This book was pure pleasure to read. It is clever and thoughtful and you immediately fall in love with Flavia, the 11 year old heroine.I really enjoyed the development of the characters and the humor. I can't wait to read the next one in the series. What a refreshing change from everything that is out there right now.

What happens when a precocious 11 year old girl whose interests lean to the macabre literally stumbles over a dead body in the garden?

Flavia de Luce, the young lady in question, is the youngest daughter of an aristocratic family in decline. Her two older sisters, Daphne and Ophelia, alternate between tormenting her and ignoring her. Her mother, Harriet, died when she was an infant. Her father, Colonel de Luce, spends the majority of his time locked in his study alone. Thus, and except for the servants, young Flavia is essentially without supervision, and therefore free to indulge her hobby: chemistry, with a special interest in and predilection for poison.

Early one morning a dead snipe mysteriously appears on the door step. A peculiar postage stamp is perched on its bill, the sight of which causes the Colonel to blanch. Flavia's curiosity is piqued -- the Colonel never speaks of his past, and this bird and stamp must mean something very important. Late that night, Flavia overhears her father arguing in his study with an unknown man; Early the next morning, while strolling through the garden, she trips over a nearly dead stranger who, with his last oddly-scented breath, utters a Latin word, "Vale."

Flavia is on a mission now: She almost recognized that scent. Who is the stranger? Why was he at her home? Why is he dead? Was it murder? Who killed him? And what is the significance of "Vale"?

With determination, perseverance, and a logical thought process that would do Sherlock Holmes proud, Flavia sets forth to solve the mystery. Along the way, she confounds the local constabulary, annoys the local librarian, investigates the goings-on at the local inn, and generally makes a nuisance of herself all over town. Bless her little heart, she's absolutely adorable, if more than a little terrifying: Scout Finch with a Bunsen burner and access to controlled substances.

Told entirely from Flavia's perspective, Alan Bradley's novel is sheer joy to read: captivating, charming, and utterly original from the first word to the last.

I sincerely hope this is not the last we see of Flavia de Luce.

Our club really enjoyed this book, and we all said we would be interested in reading the sequels. We found it really funny and we especially enjoyed Flavia's relationship with her sisters. The only complaint was that sometimes you could tell this book was being written by an adult, but overall the author was believable as an 11 year old girl.

After I stopped comparing 11 year-old Flavia with my 11 year-old granddaughter I enjoyed the book more, reminding myself that Flavia is fiction.She was almost growing up as an only child in a old house surrounded with old things so she most likely was more mature than other girls her age. The author conveys Flavia's lonliness at never having known her mother and her longing to have affection from her father without ever mentioning it. Flavia truly is a curious little heroine.

The perspective of such a vivacious 11 year-old made reading the novel fun! Flavia is the youngest of 3 girls who live with their widowed father. Her sisters treat her just miserably so when a dead body is found in the garden, she just leaves them out of the mystery. Flavia does seem to charm the men in the story from Dogger to the police detective. She is quite knowledgable about poisons and shows us too!

Good, old-fashion mystery. Think of Nancy Drew and Sherlock Holmes...

I fell in love with Flavia! She has the intellegence and cunning of the best sleuths with an intriguing obsession for the morbid but still has the emotional naivety that you would expect from a eleven year old. It was a great book, but I generally do not like mysteries for book club. Even the best mysteries do not seen to generate enough discussion.

What a wonderful new series for all ages. Although the heroine is young this is not your typical YA or cozy mystery. Wistful, smart and witty, our Flavia bikes throughout the English countryside noting the differences between the classes, missing her mother, hating her sisters, wishing for a warmer father and unraveling a dangerous mystery involving history, stamps, greed and murder. As addictive as a well-made slice of pie!

I adored Flavia and her adventures in this book so much that I pre-ordered the next in the series and cannot wait to revisit this family! This story was slow to start (you will be wondering whether anything other than chemistry experiments and bike rides will ever happen) but once it got going, I was hooked.

Some in the club thought that this was more of young adult reading, but I disagree. I think that the many layers of activity and conversation are present - and just because the novel is told from an 11 year old's point of view does not mean only those around that age will enjoy the tale (think of the Lovely Bones - she was 14 - or the Chronicles of Narnia - many of which revolve around children - or the Lord of the Flies!)

Cute book, but doesn't seem suitable for a Book Club read. Kind of an elaboraate Nancy Drew.

