MADreads

Flavia to the rescue

June 12th, 2009 Lesley - Central

C. Alan Bradley’s debut novel, Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, introduces readers to a charming new sleuth, Flavia de Luce, a precocious 11-year-old living in the English village of Bishop’s Lacey in the 1950s.  Up until recently Flavia was preoccupied with retaliating against her two older sisters by using her interest and knowledge of chemistry.

Her life goals change when Flavia overhears her father and another man in a heated discussion.  She learns that her father, a philatelic devote, may have been involved in the suicide of his schoolmaster many years ago and may have also had something to do with the theft of a rare stamp.  When the stranger’s body is found a few hours later, dead in a cucumber bed on the property, Flavia is on the case.  Her investigations turn up a rare snipe found on the back doorstep with a stamp embedded on its beak as well as a poisonous custard pie.  In her quest, the indefatigable Flavia visits the library and interviews the village’s colorful inhabitants about her father’s mysterious past and how it ties to the victim.

Flavia’s is the type of one-of-a-kind character who charms and disarms at the same time.  This well-drawn mystery is a tasty surprise from the 70-year-old, first time novelist Alan Bradley.  Readers will be glad to hear that Bradley, winner of the British Crime Writer’s Association’s Debut Dagger Award based on a 15 page excerpt from this book, is busy with new adventures for the wickedly funny junior detective.

Entry Filed under: Mystery, Recreational Fiction