The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie: A Flavia de Luce Mystery (Flavia De Luce Mystery 1) [Hardcover]

'Told through the observations of science-experimenting snoop of an 11-year-old girl, this jolly-good-fun murder mystery is as indulgent as a Bunty annual. Flavia de Luce, daughter to a philatelist colonel father and late mother...proves herself as indomitable a sleuth as you would expect a girl who says "oh, piffle" to be' (GOOD HOUSEKEEPING )

'(It) reads like a cross between Dodie Smith's I Capture The Castle (posh family fallen on hard times, dead mother, disengaged father, crumbling pile) and the Addams family (Flavia has a well-appointed laboratory where she makes poisons to test on her spiteful elder sisters). A strong plot, involving philately, ornithology and prestidigitation, and a wonderful supporting cast make this Canadian novelist's debut delightfully entertaining' (Laura Wilson GUARDIAN )

'This is a charming period crime novel with a grotesque gallery of characters reminiscent of the inhabitants of Mervyn Peake's cult Gormeghast trilogy. It's 1950, and Flavia de Luce, a precocious 11-year-old with a fully equipped chemistry lab at the top of Buckshaw, the crumbling family seat, discovers a body in the cucumber patch. When Flavia announces this at breakfast, her news is met with indifference by her wonderfully appalling older sisters Ophelia and Daphne ("How very like you")' (Carla McKay DAILY MAIL )

'This warm and funny novel begins when Flavia finds a dead body in her father's cucumber patch. She uses her scientific knowledge to investigate the death and uncovers some dark secrets about her own family's past. This is a clever, witty and totally gripping read with lots of surprises' (ESSENTIALS )

At once precocious and endearing, Flavia is a marvellous character. Quirkily appealing, this is definitely a crime novel with a difference' (CHOICE )

'An absolute treat. It is original, clever, entertaining and funny....Philately and chemistry. Not a combination I could ever imagine being especially appealing. But Bradley really has something. The story-telling star dust that enables him to pull the whole tale together leading the wonderful Flavia through an extraordinary maze of mystery and intrigue and driving the reader to turn those pages in glorious anticipation' (MATERIAL WITNESS )

'Here's another candidate for our gallery of striking and apt covers, but looks apart, Alan Bradley's very unusual crime novel grabbed my interest as soon as I opened it...Fresh, original and fun!' (CORNFLOWER )

'The character of Flavia de Luce is one of the most original new leading characters that I have read in a long time. She is precocious, witty and adventurous...When you read the first sentence of this novel you enter the extraordinary world of Flavia de Luce and do not emerge until the book has finished. It's like entering the lost world of the Mitford sisters where the girls are allowed to run completely wild' (CRIME SQUAD )

'A dark Nancy Drew set in a gothic Midsomer. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie is delicious' (WATERSTONES BOOKS QUARTERLY )

'Oh how astonishing and pleasing is genuine originality! won the Debut Dagger award in 2007 and it would be hard to imagine a more worthy winner. This is a book which triumphantly succeeds in its objectives of charming and delighting. And on top of that it is genuinely original. I resort to - and it is very, very rarely that I use this - that old cliche, a must-read' (Nick Hay REVIEWING THE EVIDENCE )

'Flavia De Luce is an eleven year old with a penchant for poisons and she is by far the most balanced and normal member of the household. She is also precocious, endearing, as fiercely intelligent as she is independent, with a Holmesian fascination with science particularly the chemistry of poisons....An entertaining, funny, exciting and engrossing novel' (Margaret Murphy SHOTS )

'Fans of Louise Fitzhugh's iconic Harriet the Spy will welcome 11-year-old sleuth Flavia de Luce, the heroine of Canadian journalist Bradley's rollicking debut' (PUBLISHERS WEEKLY - USA )

'Flavia is her own girl and I loved her. Fiesty and hilarious, Flavia waltzes precociously but not annoyingly so through the adult world with intelligent and logical panache...The first-person narrative is exquisite, page after page had me laughing at the sheer brilliance of the setting and the dialogue and Flavia's unique turn of phrase ... This first offering a great foundation on which to grow the next and a perfectly lovely gorgeous read over several grey chilly Winter afternoons' (DOVE GRAY READER )

'Charming... a terrific story with a good plot and a wonderful supporting cast' (Jeff Popple DEADLY PLEASURES )

'A delightful whodunnit, winner of the 2007 CWA Debut Dagger, featuring amateur sleuth Flavia de Luce...Hilarious, eccentric and mischievous' (Cath Staincliffe DEADLY PLEASURES )

'Flavia is a character that I hope will age very slowly, as I hope to read this series for a good long time. It has a very fresh feel, and a very good sense of time and place. I loved the way the detective was kind to Flavia, almost fatherly, yet keeping to a professional relationship. Her struggles with her sisters were a bright spot in a delightful book. Highly recommended' (Maggie Mason DEADLY PLEASURES )

'Impressive as a sleuth and enchanting as a mad scientist ( What a jolly poison could be extracted from the jonquil), Flavia is most endearing as a little girl who has learned how to amuse herself in a big lonely house (NEW YORK REVIEW OF BOOKS )

If ever there was a sleuth whos bold, brilliant and, yes, adorable, its Flavia de Luce, the precocious 11-year-old at the center of this scrumptious first novel (USA TODAY )

A delightfully dark and original period crime novel featuring an irresistible young sleuth and her eccentric family.