The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie: A Flavia de Luce Mystery
Set in rural England in 1950, the novel follows 11-year-old Flavia de Luce as she uses chemistry and sharp observation to investigate a death close to home. It blends a family mystery with the uneasy atmosphere of an old country house and introduces the series' central sleuth.
Work Information
A chemistry-minded girl steps into a death mystery around her family estate.
The debut novel The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie is set in 1950 England and follows 11-year-old Flavia de Luce, who is fascinated by poison and chemistry, as she confronts a body found on her family estate and the secrets that gather around it. The book combines an old-fashioned country-house mood with the heroine's sharp eye and dry humor.
Book Information
- Publisher
- Bantam
- Published
- 2010-01-19
- Pages
- 416 pages
- Language
- 英語
- Size
- 13.16 x 2.26 x 20.32 cm
- ISBN-13
- 9780385343497
- ISBN-10
- 0385343493
- Price
- 3543 JPY
- Category
- 洋書/Mystery & Thrillers/Mystery
WINNER OF THE AGATHA • ARTHUR ELLIS • DILYS • DEBUT DAGGER AWARDS “Wonderfully entertaining . . . sure to be one of the most loved mysteries of the year . . . [Flavia is] a delightful, intrepid, acid-tongued new heroine.” —Chicago Sun-Times It is the summer of 1950–and at the once-grand mansion of Buckshaw, young Flavia de Luce, an aspiring chemist with a passion for poison, is intrigued by a series of inexplicable events: A dead bird is found on the doorstep, a postage stamp bizarrely pinned to its beak. Then, 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.” BONUS: This edition contains a The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie discussion guide and an excerpt from Alan Bradley's The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag.
Alan Bradley is the New York Times bestselling author of many short stories, children’s stories, newspaper columns, and the memoir The Shoebox Bible . His first Flavia de Luce novel, The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, received the Crime Writers’ Association Debut Dagger Award, the Dilys Award, the Arthur Ellis Award, the Agatha Award, the Macavity Award, and the Barry Award, and was nominated for the Anthony Award. His other Flavia de Luce novels are The Weed That Strings the Hangman’s Bag, A Red Herring Without Mustard , I Am Half-Sick of Shadows , Speaking from Among the Bones, The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches, As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust, Thrice the Brinded Cat Hath Mew’d, and The Grave’s a Fine and Private Place, as well as the ebook short story “The Curious Case of the Copper Corpse.”
Reviews
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Really great!
Now, I am a big fan of Flavia de Luce. She has convince me about her expertise in chemistry and also in social life. Yes, she is really empathic, otherwise she would not have solved the mystery about the crime in the cucumber patch. Although, she does not often show this ability to others but I like this. The writing style was simply great and entertaining, especially the thoughts and remarks of Flavia. The plotline was clear, logical and really exciting, although there was a little length in the middle of the story. The other characters were likeable or unsympathetic as well, they simply fit into the story. What I particularly liked was the fact that the reader could also puzzle over the crime because the hints were always given to the reader and that make reading really fun. Thank you very much, Mister Bradley, for such a great book. I will keep on reading this sequel.
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Great story, you have to read it.
This made a welcome change to the majority of novels I’ve read; it’s different, engaging, and thoroughly enjoyable. My sister loved it too.
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A great read.
It is a great read. Very unusual and, in many ways, a nostalgic trip to the 1950s. Flavia is a wonderful character and you can't help loving her and wanting to follow her adventures.
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Difficult to put down!
I can’t put this book down! It’s one of the best mysteries I have read. Flavia is exceedingly smart with a strong character. She knows how to pick a lock, untie her hands behind her back and she knows all her poisons !
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Wow! Loved it
Love, love, love this book. Flavia DeLuca is my new hero. What a wonderful, smart, quirky, hell-bent character! She is all about being an accomplished scientist - and poisoner - at age 11. I have rarely seen a young character this well-conceived and fully drawn. It is such a treat to read a story about a girl that doesn't focus on her looks or her crush on a boy, and who has more faults than attributes. Her little war against her older sister in which she tries to poison the lipstick is priceless. It's not so much that I approve of what she does as I am astonished at her resourcefulness and determination. I am just as pleased with the author's writing style. I am VERY picky about the way novelist's write, and I have nothing but contempt for those whose ability to describe a character begins and ends with the character's hair colour. Alan Bradley's prose flows seamlessly. There are no rough patches. He manages to create scenes vividly without wasting the reader's time with "filler". He makes plenty of literary references, which I always enjoy. His style demands a bit of intelligence on the part of the reader. This book feels fresh and original.
Related Literary Awards
- Agatha Awards Edition 22 (2009) ・Winner