The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie (Alan Bradley)

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie is a mystery novel that follows the thought path and detective work of an 11 year old girl named Flavia after a murder in the garden of her family home. This book, though a little slow at the start, is quite fast paced and takes many unexpected twists and turns.
Similar to all mystery novels, the goal of the story is to determine who committed this act of murder and make sure an innocent person does not go down for it.

The Book Cover

What intrigued me most about this story was the character Flavia. Despite only being 11 years old, she has this maturity and confidence about her that draws you in. Personally, this aspect is what really kept me reading - other than finding the murderer - because I was fascinated by the fact that an 11 year old girl could have that much confidence; it sprung from the pages even more as the story progressed. That little girl made me reflect about myself and the confidence, or lack there of, that I myself possess.

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie is the first novel in a series of 6 books by Alan Bradley:

1. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie
2. The Weed that Strings the Hangman’s Bag
3. A Red Herring Without Mustard
4. I Am Half-Sick of Shadows
5. Speaking From Among the Bones
6. The Dead In Their Vaulted Arches 

   

   The First 5 Novels (6th not shown)

I would rate this book 3.7/5 because of the hidden theme throughout the story and the well thought out storyline; however, it did lack some aspects of mystery novels that I enjoy. I found this mystery book to be a little too light-hearted and "fluffy".

Until next time,
Happy Reading Fellow Bookworms :)