Wickedly Delicious and Original

THE SWEETNESS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PIE
(Flavia de Luce Mysteries #1)
Alan Bradley, Jayne Entwistle, Narr.
Random House Audio
April 2009

It's the summer of 1950 in England. Eleven-year-old Flavia de Luce is the youngest daughter of three in a motherless household headed by her ex-military father. Flavia's father might have been a martinet but instead, is emotionally distant. Flavia's two older sisters are cruel, obnoxious, and in constant warfare with her; going so far as to tell her that their mother was sorry that Flavia was born. Flavia can only believe them since she has no memory of her mother. The family finances are dire and their home, Buckshaw, is falling down. Flavia rackets about the countryside on her bicycle, almost entirely unsupervised. All this sounds depressing, but Flavia de Luce is unique; brilliant, obsessed with chemistry (especially the chemistry of poisons) and insatiably curious. 

Flavia's curiosity becomes fully engaged by a series of events at Buckshaw. First, a dead bird with a postage stamp skewered on its' beak turns up on the doorstep; then Flavia overhears an argument between her father and a stranger; finally, a dead body is discovered in the garden. When Flavia's father is arrested for murder, she throws all caution to the wind in her attempt to clear him. She uncovers a story of broken friendship, a long-ago death and philately. In the process, Flavia lands herself in real danger. There are a wealth of characters in The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, all sharply drawn and often quirky. The one supporting character that I find most intriguing is Dogger, man-of-all-work at Buckshaw. Dogger served with Flavia's father in WWII but spent years as a Japanese prisoner of war. The experience left him mentally fragile, but he is an unfailing support for Flavia when no one else is.

I have been aware of the Flavia de Luce series for a long time, but just never got around to it. Now I am well and truly hooked. Flavia has one of the most original voices I have ever encountered, at once funny and heartbreaking. Jayne Entwistle brings her, and all the other characters to vivid life. I highly recommend The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie.

5 Stars