February 2010 Debut of the Month.

Death in the cucumber patch and a young girl turns detective in a spirited pastiche of the English village murder-mystery with a nod to Agatha Christie and some nice original touches.  With a breathless and compelling narrator, we are whisked through a bizarre sequences of events in a terrific romp.  Really great fun.

Comparison: Unique but try M C Beaton, Lisa Lutz, Catriona McPherson.

Synopsis

For very-nearly-eleven-year-old Flavia de Luce, the discovery of a dead snipe on the doorstep of Buckshaw, the crumbling de Luce country seat, was a marvellous mystery - especially since this particular snipe had a rather rare stamp neatly impaled on its beak. Even more astonishing was the effect of the dead bird on her stamp-collector father, who appeared to be genuinely frightened. Soon Flavia discovers something even more shocking in the cucumber patch and it's clear that the snipe was a bird of very ill omen indeed. As the police descend on Buckshaw, Flavia decides it is up to her to piece together the clues and solve the puzzle. Who was the man she heard her father arguing with? What was the snipe doing in England at all? Who or what is the Ulster Avenger? And, most peculiar of all, who took a slice of Mrs Mullet's unspeakable custard pie that had been cooling by the window...?

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About the Author

Alan Bradley was born into a family of storytellers who never stopped talking about the old days 'back home' in England - for which he is eternally grateful. He lives with his wife, Shirley, in Gozo. More books by this author Author 'Like for Like' recommendation