Speaking from Among the Bones by Alan Bradley is the fifth of his series set in the 1950s where the main character is Flavia De Luce, a precocious eleven year old who is interested in chemistry, the classics, death and criminal investigation. I haven’t read any of the preceding stories so I was a little adrift with the family dynamics and why Flavia is allowed to have as much freedom as she has in this story, although I don’t think that that affected my enjoyment of the book.
The rural town in which Flavia lives is preparing to celebrate the 500th anniversary of their Patron Saint, by opening his tomb. Flavia is more than a little interested and so is there to discover that the body in the vault is that of the missing church organist. There then commences a mystery which involves a whole host of different characters, each involved in some way or other with the saint, missing diamonds and family secrets.
Flavia’s home world is precarious, with her family home being sold and financial ruin facing the family. Her sister is planning to marry and her father has brought home a new friend who is interested in plants and available to help Flavia.
Despite the child protagonist this is not a book written for children and so the author has to make Flavia’s narrative voice more adult than would be anticipated given her age. The 1950s world in which they live is, despite the financial difficulties, rather unreal and a bit of a fantasy stereotypical English world like that of Agatha Christie although, to be fair, this is the case with many historical mysteries.
I thought that the book was well done and I understand that this series is popular. It didn’t, however, really engage me and I think that was because the main character was a child. If I was given another of these books I would read it but I wouldn’t search them out.
Anne Is Reading 