I mentioned wanting to read this book (and its series) a while back and I recently finished the first book. This book has gotten nothing but rave reviews and recommendations, so I was really excited to dive into it. I feel really bad saying this, but I didn't really love it. The individual pieces of the book were all great, but overall something just didn't mesh with me.
The story itself was very original and broke free of the typical formula that we tend to find in mysteries. The main reason for that is definitely because our narrator was an 11 year old girl, Flavia. She's a funny little girl...very quirky, witty, and cheeky. I previously compared Flavia to Nancy Drew, but after reading this I see her as more of Harriet the Spy. (That's not to say that this is a juvenile book, because it definitely is not.)
There were aspects of this story that I found really charming. Flavia rides her bike, which she has named Gladys, everywhere. She is at constant war with her older sisters, Ophelia and Daphne. We're introduced to your typical, eccentric British characters that exist in the peripheral of Flavia's life (but who I imagine will play more prominent roles in later books). Also, the author does a wonderful job of painting a portrait with words. I could really visualize the story he was telling.
Rather than regurgitate the summary from the back of the book (found here: http://www.amazon.com/Sweetness-Bottom-Pie-Flavia-Mystery/dp/0385343493/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1301337625&sr=1-1), I can give you a quick summary of what happens. Flavia finds a dead body in the cucumber patch outside her house and begins a quest to finding out who committed the crime. Along the way we find out about Flavia's dad and various back stories for her neighbors. The mystery portion of the book was pretty good...not too predictable, but also not something that came from left-field either.
I think the part that irked me the most was probably what endeared Flavia to a lot of people...but Flavia is really into chemistry. I loathe chemistry. A solid chunk of the book was devoted to how Flavia developed her love of chemistry, how chemistry relates to the story, lots of chemistry jargon, chemistry blah blah blah. There were times that I had to skim paragraphs because it just did not interest me.
Overall, it was a great story, had wonderful characters, and is beautifully told...but the chemistry aspect of it really threw me. I know that makes me sound vapid and like I can't handle weighty subject matter, but science was never my strong point so I really don't enjoy reading about it. I want to read the other books in the series, but I will probably only do so if I find them at the used bookstore or am craving a book from the library.
TIDBIT: The author is 70 years old! Apparently he was a child during this same era (Britain in the 1950s, post WWII), which is likely why the descriptive language was so impactful.
Ranking: A (if you don't mind chemistry) / B (if you're like me and chemistry isn't your bag)
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