�Every Flavia de Luce novel is a reason to celebrate.��USA Today ALAN BRADLEY, AUTHOR OF THE MOST AWARD-WINNING SERIES DEBUT OF ANY YEAR, RETURNS WITH ANOTHER IRRESISTIBLE FLAVIA DE LUCE NOVEL. �[Alan] Bradley has created one of the most original, charming, devilishly creative and hilarious detectives of any age or any time.��Bookreporter It�s Christmastime, and Flavia de Luce�an eleven-year-old sleuth with a passion for chemistry�is tucked away in her laboratory, whipping up a concoction to ensnare Saint Nick. But she is soon distracted when a film crew arrives at Buckshaw, the de Luces� decaying English estate, to shoot a movie starring the famed Phyllis Wyvern. Amid a raging blizzard, the entire village of Bishop�s Lacey gathers at Buckshaw to watch Wyvern perform, yet nobody is prepared for the evening�s shocking conclusion: a body found strangled to death with a length of film. But who among the assembled guests would stage such a chilling scene? As the storm worsens and the list of suspects grows, Flavia must ferret out a killer hidden in plain sight. �[Flavia is] the most intrepid and charming adolescent chemist/detective/busybody in all of rural, post�World War II England.��The Seattle Times �Quirky and delightful . . . Flavia is a classic literary character who manages to appeal to both young and old readers equally.��Wichita Falls Times Record News �Bradley�s plot twists and turns delightfully.��Fort Worth Star-Telegram NAMED ONE OF THE BEST MYSTERIES OF THE YEAR BY THE SEATTLE TIMES