The Sweetness At The Bottom Of The Pie

3.75 stars

11-year old Flavia de Luce loves chemistry and is very interested in poisons. When she discovers someone who has been murdered in her yard, she sets out to figure out what happened.

I listened to the audio and I loved the narrator. I also loved Flavia. I loved her character and the way "she" (or the author) described things. Despite all this, my mind did wander at times, so I did miss things, so I'm rating the book a 3.5, "good", with an extra .25 stars for the brilliant narrator, Jane Entwhistle.

This book was a really nice read. Flavia is one amazing kid. Her antics made me laugh and I could just picture her being a little brat to her sisters!!!. I enjoyed the easiness of the book.

The story wasn't badly written but I found that it lacked that punch that makes me want to pick up the book at any spare moment. I found it somewhat predictable and it really lacked the highs and lows that captivate my attention. Maybe geared more towards youth?

I absolutely loved this book, along with the two that have followed. Flavia is a charming character that keeps you intrigued throughout the entire book. I would recommend this to anyone, and have several times already.

The best book I've ever read... and I've read a lot of mysteries! The writing is sublime. Flavia is a wonderful character.

I enjoyed Bradley's writing and the main character, Flavia. The book was very cleverly written and witty. I did not however, love the book and I do not think I will read the sequel.

I loved this book. It was a selection in my book club last year and it was my favorite of all last year's choices. I can't wait to start on the sequel.

Let's go straight into it shall we? Flavia de Luce would like that.

Alan Bradley is a talented writer, there is no denying that. Not only is his language fluent and easy on the reader, he has a knack in transporting the reader to the "scene of the crime," the book's setting - that old English countryside of once-prestigious estates in the post-WWII world. It evoked a similar feeling and style, although a little darker and more mysterious than, of a recent British period drama series, Downton Abbey, that I watched in the fall of 2010. Quite a feat for a local author who had never been to England as he penned the book! Bradley must also have a wealth of information stored in his brain or done copious amount of research for the chemistry knowledge and other encyclopedic information that he includes in the plot.

Which brings me to our 11-year old mystery detective, Flavia. Her obsession with poison and over-precociousness sometimes is a bit too much. It surely made for an interesting character and at least Bradley did provide some context as to why Flavia is as smart as she is.

While I did enjoy the book, I don't feel the draw towards reading the second and the recently published third novel. Mystery lovers, however, should definitely give it a try.

Flavia de Luces is the most interesting eleven year old that I have met in quite some time. Not only is she fascinated by poisons, so even uses them on her unsuspecting sisters. Love that special lipstick she makes for her eldest sister.

Now Flavia is not the only intriguing person in her household. Her mother Harriet is missing and presumed dead for many years. Dogger, Arthur Wellesley Dogger, is currently the gardener, but has performed a number of roles in the manner over the years. He continues to suffer flashbacks to the war. I also find Mrs. Mullet the cook unusual. She puts up with all the oddities of the family and never comments. I hope to see more of her in a future book. Finally, there is her father. He has quite the wide and varied background which is very slowly and deliberately revealed to us, but only in the slimmest of details.

I thorough loved this book. Were I a young teen I would have re-read it a half dozen times by now. The characters are so real that I immediately wanted to love or hate them or totally ignore them as irrelevant to me. The setting is so well described that I could imagine myself pedalling down the lane alongside of Flavia.

I highly recommend this novel to all, regardless of age, who enjoy a good mystery. I am looking forward to The Weed that Strings the Hangman's Bag, the next adventure in this series.

This book reads like a young adult detective story. It reminded me of old Encyclopedia Brown books I read as a kid. It is fine if you enjoy this type of book, or are expecting it - I wasn't. I found it a chore to read.

When I read the back of this book in the bookstore I was excited. I am a chemistry buff and when I read that the main character was an aspiring eleven year old chemist named Flavia de Luce I just had to buy it.

The book takes place in the summer of 1950. Flavia finds a man lying in the cucumber patch and watches him die. Thus starts the mystery of who killed this man and why a dead bird with a postage stamp pinned on its beak was found on the doorstep of Flavia's home.

