Enjoy!
The Golden Tresses of the Dead by Alan Bradley, narrated by
Jayne Entwhistle
#10 Flavia de Luce mystery
Historical Mystery
Publisher: Random
House Audio
Published: 1.22.19
ISBN: 0449807754
Rating: 5
Narrator: 5
Time: 9 hours
Format: CD
Source: Random House
Audio
ADD TO: GOODREADS
Blurb:
A finger in a wedding cake is only the beginning in this
deliciously shocking mystery featuring Flavia de Luce, "the world's
greatest adolescent British chemist/busybody/sleuth" (The Seattle Times).
Flavia de Luce, the twelve-year-old chemist and amateur detective "with better than an average brain," 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.
Flavia de Luce, the twelve-year-old chemist and amateur detective "with better than an average brain," 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.
Sophia Rose's Review:
Flavia's sister, Ophelia, is getting married and not even a
macabre incident gets in the way. Flavia
is more interested in this incident than caring about her sister's marrying and
moving on. Then, the detective agency
she and Dogger, her father's former valet, open has their first customer. But, it isn't long when a case to find
missing letters turns into a murder investigation.
I have been meaning to try this series for a long time. And, in retrospect, jumping in at book ten
was not a great idea, but luckily, I did just fine. I can see how this series progressed on the
personal story front over the course of the series so I definitely will be
going back.
Now, as to The Golden Tresses of the Dead, I had a great
time getting to know Flavia the twelve year old wonder at poisons, chemistry,
and solving crime, Dogger whose dark past and sharp mind make him a stalwart
aid to Flavia, and the rest of the regular cast around Buckshaw the de Luce
house and the nearby village. Flavia and
Dogger are engaging characters and Flavia's wit and cleverness are tempered
with humor and joie de vivre because she enjoys detecting and doing her
chemical analysis. She has lost both
parents since her father's death not long before, but it was not like she was
ever close to him or the rest of her eccentric family. Dogger respects her as a partner and he is an
adult that she can also respect and feel a connection with and look after in
her own way because of his PTSD from a wartime POW situation he endured. It's tough on her being more intelligent that
almost everyone around her. Her bookworm
sister still remaining at home can give her a run for her money, but she
prefers hanging out in the library and writing her memoirs. None of the de Luce sisters are affectionate
or close. I saw shadows of Holmes and
Mycroft in that dynamic which I loved.
I loved the English country setting and the modern
historical time period of the twentieth century for this one. The added element of a few players having
just come back from equatorial Africa having met Albert Sweitzer as
missionaries that the vicar's wife asks Flavia to put up at Buckshaw, a group
of cricket playing school lads staying at the vicarage one of which forms a
connection with Flavia, along with a few other colorful characters into quack
medicine lent an interesting dynamic.
The mystery was not an easy one with a few twists and turns
and plenty of suspects. The motive was
obscure as were several clues until they were dug up in the latter half of the
book so my accurate guess was really just that- a guess based on very little
fact.
This was my first occasion to enjoy the narrative work of
Jayne Entwhistle, but she was sensational voicing Flavia's young teen girl
voice, other young folks including boys, several other characters, and even a
German accent in the mix. She caught
onto Flavia's excitement and even her melancholy with good timing and
emotion. I hope she narrated the whole
series so I can catch more of her work as Flavia.
All in all, this was fabulous and I can't believe I waited
so long to try this series. Flavia is
young, but this is not a YA. Fans of
historical mysteries are the target group.
My thanks to Random House Audio for the opportunity to
listen to this book in exchange for an honest review.
Author Bio:
With an education
in electronic engineering, Alan worked at numerous radio and television
stations in Ontario, and at Ryerson Polytechnical Institute (now Ryerson
University) in Toronto, before becoming Director of Television Engineering in
the media centre at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, where he remained
for 25 years before taking early retirement to write in 1994.
He became the first President of the Saskatoon Writers, and a founding member of the Saskatchewan Writers Guild. His children's stories were published in The Canadian Children's Annual, and his short story, Meet Miss Mullen, was the first recipient of the Saskatchewan Writers Guild Award for Children's Literature.
For a number of years, he regularly taught Script Writing and Television Production courses at the University of Saskatchewan (Extension Division) at both beginner and advanced levels.
His fiction has been published in literary journals and he has given many public readings in schools and galleries. His short stories have been broadcast by CBC Radio.
He was a founding member of The Casebook of Saskatoon, a society devoted to the study of Sherlock Holmes and Sherlockian writings. Here, he met the late Dr. William A.S. Sarjeant, with whom he collaborated on their classic book, Ms Holmes of Baker Street. This work put forth the startling theory that the Great Detective was a woman, and was greeted upon publication with what has been described as "a firestorm of controversy".
