Speaking from Among the Bones

A Flavia de Luce Novel

By: Alan Bradley

Narrated by: Jayne Entwistle

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY NPR • NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

From award-winning author Alan Bradley comes the next cozy British mystery starring intrepid young sleuth Flavia de Luce, hailed by USA Today as “one of the most remarkable creations in recent literature.”

Eleven-year-old amateur detective and ardent chemist Flavia de Luce is used to digging up clues, whether they’re found among the potions in her laboratory or between the pages of her insufferable sisters’ diaries. What she is not accustomed to is digging up bodies. Upon the five-hundredth anniversary of St. Tancred’s death, the English hamlet of Bishop’s Lacey is busily preparing to open its patron saint’s tomb. Nobody is more excited to peek inside the crypt than Flavia, yet what she finds will halt the proceedings dead in their tracks: the body of Mr. Collicutt, the church organist, his face grotesquely and inexplicably masked. Who held a vendetta against Mr. Collicutt, and why would they hide him in such a sacred resting place? The irrepressible Flavia decides to find out. And what she unearths will prove there’s never such thing as an open-and-shut case.

Acclaim for Speaking from Among the Bones

“[Alan] Bradley scores another success. . . . This series is a grown-up version of Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys and all those mysteries you fell in love with as a child.”—The San Diego Union-Tribune

“The precocious and irrepressible Flavia . . . continues to delight.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Fiendishly brilliant . . . Bradley has created an utterly charming cast of characters . . . as quirky as any British mystery fan could hope for.”—Bookreporter

“Delightful and entertaining.”—San Jose Mercury News

Acclaim for Alan Bradley’s beloved Flavia de Luce novels, winners of the Crime Writers’ Association Debut Dagger Award, Barry Award, Agatha Award, Macavity Award, Dilys Winn Award, and Arthur Ellis Award

“Every Flavia de Luce novel is a reason to celebrate.”—USA Today

“Delightful.”—The Boston Globe, on The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie

“Utterly beguiling.”—People (four stars), on The Weed That Strings the Hangman’s Bag

“Irresistibly appealing.”—The New York Times Book Review, on A Red Herring Without Mustard

Critic reviews

Acclaim for Speaking from Among the Bones

“[Alan] Bradley scores another success. . . . This series is a grown-up version of Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys and all those mysteries you fell in love with as a child.”—The San Diego Union-Tribune

“The precocious and irrepressible Flavia . . . continues to delight.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Fiendishly brilliant . . . Bradley has created an utterly charming cast of characters . . . as quirky as any British mystery fan could hope for.”—Bookreporter

“Delightful and entertaining.”—San Jose Mercury News

Acclaim for Alan Bradley’s Flavia de Luce novels

“Every Flavia de Luce novel is a reason to celebrate.”—USA Today

“Delightful.”—The Boston Globe, on The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie

“Utterly beguiling.”—People (four stars), on The Weed That Strings the Hangman’s Bag

“Irresistibly appealing.”—The New York Times Book Review, on A Red Herring Without Mustard

Great book! Compelling story and characters!

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Great plot with fun and colorful characters and a deliciously complicated story. The book is very well read and an overall fun find. I will look for the other books in the series and read them all!

Have you listened to any of Jayne Entwistle’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have never listened to this reader, but I will search out the other books in the series and other books she has read. She was terrific!

Can't wait for the next one!!!!

Any additional comments?

I was sooooo skeptical about the first Flavia de Luce - Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie. I got it on Sale and because it was recommended and the reviews were great. For the first one it took a couple tries to really get into it. I cannot remember why now, but it didn't take long and I was back to buy the rest and wait for more!

I'm still waiting, now for the 6th Flavia de Luce! I even went to Amazon to see if a paper version of the next in the series was available, but Audible kept up with the printed version - this is the latest! I'd rather Jane Enwistle reads it anyway - can't imagine anyone else narrating these books, she is perfect. Flavia is maturing. As any 11 year old would be. She did fabulous, again. There is a cliff hanger at the end of this book, not what you think the ending will be. I wasn't totally surprised by it, the content, as I think somehow Mr. Bradley put something in previous book(s) that very subtely puts the idea into the listeners (readers) mind. No spoiler alerts. As for the cast of characters. I enjoyed them, but for a while I was sort of wondering why we had to know anything about them, things didn't seem to connect - but Mr. Bradley and Flavia tie everything together for a satisfying conclusion! Well done and well read.

Flavia and Gladys are, as usual, all around the village and in the "know". There are more details to everyone's story that are shared with us, i.e. about the Vicar and his wife and others. There is a body, multiple "suspects", organ pipes, jewels, lessons in nature and poisons, etc.

Fabulous as the rest of the series

Would you listen to Speaking from Among the Bones again? Why?

Definitely, I love the narrator, I love Flavia, the stories are great.

What did you like best about this story?

I love Flavia and her interactions with everyone around her

What about Jayne Entwistle’s performance did you like?

She does the voices and accents perfectly, it takes away right into the story

Any additional comments?

I love this entire series.

excellent read

fabulous plot, wonderful characters, well read by Jane Entwhistle, the whole series is captivating. Flavia is a wonderful protagonist.

I hope Alan Bradley is hard at work on the sequel!

Any additional comments?

Flavia de Luce is simply irresistible and I think that this may be my favorite of the series. She is at her 11 year old scientific best solving a complex mystery of her church organist's murder. My one complaint about the book is that it ends with a cliff hanger that will have me waiting on the edge of my seat until Mr. Bradley can write the next book. I hope he's hard at work.