Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley

I am amazed by Alan Brady.  The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, his debut novel, was written when he was 70 years old.  Even more surprising is how well he tells the story through the eyes of a saucy little 11 year old girl.  Here is a review from Amazon.com:

It's the beginning of a lazy summer in 1950 at the sleepy English village of Bishop's Lacey. Up at the great house of Buckshaw, aspiring chemist Flavia de Luce passes the time tinkering in the laboratory she's inherited from her deceased mother and an eccentric great uncle. When Flavia discovers a murdered stranger in the cucumber patch outside her bedroom window early one morning, she decides to leave aside her flasks and Bunsen burners to solve the crime herself, much to the chagrin of the local authorities. But who can blame her? What else does an eleven-year-old science prodigy have to do when left to her own devices? With her widowed father and two older sisters far too preoccupied with their own pursuits and passions—stamp collecting, adventure novels, and boys respectively—Flavia takes off on her trusty bicycle Gladys to catch a murderer. In Alan Bradley's critically acclaimed debut mystery, The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, adult readers will be totally charmed by this fearless, funny, and unflappable kid sleuth. But don't be fooled: this carefully plotted detective novel (the first in a new series) features plenty of unexpected twists and turns and loads of tasty period detail. As the pages fly by, you'll be rooting for this curious combination of Harriet the Spy and Sherlock Holmes. Go ahead, take a bite. --Lauren Nemroff

I loved this book.  I read a little slow for me compared to other mystery novels I have read, but I was very pleased with the characters and the plot.  I definitely recommend it!

This is book 2 of 12 for the Mystery & Suspense Reading Challenge.