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The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie | Alan Bradley
Winner of the 2007 Crime Writers Association Debut DaggerA delightfully dark English mystery, featuring precocious young sleuth Flavia de Luce and her eccentric family.The summer of 1950 hasnt offered up anything out of the ordinary for eleven-year-old Flavia de Luce: bicycle explorations around the village, keeping tabs on her neighbours, relentless battles with her older sisters, Ophelia and Daphne, and brewing up poisonous concoctions while plotting revenge in their homes abandoned Victorian chemistry lab, which Flavia has claimed for her own.But then a series of mysterious events gets Flavias attention: A dead bird is found on the doormat, a postage stamp bizarrely pinned to its beak. A mysterious late-night visitor argues with her aloof father, Colonel de Luce, behind closed doors. And in the early morning Flavia finds a red-headed stranger lying in the cucumber patch and watches him take his dying breath. For Flavia, the summer begins in earnest when murder comes to Buckshaw: I wish I could say I was afraid, but I wasnt. Quite the contrary. This was by far the most interesting thing that had ever happened to me in my entire life.Did the stranger die of poisoning? There was a piece missing from Mrs. Mullets custard pie, and none of the de Luces would have dared to eat the awful thing. Or could he have been killed by the familys loyal handyman, Dogger or by the Colonel himself! At that moment, Flavia commits herself to solving the crime even if it means keeping information from the village police, in order to protect her family. But then her father confesses to the crime, for the same reason, and its up to Flavia to free him of suspicion. Only she has the ingenuity to follow the clues that reveal the victims identity, and a conspiracy that reaches back into the de Luces murky past.A thoroughly entertaining romp of a novel, The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie is inventive and quick-witted, with tongue-in-cheek humour that transcends the macabre seriousness of its subject.From the Hardcover edition.
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SMH86
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Pickpick

Sometime hard to focus on, but overall, I enjoyed this book.

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Texreader
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Pickpick

Eleven-year-old Flavia DeLuce discovers a body in her garden and hears the man‘s last word. Her father, a philatelist with a humorous and dark history, is arrested for the crime. Both her dad and the dead man have a history with an extraordinary and rare stamp. Flavia, a chemistry genius, sets out to discover the truth putting herself into mortal danger. A good story and fairly complex. Unfortunately I didn‘t grasp it all, being fairly stressed ⬇️

Texreader this week. More characters than I could track given my mood. I wonder if reading rather than listening would have helped. I may read it again, or I‘ll move on to book 2. 3w
Ruthiella I think the mysteries in this series are pretty weak. I liked them for the characters. 3w
AnnCrystal 🙏💝. 3w
lauraisntwilder Personally, I think you can move on to book 2. I loved this series, but the first book isn't the best. I hope you're feeling better! 3w
50 likes4 comments
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Texreader
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Awaiting library holds so I‘m listening to this audiobook.

Ruthiella The narrator for this series was so perfect for it, IMO! 1mo
Texreader @Ruthiella I agree!! 1mo
61 likes1 stack add2 comments
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PurpleyPumpkin
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Day 4 #WithMystery #AboutABook
I haven‘t read this entire series, but what I have read was delightful.

Follow.my.read And there‘s a new one coming in September I believe! I too have them all! YAROO! What a fun series!!!! 5mo
Ruthiella I enjoyed this series. Flavia is a fun character. 😃 5mo
PurpleyPumpkin @Follow.my.read @Ruthiella Flavia really is fun! I‘m so looking forward to the next in the series. But I‘ll have to catch up with the others first. 😅 5mo
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks These look fun 💛💜 5mo
PurpleyPumpkin @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks If you enjoy cozy mysteries with a fiesty MC, I think you‘ll enjoy this series! 5mo
41 likes1 stack add5 comments
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humouress

978044033869. Told in 1st person, past tense (thank goodness) in 1950 by 11 yo Flavia de Luce, 3rd daughter of a country gentleman. TBH, she‘s a bit bratty/ Wednesday Adams-ish (she concocts poisons to get back at her sisters). There‘s a murder at their stately home so Flavia decides to investigate

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PageShifter
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Pickpick

This book had everything I love! Characters were fabulous, I can't wait to meet them again! Flavia is so clever and hilarious, amazing main character.

