The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie
The summer of 1950 finds the deLuce family in their aging English estate with a distracted widower father barely aware of the activities of his three young daughters. When a dead bird is found on at their doorstep, the youngest, 11-year-old Flavia, is surprised at the extreme reaction of her father. She also finds the postage stamp that is impaled on the bird's beak a curious tie to his only hobby, stamp collecting. A few nights later, when she hears a midnight argument between her father and a stranger, and then later discovers the man dead in her cucumber garden, she finds herself in the midst of an investigation that goes back to incidents from many years ago.
Intent on discovering who the stranger is and his connection to her father, Flavia discreetly sneaks into the tiny nearby town to research the past and investigate the activities of the new faces that have disrupted the tranquil hillsides. Backed by an unusually extensive knowledge of chemistry, and a lab in her home worthy of a seasoned academic, she proceeds to gather the clues that lead her to a sensible conclusion, and also into the hands of a deadly killer. Typical of her independent and daring nature, she remarks, "I wish I could say I was afraid, but I wasn't. Quite the contrary. This was by far the most interesting thing that had ever happened to me in my entire life."
In his debut novel, which received the Crime Writers' Association Debut Dagger Award, author Alan Bradley provides a unique mix of clever wit and engaging mystery -
all within a story that both intrigues and amuses. His cast of characters brings to mind a range from Liza Doolittle to Sherlock Holmes, and introduces a precocious young detective whose future adventures are something to look forward to. Appealing to a wide age range, Bradley is a refreshing and versatile new voice.
Swan for the Money
Meg Langslow's parents have retired and taken to growing - and showing -
roses. At her mother's request she has reluctantly agreed to run the rose competition and all that the fiercely competitive event entails. When the location of the show needs to be changed at the last minute, Meg seeks a venue at Mrs. Winkleson's -
a wealthy, but mean-spirited, monochromatically inclined old woman who owns a farm known for its strictly enforced black color scheme. Her quest to win the prize for the best black rose is well known about town.
When a woman is killed at her farm the day of the show everyone assumes the intended victim is Mrs. Winkleson, an assumption that is backed up by a seemingly second attempt at her life with a poisoned drink.
As the judging begins Meg goes in search of the farm's rose garden in an attempt to prove that Winkleson's rose entry is not a product of her own gardening expertise. As she finds the evidence she comes across a disturbing scene of cattle being spirited away, and is then stopped in her tracks by the killer who plans on silencing her forever.
Author Donna Andrews offers an eighth avian themed mystery in her series and does so with the comedic twist that has become her trademark. Lighthearted, appealing and appropriate for readers young and old, Andrews has won awards for best first novel, and also a Lefty -
the award for the funniest mystery.