The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie (2009) by Alan Bradley. This book introduces 11-year-old sleuth Flavia de Luce, a clever girl in a dysfunctional family who lives mostly in her own head. She lives in England in the post-War years (1950, to be exact), a time of relative innocence which doesn't prevent her from turning up murders left and right. The charm of the book lies in Flavia's mixture of youthful innocence and worldly knowledge beyond her years. She makes a pest of herself, but ends up solving the murder in the end -- but not after being placed in great bodily jeapordy herself. I found this little mystery to be tremendously diverting, and would recommend it to anyone looking for an entertaing read. Grade: B+