I really tried to like this book. However the main character, Flavia, while likable, was not believable.
Overall not a good read and I won't read any of the sequels!

I enjoyed the book. However, it is not a book that I would recommend for avid adult readers. I would, however, recommend it for a teenager.

Great first book in series. Engaging, fascinating your heroine and time period. Great adventure and detective story led by a young chemist who is not afraid of being different.

Lo que me gusta de los misterios considerados cozy,es el juego entre el autor y yo para ver si puedo descubrir el asesino, a la vez que me disfruto la historia y los personajes por supuesto. Pero en este libro aunque tiene muy buena trama su ingrediente principal,lo que lo vuelve complejo, no es esta precisamente. Es la protagonista, una precoz niña de ocho años que nos cautiva por ser dulce pero no empalagosa, decidida pero no caprichosa y muy lista, sin pretender ser un genio. Es un libro de lectura rapida y amena muy entretenido.

Though mystery is not my genre of choice and chemistry my least favorite subject, I found this little book a delight! The young sleuth is much too mature for her age (with a vocabulary and cynicism to match,) but she is nonetheless fun to follow on her merry chase through the English countryside in search of a murderer. I would like to have seen more character development of the sisters in particular,but that may follow in sequels. A very well written, quick read - great for those who a suffering from "serious book fatigue!"

A unique heroine (eleven year old Flavia) owning her surroundings (an English village shortly after WWII). I enjoyed the book in part because nothing about it was the same-old, same-old for me. The author did a good job immersing me into the setting. I enjoyed going along for the ride with Flavia.

Cute, a quick summer read, but not great for book club discussion. How many 11 year olds are that precocious?

This got a mixed review from our reading group. It was split half-and-half between those who liked it and those who loved it. We had fun dissecting the characters, the setting and the plot.

this book was a fun read...light and easy. The main character, Flavia was delightful. At times it was hard to imagine her as only 11 years old, but I loved when she went into her "fantasy" mode...definitely brought her back to a believable 11 years.
I enjoyed the author's style of writing and felt that the characters were pretty much believable. This is definitely a book to read as a break from more intense, dramatic reads.

Loved this one. Flavia was quite a character.

Flavia is a precocious 11 year-old girl who finds herself in the middle of murder mystery. She knows where to go for answers ... the library. After researching the victim's history at the library she uncovers a scandal over a missing valuable stamp. Her thoughts analyze details of events leading up to the discovery of a dying man, and her father's penchant for stamps collecting. The family cook has just made a fresh custard pie and left it to cool, when one piece is mysteriously missing. Another fatality surfaces when a dead snipe is found on the front doorstep with a stamp stuck to its bill. Flavia schemes throughout to clear her father's name when he is accused. She even tries to take the blame herself, after all she was the one who discovered the body. She is obsessed with chemistry and uses her knowledge of chemical reactions to help determine the cause of death. She is brave and faces evil as she begins to unravel the mystery of the murder. In the end she learns a lot about her father and feels that their father-daughter relationship has reached another level.

I don't know if I got the title's connection to the overall story. I think I have a hang-up about titles and look for ways they can sum up the essence of a book. Sometimes titles are metaphors for a story's message. Maybe titles are a way to trigger memories of what was read. I know there is more than one way to interpret things, but I tried imagining that Flavia represented the sweetness; as the youngest child she was at the bottom in pecking order. The "pie" could represent the whole family unit, or clues (pieces of pie) that make up the whole mystery.

I really liked the quote “Unless some sweetness at the bottom lie, who cares about the crinkle of the pie.”
The action certainly revolved around Flavia and without her insight there wouldn't be much to comment on concerning the mystery.

A little tough to get into, but an interesting story.

Flavia is a precocious delight! Bradley takes a murder mystery in a completely new direction.

Interesting story of a lonely little girl who doesn't believe anyone but the caretaker would miss her if she were to die. She uses her love and knowledge of chemistry to save her father and solve two murders. I enjoyed it, but it is not what I think of as "a book club book". She is amazingly self-reliant and resourceful as she tracks down the answers to the mystery.

On the basis of its high ratings and, finally, of seeing it billed as one of the best of 2009 on amazon.com, I purchased THE SWEETNESS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PIE by Alan Bradley. I'm sure now that Bradley must be a very nice and well-liked person. How else could his ratings be so high?