I also adored the setting, I could imagine myself there, riding a bike. It felt so alive!

This was pure pleasure to read and I am so happy that I did that. It's super rare to find a pearl like this.

#serieslove2024

TheSpineView Fantastic! 6mo
rubyslippersreads And there‘s a whole series, including a new book coming soon. 6mo
26 likes1 stack add2 comments
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Suzze
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*On my front porch when it‘s nice outside.
*Flavia DeLuce. Flavia is 11, and rides her bike around the town, discovering amazing crimes and clues.
*There are two. Winnie the Pooh and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
*The one I wanted to recommend is St. Martin‘s (darn it), so I‘ll say The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. Amazing book.
*I hate people reading on an E-reader in a public place. I‘m nosy! I need to know what they are reading!

KateReadsYA Hahaha omg the last one got me. I'm the same way! I will even ask lol 9mo
Suzze @KateReadsYA Oh, believe me. I will ask. 😀 9mo
29 likes2 comments
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Cortg
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Pickpick

Senior book club that I‘m working this afternoon and I finished just in time. The genre is cozy mysteries. I‘m not a big mystery reader but I did enjoy this book, though I don‘t see myself reading the others in the series. I most enjoyed the protagonist, young Flavia de Luce. She reminded me of a mix between Hermione and Scout. I liked that the story tied two mysteries together around a rare stamp in the 1950‘s.

emz711 Such a great series! 8mo
42 likes1 comment
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BarkingMadRead
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Ruthiella I love Flavia! 🎅🏻📚💀🎄 12mo
PuddleJumper 💜💜 12mo
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KathyWheeler
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Pickpick

I liked this well enough and Flavia is a great character, if a little irritating and full of herself. I do like how confident she is. Parts of the story explaining stamps were a little boring, and there was one murder that I never understood the motive for. I‘ll definitely read more in this series. #audiowalk

Ruthiella I definitely read this series for the characters, not the plots! I loved Flavia, she is pretty insufferable, but she‘s also quite vulnerable at times, particularly in how her sisters treat her. 13mo
lauraisntwilder I have one more of this series left to read. I had picked up the first three used, so I kept going even though I didn't love the first one. They do get better! Either that, or I just came to love the characters anyway. Hard to say, but it's worth continuing. 13mo
KathyWheeler @Ruthiella The way all the sisters treat each other just gets to me! I would never do something to my sisters that would cause them actual pain. 13mo
See All 6 Comments
KathyWheeler @lauraisntwilder I wish the audio wasn‘t exclusive to Audible. I liked the first one enough to trust that they‘ll get better. 13mo
lauraisntwilder @KathyWheeler Oh, strange! I've listened to a couple of them in audio from libro.fm. 13mo
KathyWheeler @lauraisntwilder I will have to check libro.fm. I‘ve never used it before but I think I remember setting up an account. 13mo
20 likes6 comments
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BarkingMadRead
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Starting my #doublebookspin I bailed on my #bookspin after trying for the second time to read it! @TheAromaofBooks

Lynnsoprano You‘ll enjoy this one! 13mo
KathyWheeler I‘m listening to this right now. 13mo
mcctrish I love Flavia ❤️ I started these in print but now I‘m addicted to them on audio 13mo
TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!!! 13mo
50 likes1 stack add4 comments
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Traci1
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"As I stood outside in Cow Lane, it occurred to me that Heaven must be a place where the library is open twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. No ... eight days a week."

That's what Libby is for, Flavia. ?

Ruthiella 😂😂😂 13mo
48 likes1 comment
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hissingpotatoes
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Bailedbailed

3/5⭐ Cute, quirky, and well written, but not my thing. #buzzwordathon

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Shemac77
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Pickpick

Not as good on audible but still a great book.

