Customer Reviews

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Oh I loved, loved, loved this book!

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie introduces us to eleven year old Flavia DeLuce. She lives with her father and two sisters in an old mansion in 1950's England. The house is full of nooks and crannies - and a old chemistry lab. Flavia practices making poisons there. (yes poisons!) She and her older sisters are constantly thinking of ways to torment each other. Their eccentric father keeps himself occupied with his philatelic obsession.We are introduced to Flavia in the first paragraph of the novel....

"It was as black in the closet as old blood. They had shoved me in and locked the door. I breathed heavily through my nose, fighting desperately to remain calm. I tried counting to ten on every intake of breath, and to eight as I released each one slowly into the darkness. Luckily for me, they had pulled the gag so tightly into my open mouth that my nostrils were left unobstructed, and I was able to draw in one slow lungful after another of the stale, musty air."

Flavia escapes unharmed, but plans to pay her sisters back. However, the appearance of a dead bird with a postage stamp speared through it's beak and her father's horrified reaction distract her. But it is the dead body found in the cucumber patch that really enthralls her. When her father is arrested for the murder, Flavia sets out to solve the crime on her own.

Flavia is one of the most endearing, captivating, curious, beguiling, precocious characters I've ever discovered in the pages of a book. The crime is interesting, but it is Flavia's personality that is the real draw for me.

"Whenever I'm out of doors and find myself wanting to have a first-rate think, I fling myself down on my back, throw my arms and legs out so that I look like an asterisk, and gaze at the sky. For the first little while, I'm usually entertained by my 'floaters, those wormy little strings of protein that swim to and fro across one's field of vision like dark little galaxies. When I'm not in a hurry, I stand on my head to stir them, up, and then lie back to watch the show, as if it were an animated cinema film."

Although the idea of an eleven year old for a protagonist seems unusual for an adult detective novel, it just somehow works. Harriet the Spy for grown ups. (I really wanted to be Harriet when I was younger!)

This is the first in a series that Bradley has planned - The Buckshaw Chronicles. I will be on the edge of my seat waiting for the second!

I have a page on LibraryThing (as thefirstalicat), that lists all the books that I own (somewhere around 2200, I think, I forget offhand), a few of which I've taken to reviewing. I also check their "EarlyReview" feature, wherein one can request an early review (pre-publication) copy of a new book and one might be chosen: I've received at least six novels this way, which is lovely! So last month, when Alan Bradley's second Flavia de Luce novel, The Weed that Strings the Hangman's Bag, to be published March 9th, was offered, I went for it...and got it! But I hadn't read the first novel, one I'd heard of and was interested in last year but never got around to buying until now. That book was The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, and it introduces us to 11-year-old Flavia, living in a crumbling mansion in the countryside of England, near the (imaginary) village of Bishop's Lacey, in 1950. A budding young chemist and all-around young-girl sleuth, Flavia is mostly concerned with bedevilling her 17-year-old sister Ophelia ("Feely") and 13-year-old sister Daphne ("Daffy") and, of course, pursuing her chosen passion of poison, er, chemistry, when she overhears an argument between her philatelist (stamp-collector) reclusive father and a stranger; a stranger who, early the very next morning, turns up dead in the family cucumber patch. Where, of course, Flavia finds him just as he is expiring. When her father is arrested for the murder, Flavia leaps into action, determined to find out what really happened....Flavia is an absolute delightful character, and this book I found to be an absolute delight to read - Alan Bradley has a flare for making a subject as dull to me as chemistry into something exotic and fine, and his creation of this young girl, something of a brat but really only toward her older sisters, is as well-imagined and brought to life as any heroine you're likely to find either in the YA or mystery worlds of letters. REALLY highly recommended; I'm just sad I didn't pick it up last year when it first arrived in bookstores!

Alan Bradley has a winner in junior detective, eleven-year-old Flavia de Luce, a self-taught chemist who is undaunted in getting her way. I predict that this is the beginning of a remarkable mystery series. If she can do all this at 11, imagine what she'll be able do to at 11 3/4!

After a late-night argument with her father, Flavia discovers the blackmailer dying in the yard. To her mind, her absent-minded father is suspect number one. She takes it upon herself to solve the mysteries of what the blackmail was all about, old crimes, and this death. Naturally, everyone wants her out of the way . . . including the murdered. But it takes a lot to slow down Flavia. Merely tying her up won't do it.

Whenever a story has a precocious child hero in it, there has to be lots of humor to season the story and make us interested in what's going on rather than being annoyed by the child's smugness. Mr. Bradley clearly understands that and adds a nice light touch throughout.

The book opens in a very tight, well-organized way . . . and begins to meander near the middle. With a little more editing down of this material, this source of sweetness could have been a much more memorable one.

The plot is delicious in its humorous intricacies that successfully build around postage stamps, chemistry, sleight-of-hand, hiding places, red herrings, and false tales. Clearly, Mr. Bradley has a wonderful imagination.

I can't wait for the next book in the series!

Wonderful writing, incredible detail, terrific story ... and a heroine who is 11 years old. After a few pages I had to stop, say to myself out loud 'suspend disbelief' and then will myself to accept the lead character as a possibility. After that bit of work, I had a romping good time. Flavia is a charmer, brave when she needs to be, girlish when she wants to be, clever constantly. I'll read more. The author would be well advised himself to remember that Flavia is 11 years old ... as I think on occasion in the writing of this book, he forgot that fact.

