A Passion for Poison

I'm currently deep into the book, The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley. It's book one in the Flavia de Luce series, a series about an eleven-year-old chemist. Flavia, the main character, is one of three daughters to a widower, in the year 1950. Upon moving into their current house, Flavia discovered chemistry books in the house's library, and an abandoned laboratory near her bedroom. Since then, she has realized her excellence in chemistry, performing many tasks that would be difficult for even a beginning chemist.

Flavia is a very curious, adventurous, intelligent girl, so when a strange string of events occur, she can't help but judge the situation herself. The strange events start with a dead bird arriving on the de luce's doorstep. This would not be odd, except for the fact that a postage stamp was through the beak of the bird. Next, Flavia overhears her father talking to a strange man about murders, possibly committed by her father. And lastly, she finds a dead man in their cucumber patch, the same man that that was talking to her father.

Flavia begins to use her chemistry skills to solve the puzzle, while possibly changing her thoughts of her family at the same time. Flavia is introduced to a part of her life that she never knew existed.

While I have yet to finish this book, I'm writing a recommendation for it, because I can tell it's going to be (and is) great. This witty, intriguing mystery is intended for adults, but can be read by people of all ages. This book, published by a Canadian author, has also won the Canadian Dagger award.

Also...be on the lookout for another poll coming soon!