The Curious Case of the Copper Corpse

by Alan Bradley

Part of Flavia de Luce, book 6.5

First published 2014

Flavia de Luce receives an urgent letter summoning her to investigate a murder at Anson House in Greyminster. The eleven-year-old chemistry enthusiast sees this as the perfect way to spend her Sunday. She pedals her bicycle Gladys through the rain to reach her father's former school, now wrapped in mist. A frightened boy guides her to the lavatory where she discovers what initially looks like a statue sitting in a bathtub. Upon closer inspection, Flavia realizes she's looking at a naked dead man whose body appears carved from copper, though his face remains normal. The young detective throws herself into the investigation with her usual enthusiasm for the macabre. As she begins to unravel the mystery, Flavia discovers that a case starting with such a bizarre metallic corpse promises increasingly strange developments ahead.

Genres: mystery, crime, detective, amateur-sleuth

Vibes: suspenseful, thought-provoking, whimsical

Tropes: amateur-sleuth, found-family

Setting: Greyminster, Anson House

Period: 20th-century

22 pages · Kindle Edition · Bantam

More by Alan Bradley

• A Study in Sherlock
• 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
• The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie

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