The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie: A Flavia de Luce Mystery
WINNER OF THE AGATHA • ARTHUR ELLIS • DILYS • DEBUT DAGGER AWARDS
“Wonderfully entertaining . . . sure to be one of the most loved mysteries of the year . . . [Flavia is] a delightful, intrepid, acid-tongued new heroine.”—Chicago Sun-Times
It is the summer of 1950–and at the once-grand mansion of Buckshaw, young Flavia de Luce, an aspiring chemist with a passion for poison, is intrigued by a series of inexplicable events: A dead bird is found on the doorstep, a postage stamp bizarrely pinned to its beak. Then, hours later, Flavia finds a man lying in the cucumber patch and watches him as he takes his dying breath.
For Flavia, who is both appalled and delighted, life begins in earnest when murder comes to Buckshaw. “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.”
BONUS: This edition contains a The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie discussion guide and an excerpt from Alan Bradley's The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag.
“Wonderfully entertaining . . . sure to be one of the most loved mysteries of the year . . . [Flavia is] a delightful, intrepid, acid-tongued new heroine.”—Chicago Sun-Times
It is the summer of 1950–and at the once-grand mansion of Buckshaw, young Flavia de Luce, an aspiring chemist with a passion for poison, is intrigued by a series of inexplicable events: A dead bird is found on the doorstep, a postage stamp bizarrely pinned to its beak. Then, hours later, Flavia finds a man lying in the cucumber patch and watches him as he takes his dying breath.
For Flavia, who is both appalled and delighted, life begins in earnest when murder comes to Buckshaw. “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.”
BONUS: This edition contains a The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie discussion guide and an excerpt from Alan Bradley's The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag.
BUY THE BOOK
Join a book club that is reading The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie: A Flavia de Luce Mystery!
Community Reviews
Fun read about a precocious 11-year-old girl, Flavia de Luce, who has a fascination with chemistry and is curious about everything. She turns into a sleuth when a stranger is found dead in their garden.
The first in a series.
The first in a series.
Sherlock Holmes, prepare to meet your future match. She's a precocious 11-year-old named Flavia de Luce. She never meant to be a detective. She’s an aspiring chemist with a keen interest in poison, mainly to lace her older sister Orphella’s lipstick. She is a fierce, loyal, and loving daughter, who will go out of her way to help her father. Now you can't say the same about her affection towards her two sisters. They're a more complex and adversary type relationship. She's nothing like them and so goes the “incidents” with the lipstick and the chemistry that swells Orphelia’s lips up. No worries, Flava gets a taste of her own medicine later in the novel.
This cozy mystery revolves around a dead bird sound at their manor with a stamp on its break. Later, a man is found roaming on her property in Bucksaw. He gets in through stealthy means and threatens Flava’s father as we hear shouting. Later, the mysterious man was found dead by none other than Flava, herself. She doesn’t scream or get traumatized. Instead, she finds it fascinating and exhilarating. Soon enough, the police are on the case. They take everything in as they try to solve the case. They ask: What was he doing there? Who was he? What did he have to do with Flava’s father? Why was her father so afraid? Why did the man act so menacing towards the father? Why was there only one slice of pie missing as it was cooling by the window sill? Who took that single slice from the pie and what does that have to do with anything? Taking everything in, the police declare they've caught the murderer: It's Flava's father!! He's closest by proximity to the murdered victim. Case solved! Or is it? So many questions and clues and yet the police see nothing with their eyes. Flavia de Luce races against time to prove her father's innocence and finds the identity of the man and who he is to her father. The game is afoot. Although she may not like the answers.
Flava’s personality is both childlike innocence and of a brilliant mind where you often forget she is only 11 years old. This book is set in the 1950s and in a small village where you think when you park your bicycle outside the police station, it would be safe. (That is a hint, by the way to the solving of the mystery.) I think that's why I was not in love with the book. Flava's mind and character are childlike and yet smarter than an adult with an overly perceptive, astute mind.
This cozy mystery revolves around a dead bird sound at their manor with a stamp on its break. Later, a man is found roaming on her property in Bucksaw. He gets in through stealthy means and threatens Flava’s father as we hear shouting. Later, the mysterious man was found dead by none other than Flava, herself. She doesn’t scream or get traumatized. Instead, she finds it fascinating and exhilarating. Soon enough, the police are on the case. They take everything in as they try to solve the case. They ask: What was he doing there? Who was he? What did he have to do with Flava’s father? Why was her father so afraid? Why did the man act so menacing towards the father? Why was there only one slice of pie missing as it was cooling by the window sill? Who took that single slice from the pie and what does that have to do with anything? Taking everything in, the police declare they've caught the murderer: It's Flava's father!! He's closest by proximity to the murdered victim. Case solved! Or is it? So many questions and clues and yet the police see nothing with their eyes. Flavia de Luce races against time to prove her father's innocence and finds the identity of the man and who he is to her father. The game is afoot. Although she may not like the answers.
Flava’s personality is both childlike innocence and of a brilliant mind where you often forget she is only 11 years old. This book is set in the 1950s and in a small village where you think when you park your bicycle outside the police station, it would be safe. (That is a hint, by the way to the solving of the mystery.) I think that's why I was not in love with the book. Flava's mind and character are childlike and yet smarter than an adult with an overly perceptive, astute mind.
See why thousands of readers are using Bookclubs to stay connected.