Numb Were the Beadsman's Fingers

A nun's corpse leads beloved amateur sleuth Flavia de Luce to uncover decades-old secrets in this charming novel in the New York Times bestselling series.

"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

In the cloisters of Golgotha House, a mere binocular's-squint away from Buckshaw, a nun lies dead. When her fellow Sisters prepare her corpse for burial, they discover that their companion has been living a shocking lie for years. The truth about her past, and the dark reasons she harbored for escaping it, are impossible to fathom.

Charged with cracking this mystery is the firm of Arthur Dogger & Associates (Discreet investigations)—consisting, of course, of the inimitable young Flavia de Luce herself and her faithful partner-in-detection Dogger.

Working under the eye of a glowering Mother Superior, Flavia and Dogger must uncover a decades-old crime and a secret that lies an ocean away—along with a trail of deception that lies closer to home.