The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley follows intrepid young sleuth and chemist Flavia de Luce as she solves both a recent and a decades-old crime in and around her small English town of Bishop’s Lacey. When Flavia discovers an unknown man lying in the cucumber patch at Buckshaw, her family’s decaying mansion, and watches him take his dying breath, she suddenly finds herself and her family thrown headlong into what is soon a full-fledged murder investigation. Fascinated by the murder almost as much as she is fascinated by poisons and chemistry, she devotes all her time and attention to sleuthing, and soon finds herself all over town and neighbouring villages, conducting interviews and investigations, often returning to her chemical laboratory back at Buckshaw to further her examinations. She deduces that what on the surface appears to be a simple murder is actually connected to a philatelic crime dating back three decades, and which has direct implications for her very own stamp-obsessed father. Desperate to clear his name, Flavia finds herself struggling to untangle past from present, and yet still determined to solve what is proving to be much more than a singular murder.
Readers are sure to love following Flavia as she pedals around town on Gladys, her trusty old bicycle, avoiding policemen left and right, and dishing out chemistry knowledge whenever appropriate. I could not get enough of Flavia and her charming and daring antics as she puts her own chemical spin on solving mysteries. Lucky for me (and all other like-minded Flavia-loving mystery readers!) there are ten (and counting) other Alan Bradley mystery novels just waiting to be devoured. Don’t miss them!
Written by Adele G.
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