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Shemac77
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Flavia!

Bookzombie Love the photo! 2y
23 likes2 stack adds1 comment
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staci.reads
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Pickpick

I really enjoyed sections of this, and Flavia de Luce is a joy! She's a fantastic character, and the smart dialogue made me chuckle more than once. There were sections, though, that got unnecessarily wordy, and I caught myself skimming out of boredom. It wasn't the majority of the text, but enough that it kept me from loving this one. I'll likely try the next in the series eventually to see if they all have that issue. Still, a pick, though.

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TheSpineView
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Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks 📚🥧💚 2y
Eggs On m‘y TBR shelf 🤩 2y
57 likes2 comments
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ChelseaM6010
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#JanuaryJazz
23. National Pie Day

For this prompt I decided to go with Sweetness At The Bottom of the Pie. It‘s about an 11 year old amateur sleuth named Flavia de Luce. Flavia has a penchant for poisons and is extremely intelligent. As the book picks up, Flavia soon finds herself on track to solving a crime that has happened.
Set in the 1950s, this murder mystery is the first in a series.

#NationalPieDay

Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Perfect 👍🏻 🥧 2y
Eggs Sounds like a great series 🥧🥰🙌🏻 2y
16 likes2 comments
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Robotswithpersonality
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Pickpick

With one very notable exception (⚠️sinophobia, yellow face), I truly enjoyed this.
Another little girl with a morbid fascination that helps solve murders, but this story centres her analytical mind: she loves chemistry, ⚗️ and the focus on finding information was refreshing after Aggie Morton's more gothic imaginings.
The author has managed to provide and richly describe such idyllic environs. Is this what they mean by cozy mystery? 🤔


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Robotswithpersonality
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"...a style of prose as stiff and inflexible as a parlor poker."
The shade!

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Robotswithpersonality
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Alas, not part of the curriculum during my MLIS program. 🤓🤫📚

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Robotswithpersonality
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Etymology and scientific discovery united, I love it! 🔬

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AmandaBlaze
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Pickpick

Fun and snarky mystery with Flavia de Luce.
#AwesomeAugust #BookSpin
@Andrew65 @TheAromaofBooks

mcctrish I LOVE Flavia and I am now addicted to listening to these on audio 2y
Andrew65 Great 👏👏👏 2y
TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!!! 2y
40 likes1 stack add3 comments
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melissajayne
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Like others have said, this is a difficult letter to find a favourite, as there are too many to choose from. This book is among a bunch of favourite books that start with S. Other favourite S books include Smacked by Eilene Zimmerman, The Sky is Falling by Kit Pearson, Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart and The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis.

I really like Flavia's fiestyness #letters #alphabetgame.

Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Thank you for playing 📚 2y
22 likes1 stack add1 comment
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Tera66
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#SundayFunday @ozma.of.oz 🌞
1. The whole Flavia de Luce book series by Alan Bradley❤️ (first book is tagged)
2. In my bed, usually with my big sweet dog.🐶
3. ☕️ Coffee, hot or iced!

BookmarkTavern That‘s the best! Reading with a pet! Thank you for posting! ❤️ 2y
aa_guer2021 Found this series recently. It really is lovely! Also that sounds like a perfect spot! ❤️❤️ 2y
Tera66 @aa_guer2021 I'm so jealous, I wish I could read this series again for the first time. I hope you enjoy it! 2y
27 likes3 comments
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melissajayne
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1) Flavia de Luce
2) Pemberley from Pride & Prejudice
3) Reading outside in the sunshine with my favourite Starbucks summer drink

#sundayfunday

BookmarkTavern Pemberley would be lovely! Thank you for sharing! 💚 (edited) 2y
SheilaChew 1) yes 2) yes 3) yes 😁 2y
22 likes2 comments
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bookishbitch
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Bailedbailed

I liked the narrator but I just couldn't get into this story. But I don't read many mysteries so I'm sure it's not the books fault. It was given to me by an aunt who meant well.

