Lyon of the Highlands (The Lyon’s Den Connected World)

Magic, Lies, and Deadly Pies by Misha Popp 

Title:  Magic, Lies, and Deadly Pies:  A Pies Before Guys mystery 

Author: Misha Popp
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books
Genre:  Mystery & Thrillers
Format:  Kindle
No. of Pages: 328
Date of Publication:  10 May, 2022
My Rating:  4 Stars

My Thoughts 

Sticking with the pie part of the title, I devoured this one and savored each page. This was the darker cozy mystery I didn’t know I was waiting for. 

A vigilante pie maker gifted with magic who (without graphic language or violence) gives bad men what they deserve? A feminist book where men who are reprehensible predators get their richly deserved comeupannces? A book rife with such predators? Please and thank you - yes, yes, and one more for good measure. 

The coziness of pies, and Noel’s orchard, apples, and cider made this a wonderful read on a perfect Autumn day (I read and reviewed this one November 2021).

 

I loved this story and I was so impressed that this is the author’s debut work; this is incredibly easy to read and is also wonderfully fun. 

I am looking forward to reading the author’s future work and am so happy to learn that this is the beginning of a new super fun and cozy series! 

Thanks to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for an eARC of this title. Opinions shared are influenced by nothing other than my reading experience.

Description 

Daisy Ellery’s pies have a secret ingredient: The magical ability to avenge women done wrong by men.But Daisy finds herself on the receiving end in Misha Popp’s cozy series debut, a sweet-as-buttercream treat for fans of Ellery Adams and Mary Maxwell.

The first time Daisy Ellery killed a man with a pie, it was an accident. Now, it’s her calling. Daisy bakes sweet vengeance into her pastries, which she and her dog Zoe deliver to the men who’ve done dirty deeds to the town’s women. But if she can’t solve the one crime that’s not of her own baking, she’ll be out of the pie pan and into the oven.
 
Parking her Pies Before Guys mobile bakery van outside the local diner, Daisy is informed by Frank, the crusty diner owner, that someone’s been prowling around the van—and not just to inhale the delectable aroma. Already on thin icing with Frank, she finds a letter on her door, threatening to reveal her unsavory secret sideline of pie a la murder.
 
Blackmail? But who whipped up this half-baked plot to cut a slice out of Daisy’s business? Purple-haired campus do-gooder Melly? Noel, the tender—if flaky—farm boy? Or one of the abusive men who prefer their pie without a deadly scoop of payback?
 
The upcoming statewide pie contest could be Daisy’s big chance to help wronged women everywhere…if she doesn’t meet a sticky end first. Because Daisy knows the blackmailer won’t stop until her business is in crumbles.