The Dead in their Vaulted Arches, by Alan Bradley

 The Dead in their Vaulted Arches, by Alan Bradley

This is the latest (book 6) in the Flavia deLuce mysteries, and I'll tell you right now that I was VERY disappointed.  Flavia is a young British girl in the 1950s who loves chemistry and poisons, and has a knack for finding herself in the middle of mysteries (which she then solves).  This particular book wraps up a few ongoing family mysteries, but not in a satisfying manner.  The character of Flavia is wonderfully written- she is so appealing and endearing.  But the rest of this story, which felt like either the end of the series, or maybe just the end of the series as we know it, was weirdly contrived and everyone felt very out-of-character.