The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, by Alan Bradley, by a 70-year-old-first time novelist who want to retain his "youthful enthusiasm" and has succeeded admirably. The book is the winner of the Crime Writers Association Debut Dagger Award. A "stranger" dies in the garden in the wee hours of morning and Flavia, and eleven-year-old chemistry enthusiast discovers him just as he is dying. With his last breath, he says, "Vale!" Flavia's father is arrested for the murder. Flavia tries to confess, but no one will believe her, so she must find the real murderer and save her father.

The action is swift, engaging and humorous. It is written at two levels. It could be read and enjoyed as a child, and it could be read and enjoyed as an adult. There are many allusions that would fly over the head of a child-reader, but not so many as to ruin it. I hate book reviews that contain spoilers, so I will not tell you how it ends. I will simply say I enjoyed it very much, and you probably will, too. It is charming and entertaining. I have a tendency to read multiple books at one time and found myself often choosing to pick this one up rather than any of the others. Note of warning: other than several murders, there is no sex or violence. Readers may find themselves learning about stamp collecting and chemistry.

(I also finished Jane Eyre. It had a good story, but used too many words in the telling.)

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Here is my updated booklist, which is still think is missing some books:

1. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, by Alan Bradly
2. Jane Eyre, by Emily Bronte, August 7, 2009
3. A Little Book on the Human Shadow, by Robert Bly, July 27, 2009
4. The Painted Drum, by Louise Erdrich, July 26, 2009
5. Acorna, by Anne McCaffrey and Margaret Ball, July 20, 2009
6. The Authoritative Calvin and Hobbs, by Bill Watterson, July 13, 2009
7. The Actress, by Elizabeth Sims, July 11, 2009
8. A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens
9. Marley: A Dog Like No Other, John Grogan
10. Goodnight, Gorilla, Peggy Rathmann
11. Bad Dog, Marley, John Grogan
12. The Highest Tide, Jim Lynch
13. Oliver Twist, by Charles Dickens
14. Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens
15. Dream When You're Feeling Blue, Elizabeth Berg
16. We didn't mean to go to Sea, by Arthur Ransome
17. Tara Road, Maeve Binchy
18. Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte
19. The Worst Witch at School, Jill Murphy
20. Saving Fish from Drowning, Amy Tan
21. The Nick Adams Stories, Ernest Hemingway
22. The River King, Alice Hoffman
23. The Probable Future, Alice Hoffman
24. The Book Thief, Markus Zusak
25. Lucifer, A Hagiography, Phillip Memmer
26. It's a Magical World, Bill Watterson
27. Pigeon Post, Arthur Ransome
28. I Claudius, Robert Graves
29. Peter Duck, Arthur Ransome
30. The Kite Runner. Khaled Hosseini