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Charityann
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Mehso-so

I listened to the audiobook and by the end I was annoyed by the MC - I think it was partly due to the narrator- she made Flavier come off as pompous and pretentious, like she believed she was not only smarter than everyone else but also better. The narrator would do this little laugh thing every time Flavier said something. I was disappointed by the end especially since this was on some best book list. #pantone @Clwojick

Tera66 This is my favorite series ever, but I will say I didn't love the first book either. And I all that you say about Flavia is true, but I grew to love her by book 2 and 3. 3y
49 likes1 comment
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starlight97
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Pickpick

Flavia is an extremely clever 11 year old girl who lives with her father and two sisters at Buckshaw. One day a dead body turns up in their cucumber patch and she has to take matters into her own hands and investigate.
I do love cheeky young female MCs; this was a fun mystery.

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Avanders
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I wouldn‘t say I‘m in a slump per se.. but it sure does seem to be taking me a long time to be reading anything these days! I‘m listening to the Flavia DeLuce book (and loving it) and eye-reading the other 2 (which includes my #LMPBC read).. it‘s highly likely I‘ll be starting the new year with these 3!

Wishing you all safe and wonderful new year‘s eves… as calm or as crazy as you like! 🎆🎆🎆

Ruthiella I love the Flavia de Luce books on audio. Happy New Year! 🥳 3y
CarolynM Happy New Year 3y
71 likes2 comments
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lauraisntwilder
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Mehso-so

This was cute enough that I'll probably try another one in the series, but it wasn't quite as clever as I'd expected.

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Susanita
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I didn‘t enjoy this as much as other book club members did - I found Flavia to be a bit much! - but it does mention #pie at least in passing.
#gratefulharvest

Ruthiella Yes, one has to like Flavia to like this series! I loved her, as obnoxious as she is! 3y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks 🧡🥧📚 3y
Eggs 🖤🦅🥧 3y
42 likes1 stack add3 comments
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underground_bks
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Pickpick

I‘m not a mystery reader, but this cozy drew me in with its main character, the 11 year old chemist and poison enthusiast Flavia de Luce, as unique as she is lovable, and its setting, the sprawling country manor house of Buckshaw in the tidy little village of Bishop's Lacey. TW: a brief, historically accurate but unnecessary instance of racist anti-Asian caricature.

underground_bks Torn about giving this a pick with the mentioned trigger warning but it is award-winning and beloved for a reason and I did really enjoy it otherwise 😕 (edited) 3y
30 likes1 comment
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Tera66
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#Two4Tuesday
@TheSpineView 💙
Thank you @DarkMina for the invite🖤🖤🖤
1. Flavia deLuce from the tagged book, it's unique and kind of fancy.
2. I like protective, maternal or caring characters!

TheSpineView Thanks for playing! 💙 3y
DarkMina @Tera66 You‘re welcome! 3y
19 likes2 comments
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LeslieO
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Celebrating one of my favorite Canadian authors who created one of my favorite characters on this #CanadaDay #JulyJourneys

Eggs I‘m excited to read these!! Great choice👏🏻📚🤗 3y
LeslieO @Eggs I think I‘ve read 5. So happy that there are more in my future. 3y
Tera66 This is my most favorite book series, so glad it's over! 3y
29 likes3 comments
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IhoardBOOKS
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Precocious Flavia de Luce at 11 years old loves chemistry more than anything, and enjoys using it in her revenge plots against her two older sisters. When her dad gets arrested for a crime Flavia decides the only one who can prove his innocence is her.
The narrator is great, she uses this delightfully naughty but proud voice when thinking about things she knows she shouldn‘t but can‘t help herself.
Fun cozy mystery.

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Tera66
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#Maycharacters
@Eggs and @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks 💜
#Murders
Made me think of my favorite book series The Flavia deLuce Mysteries. My girl Flavia always found her way into murders. So sad the series is over.