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.

Despite being set in post war Britain this book has modern sensibility and is a fun read. Like many other great novels, it is wonderful despite the age of the reader. Suspend your disbelief as to the age of the protagonist and let the sharp prose take you on an a dark and twisty ride.

The narrator of this book is Flavia, an eleven year old budding chemist and amateur detective.

She lives in a decaying English mansion called Buckshaw with her father, Colonel de Luce, hardened by the war and saddened by his wife Harriet's tragic death while mountain climbing.He is also an avid collector of Postage Stamps. Flavia has two older sisters, Ophelia(Feely)and Daphne(Daffy). There is sibling rivalry between the sisters and Flavia. Mrs.Mullet prepares the family meals and is housekeeper. She bakes her famous custard pies that no one likes. Dogger, a former soldier and POW was initially hired as the Colonel's valet, moved on to being chauffeur, handyman and because of his nervousness and flashbacks, he is now the family gardener. He is very loyal to the Colonel and the only person who Flavia trusts with all her secrets. Dogger likes Flavia and protects her from harm.

Flavia is left on her own and keeps herself busy in the house's laboratory, experimenting and reading. She has a love of Poisons and also reads all about the discoveries of the great chemists.

One day, Mrs. Mullet opens the kitchen door and lets out a shriek. On the doorstep on its back lies a dead bird, a Jack Snipe, with a postage stamp stuck to its beak. The Colonel and Flavia were in the room and with Mrs. Mullet still shaky, he asks her to remove it. The Colonel then leaves for his study and Flavia takes off for her bedroom. Flavia is trying to understand who would do such a thing.

In the evening, there are sounds coming from her father's study. Flavia goes down the stairs, puts her ear to the door, an eye in the keyhole and sees a very tall man, his back to the door, arguing with her father. She can't make out what they're saying but hears her father telling the man to get out. At that point Dogger pulls Flavia away from the door before she gets caught.

Next morning, Flavia finds a dying man in the cucumber patch in the garden. She hears him say "VALE" and then dies. She learns that VALE means farewell. Flavia is now even more curious and excited. She decides to call the police and soon Inspector Hewitt along with two Sergeants are questioning the Colonel.

Flavia is now on a mission to solve the case. Without Inspector Hewitt knowing,she is going to help him get to the bottom of things.

Off she goes on her bicycle named Gladys, her only means of transportation, with her pigtails blowing in the wind. She's going to the village of Bishop's Lacey to question the town folks and get some answers. Believe it or not, she learns a few things and along with some bits and pieces returns home. She notices that a slice of Mrs. Mullet's pie is missing and before long the entire pie is gone.

Flavia asks herself: Who is this man? What was he doing in her home? Who killed him? Did Mrs. Mullet's pie do him in?

Flavia is smart as a whip and sharp as a tack.Her verbal expressions and quotes will have you laughing throughout.

I LOVED this book and am now a huge fan of Flavia, the sleuth.This book is smartly written and very entertaining. It is a Murder/Mystery.

Alan Bradley has come up with a WINNER.

For those of you who are new to this series like I was, I suggest you start with the first in the series, The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie in order to get to know all the characters. Then move on to #2) The Weed that Strings the Hangman's Bag, #3) A Red Herring Without Mustard and #4) I Am Half-Sick of Shadows.

You'll love these books as much as I have. So cuddle up in your favourite chair and ENJOY!

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!

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie is set in the summer of 1950, following Flavia de Luce as she attempts to solve the mystery of the man who was found dead in her family's cucumber patch in the early hours of the morning. Upon the discovery of the dead body body, Flavia thinks: "I wish I could say I was afraid, but I wasn't. Quite the contrary. This was by far the most interesting thing that had ever happened to me in my entire life." With her determination and resourcefulness, Flavia investigates the murder which seems to be mysteriously linked to the presence of a dead bird found with a stamp on its beak on her front doorstep earlier that day. Although Flavia is only eleven years old, she is a very precocious girl who can often be found in her chemistry working on a new experiment. With her powers of deduction she begins narrowing down the suspects and learns more than even she thought possible.

I first heard about "The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie" while reading a review in my local newspaper , The Montreal Gazette, which got me very interested. I also recently read a great article about Mr. Bradley from The National Post which is worth checking out!

At first it may seem strange to hear Mr. Bradley and others speaking about Flavia de Luce as if she were a real person, but after reading this book it's hard not to feel personally connected to her. It's all too easy to forget that the story was not written by this eleven-year old prodigy herself! Her vivacious and inquisitive personality make her one of the most endearing and likeable characters I've read about in a long time. From the way she concocts her potions in the chemistry lab to her Sherlock Holmes-like detective skills, she captured my attention but more importantly my admiration and respect. Although an eleven-year old detective may seem unlikely, you just have to read the book to understand how all of the elements of the story work together so beautifully. The secondary characters are also eccentric and really great in their supporting roles, adding some interesting flavor to The Sweetnes at the Bottom of the Pie!

In addition to the marvelous cast of characters, the storyline itself is brilliantly crafted. There are a number of unexpected plot twists and everything so wonderfully in the end. I wish I could say more but I don't want to spoil anything because this is a story best left to the narrative skills of one Ms. Flavia.

Thankfully, this book is the first installment in a Flavia de Luce trilogy so there is much to look forward to from Mr. Bradley in the future!

http://bookopolis.blogspot.com

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.
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.