# What Time the Sexton's Spade Doth Rust: A Flavia de Luce Novel - Paperback

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by **Alan Bradley** (Author)

**NATIONAL BESTSELLER - Amateur sleuth Flavia de Luce, along with her pestilent younger cousin, investigates the murder of a former public hangman and uncovers a secret that brings the greatest shock of her life.**

**"I _love_ the Flavia de Luce novels! 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 heartbreaking."--Diana Gabaldon, #1 _New York Times_ bestselling author of the Outlander series**  
**  
A _WASHINGTON POST_ BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR**

Flavia de Luce has taken on the mentorship of her odious moon-faced cousin Undine, who has come to live at Buckshaw following the death of her mother. Undine's main talent, aside from cultivating disgusting habits, seems to be raising Flavia's hackles, although in her best moments she shows potential for trespassing, trickery, and other assorted mayhem.

When Major Greyleigh, a local recluse and former hangman, is found dead after a breakfast of poisonous mushrooms, suspicion falls on the de Luce family's longtime cook, Mrs. Mullet. After all, wasn't it she who'd picked the mushrooms, cooked the omelet, and served it to Greyleigh moments before his death? "I have to admit," says Flavia, an expert in the chemical nature of poisons, "that I'd been praying to God for a jolly good old-fashioned mushroom poisoning. Not that I wanted anyone to die, but why give a girl a gift such as mine without giving her the opportunity to use it?"

But Flavia knows the beloved Mrs. Mullet is innocent. Together with Dogger, estate gardener and partner-in-crime, and the obnoxious Undine, Flavia sets out to find the real killer and clear Mrs. Mullet's good name. Little does she know that following the case's twists and turns will lead her to a most surprising discovery--one with the power to upend her entire life.

### Author Biography

**Alan Bradley** is the _New York Times_ bestselling author of ten Flavia de Luce mystery novels, and the memoir _The Shoebox Bible_. His first Flavia de Luce novel, _The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie_, received the Crime Writers' Association Debut Dagger Award, the Dilys Award, the Arthur Ellis Award, the Agatha Award, the Macavity Award, and the Barry Award, and was nominated for the Anthony Award. His other Flavia de Luce novels are _The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag_, _A Red Herring Without Mustard_, _I Am Half-Sick of Shadows_, _Speaking from Among the Bones_, _The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches_, _As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust_, _Thrice the Brinded Cat Hath Mew'd_, _The Grave's a Fine and Private Place_, _The Golden Tresses of the Dead_, as well as the ebook short story "The Curious Case of the Copper Corpse." He lives and writes on an island in the middle of the Irish Sea.

**Number of Pages:** 320

**Dimensions:** 0.8 x 7.9 x 5.1 IN

**Publication Date:** August 12, 2025

## Details

- **Price:** 25.0 GBP
- **Vendor:** BooksCloud
- **Type:** Books
- **Tags:** Amateur Sleuth, Books, Fiction, Historical, Mystery & Detective, Price Written on Book, Thrillers

## Variants

| Variant | Price | Available |
|---------|-------|-----------|
| Default Title | 25.00 GBP | In stock |

## Images

- What Time the Sexton's Spade Doth Rust: A Flavia de Luce Novel

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> Updated: 2026-08-22