Eggs This one ☝️ s on my May tbr!! Now I‘m excited! Great choice👏🏻📚👏🏻 4y
Tera66 @Eggs The first book is good, but I really got attached during the 2nd and 3rd book. I hope you love Flavia as much as I did. 4y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Love your photo 📚❤️ 4y
26 likes4 comments
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aa_guer2021
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Pickpick

Sometimes you need a spunky 11 year old junior detective and a distilled version of a story to get back your reading mojo. Just popping back on to say I am still reading, still planning and still counting down to 💒!! #recentlyread #nospoilers #detective #mystery #bookhaul #awesomefind

26 likes1 stack add
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Elda.osorio
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Mehso-so

Continuing on with Flavia‘s journey of solving the murder, she begins to try and connect the dots. The first thing on her agenda is to visit the library in Bishop‘s Lacey in an attempt to find some newspapers explaining the events of her father‘s past. While there, she learns that her father‘s headmaster mysteriously died in an incident due to the very stamp found on the snipe‘s beak. She also learns that the headmaster was the librarian‘s uncle.

Elda.osorio She tells Flavia about how those boys (her father and his friends) caused the whole incident. Dismayed by that news, Flavia continues with her search to find the truth, heading home. She spoke to her sister who explained that the jack snipe was actually a love token from her admirer, Ned. So, thus, she headed back to Bishop‘s Lacey, this time to find Ned. Flavia finds Ned in the inn yard with a girl named Mary. 4y
Elda.osorio Mary takes Flavia up to the room that she was cleaning where Flavia finds some interesting objects. First, she finds a feather baked into a piece of pie, which seems to be from a jack snipe. Then she finds a sticker from Norway, a place that the detective had mentioned during the investigation. As well, Flavia finds that behind the sticker, there is a duplicate of the very stamp that was found on her doorstep, on the dead snipe‘s beak. 4y
Elda.osorio That stamp was also mentioned by the librarian, who said that that stamp‘s disappearance had a big role in the headmaster‘s death. The final piece of the puzzle fell into place when Mary stated that the man whose room they were in was red-headed. Just like the dead man in the garden. If you like murder mysteries or historical dramas filled with wit, this book is for you. 4y
Elda.osorio This book is told in the first-person point of view, through the eyes of the main character, Flavia. We know this as we constantly hear Flavia‘s thoughts. We hear about how she purposely tries to annoy her sisters and how she always imagines herself as a great detective similar to Sherlock Holmes. Flavia‘s continual witty attitude is shown throughout the novel, especially in her conversations with the detective. As well, the pronouns “I” and “me” 4y
MissYaremcio Nicely done Elda! It sounds like it's getting really good! 6/6 4y
4 likes5 comments
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aa_guer2021
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🤞🏻🤞🏻I broke my reading slump with the current gem recently rescued in a mini #bookhaul. #quotescreator #currentlyreading #missingLitsy #hellospring 🥰🙏🏻🐱😻

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ChaoticMissAdventures
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Bailedbailed

I am about 100 pages from the end and I am mostly annoyed and uninterested. So I am reading the end and moving on. The author lays the clues out point by point and it takes are main character who is supposed to be incredibly intelligent way too long to piece things together. All of the characters are very surface level, while we are learning a lot about the dad's back story it isn't really about him so I feel no connection to anyone here.

Hooked_on_books People seem to just love these books and they don‘t appeal to me at all. I‘m glad to see a dissenting opinion! 4y
rwmg I'm another one who didn't take to the series. I read the first two and found quite a few historical mistakes, and I'm not really very interested in chemistry, so mehhh 4y
ChaoticMissAdventures I thought maybe it was just my general dislike of young children as the protagonist, but she is written well above her age. @rwmg I love chemistry too! Have a degree in it but it wasn't well done here. @Hooked_on_books I can sort of see the appeal to others but was definitely not my book. Glad to have it off my shelf and straight to my little free library. 4y
19 likes3 comments
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Elda.osorio
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Mehso-so


The sweetness at the bottom of the pie follows Flavia, an 11-year girl with pigtails, braces, and an uttermost hatred for her two sisters. However, we soon find out that she is a brilliant chemist with a passion for everything poisonous. At the beginning of the novel, Flavia “stumbles” upon a most interesting problem; a dead redhead man in the garden. Flavia then begins to try and solve the murder, in which her father is the prime suspect.

