Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie - Alan Bradley - 4 Stars - Steeplechase - BWF

[Olivermagnus]

I am a huge fan of Flavia de Luce, a precocious eleven-year-old English chemistry buff, who has a passion for chemistry......and poison.

The story revolves around a dead man found in the de Luce's cucumber garden and a famous stamp, known as the Orange One Penny. It looks like the death might be connected to a dark event involving Flavia's father during his boarding school days. The widowed Colonel de Luce passes most of his time locked alone in his study, collecting stamps and listening to music.

Unfortunately the dead man had been seen arguing with Flavia's father. When Col. de Luce is arrested, Flavia decides the police aren't up the the job and she starts her own investigation, with the help of Dogger, the family gardener and a grounding influence in her life. She has determination, perseverance and the thought process of a young Sherlock Holmes. I absolutely loved her relationship with Inspector Hewitt.

Alan Bradley does a great job of bringing all the quirky characters alive. The story is set in rural England in the early 1950s. Flavia lives in a decaying mansion called Buckshaw with her older sisters, Ophelia and Daphne. Her mother was killed in a mountain climbing incident in a Tibet when Flavia was a baby.

I loved Flavia. The story is told from her perspective and some of the scenes will really make you laugh. Anyone who has brothers and sisters will love the sections where she takes revenge on her older sisters. Her elaborate vocabulary and obsession with all things chemistry make this a very witty mystery.

If you are in the mood for a gritty police procedural or a psychological thriller, this is definitely not the book for you. I thought this was a fun and engaging mystery and if you enjoy audios, this is masterfully narrated by Jayne Entwhistle. Just when Flavia was getting a little too precocious and over the top with some of her vocabulary and knowledge, something happens to make her shift back to the lonely little girl whose only parent ignores her.

When this book was recommended to me years ago, I thought it was a book for children. While young people would certainly enjoy it, the level of vocabulary makes it obvious this was written toward an adult audience. I highly recommend The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie in audio.