Reviews tagging 'Kidnapping'

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley

11 reviews

bosco29's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious slow-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Death, and Kidnapping

lilawsahar's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

This book read like a Wes Anderson film. Lots of dry humor and goofy moments —like her using poison ivy to get back at her sister. I also enjoyed her dark humor and curious disposition. Anyone who is fond of poisons can be my friend! You can definitely tell that this book was written by a man though. 

Gripes with the book:
- Lots of description to the situation and scenery going on which makes it hard to read at times. I think the authors writing gets better as the novel goes on. The description about how Flavia was rescued at the end was so confusing.
- The conversations between Flavia and the detective seemed flirtatious.
- The author is American and is writing about Britain and their customs. Just seems wrong tbh. Do research.

Side note: I love how I read about poisons before this book and this novel references different types of poisons!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Kidnapping, Death, Murder, and Torture

Minor: Racism

mint_julippe's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide, Violence, and Murder

Minor: Confinement, Kidnapping, and Racism

shewritesinmargins's review against another edition

lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Racism, and Confinement

katherine_alexis's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping

Moderate: Racism and Murder

anniup's review against another edition

mysterious slow-paced

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Murder, Racism, and Death

Moderate: Suicide

larebe's review against another edition

1.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping and Confinement

Moderate: Racism

purplepenning's review against another edition

adventurous funny mysterious medium-paced

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping and Confinement

Moderate: Misogyny, Classism, Death, Xenophobia, Grief, Murder, Racism, Racial slurs, Suicide, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Animal death, Colonisation, Islamophobia, Religious bigotry, Torture, Bullying, Cultural appropriation, Sexism, Death of parent, and War

About halfway through the book there's a long monologue that features an extended depiction of racist stereotypes, with a few others scattered throughout.

emileereadsbooks's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

 Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I did struggle to get through it but that was more about me and my reading life than this book. 

Pros: I like how spunky and confident Flavia is. She is smart and the mystery element was very interesting. I feel like there was a good setup for relationships between characters to grow in the following books (which I will be giving a shot).

Cons: Flavia is a bit too cocky at times for my liking and her contentious relationship with her sisters bothered me a bit. 

The biggest reason I think this book is a "really liked" rating vs. a "loved" rating for me is that last year I read and fell in love with Myrtle Hardcastle. Myrtle and Flavia are very alike but Myrtle is more humble and virtuous, and I read her first, so I like Myrtle more. I do think that it would be a great book club for a group to read both the first Flavia and first Myrtle books and contrast and compare them. That being said, Flavia, because of the content, I would label as more young YA while Myrtle is firmly middle grade. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping

Moderate: Murder

Minor: Bullying, Suicide, and Death

wondereads13's review against another edition

adventurous funny mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

I found this a really good mystery, and I love that Flavia essentially decides to solve the mystery because she's told she can't. Spite is a wonderful motivator. Also, petition for Inspector Hewitt to adopt Flavia.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Kidnapping