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Alan Bradley

Biography

Alan Bradley

Alan Bradley is the New York Times bestselling author of many short stories, children’s stories, newspaper columns 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 Winn 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 WEEK 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 and THE GOLDEN TRESSES OF THE DEAD, as well as the e-book short story “The Curious Case of the Copper Corpse.”

Alan Bradley

Books by Alan Bradley

by Alan Bradley - Fiction, Historical Fiction, Historical Mystery, Mystery

Although it is autumn in the small English town of Bishop’s Lacey, the chapel is decked with exotic flowers. Yes, Flavia de Luce’s sister, Ophelia, is at last getting hitched. An expert in the chemical nature of poisons, Flavia has solved many mysteries, sharpening her considerable detection skills to the point where she had little choice but to turn professional. So Flavia and dependable Dogger, estate gardener and sounding board extraordinaire, set up shop at the once-grand mansion of Buckshaw, eager to serve. Little does she know that their first case will be extremely close to home, beginning with an unwelcome discovery in Ophelia’s wedding cake: a human finger.

by Alan Bradley - Fiction, Historical Fiction, Historical Mystery, Mystery

In the wake of an unthinkable family tragedy, 12-year-old Flavia de Luce is struggling to fill her empty days. For a needed escape, Dogger, the loyal family servant, suggests a boating trip for Flavia and her two older sisters. As their punt drifts past the church where a notorious vicar had recently dispatched three of his female parishioners by spiking their communion wine with cyanide, Flavia, an expert chemist with a passion for poisons, is ecstatic. Suddenly something grazes her fingers as she dangles them in the water. She clamps down on the object, which turns out to be a human head, attached to a human body. If anything could take Flavia’s mind off sorrow, it is solving a murder --- although one that may lead the young sleuth to an early grave.

by Alan Bradley - Fiction, Historical Fiction, Historical Mystery, Mystery

Only too eager to run an errand for the vicar’s wife, 12-year-old Flavia de Luce hops on her trusty bicycle, Gladys, to deliver a message to a reclusive wood-carver. Finding the front door ajar, Flavia enters and stumbles upon the poor man’s body hanging upside down on the back of his bedroom door. The only living creature in the house is a feline that shows little interest in the disturbing scene. Curiosity may not kill this cat, but Flavia is energized at the prospect of a new investigation. However, what awaits Flavia will shake her to the very core.

by Alan Bradley - Fiction, Historical Fiction, Historical Mystery, Mystery

Shortly after 12-year-old Flavia de Luce arrives at Miss Bodycote’s Female Academy boarding school, a charred and mummified body tumbles out of a bedroom chimney. Now, while attending classes, making friends (and enemies), and assessing the school’s stern headmistress and faculty (one of whom is an acquitted murderess), Flavia is on the hunt for the victim’s identity and time of death, as well as suspects, motives and means.

by Alan Bradley - Fiction, Historical Fiction, Historical Mystery, Mystery

Eleven-year-old chemist and aspiring detective Flavia de Luce gathers with her family at the railway station, awaiting the return of her long-lost mother. Yet upon the train’s arrival, Flavia is approached by a stranger who whispers a cryptic message into her ear. Moments later he is dead, mysteriously pushed under the train by someone in the crowd. Who was this man, what did his words mean, and why were they intended for Flavia?

by Alan Bradley - Fiction, Historical Fiction, Historical Mystery, Mystery

When the tomb of St. Tancred is opened at a village church in Bishop's Lacey, its shocking contents lead to another case for Flavia de Luce. Greed, pride and murder result in old secrets coming to light --- along with a forgotten flower that hasn't been seen for half a thousand years.

by Alan Bradley - Fiction, Historical Fiction, Historical Mystery, Mystery

The precocious Flavia de Luce must solve a murder that took place while the entire village gathered to see a movie starring the famed Phyllis Wyvern being filmed at the de Luces’ decaying English estate.

by Alan Bradley - Fiction, Mystery

Eleven-year-old Flavia de Luce has her fortune told by a soothsayer, only to discover her later, bludgeoned almost to death. The soothsayer may have abducted a local child years ago. Could the two crimes be connected?

by Alan Bradley - Fiction, Mystery

It is the summer of 1950 --- and a series of inexplicable events has struck Buckshaw, the decaying English mansion that 11-year-old Flavia de Luce's family calls home. A dead bird is found on the doorstep, a postage stamp bizarrely pinned to its beak. Hours later, Flavia finds a man lying in the cucumber patch and watches him as he takes his dying breath. For Flavia, an aspiring chemist with a passion for poison, life begins in earnest when murder comes to Buckshaw.