I expected a mystery. But enthralling, which it was called, it was not. Rather, it was meandering.

A dead bird shows up on the doorstep. What does this mean? Who is it meant for?

A man is murdered in the backyard. Who is it? Why was he murdered and by whom?

What do these two incidents have to do with each other?

So, yes, there's the mystery. But the book meanders, says so much of little consequence, it put me to sleep.

this is a fun and funny whodunit with an especially engaging narrator, Flavia de Luce.

I liked The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie but I feel that it was not really fit to be a book that I would read as a college student. The tale involving precocious little Flavia de Luce was interesting but the narration didn't seem to fit my style. There's nothing wrong with the book at all; in fact, it is probably the kind of story I would have enjoyed reading as a middle schooler myself. It is also well-written for a kids'-sleuthing-novel and could be a great book for young readers who want to improve their reading skills. I just feel that my interest in this book was about the same as it had been before I even read it, and it was not much interest. It certainly was entertaining, though and I really only started liking Flavia after she professed her love for Chemistry --it made her pompousness a little less baseless.

I loved this little girl! She is everything I want to be when I grow up.

I really enjoyed Sweetness. Flavia was a fun character, very smart for an 11-year old. I loved how the book started, it made me think it was going to be a totally different sort of story.

I thought the book was a bit slow and predictable. Flavia was a cute character, but the storyline was unconvincing and dull.

I liked it but I didn't love it. Kept waiting for the big "lesson" or tying the book title to what was going on in the book. Maybe I missed it?!

Flavia De Luce is a captivating 11-year-old who saves the day and solves the mystery! A delightful book, first in a series.

Flavia is a laugh-out-loud narrator! Yes, she is a bit precocious, but the books are much more than a light mystery..they are about family and growing up (albeit, a tad differently!) I highly recommend reading this series!!

I loved this whole series. Flavia is such a fascinating character. Even though she is 11, I was hooked for the whole series. There are plenty of twists and turns to keep you guessing. Alan Bradley adds many interesting characters for each book. He also adds new layers to Flavia and her sisters. I highly recommend this book to all young girls (real or in your heart) looking for adventure. I can't wait for the next installment!

Funny, interesting, a good book to listen to

I bought this book on a whim, when our local Boarders went out of business. I was drawn to the title and the cover. I open the book, started reading and completely fell in love with Miss Flavia de Luce! This spunky girl sleuth with her own chemistry lab and love of all things poison will capture your heart with her spirit of adventure. Whether she is plotting revenge against her older, and often self-absorbed, sisters or following the trail of a mysterious stamp, Flavia delights on every front.

Most of us quite enjoyed this book, but it was felt that it was possibly aimed at the teenage market. Some felt that it was reminiscent of the Angela Brazil school stories. It was written by a man only two years ago and the response to it was very mixed ‘it was easy read / boring / difficult to remember and also peppered with Americanisms’.
When the bird was found on the doorstep, then the murdered man, Flavia decided to investigate. It seemed odd that Flavia was not even a little scared of a dead body. The book was set in 1950’s countryside, so she would have had much more freedom to wander than she would now. When her father was arrested for the murder, she hopped on her bike (Gladys) and took it on herself to investigate. She predictably kept one step in front of the police and solved the mystery.
The pie in the title seemed to have little to do with the crime even though it had a slice out of it and Flavia thought it could have been poisoned. The point was that the pie tasted so bad that none of the family would dream of eating it.
We felt the children well drawn and the loneliness of Flavia came across. There was much jealousy in the relationship between the sisters, as the other two girls had known their mother a little before she died. None of the children received much love from anywhere, although Flavia was friendly with Dogger, an old family retainer now a gardener and he kept an eye out for her. He had been damaged in the war and drifted into his own world at times. Flavia lived in her head a lot too, as she had no company. The book was predictable as was Flavia herself.
The mystery was in fact not very mysterious. Most of our number seemed to have favourite parts to quote and these tended to be amusing. Flavia was a strange child; she had this obsession with chemistry and was obviously very much more intelligent than her siblings. Her father was a stamp collector, which summed him up.
Flavia solved the mystery and her father was released from prison. He was not at all grateful and unfortunately nothing was going to change in their household as a result of the adventure.
Our marking for the book swung from 3 to 7 – 4 of us hated it, 4 loved it and the others were somewhere in between. We averaged out at 6 out of 10.

A fun book for clubs to discuss. We all loved Flavia!