Sunny skies, sleep water...and a sinister corpse

Flavia is enjoying the summer, spending her days punting along the river with her reluctant family. Languishing in boredom, she drags a slack hand in the water, and catches her fingers in the open mouth of a drowned corpse.

Brought to shore, the dead man is found to be dressed in blue silk with ribbons at the knee, and wearing a single red ballet slipper.

Flavia needs to put her super-sleuthing skills to the test to investigate the murder of three gossips in the local church, and to keep her sisters out of danger. But what could possibly connect the son of an executed killer, a far too canny police constable, a travelling circus, and the publican's mysteriously talented wife?

Praise for the historical Flavia de Luce mysteries:
'The Flavia de Luce novels are now a cult favourite' Mail on Sunday

'A cross between Dodie Smith's I Capture The Castle and the Addams family...delightfully entertaining' Guardian

"Praise for the cosy crime Flavia de Luce Mysteries - perfect for fans of Agatha Christie and Midsomer Murders: The Flavia de Luce novels are now a cult favourite" - Mail on Sunday

"Certain to become a national treasure" - Daily Mail

"Delightfully entertaining" - Guardian

"Flavia is enchanting" - New York Times

"A breath of fresh air to the world of period-piece sleuthing" - Independent

"Flavia is mercilessly addictive" - Daily Telegraph

"A clever, witty and totally gripping read with lots of surprises" - Essentials

"At once precocious and endearing. Flavia is a marvellous character. Quirkily appealing, this is definitely a crime novel with a difference" - Choice

"It's like entering the lost world of the Mitford sisters where the girls are allowed to run completely wild" - Crime Squad

"Hilarious, eccentric and mischievous" - Deadly Pleasures

"Engaging, entertaining, bright and breezy; and above all, great fun!" - Good Book Guide

"Despite a climactic attempt on her life, Bradley's unquenchable heroine brings "the most complicated case I had ever come across" to a highly satisfying conclusion, with the promise of still brighter days ahead." - Kirkus

"As usual, Bradley makes his improbable series conceit work and relieves the plot's inherent darkness with clever humor." - Publishers Weekly