Review: The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie

Title: The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie
Author: Alan Bradley
Listening Time: 9 hours and 53 minutes
Challenges: None
Rating: 4.5/5

Summary from Goodreads:

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.”

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie was my audio choice for the week.  I've been looking at this title for a long time, but I didn't really want to add it to my TBR pile.  So when I was looking to get my newest audio with my credit, this one popped into my head and I thought I'd give it a try.  Frankly, I'm sad I have to wait until March 6th before I get a new credit because I can't wait to download the next book in the series.

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie had everything I look for in a great mystery - a sassy heroine, a well thought out plot, and plenty of twists and turns to keep me guessing.  Flavia de Luce has to be my new favorite character in literature.  She's a spunky 11 year old obsessed with poisons, who wants nothing more than to figure out why the strange goings on around her home have been happening.  I loved the way she went about investigating, and I fell in love with her instantly.  She was adorable and witty, and a true joy to read/listen about.

Another thing that made this such a good listen was the narration.  I absolutely adored the reader of this book, Jayne Entwistle.  I love the voice she gave Flavia, and I thought she did a fine job on all of the other characters also. 

I'm sad that I waited so long to start this series, and for anyone who looks a good mystery with a few twists, this is definitely the one for you.