Elda.osorio She is also trying to figure out how her father, the dead jack snipe found on the doorstep with the stamp on its beak, and the piece of pie missing from Mrs. Mullet custard pie connect together. Set in the 1950s, this book is perfect for you if you like historical fiction as well as mystery with humor sprinkled in throughout. A motif found in this book is Flavia‘s youthfulness.
4y
Elda.osorio Despite the obstacles that she faces, using her differing perspective from the adults, due to her youthfulness, she is able to come up with innovative solutions. She rides her bicycle place to place and she imagines herself as a sort of Sherlock Holmes, which showcases how everything is a game to her in which she wants to win. 4y
Elda.osorio Even at the very beginning of the book, her youthfulness appears when Flavia is pretending to be a great chemist from one of her books. She‘s also underestimated throughout the book due to her youthfulness by the detectives. This motif is important because, without the youthfulness of the main character, the story could not stay the same. 4y
Elda.osorio The story revolves around a child, which gives it it‘s appeal and without that factor, all the sequences of the plot would not happen the way that they do.
4y
MissYaremcio Elda this looks incredible! I am soo adding it to my to-read list! 6/6 4y
7 likes1 stack add5 comments
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rabbitprincess
Pickpick

An impulse re-read. I‘ve read the whole series and felt like starting back at the beginning. This made a grreat comfort read. Apparently some of the things that irritated me on first read (mentioned in my LibraryThing review) did not bother me at all this time through.
#ShutdownReadathon round 2 book 5

17 likes1 stack add
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BehindthePages
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Panpan

Flavia reminded me of a young Sherlock Holmes. And her love of chemistry was intriguing. But the scene-setting was borderline historical fiction at times. The history of buildings and characters filled the pages with unnecessary information. This drew away from the feeling of a mystery and dragged the story out. #mytsery #fiction
Full review https://www.behindthepages.org/post/sweetness-at-the-bottom-of-the-pie-by-alan-b...

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Flingogal
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Ohhhh my @thegirlwiththelibrarybag thank you!!!! That chocolate looks divine (why did I have so much Christmas fettuccini??!) And I'm excited to own a physical Flavia! I love this series and own the audio, so it's lovely to have the first book (and now know which covers to continue buying!!) #christmaseve #Jólabókaflóðswap @MaleficentBookDragon #JolabokaflodSwap ##Jolabokaflod
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I was tempted so many times, but glad I waited!!

thegirlwiththelibrarybag It was hard to know which cover to go with - the plain coloured ones are gone and most the hardbacks are now out of print 😅 I‘ve got a few of the later ones but idk if a matching set is completely possible... Can‘t wait for a chocolate review! 4y
Bookwormjillk That chocolate looks amazing! 4y
BookishTrish That card 🤣 4y
36 likes3 comments
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UnabridgedPod
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This week, on the Unabridged Podcast, we're sharing our picks for Cozy Reads. After our Bookish Check-ins, we chat about what the phrase "Cozy Reads" means, and then we share some other cozy comforts in our Give Me One segment.⠀

What are some of your favorite cozy reads?

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lukulamppu
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Pickpick

I enjoyed this one. It started out a little slow but I really liked the way it was written and I have to give applause to the translation because it was so good. I enjoyed figuring things out a little before Flavia but overall it wasn‘t as phenomenal as I thought it would be. Then again I‘m very new to reading detective novels so that might also figure into things. Nevertheless a solid mystery and an amazing translation! #translatedbooks

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lukulamppu
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Getting some reading time in before my lecture! I started this book a long while ago but abandoned it quite quickly and thought I‘d give it another go to get it off from my currently reading pile😄🕵🏻‍♀️