The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley

Flavia is an 11-year-old girl who lives in a venerable old house in England. Her mother has died, and she lives with two sisters, her father, and some domestics.  Flavia is obsessed with chemistry and is never happier than when she is distilling poisons in her great uncle's laboratory.  One day she hears an argument in her father's study, and then later finds a man dead in the house's culinary garden. Flavia is intrigued, and soon is conducting a full out investigation of the murder.

The charm of this book is Flavia's complex personality.  She is at once intrepid and vulnerable, cold blooded and compassionate.  Bradley has caught the essence of per-pubescent exuberance, still unfettered by hormones or social consciousness.  On top of that, Bradley has a host of other interesting characters, a charming setting, and a well crafted plot.

I read this because the 10th in the series recently came out and got good reviews.  I thought, 'I better go back and read the first one,' not realizing how many are in the series.  So now I have another cozy mystery series to fall back on when I am need of a literary break from heavier topics. (363 p. 2009)