Flavia is the youngest of three girls in a family who has lost the matriarch of the home. A budding chemist who loves to torture her sisters, Flavia is smart and loves to roam and learn. Her father is into philately and is removed emotionally from the girls and seems quite unaware of their lives. When the father is arrested for murder, Flavia is determined to solve the mystery of the dead man from the cucumber patch.

I was expecting a lot from this book and unfortunately I was disappointed. Mysteries always seem to disappoint me due to lack of character development and so much emphasis on plot, but I thought this one might be different, but it was not. I was hoping for more chemistry and more attachment to characters; the book did not deliver either.

"The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie" by Alan Bradley should appeal to those who love mysteries without gore, violence or bad language. It is a squeaky clean book, which is a good thing. It contains enough chemistry and poisons to entertain those who just want a spattering of chemistry knowledge and it also provides a good dose of knowledge about philately.

Flavia de Luce, a little smartass curmudgeon, with a lightning quick mind, is like no other 11 year old girl. Her prestigious family lives in Buckshaw, the rambling ancestral estate of the de Luces. Her father either bolts himself in his study to pursue his philetist interests or in his aging Rolls Royce to grieve the long past death of his wife Harriet; her sister Daphne always has her head buried in Dickens or some other esoteric author; and her sister Ophelia spends her hours staring at her reflection and primping or absorbed in playing her piano. Flavia is left to her own devices, which would be to indulge in her obsessive interest in Chemistry in the laboratory she has claimed as her own at Buckshaw.

When Flavia stumbles upon a man dying in the early hours of the morning in Buckshaw's cucumber patch and with his last odorous exhale states "Vale", she determinedly sets out to investigate the manner of his death. Flavia is delicious in her pleasure of things of a gruesome nature. I often found myself chuckling at her over the top rudeness, diabolical thoughts and ornery nature. Flavia tries to be this strong, indomitable force, yet we are shown that at her heart she is still an 11 year old girl with a clutch of insecurities.

The novel is a complex formula in itself; layers and sidesteps and sequences all combined together to form a brilliant deduction. The quality of the writing is first rate, with vivid descriptions of a bygone era. The abundance of details in this unique series debut are a sheer delight. So many interesting topics are described in myopic detail that keep you enthralled with the story - philetology, chemistry, the art of conjuring, forensic science and investigations, and literature. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie is a brilliant effort that shines bright and true. Highly recommend.

I loved escaping into the world of Flavia de Luce. I found the book funny, sweet and original. Maybe I'll let my 14 year old read it.

Really enjoyed the setting and the writing. Loved the character, the way the story is told reminds me a bit of a Sherlock Holmes type of story. Looking forward to more of Flavia's adventures.

To say that Jane Entwhistle read this audiobook and did it justice would be a grave understatement - this book absolutely leapt to life for me in her amazing reading.

At its core, there is a mystery afoot in the life of Flavia, a young girl in a rambling estate in the UK of the 1950's, and though certainly the arrival of a corpse in the cucumber patch would be enough to send a weaker soul to faint, Flavia is not that soul.

Flavia is hands down my favorite character of 2009 to date; she has a strong mind, a true love of chemistry, and a special fondness for poisons. Her mind is a joy to step inside, and her realization that her father might go down for the murder of the man in the cucumber patch is enough to put her considerable gumption and knowledge to the task of proving him innocent.

Alan Bradley has spun a delightful and completely engrossing tale here, and I look forward to more.

This is an English mystery with Flavia de Luce as the investigator. It is the summer of 1950 and Flavia is eleven years old, an aspiring chemist with a passion for poison. A series of mysteries attract Flavia's attention: a dead bird with a postage stamp stuck on its beak found on the doormat, a mysterious late-night visitor argues with her father who is Colonel de Luce, behind closed doors, and in the early morning Flavia watches a red-headed stranger, lying in the cucumber patch, take his dying breath. The summer begins for Flavia at Buckshaw with a murder. Flavia is sure of one thing, her father is innocent.
This is the first novel by the author Alan Bradley which is a very delightful read. I can't wait to see what Alan Bradley has to offer us in the future in his books.

