Flavia is a force of nature. For readers who are unfamiliar with the series, she's a precocious, sometimes ghoulish, chemistry obsessed 12 year old (at this point in the series), who uses her prodigious intellect (and her brawny family retainer Dogger) to solve crimes.
The premise could so easily tip over into maudlin or saccharine cutesy. It balances on the knife edge throughout and Flavia (and Dogger) are -so- readable and engaging that any new addition to the series is a cause for jubilation. By the 10th book, a lot of series' quality control seems to go out the window, sadly. This series has maintained a high standard throughout and in my opinion, The Golden Tresses of the Dead turned out to be one of my favorites.
Since it's the latest book in a fairly large series, I would recommend some familiarity before reading this book. There's a lot of background info and character development which have gone before which won't be understood without picking up at least some of the previous installments. It's not an absolute requirement of course, the author's skillful enough to make each of these books a self contained read, but the experience will undoubtedly be enhanced.
Five stars. This is probably my current favorite mystery series, bar none.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
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