What Time the Sexton's Spade Doth Rust
A Flavia De Luce Novel
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- $24.99
Publisher Description
'Cosy mystery fans will love this latest delightful installment!' NITA PROSE, bestselling author of THE MAID
Flavia de Luce, along with her pestilent younger cousin, investigates the murder of a former public hangman and uncovers secrets that bring the greatest shock of her life.
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Poisonous mushrooms, pestilent cousins - and a most perplexing murder...
There's a new arrival at Buckshaw - Flavia de Luce's obnoxious cousin Undine. Flavia reluctantly takes on the mentorship of her fellow orphan, who in her best moments shows some potential for trespassing and trickery.
When Major Greyleigh, a former hangman, is found dead from a breakfast of poisonous mushrooms, suspicion falls on the de Luce family's longtime cook, Mrs. Mullet. After all, didn't she pick the mushrooms and serve them to Greyleigh moments before his death?
Flavia knows her beloved Mrs. Mullet is innocent. Together with Dogger, estate gardener and partner-in-crime, and the odious Undine, she sets out to find the real killer and clear Mrs. Mullet's good name.
But following the case's twists and turns will lead her to a most surprising discovery - one with the power to upend her entire life...
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PRAISE FOR THE HISTORICAL FLAVIA DE LUCE MYSTERIES:
'To say I am overjoyed by the return of the magnificent Flavia is a massive understatement. It's a great day when we have her back in our lives with a new, and riveting, crime to solve'
LOUISE PENNY, bestselling author of the ARMAND GAMACHE MYSTERIES
'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 heart-breaking'
DIANA GABALDON, New York Times bestselling author
'The Flavia de Luce novels are now a cult favourite'
MAIL ON SUNDAY
'A cross between Dodie Smith's I Capture The Castle and the Addams family... Delightfully entertaining'
GUARDIAN
'Flavia is mercilessly addictive'
DAILY TELEGRRAPH
'At once precocious and endearing, Flavia is a marvellous character. Quirkily appealing, this is definitely a crime novel with a difference'
CHOICE
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The enchanting 12th installment of Bradley's Flavia de Luce series (after The Gold Tresses of the Dead) finds the precocious adolescent sleuth attempting to prove her family cook innocent of murder. Eight years after WWII, England is still suffering privations that have led many—including the de Luces' trusted cook, Mrs. Mullet—to forage in the forest for food. When former hangman Major Greyleigh is found murdered, the local inspector turns his suspicions to Mullet, who fed Greyleigh an omelet made with foraged mushrooms moments before he died. Flavia, however, knows there must be some misunderstanding, and she rallies to Mullet's defense with the help of her gardener and her troublesome younger cousin, whose boorish personality is nearly offset by her willingness to help Flavia bend the rules when necessary. Flavia's investigation sees her teasing out information from the village postmistress, a scrapbooking neighbor, and the church gossip circle. She also tricks her way onto a U.S. Army base, where she confirms her family's involvement with a shadowy group of assassins and discovers a secret that may break her heart. Flavia's characteristic quirky humor and unorthodox thinking are on full display, and the ending finds her taking a well-earned step forward in her maturity. This series is as fresh as ever.