I had a problem with the illustration on the front cover. Snipes have absolutely straight bills. Perhaps a field guide for birds of Norway should have been consulted or perhaps this birder should cut the illustrator some slack.

When I found out that this book was only the first in a series I was thrilled. What a great new discovery! Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie is a quirky, charming story of a young girl who sets out to discover the truth behind the murder of a man found dying in the cucumber patch of her massive house's garden.

Flavia de Luce lives with her father and two sisters in the oversized Buckshaw - a house handed down from generation to generation in Flavia's mother's family. It comes complete with a science laboratory where Flavia can perfect her concoctions and try them out on her older sister, Ophelia. Despite her age (eleven), Flavia is smart, resilient and quick-witted. She's one of the most lovable protagonists I've met in a long time.

As Flavia investigates the circumstances around the body in the garden, she interacts with all manner of beings who don't see things quite as straight-fowardly as she would have them and thus the humour shines in this enchanting novel. From dealing with her annoying sisters, to out-witting the local police, Flavia navigates her way through the maze of the mystery with good humour and aplomb. Though, I would say there were bits here and there that needed belief-stretching, that doesn't detract from the story at all. I would recommend this novel to anyone who loves a cozy mystery from pre-teens to adults.

Reason for Reading: At first, the title grabbed me. Then I read the publisher's summary and was very excited to read this mystery.

Comments: Flavia is an 11-year-old girl who lives in a run-down ancestral home in a tiny village in England with her Father, two sisters and a few servants. Flavia isn't your ordinary 11yo, she has taken over an ancient chemistry studio in the house from a former ancestor and her whole world revolves around chemistry. Her speciality? Poisons. Early one morning Flavia stumbles upon a dead man lying in the cucumber patch and that is just the beginning of a series of events that Flvaia becomes involved in as she finds herself matching wits with the local Inspector who has her father under suspicion of the murder.

What an incredibly, deliciously, devilish mystery. This is like nothing I've read before. A pure joy to read. The characters were all entirely eccentric from the main protagonist down to the secondary and minor characters. The mystery is both what I would call a cozy and a Gothic mystery. It is a cozy in the sense that it is very Agatha Christie in presentation, lots of mental deduction going on and no gory details, plenty of suspects to choose from and each a nuisance in their own way. On the otherhand Bradley presents a very Gothic feel to his mystery with the old run down buildings and other old English settings, such as a school bell tower, Flavia's macabre interest in poison and the equally devilishly (though not life-threatening) pranks that she and her sisters play on each other. Characters appear suddenly at windows and loom out of the fog. It really is just splendidly atmospheric writing but completely cozy for those who like their mysteries clean and intelligent rather than soaked in blood.

I only had one small problem and I can't really say for sure whether it was the author or just myself. The novel's narrator is an 11-year-old girl and I don't think it was completely maintained throughout. I'm sure it is difficult to write an adult novel in a child's voice and it is not something that one reads everyday. At times I often forgot it was a child telling the story until a word or phrase would bring it back to my mind; I also often forgot the narrator was a girl until she mentioned wearing a dress or such. This was something that irked me a little bit, but otherwise I am full of recommendations for this book. I think a wide variety of mystery fans are going to enjoy this book and there are already two further volumes in the series planned for future release! I think Flavia de Luce may just become a future British TV series as she is just that compelling; I'd love to see her come to life on the screen and can't wait to read her next mystery!

My boss/manager has been mentioning this book to me (repeatedly) since it was released in February. So, when she went on vacation, I decided to surprise her by reading it.
Always listen to your boss; especially when she works in a book store.
Flavia is one of the most interesting, complex, real characters I have met in a long time. She is the driving force behind this book, and she is the reason for reading it (mystery was easy to solve, but kept me curious).
Flavia in an execptional 11 year old, with a mind for chemistry, and a dead body in her back yard. When the police inspector treats her like a child, Flavia sees it as a challenge and decides to solve the murder herself.
Excellent read.