes away to examine it...Whose finger is it to and why has it
been placed in the wedding cake?
I've only read three books in Alan Bradley's Flavia de Luce series, but I
find the books very enjoyable. Reading them from the start can be a
plus to understand the whole picture of all the characters and previous
events, but I did not find this to be too much of a problem with
understanding and enjoying the plot of this book.
I love reading these books because Flavia is such a wonderful girl.
She's definitely more grown up then how she acted in the very first
book in the series, but still loves to tinker in her laboratory. With her
father's valet, Flavia has started Arthur Dogger & Associates, a
detective agency. In THE GOLDEN
TRESSES OF THE DEAD, besides the severed finger, they receive
their first official case when a woman wants them to investigate a theft.
Overall, I enjoyed this book but found the mystery to be the weakest
part of the story. The case felt unsolved with too many loose threads,
and while Flavia and Dogger explained things to the police, there were
too many things I kept wondering about to find it a completely
satisfying ending. Still, I loved the storytelling of the investigation and
had fun meeting all of the characters again.
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.
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