From the Bookshelf of Reading the Detectives

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie
by
Start date
June 1, 2020
Finish date
June 30, 2020
Discussion
Group reads
Why we're reading this
The first in this popular series won the poll for our June group read.

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Group Discussions About This Book

Showing 2 of 328 topics — 11,868 comments total
+ Group reads
* Nominations for November 2025 group read
By Judy · 18 posts · 21 views
last updated Sep 05, 2025 03:20PM
* Sept 25: Lonesome Road (#3 Miss Silver Mysteries) by Patricia Wentworth
By Susan · 13 posts · 11 views
last updated Sep 03, 2025 12:03PM
showing 6 of 6 topics    view all »
Other topics mentioning this book
This topic has been closed to new comments. What mysteries are you reading at the moment? Old thread
By Judy · 4475 posts · 483 views
last updated May 21, 2019 12:15PM
Recommendations please
By Ruth · 72 posts · 100 views
last updated Nov 16, 2017 01:13AM
Good cosy mystery recommendations?
By Judy · 30 posts · 47 views
last updated Mar 23, 2017 11:13PM
* Starting/joining in with buddy reads
By Judy · 1332 posts · 371 views
last updated 6 hours, 23 min ago
Kindle Deals etc up to August 2020
By Judy · 1128 posts · 176 views
last updated Aug 31, 2020 12:50PM
What mysteries are you reading at the moment? Old thread, 2019-2020
By Judy · 1516 posts · 212 views
last updated Oct 02, 2020 11:38PM

What Members Thought

Susan in NC
I LOVED this book When I first read it years ago - what a delicious heroine! Set in the post-WWII English countryside, this is the kind of adventure/mystery that always appealed to me, even as a kid - the "invisible" kid detective/hero/heroine who, through luck or circumstance, manages to escape a lot of adult supervision and spend all their time delving into a mystery or whatever their fascination happens to be (in Flavia's case, chemistry - poisons in particular!) When a dead body turns up in ...more
Bronwyn
I started out really enjoying this, and then it tapered off a bit. It was still enjoyable, and I'm still going to give the next one a go, but I'm not as enthralled as everyone else seems to be. Flavia started fairly believable, but got less so as it went on (I'm all for precocious children narrators, but...). The mystery lagged a bit as it went on, too. Still, a fun read and I did get a glimpse of what people like so much, I just found it wanting a bit. ...more
Jenn Estepp
it took me a little while to get into the story - the voice/tone wasn't immediate for me - but once i did i was totally hooked and thoroughly enjoyed the story of flavia and the strange circumstances that surround her. it's a very promising start to a quality, literary mystery series and i'm looking forward to hearing more from bradley. ...more
Louise Culmer
Jul 19, 2011 rated it liked it
An entertaining murder mystery set in 1950. Flavia de Luce, a precocious 11-year-old girl with a passion for chemistry, finds a man dying in the garden of her family home, and her father is suspected of having killed him. Flavia is convinced he is innocent, and sets out to prove it.

This book has some interesting characters and an ingenious plot. I didn't get any particular sense of a 50s atmosphere though, and I find it hard to believe that anyone in 1950 really refered to the telephone as 'the
...more
Ellen Librarian
Jun 11, 2010 rated it liked it
I found this a fun, easy read. I thought the mystery part was pretty stupid but I got quite a kick out of the 11 year-old sleuth, Flavia. Also, I loved the librarian. I'm a sucker for any book with a sympathetic librarian.:) I can't help but feel that she'll be a co-sleuth in future books. ...more
Lisa
May 11, 2009 rated it it was amazing
This is a fun book - 11 yr old Flavia de Luce is quite the heroine! And it's the first in a planned series! I can't wait for the next one! ...more
Laura Anne
Mar 20, 2010 rated it liked it
When I was 11 years-old --the age of heroine Flavia de Luce -- I lived in Agatha Christie books, and imagined myself an amateur sleuth. Flavia's adventure is my most outrageous imaginings with the precocious and intrepid meters turned up to eleven. Negatives: The mystery/puzzle plot wasn't the best; a bit too much repetition when going over the clues and conclusion. 3.5 stars

ETA: This a good introduction to Flavia, but the next few books in the series are excellent!
...more
 C
Jan 22, 2010 marked it as to-read
Shelves: owned, kindle
Wendy
Mar 25, 2010 rated it liked it
Shelves: 2011-reads, series
Lindy-Lane
Apr 20, 2010 marked it as to-read
Heather
Apr 28, 2010 rated it liked it  ·  review of another edition
Shelves: own
Andrea LoFiego
Aug 11, 2010 rated it really liked it
Becky
Sep 25, 2010 rated it really liked it
Judy
Oct 04, 2010 rated it really liked it  ·  review of another edition
Arabis
Apr 30, 2011 rated it really liked it
Vivien
Jun 04, 2011 marked it as to-read
Marianne
Jun 11, 2011 rated it really liked it
Mary Dagel
Oct 06, 2011 marked it as to-read
Diane
May 27, 2012 rated it liked it
Tracey
Sep 07, 2012 marked it as tbr
Toni
Jan 05, 2013 rated it it was amazing
KLS
Jul 08, 2013 added it
Shelves: mystery
Christine
Sep 09, 2014 rated it liked it
Shannon
Oct 01, 2014 marked it as to-read
Bryan
Dec 20, 2014 marked it as to-read
Bess
Jun 21, 2019 rated it really liked it
Shelves: read-in-2019
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