The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie

This is a mystery with an 11 year old girl narrator who is a bit of a prodigy in Chemistry. She lives in a moldering old British estate with two older sisters and a distant stamp collecting father. A dead body shows up in the garden and she decides to investigate. It's quite enjoyable in a Nancy Drew sort of way. Although her voice is way older than her years she stills acts like a child whizzing along on her bike to sleuth. Her bike has a name which reminds me of when I was young and my bike was an extension of myself, a character in my stories. She is constantly plotting rather sophisticated chemical mischief against her sisters which I would never had been intellectually capable of (although I hasten to add I am sure I would have been morally capable!) which is fun to read and the mystery unfolds quite nicely with only a few characters to keep track of and suspect.

More Lucia

I read another M.C. Beaton Agatha Raisin mystery. Not sure why since, while I like the character, I do not like her writing, I think she pops out a couple of these a year and it shows. The writing is very sloppy. At the library the librarian -----dare I say it?----coo'ed when she saw them. It turns out she loves them and all her friends do too. I started protesting how poorly written they were but since I stood there checking out two more I felt the firm ground beneath my argument shifting. 'Perfect for when you're sick' I tried backtracking weakly. I coughed discreetly into the crook of my elbow as we have been instructed to do. The librarian looked away in distaste. I won't be invited to join her bookclub.
One good thing about Agatha Raisin is she's like a flu shot, over quickly and I moved back to my beloved Lucia. It is the last one and I think I am glad since although they are quite fun, as Georgie says so much arch dialogue can be a bit "tarsome". Like reading too much Woodehouse.