The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie

A Flavia de Luce Mystery

By: Alan Bradley

Narrated by: Jayne Entwistle

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 thirty 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

“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

“A wickedly clever story, a dead true and original voice, and an English country house in the summer: Alexander McCall Smith meets Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Please, please, Mr. Bradley, tell me we'll be seeing Flavia again soon?”—Laurie R. King, author of the Mary Russell series

“Alan Bradley’s marvelous book, The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, is a fantastic read, a winner. Flavia walks right off the page and follows me through my day. I can hardly wait for the next book. Bravo!”—Louise Penny, author of Still Life

"Alan Bradley brews a bubbly beaker of fun in his devilishly clever, wickedly amusing debut mystery, launching an eleven-year-old heroine with a passion for chemistry–and revenge! What a delightful, original book!"—Carolyn Hart, author of the Death on Demand series

“Utterly charming! Eleven-year-old Flavia de Luce proves to be one of the most precocious, resourceful, and well, just plain dangerous, heroines around. Evildoers—and big sisters—beware!”—Lisa Gardner, author of Say Goodbye

"Flavia is an engagingly smart new sleuth with a flair for bringing out the child–and the detective–in all of us."—Christopher Fowler, author of the Peculiar Crimes Unit series

“At once precocious and endearing, Flavia is a marvelous character. Quirkily appealing, this is definitely a crime novel with a difference.”—Choice Magazine, “Book of the Month”

“Brilliant, irresistible and incorrigible, Flavia has a long future ahead of her…Bradley’s mystery debut is a standout.“—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

“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

“A delightful whodunit . . . hilarious, eccentric and mischievous.”—Tangled Web, UK

“Oh how astonishing and pleasing is genuine originality! . . . This is a book which triumphantly succeeds in its objectives of charming and delighting. And on top of that it is genuinely original . . . we may well be talking in a few years about one of the great voices and great series of mystery fiction. I resort to—and it is very, very rarely that I use this—that old cliché, a must-read.”—Reviewing the Evidence

“Delightfully entertaining.”—The Guardian, UK

Couldn't wait for it to end

Would you try another book from Alan Bradley and/or Jayne Entwistle?

No. I found the plot to be silly. Yes, the book is light as air, but it barely stays on the table.

What could Alan Bradley have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

It is possible that had I read the book instead of listened I might have enjoyed it more.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Too chirpy by half. Sounded like a squeaky toy in the jaws of a pit bull. The upper class enunciation seemed very forced and artificial

Could you see The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

Oh, please. There are already too many lame teenybopper shows. A self-important
detective would be unbearable.

wonderful heroine

This book was excellent -- the heroine, Flavia, is a delightful girl fascinated by chemistry. I loved the narration -- I thought it fit the main character very well. It was a mystery that was easy to follow. An excellent book to listen to.

Flavia is a Lass with Great Chemistry!

This book is both a fun listen and interesting . . . I love that it is narrated from an eleven year old's point of view . . . a curious, intelligent girl who speaks the Queen's English . . . and not unlike our own daughter, is not in the least grossed out by blood, dead specimens, dissecting things and generally grew up loving chemistry and research. So when she discovers a dead man among the cucumbers in the English garden, it only gets better from there. The story spans some 30 years and Flavia must work to solve the unfortunate man's murder by doing a lot of "foot work" and risk her life doing it. The story is NOT predictable at all, and I look forward to the next story in the series.

I really tried

If there is a sample, LISTEN and see if the narrator works for you before purchasing. I really tried. The reviews are just so good! I made it 3 hours in though and at least I can say so far the story sounds fun and interesting, I may buy the book to read. The narrator is just not for me it’s like nails on a chalkboard, and the way her voice raises in pitch at the end of every single sentence is frustrating. I’m glad other liked it I just couldn’t get passed it.

Love at first listen!

It's an exceptional book, exceptionally narrated! I enjoyed every moment of it! It's very atmospheric, and the characters are so vivid. I highly recommend it to both kids and adults.

Loved it

I loved this book and the narrator was wonderful, capuring perfectly the voice of its precocious main character. I went on to listen to the second book and like that one equally as wekk. I look forward to more in this series.

Entertaining Book Matched with the Perfect Reader

I enjoyed this: it felt light-- but had enough mystery to keep me thoroughly engaged. The best part was the reader / narrator. I shared it with my mother who had given up on reading the book herself; it made everything come to life for her.

Reminds of Royal Spyness series

I enjoyed the book and just loved Flavia. Cute read, nothing deep and the mystery is easily solved. The genre reminds of the Royal Spyness series series, just that Flavia is a bit younger and there is no hidden romance.
I won't get into the series due to having read other book(s) like it, but would recommend to get the book or series if they come up on sale. Narration was spot on. Some funny moments!
If you liked my review please vote!

Charming

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Definitely

Any additional comments?

I found this book utterly charming. Flavia reminds a bit of one of my favourite childhood characters, Pippi Longstocking - independent and unbound by convention or expectations. It's not a heavy read but Flavia's observations about her family dynamics are insightful and her fascination with chemistry made me want to pick up a textbook! The mystery has enough twists and turns to hold my interest. I also loved the narrator--I thought she captured Flavia's combination of self-congratulatory smarty-pantness and vulnerability with a touch of loneliness perfectly. She also does a good job with the male voices, which seem to me to be one of the challenges that narrators struggle with, resulting in male narrators coming across as too shrill when they do women characters and women coming across as fake gruffness when they do men's. Very entertaining! I look forward to the next in the series.

Very well done

The story is delightful. As others have said, the heroine is endearing and brought to life by the wonderful narration.