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.