What Time the Sextons Spade Doth Rus..., Alan Bradley
What Time the Sextons Spade Doth Rus..., Alan Bradley
List: $20.00 | Sale: $14.00
Club: $10.00

What Time the Sexton's Spade Doth Rust
A Flavia de Luce Novel

Author: Alan Bradley

Narrator: Jayne Entwistle

Unabridged: 9 hr 4 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 09/03/2024


Synopsis

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • Amateur sleuth Flavia de Luce, along with her pestilent younger cousin, investigates the murder of a former public hangman and uncovers a secret that brings the greatest shock of her life.

“I love the Flavia de Luce novels! Flavia is the best female detective I’ve ever read, full of realism, self-confidence, and emotion (in roughly equal parts), and her tales are hilarious, engaging, and occasionally heartbreaking.”—Diana Gabaldon, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Outlander series

A WASHINGTON POST BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR

Flavia de Luce has taken on the mentorship of her odious moon-faced cousin Undine, who has come to live at Buckshaw following the death of her mother. Undine’s main talent, aside from cultivating disgusting habits, seems to be raising Flavia’s hackles, although in her best moments she shows potential for trespassing, trickery, and other assorted mayhem.

When Major Greyleigh, a local recluse and former hangman, is found dead after a breakfast of poisonous mushrooms, suspicion falls on the de Luce family’s longtime cook, Mrs. Mullet. After all, wasn’t it she who’d picked the mushrooms, cooked the omelet, and served it to Greyleigh moments before his death? “I have to admit,” says Flavia, an expert in the chemical nature of poisons, “that I’d been praying to God for a jolly good old-fashioned mushroom poisoning. Not that I wanted anyone to die, but why give a girl a gift such as mine without giving her the opportunity to use it?”

But Flavia knows the beloved Mrs. Mullet is innocent. Together with Dogger, estate gardener and partner-in-crime, and the obnoxious Undine, Flavia sets out to find the real killer and clear Mrs. Mullet’s good name. Little does she know that following the case’s twists and turns will lead her to a most surprising discovery—one with the power to upend her entire life.

About The Author

Alan Bradley is the New York Times bestselling author of ten Flavia de Luce mystery novels, and the memoir The Shoebox Bible. His first Flavia de Luce novel, The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, received the Crime Writers' Association Debut Dagger Award, the Dilys Award, the Arthur Ellis Award, the Agatha Award, the Macavity Award, and the Barry Award, and was nominated for the Anthony Award. His other Flavia de Luce novels are The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag, A Red Herring Without Mustard, I Am Half-Sick of Shadows, Speaking from Among the Bones, The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches, As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust, Thrice the Brinded Cat Hath Mew'd, The Grave's a Fine and Private Place, The Golden Tresses of the Dead, as well as the ebook short story "The Curious Case of the Copper Corpse." He lives and writes on an island in the middle of the Irish Sea.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Belle on September 08, 2024

Strong feelings ahead. First, there has been 6 years between this and the last book. There are details of the big story that have dropped from my head. I really want to know why now another book? We should might maybe have let it rest. Second, Flavia is on the cusp of womanhood. Alan Bradley does no......more

Goodreads review by JanB on October 08, 2024

I feared the previous book would be the last but my favorite juvenile amateur detective is BACK! Flavia is delightfully fascinated by chemistry and death, and bicycles around Bishop’s Lacy in 1950’s England solving crimes. She’s smart, precocious, and witty. The mystery is fun & interesting in each......more

Goodreads review by Mark on September 20, 2024

Mrs. Mullet, the long time de Luce house keeper, is being questioned about a murder. Turns out, she’d been making breakfast for a gentleman in the village, Major Greyleigh. He’s been found dead on the floor of his cottage and the last thing he ate was the breakfast prepared by Mrs. Mullet. Flavia kn......more

Goodreads review by Jane on July 15, 2024

I enjoyed the early Flavia de Luce books. They are a twist on girl sleuths, with a very intelligent, somewhat alarming 11-year-old main character who loves chemistry and solving crimes. Set in England in the 1950s, she lives in a fading mansion with her distracted father and two sisters. However, th......more

Goodreads review by Holly in Bookland on April 14, 2024

*3.5 stars ✨ I love Flavia. I’m so glad there’s a new book, I was worried that this series had ended. Flavia is still grieving the death of her father & having a hate/love relationship with her cousin, Undine. Of course, another murder is enough to make her happy. Bishop’s Lacey is, again, seeing ano......more


Quotes

“I love the Flavia de Luce novels! I identify, though I unfortunately didn’t have an Uncle Tarquin and was forced to make do with a Christmas chemistry set from the Sears catalog. Flavia is the best female detective I’ve ever read, full of realism, self-confidence, and emotion (in roughly equal parts), and her tales are hilarious, engaging, and occasionally heartbreaking.”—Diana Gabaldon, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Outlander series

“To say I am overjoyed by the return of the magnificent Flavia is a massive understatement. It is a great day when we have her back in our lives with a new, and riveting, crime to solve. Brava, Flavia. Bravo, Alan!”—Louise Penny

“Cozy mystery fans will love this latest delightful installment featuring Flavia de Luce, Alan Bradley’s plucky and spirited protagonist.”—Nita Prose, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Maid

“Enchanting . . . Flavia’s characteristic quirky humor and unorthodox thinking are on full display. . . . This series is as fresh as ever.”Publishers Weekly
 
“Rejoice, fans of fiction’s youngest franchise detective: Flavia de Luce is back. . . . Nobody could possibly unite intelligence work, mythological monsters, and village gossip as adroitly as Bradley’s heroine.”—Kirkus Reviews