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The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie

A Flavia de Luce Mystery

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The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie

Written by: Alan Bradley
Narrated by: Jayne Entwistle
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About this listen

 In his wickedly brilliant first novel, Debut Dagger Award winner Alan Bradley introduces one of the most singular and engaging heroines in recent fiction: eleven-year-old Flavia de Luce, an aspiring chemist with a passion for poison. It is the summer of 1950—and a series of inexplicable events has struck Buckshaw, the decaying English mansion that Flavia’s family calls home. A dead bird is found on the doorstep, a postage stamp bizarrely pinned to its beak. Hours later, Flavia finds a man lying in the cucumber patch and watches him as he takes his dying breath. For Flavia, who is both appalled and delighted, life begins in earnest when murder comes to Buckshaw. “I wish I could say I was afraid, but I wasn’t. Quite the contrary. This was by far the most interesting thing that had ever happened to me in my entire life.”

To Flavia the investigation is the stuff of science: full of possibilities, contradictions, and connections. Soon her father, a man raising his three daughters alone, is seized, accused of murder. And in a police cell, during a violent thunderstorm, Colonel de Luce tells his daughter an astounding story—of a schoolboy friendship turned ugly, of a priceless object that vanished in a bizarre and brazen act of thievery, of a Latin teacher who flung himself to his death from the school’s tower thirty years before. Now Flavia is armed with more than enough knowledge to tie two distant deaths together, to examine new suspects, and begin a search that will lead her all the way to the King of England himself. Of this much the girl is sure: her father is innocent of murder—but protecting her and her sisters from something even worse….

An enthralling mystery, a piercing depiction of class and society, The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie is a masterfully told tale of deceptions—and a rich literary delight.©2009 Alan Bradley; (P)2009 Random House Audio Amateur Sleuth Historical Mystery Suspense Thriller & Suspense Fiction Murder Crime

What the critics say

“While Flavia De Luce is winning your heart, she may also be poisoning your tea. She's the most wickedly funny sleuth in years, brilliant, unpredictable, unflappable—and only eleven. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie offers the freshest new voice in mystery yet.”—Charles Todd, author of The Ian Rutledge series

“A wickedly clever story, a dead true and original voice, and an English country house in the summer: Alexander McCall Smith meets Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Please, please, Mr. Bradley, tell me we'll be seeing Flavia again soon?”—Laurie R. King, author of the Mary Russell series

“Alan Bradley’s marvelous book, The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, is a fantastic read, a winner. Flavia walks right off the page and follows me through my day. I can hardly wait for the next book. Bravo!”—Louise Penny, author of Still Life

"Alan Bradley brews a bubbly beaker of fun in his devilishly clever, wickedly amusing debut mystery, launching an eleven-year-old heroine with a passion for chemistry–and revenge! What a delightful, original book!"—Carolyn Hart, author of the Death on Demand series

“Utterly charming! Eleven-year-old Flavia de Luce proves to be one of the most precocious, resourceful, and well, just plain dangerous, heroines around. Evildoers—and big sisters—beware!”—Lisa Gardner, author of Say Goodbye

"Flavia is an engagingly smart new sleuth with a flair for bringing out the child–and the detective–in all of us."—Christopher Fowler, author of the Peculiar Crimes Unit series

“At once precocious and endearing, Flavia is a marvelous character. Quirkily appealing, this is definitely a crime novel with a difference.”—Choice Magazine, “Book of the Month”

“Brilliant, irresistible and incorrigible, Flavia has a long future ahead of her…Bradley’s mystery debut is a standout.“—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

“Fun for the reader . . . Fans of Louise Fitzhugh's iconic Harriet the Spy will welcome 11-year-old sleuth Flavia de Luce, the heroine of . . . Bradley's rollicking debut.”—Publishers Weekly

“A delightful whodunit . . . hilarious, eccentric and mischievous.”—Tangled Web, UK

“Oh how astonishing and pleasing is genuine originality! . . . This is a book which triumphantly succeeds in its objectives of charming and delighting. And on top of that it is genuinely original . . . we may well be talking in a few years about one of the great voices and great series of mystery fiction. I resort to—and it is very, very rarely that I use this—that old cliché, a must-read.”—Reviewing the Evidence
“Delightfully entertaining.”—The Guardian, UK

Featured Article: Nine Cozy Mystery Series Perfect for Audiobook Fans

It's time to curl up with a cozy mystery! Or, since we're talking audiobooks, it may be time to (cracking knuckles) get some chores done while we listen to one of the most pleasurable genres around. These are my top eight cozy mystery authors, whose series I always enjoy and always prefer to experience in audio. I like to feel cozied up with the character, as we—yes, we!—solve the crime together, and the best way to do that is to listen to the character.

Featured Article Nine Cozy Mystery Series Perfect for Audiobook Fans
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Shakespeare and others suttle bits are a great addition assids to the story. The family dynamic is unusual.

the offhand references.

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Wonderful English cosy. Narrated beautifully. Will definitely read book 2 in series. Can’t wait to read what Flavia gets up to.

Enjoyed immensely!

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I found it very enjoyable both the story and performance. I liked the way the story unraveled. And loved that it was told with British flair.

Very enjoyable

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As a fun, British style border mystery, this is a great story! the protagonist is cute and the whole thing is very enjoyable. That said, there is an extended reenactment of a magic trick with "The Mandarin" which is really hard to listen to. 1920s casual racism me damned, it's awkward to hear.

A fun listen, but the yellow face is cringe

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My kids and I loved this book. We listened to it while we did puzzles. My teenagers loved the chemistry references and got excited hearing school subjects told in a fun and engaging way.
The story is fresh and engaging and comes together in a way that makes you root for Flavia.

loved it.

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