The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie

The Crime Writer's Association Debut Dagger Award-winner, Alan Bradley, has written a sweet little novel about eleven-year-old Flavia de Luce. In The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, the fiery heroine tromps around the English countryside on a quest to solve a murder. Miss De Luce gives me plenty of reason to chuck our tellies out in the shed and demand that our boys begin using their imaginations and intelligence again. While reading this quick little tale I wished to be beside Flavia, walking through the fields and the small English towns, running into all the quirky characters she met along the way. This is a novel rich with just enough description to make it real and enthralling. I cannot wait to settle in with the next tale of Flavia de Luce's adventures. It was a wonderfully pleasant way to spend a day: curled up in the recliner with a nice fleece throw, cups of hot cocoa, and a fun mystery while the snow piled high outside the windows.