Numb Were the Beadsman’s Fingers
by Alan Bradley
PRAISE FOR ALAN BRADLEY'S FLAVIA DE LUCE SERIES
“To say I am overjoyed by the return of the magnificent Flavia is a massive understatement. It’s a great day when we have her back in our lives with a new, and riveting, crime to solve. Brava Flavia. Bravo Alan!” — LOUISE PENNY
"Cozy mystery fans will love this latest installment featuring Flavia de Luce, Alan Bradley's plucky and spirited protagonist. Delightful!" — NITA PROSE
"I love the Flavia de Luce novels! I identify, though I unfortunately didn't have an Uncle Tarquin and was forced to make do with a Christmas chemistry set from the Sears catalog. Flavia is the best female detective I've ever read, full of realism, self-confidence and emotion (in roughly equal parts), and her tales are hilarious, engaging and occasionally heart-breaking.” — DIANA GABALDON
“Flavia De Luce is in top form…Bradley gives his loyal readers a story that will more than satisfy their expectations while also inviting new readers to discover an endlessly entertaining amateur young sleuth who has much to teach her elders.” — Booklist, starred review
“Rejoice, fans of fiction’s youngest franchise detective: Flavia de Luce is back… Nobody could possibly unite intelligence work, mythological monsters, and village gossip as adroitly as Bradley’s heroine.” — Kirkus Reviews
“Enchanting… Flavia’s characteristic quirky humor and unorthodox thinking are on full display…This series is as fresh as ever.” — Publishers Weekly
“Watching Flavia grow emotionally is one of the keener pleasures of Mr. Bradley’s inimitable series. Her ego remains undimmed (“It is not always easy being blessed with a superior brain”), but she keeps getting better at working with (and for) others to ensure that justice is delivered.” — The Wall Street Journal
As the Sisters of Clemency prepare the body of Sister Garance for the grave, they make a shocking discovery. The elderly Sister is not a woman, she is a man, And not just a man, but a man with gunshot wounds!
To solve the mystery, Flavia and Dogger must make headway with the secretive order of nuns – all of whom have taken vows of silence. Dogger is familiar with the Sisters from their work in rehabilitating traumatized veterans, but how can Flavia convince him to share his experience? And what is she to make of the link the mysterious body seems to have with the Klondike Gold Rush?
Meanwhile, Undine, Flavia’s “little terror” of a cousin, has continued to live at the estate and gleefully inserts herself into the investigation.
To complicate things, Flavia’s sister Daphne and her alluring husband Dieter have just returned from their honeymoon on the Continent, and despite Flavia’s best efforts, misunderstandings between the two sisters spring up anew.
Against a backdrop of lively characters and a deepening conspiracy, Flavia must turn to unconventional sources to unravel her latest mystery.
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See also
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36,000 words
Manuscript available September 2025
RIGHTS SOLD
US: Bantam
Canada: Doubleday
UK: Orion
UK Audio: W. F. Howes
Germany: Blanvalet
Russia: AST
(Photo: Jeff Basset)
ABOUT ALAN BRADLEY
Alan Bradley is the internationally bestselling author of short stories, children’s stories, newspaper columns, and the memoir The Shoebox Bible. The Flavia de Luce mystery series has been sold in 39 territories. The books have been bestsellers in Canada, the USA, Germany, Russia, Brazil, China, and Holland, appearing on bestseller lists in The New York Times and Der Spiegel.
West Horsley House, Surrey, UK, standing in for Buckshaw, Flavia’s house, during filming.
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What Time the Sexton’s Spade Doth Rust at #7 on the Globe and Mail hardcover fiction bestseller list the first week out!
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