Flavia de Luce sleuths an altercation at the altar

Though it is autumn in the small English town of Bishop’s Lacey, the chapel is decked with exotic flowers. Flavia de Luce’s sister Ophelia is 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.”

Twelve-year-old Flavia, an expert in poisons, has sharpened her considerable detection skills and turned professional. She and estate gardener Dogger set up shop at once-grand Buckshaw—not a simple endeavor with her odious cousin Undine constantly underfoot. Their first case hits close to home, beginning with the discovery of a human finger in Ophelia’s wedding cake.

Review Quotes

“The world’s greatest adolescent British chemist/busybody/sleuth.”—The Seattle Times

“A combination of Eloise and Sherlock Holmes.”—Boston Globe

Additional Book Details