The Sweetness at the Bottom of the pie

Locations
Call Number: Adult BOCD / Fiction / Mystery / Bradley, C. Alan
On Shelf At: Pittsfield Branch

Location & Checkout Length	Call Number	Checkout Length	Item Status
Pittsfield Adult A/V 4-week checkout	Adult BOCD / Fiction / Mystery / Bradley, C. Alan	4-week checkout	On Shelf

Compact discs.
Read by Jayne Entwistle.
Eleven-year-old Flavia de Luce is an aspiring chemist, when her father is arrested for murder she begins a search for the truth that will lead her all the way to the King of England.

COMMUNITY REVIEWS

some sweetness submitted by flora on September 27, 2010, 12:57pm Jayne Entwistle has nailed the voice of our dear, precocious protagonist, Miss Flavia Sabina de Luce. She's spunky, independent, determined, and ridiculously intelligent (don't feel bad if you have no idea what she's talking about when she begins diving into chemistry--just recognize that she's right). Set in 1950s England, Flavia lives with her father, a reclusive philologist, her two older sisters, and the regular company of two household servants. When a stranger is found dead in their garden, Mr. de Luce is arrested for the murder. Flavia believes he did it and, as befits her character, tries to confess to the murder herself (!) before uncovering a series of clues that take her into some dangerous situations. I recommend this even if you don't consider yourself a fan of mysteries. It's just good.

11 year old super-sleuth submitted by bandersen on August 9, 2011, 7:33am Flavia de Luce is an 11 year old rascal. Saucy, brilliant, uncomfortably interested in poisons that she tests in her lab at the family's England estate, Flavia finds a dead body in the garden, and is delighted to investigate, esp. after her father is jailed for the murder.

Jayne Entwhistle's narrative performance of all the voices is magical.

Young Detective Solves the Crime submitted by Jen Chapin-Smith on July 13, 2013, 11:30pm In this first of a series of mysteries for young readers, Bradley introduces us to Flavia de Luce, a young genius living with her father and two older sisters in the fictional English town of Bishop's Lacey in the 1950s. The girls' mother had died, leaving their father too sad to handle raising or even much educating his children, who are left to their own devices. Flavia has decided to teach herself chemistry and she particularly enjoys making poisons.

When she discovers a corpse in her garden, Flavia begins her career as a young detective. The police don't appreciate her meddling, but [SPOILER ALERT], she solves the crime in the end.

I very much appreciated having a young female character demonstrate so much intelligence and bravery, something I find lacking in many novels for children. Note, however, that as it is set in the 1950s, the Flavia series does demonstrate the prejudices of the era, including sexism and xenophobia.

I appreciated hearing the voices read with an English accent as that made the experience more authentic.