“The sweetness at the bottom of the pie“ by Alan Bradley

A pie brings death to Buckshaw

The novel “The sweetness at the bottom of the pie” was written by Alan Bradley and published in the UK on 22nd January 2009. The protagonist, Flavia de Luce, is an eleven-year-old girl in the 20th century, who lives with her family including her father, Mr de Luce, her two older sisters, Daphne and Ophelia, and the Butler, Dogger in the once-grand mansion of Buckshaw. Flavia isn`t a normal girl: she is an aspiring chemist, she has her own laboratory and she has a passion for poison. The other family members are also rather unusual: Her father is a philatelist, her sister Dahne a bookworm, her second sister and the oldest one of the three daughters, Ophelia, is a selfish seeming beauty and Dogger has a personality that nobody really knows.

One day Flavia finds a dead bird on the doorstep with a postage stamp bizarrely pinned to its beak (as you can also see on the cover) and a few hours later she watches a man in their cucumber patch while he takes his dying breath. Since her father is the last person who spoke to the victim, he is the main suspect in this case. So Flavia, who can`t believe that he’s guilty, wants to clarify the mystery. While doing so, her passion for poison helps her a lot.

I would really recommend this book, because when you start reading it is “unputdownable”. I also like the way it is written. It is mostly funny and when it is not funny it is exciting, so you won`t get bored. The story might be a bit complex but if you read carefully you won`t have any problems. Also it’s very important to note that the book is easy to read and that you don`t have to know every word to understand the story. The book is appropriate for people at my age but also for people who are a bit younger or a lot older. And please don`t think it is a novel for little children just because the protagonist is eleven years old. Just as I said: Flavia is not an unusual girl!

Enjoy the read!

Melanie (15)