From the Bookshelf of Reading the Detectives…

The Golden Tresses of the Dead (Flavia de Luce, #10)

Alan Bradley

Start date: August 15, 2023

Finish date: September 6, 2023

Discussion: Buddy reads

Why we're reading this: Another treat for our Flavia fans
[close] Another treat for our Flavia fans

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What Members Thought

Aug 17, 2022 David Bryant rated it it was amazing

Well, if this has been the last of the Flavia de Luce stories, this was a suitable and (mostly) satisfying case on which to end the series. And if not, it certainly was a good introduction to the new team of Arthur W. Dogger & Associates.

Much has changed since the first Flavia de Luce story. I remember fondly the great pleasure I felt and the way I laughed and smiled as I read of the quirky, charming 11-year-old Flavia, roaring across the countryside on her faithful bicycle. Some of the early ch Well, if this has been the last of the Flavia de Luce stories, this was a suitable and (mostly) satisfying case on which to end the series. And if not, it certainly was a good introduction to the new team of Arthur W. Dogger & Associates.

Much has changed since the first Flavia de Luce story. I remember fondly the great pleasure I felt and the way I laughed and smiled as I read of the quirky, charming 11-year-old Flavia, roaring across the countryside on her faithful bicycle. Some of the early charm has gone and some of it has simply become familiar. But the de Luce family has changed greatly, and sadly in some ways. Flavia has several investigations under her belt, she has built herself quite a reputation with Inspector Hewitt, and she has made or strengthened her friendships with several of the important adults in the community. Perhaps most importantly and most remarkably, Dogger has emerged as a stronger and more overt ally of Flavia and has evolved into a major character in the investigations. Some of these changes have been painful to read about, especially those involving Flavia’s parents, but overall, the story arc has progressed in a meaningful, non-trivial way. Unlike some fictional characters who seem to remain the same from one book to the next, Flavia and her family are definitely moving along in their fictional lives.

This story was unusual in that it remains to be discovered who some of the guilty parties may be, and even perhaps what some of the crimes were. Flavia and Dodder present some of their information to Inspector Hewitt, carefully avoid revealing all they know (or suspect), and seem to admit that there will be case like this in which it has to be the police who bring the cases to a conclusion, not them. (Even Hercule Poirot has done the same!)

Sometimes I have complained at the lack of full resolution to detective mysteries, but I did not mind that in this instance. The tangled web and the potential involvement by genuinely unsavory criminals made it completely appropriate for Dogger and Flavia to bow out when they did. I would not have expected the character of an 11-year-old girl to tackle a serious crime syndicate, and likely would not have enjoyed reading about it if Bradley had tried to show her doing just that.

Which is not to say that this was the perfect story. I did find it somewhat confusing at times, and I completely lost the thread related to the “rats.” That could have been hasty reading on my part, but I do find that Bradley sometimes leaves a trail that has potholes and dead ends which prove to be annoying or confusing, whether intentional or not.

If there are more stories of Flavia and Dogger, I shall hope to read them. But if not, I say it has been a good run, very enjoyable, and especially welcome as a diversion in these past two years of the pandemic and other worldwide turmoil. ...more

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