This one is going to be tough to write about because the book consumed me. And now I have to make sense of it. So I am going to do this the old- fashioned way- talk about the story a little bit and tell you what works and all that.
11 -year- old Flavia is obnoxious, precocious and a nightmare as a sibling. Her passion is chemistry and her specialty poisons. She lives her enigmatic father and two annoying sisters. Then there is the colourful odd jobs man, Dogger.
A stranger dies in their cucumber patch and no points for guessing who finds the body. The police arrest her father but Flavia is sure her dad is innocent. So she does some sleuthing on her own and we have a brush with poisons, prestidigitators, and philately and past- murders. And of course pie.
Tight plot, quirky characters, quiet humour and taut narrative. Original, fresh voice and characters you will fall love with. And an absolutely delicious murder
Read it- the pie’s crust is flaky, the stuffing perfectly tart and there is definitely a sweetness at the bottom. As perfect a murder novel as one can get post Christie.
©Maya
I loved this book too! The only thing that I found a little unbelievable was the protagonist ....If she was a few years older I would find her antics more plausible
ReplyDeleteMaybe the writer wanted a precocious heroine?
ReplyDelete...maybe, but she was beginning to annoy me towards the end. But I would still go and read the next book in the series..I can never resist good mysteries ..esp british ones
ReplyDeleteI know exactly what you mean!
ReplyDelete