The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie

A Flavia de Luce Mystery

By: Alan Bradley

Narrated by: Jayne Entwistle

Length: 9 hrs and 53 mins

Publisher's summary

In his wickedly brilliant first novel, Debut Dagger Award winner Alan Bradley introduces one of the most singular and engaging heroines in recent fiction: Eleven-year-old Flavia de Luce, an aspiring chemist with a passion for poison.

It is the summer of 1950 - and a series of inexplicable events has struck Buckshaw, the decaying English mansion that Flavia’s family calls home. A dead bird is found on the doorstep, a postage stamp bizarrely pinned to its beak. 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".

To Flavia the investigation is the stuff of science: Full of possibilities, contradictions, and connections. Soon her father, a man raising his three daughters alone, is seized, accused of murder. And in a police cell, during a violent thunderstorm, Colonel de Luce tells his daughter an astounding story - of a schoolboy friendship turned ugly, of a priceless object that vanished in a bizarre and brazen act of thievery, of a Latin teacher who flung himself to his death from the school’s tower 30 years before. Now Flavia is armed with more than enough knowledge to tie two distant deaths together, to examine new suspects, and begin a search that will lead her all the way to the King of England himself. Of this much the girl is sure: Her father is innocent of murder - but protecting her and her sisters from something even worse...

An enthralling mystery, a piercing depiction of class and society, The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie is a masterfully told tale of deceptions - and a rich literary delight.

©2009 Alan Bradley (P)2009 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"Brilliant, irresistible and incorrigible, Flavia has a long future ahead of her...Bradley's mystery debut is a standout." (Kirkus Reviews)

"Fun for the reader.... Fans of Louise Fitzhugh's iconic Harriet the Spy will welcome 11-year-old sleuth Flavia de Luce, the heroine of...Bradley's rollicking debut." (Publishers Weekly)

"While Flavia De Luce is winning your heart, she may also be poisoning your tea. She's the most wickedly funny sleuth in years, brilliant, unpredictable, unflappable - and only eleven. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie offers the freshest new voice in mystery yet." (Charles Todd, author of The Ian Rutledge series)

Flavia is adorable!

What a pleasure to listen to a wonderfully well-developed mystery that wasn't bogged down by vulgarity and sexual innuendo. While I didn't realize I had purchased a book that could have been marketed to tweens, I found it refreshing and delightful. The narrator's accent didn't seem totally authentic, but was child-like, charming, and full of expression. The story unfolded brilliantly, and the ending was quite suspenseful. All-in-all, I'm not the least bit ashamed to say I thoroughly enjoyed this tale!

A better than average light Enlish Mystery.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

The prowess of this 12-yr.-old. It is possible and it is told in a realistic way.

Which character – as performed by Jayne Entwistle – was your favorite?

Flavia

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes

Cute, but not very engaging. Perfect narrator.

The narrator was perfect as the voice of precocious Flavia. There was nothing at all wrong with this book, it just wasn't for me. I like grittier stories.

Kinda corny

It was little bit of a slow book. Precocious 11 year old solving the crime...But I hung with it.

Charming young sleuth

The narrator was so talented, loved the accents! Humorous and unusual descriptive words sprinkled throughout made this a delight to listen to! Really transported me into the tale.

A true Gem

This is my first time with this type of book. While the story is told by an eleven-year-old, this series is for adults, in my opinion. I absolutely adored this book and finished it within a week, then went to the next. I'm currently on book four and plan on plowing through each and every one of them. I cannot overstate how wonderful these books are. Flavia is a true genius and wise beyond her years! Her love of poison is hysterical. I am very glad I took the leap and tried these books. Don't let the age of the main character put you off, you will be missing out on a wonderful ride!

Delightful!

Loved it. Thank you for a wonderful time. Particularly enjoyed the reader and her talent for bringing Flavia to life.

Perfection

The story is adorable.the precocious main character has a voice and imagination that blurts out hilarious and odd bits of trivia. The narrator is priceless, the best I have encountered. While the conclusion of the story us predictable. It was worth listening to for no other reason than to discover what Flavia thinks or does next!

👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽

This was an amazing book🔥🔥!! The narrator is phenomenal and the story was captivating. I would say this is an incredibly enjoyable and well written book that is good for any age💓🌸💯💯💯

Fun story, though totally implausible

What did you like best about The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie? What did you like least?

The plot was well-paced and the setting was well-described. I was glad for no gore or gratuitous sex scenes.

The protagonist, however, a “precocious” (euphemistic for “full of herself, privileged spoiled brat, annoying”) 11-year-old, was, if not well-versed, positively fluent in opera, classical music, cinema, literature and, most especially, chemistry. If she’d been written as an older girl, I could have bought it, but 11 years old? And the girl showed no emotions throughout, regardless of whether confronted with a dead body or uncovering long-buried secrets and crimes. Well, except for utter glee with her brilliant little self.

The narrator only added to the little girl’s irritating demeanor. Almost every single sentence she read contained an annoying, little “Aren’t I clever?”intonation to it. I was very glad at the end of those almost ten hours to be away from that bratty child.