Flavia de Luce, the twelve-year-old chemist and amateur detective is eager to turn professional. She and her father’s valet, Dogger, have founded a detective agency, Arthur Dogger & Associates, and unexpectedly cut into their first case during the revelry at her sister Ophelia’s wedding reception.
After an eventful ceremony with a missing best man and spontaneous ventriloquist act, spirits are high as Feely and her new husband head for the towering and beautifully iced wedding cake. But as Feely slices into the first piece, a scream rings out – the bridal cake contains a severed human finger.
Delighted, Flavia wraps the finger in a napkin and whisks it away to her chemical laboratory. By studying the embalmed skin, the indentation of a ring, and the slope of the fingernail, she’ll not only be able to determine the identity of the victim – but also point a finger at a killer.
After an eventful ceremony with a missing best man and spontaneous ventriloquist act, spirits are high as Feely and her new husband head for the towering and beautifully iced wedding cake. But as Feely slices into the first piece, a scream rings out – the bridal cake contains a severed human finger.
Delighted, Flavia wraps the finger in a napkin and whisks it away to her chemical laboratory. By studying the embalmed skin, the indentation of a ring, and the slope of the fingernail, she’ll not only be able to determine the identity of the victim – but also point a finger at a killer.
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Reviews
The 1950s frame is aptly set with a wealth of period details, including the quaint village of Bishop's Lacey, with its vicarage and altar guild, and Flavia's old-fashioned bicycle named Gladys. Despite the novel's patently improbable plot, Flavia's over-the-top use of alliteration and proudly precocious, sesquipedalian vocabulary, along with the thoroughly endearing cast of characters, make this series' tenth installment a laugh-out-loud winner.
[This] series of books have proved incredibly popular and have gained Alan legions of fans all over the world.
Excellent.... Bradley, who has few peers at combining fair-play clueing with humor and has fun mocking genre conventions, shows no sign of running out of ideas.
An enjoyable romp across the country, as the charming duo unearth sinister secrets in their local community that results in a very satisfying conclusion.
