A review by mldavisreads
Magic, Lies, and Deadly Pies by Misha Popp

dark mysterious
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

Adult mystery.  Daisy Ellery has inherited a gift of magic, and she uses it to bake pies. Most pies are filled with nostalgia, or a touch of focus, but some are to die for.  She runs an underground business called Pies Before Guys where abused women can request a pie that will stop their abuser dead.  But someone has uncovered this line of work and has started threatening to expose Daisy.  Meanwhile, she finally starts to feel like she has real friends in Turnbridge, including not only the staff of the restaurant she bakes for, but Noel the owner of a local orchard who works next to her at the farmer's market, and a loud activist named Melly that she meets on the college campus. When Noel encourages her to enter a Miss American Pie baking contest for a $10,000 cash prize she agrees and promptly features his apple and honey in the ingredients.  But as the contest gets closer, the messages from her blackmailer increase.  Will Daisy be able to enter and win or will she have to face up to her past?

This book was mostly fun, but I was a bit surprised at the language used and politics included.  To me it didn't quite feel like a cozy mystery because of that.  I did enjoy it though, and requested the physical copy so I could see the recipes at the end.  A bit of mystery, a bit of romance, and a lot of pie.
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