Book Review: As Chimney Sweepers Come To Dust

Author: Alan Bradley

Publication Date: January 6, 2015

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Series: Flavia de Luce # 7

Hard on the heels of the return of her mother’s body from the frozen reaches of the Himalayas, Flavia, for her indiscretions, is banished from her home at Buckshaw and shipped across the ocean to Miss Bodycote’s Female Academy in Toronto, her mother’s alma mater, there to be inducted into a mysterious organization known as the Nide.

No sooner does she arrive, however, than a body comes crashing down out of the chimney and into her room, setting off a series of investigations into mysterious disappearances of girls from the school.

“The universe has rolled over and let me rub its tummy.”

“A week away from home and my list of people to poison was already up to two.”

“I have seen numerous dead bodies in my lifetime, each more interesting than the last, and each more instructive. This one, if I was counting correctly, was number seven.”

“Who can say no to a personal matter? Even God is curious about such things, which is why He listens to our prayers.” 

Flavia de Luce is finally twelve years old and is leaving Buckshaw and being shipped off to Miss Bodycote’s Female Academy. Although Flavia is sad and troubled after leaving Buckshaw, she soon discovers that there may be a purpose for her after all at Miss Bodycote’s when a dead body falls out of the chimney in her room. Flavia quickly meets an interesting cast of new characters and learns some interesting things about the school and her mother’s experience there as a young girl. Many clues unfold and Flavia starts to narrow down her list of suspects and tries to get to the bottom of this heinous crime. I couldn’t ask for a better sleuth than Flavia! She continues to shock and amaze me.

I would recommend reading these books in order because I did not and there are things that I feel I should have known going into this seventh book, especially things about Flavia’s mom, Harriet. I am going back and reading the books in order, but could not resist reading this one now. I was very pleased with the mystery and loved that a few storylines were going on side by side. Flavia is one of the most well-written characters that I have read in a long time, especially since she is only twelve. I did miss Buckshaw, Flavia’s childhood home, in this story but Miss Bodycote’s Female Academy was a nice change of scenery and several new characters were added as well. If you are looking for a new series to pick up in 2015, this would be at the top of my list!

***A free copy of this book was provided to me by the publishers at Delacorte Press in exchange for my honest review***