The release of Ms. Holmes resulted in national media coverage, with the authors embarking upon an extensive series of interviews, radio and television appearances, and a public debate at Toronto's Harbourfront. His lifestyle and humorous pieces have appeared in The Globe and Mail and The National Post.
His book The Shoebox Bible (McClelland and Stewart, 2006) has been compared with Tuesdays With Morrie and Mr. God, This is Anna.
In July of 2007 he won the Debut Dagger Award of the (British) Crimewriter's Association for his novel The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, the first of a series featuring eleven year old Flavia de Luce, which has since won the 2009 Agatha Award for Best First Novel,the 2010 Dilys Award,the Spotted Owl Award, and the 2010 Arthur Ellis Award for Best First Novel.
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie has also been nominated for the Macavity, the Barry, and the Arthur Awards.
Alan Bradley lives in Malta with his wife Shirley and two calculating cats.
He became the first President of the Saskatoon Writers, and a founding member of the Saskatchewan Writers Guild. His children's stories were published in The Canadian Children's Annual, and his short story, Meet Miss Mullen, was the first recipient of the Saskatchewan Writers Guild Award for Children's Literature.
For a number of years, he regularly taught Script Writing and Television Production courses at the University of Saskatchewan (Extension Division) at both beginner and advanced levels.
His fiction has been published in literary journals and he has given many public readings in schools and galleries. His short stories have been broadcast by CBC Radio.
He was a founding member of The Casebook of Saskatoon, a society devoted to the study of Sherlock Holmes and Sherlockian writings. Here, he met the late Dr. William A.S. Sarjeant, with whom he collaborated on their classic book, Ms Holmes of Baker Street. This work put forth the startling theory that the Great Detective was a woman, and was greeted upon publication with what has been described as "a firestorm of controversy".
The release of Ms. Holmes resulted in national media coverage, with the authors embarking upon an extensive series of interviews, radio and television appearances, and a public debate at Toronto's Harbourfront. His lifestyle and humorous pieces have appeared in The Globe and Mail and The National Post.
His book The Shoebox Bible (McClelland and Stewart, 2006) has been compared with Tuesdays With Morrie and Mr. God, This is Anna.
In July of 2007 he won the Debut Dagger Award of the (British) Crimewriter's Association for his novel The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, the first of a series featuring eleven year old Flavia de Luce, which has since won the 2009 Agatha Award for Best First Novel,the 2010 Dilys Award,the Spotted Owl Award, and the 2010 Arthur Ellis Award for Best First Novel.
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie has also been nominated for the Macavity, the Barry, and the Arthur Awards.
Alan Bradley lives in Malta with his wife Shirley and two calculating cats.
Narrator’s Bio:
Jayne was born in the North of England and
lived in a myriad of places (Vancouver, San Francisco, Tucson, Sequim, Seattle)
before landing in Los Angeles. She is an avid improviser who hitched her
space-work wagon to Patrick Bristow’s company, Improvatorium, where she
studied, taught, directed and performed improv.
She is an award-winning audiobook narrator best
known for her narration of the Flavia de Luce series by Alan Bradley. She also
received the 2015 Odyssey Honour Award for The Scandalous Sisterhood of
Prickwillow Place by Julie Berry and the 2016 Odyssey Award for, The War that
Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley.
When not inhaling books for work or pleasure,
Jayne works in film, television and commercials. The biggest star she has ever
worked with is Shaquille O’Neal. He is quite literally THE biggest star she has
ever worked with. Ever. He’s really big!
Sophia’s Bio:
Sophia is a quiet though curious gal who dabbles in cooking,
book reviewing, and gardening. Encouraged and supported by an incredible man
and loving family. A Northern Californian transplant to the Great Lakes Region
of the US. Lover of Jane Austen, Baseball, Cats, Scooby Doo, and Chocolate.
Sophia’s Social Media Links:
Sophia Rose I started this series wayyyy back when I was still moderating an online book club for B&N wow, why did I stop? Great review and thanks for putting it back on my radar!
ReplyDeleteThat's super!
DeleteI'm kicking myself for waiting this long to try the series. :) I'm waiting on the library list for book one.
I do love a good English setting! Wonderful review for this Sophia!
ReplyDeleteOh yes, I was definitely hooked. Hope you enjoy it if you get the chance. :)
DeleteYou do like to dive into series. I am glad this paid off.
ReplyDeleteI know.. it's terrible. I saw there was a waiting list at my library for most of the books in the series and I'm on it for the first book, but then this one came up for review so I grabbed it. LOL
DeleteAs you know, historical mysteries are the best mysteries :D
ReplyDeleteSo true! It was fun to get this one. I couldn't tell if it was the 30's or the 50's in the English countryside because I was on audio and didn't want to bother to go back and look. Either way, the history part is fun. :)
DeleteI enjoy Flavia's adventures very much and can't wait to read it!
ReplyDeleteIt was fab. You're in for a treat. :)
Delete