This was an unusual book. It took a little bit to figure it out. But once I did, it was a thoroughly enjoyable book.

The protagonist has some unusual skills. Once the reader gets used to who she is, or what she is, she is a very delightful character. She has a job to do. And she is falling in love while doing it.

The offbeat plot of the book made it stand out from the crowded field of mystery/action/adventure novels. It's a wonderful book to read.

Here is a description of this book from the publisher:

"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."

So you see from the description that our protagonist bakes murder pies. This is not how a typical cozy works even paranormal cozies. So if you are someone who prefers the classic formula of a cozy, this is not likely to work for you. This book also includes swearing and dark themes (most specifically domestic abuse).

I enjoy reading all sorts of genres and I've always loved books with magical elements. So this book worked well for me. It felt like more of a thriller than anything else, a magical realism thriller? Well, in any case, I don't think it really needs a label. The concept was interesting, the first few pages drew me in and the story had a nice resolution and room for growth.

4 out of 5 Stars. I hope the series continues, I look forward to book 2!

Oh, the pie baking scenes made my mouth water--and there are recipes in the back.

Thanks very much to #NetGalley for the ARC of this book! All the opinions are my own!

Magic, Lies, and Deadly Pies is quite possibly one of the best books I've read in a very long time. It's billed as a cozy mystery, but honestly I'm not sure it fits within that genre. It wasn't really a murder mystery at all. The premise is unlike anything I've ever read, and I do mean that in a good way. Daisy Ellery is a protagonist that I could really root for, as strange as it may sound given what she does: kills bad men with pies. I liked that she had rules that she followed when it came to the murder pies, even if she did sort of go against them near the end of the book. Now that some people know her secret I'm looking forward to seeing how her life continues to change, and how her mission evolves. I really hope there's another book. This one was so good I read it in one day.

This was just a lot of fun. It's not quite a cozy mystery as I expected, nor, in fact, is it much of a mystery at all, despite the cover design and the 'Pies Before Guys Mystery' branding. Rather, it's more of a lighthearted contemporary with magic and thrillerish elements. 

Daisy Ellery is gifted with the ability to infuse her pies with magic. Sometimes, as with the pies she bakes for a diner in exchange for getting to use their kitchen, she infuses her pies with nostalgia and a touch of home. Other times, as with the pies she sells from her food truck / mobile home at a bustling college campus, she adds a touch of calm and mental clarity. And then there are the pies she bakes for men who abuse women, which, depending on their capacity to change, either gets them to stop the abuse completely, or kills them without a trace. Those pies are available only through word of mouth, for women Daisy meets at support groups, or women who have been referred to Daisy's Pies Before Guys business by satisfied customers. In making them, Daisy also abides by a few core rules, such as no killing innocents, and no killing women.

Unfortunately, someone is on to Daisy's secret. They send an order, not through the Pies Before Guys app that maintains Daisy's anonymity, but with an anonymous note dropped off at Daisy's mobile home. The note gives her a list of three women, with no context around why the person wants them dead, and threatens to reveal Daisy's secret if she doesn't comply.

The note-writer's identity forms the central mystery of the novel, as Daisy scrambles to protect herself and the life she's built. However, the big reveal happens about halfway through, and the novel is really more about how Daisy responds to this reveal, and how she comes to terms with her particular brand of magic.

As interesting as the blackmail subplot was, I was more drawn to Daisy's grappling with her place in her family's history. Both her mother and grandmother used their magic purely for good, either in making clothes or styling hair. While Daisy comforts herself that her pies kill only men who can't change for the better, she can't help but feel that she's broken somehow, that the darker application of her magic reflects something darker in herself. I love her journey of self-exploration, and I absolutely love the strong bonds she still clearly feels with the women in her ancestral line. I hope future books in this series dig a bit deeper into her family history, and reveal a bit more, to both Daisy and to us, about this wonderfully rich matrilineal line of magic.

I also adored the romantic subplot in this novel. There was a love triangle element, involving both a male love interest and a female one, which I don't see too often, so that's super cool. The love triangle did feel organic at first, but I admit one of the potential love interests annoyed me to the point that the love triangle began to feel forced halfway through the novel. One of the love interests just struck me as too narrow-minded, and I think they would have hindered Daisy's growth. And later in the novel, this character also engaged in some truly toxic behaviour; they totally disregarded Daisy's boundaries, and attempted a horrifically misguided grand romantic gesture. The narrative seems to frame them as misguided more than malicious, but I legit considered them a mini-villain at points. All that to say, I'm glad the romantic subplot turned out the way it did, and I was super cheering the couple on the entire way.

And I especially love that the author also delves into the more mundane aspects of Daisy's pie-baking. There's a subplot about her entering a pie-making contest, and I loved reading about the recipe she created for it. Honestly, that pie sounds delicious, and while I'm not even much of a pie fan, the author's descriptions made me super crave Daisy's pie. The author does included some recipes at the end, for any readers who also love to bake. Daisy also reveals the non-magical magic secret to her pie: she uses sugar rather than beans or weights to blind bake her crust. The sugar caramelizes while the crust bakes, which adds to the crust's flavour, and the roasted sugar is then used to sweeten future pies. The technique sounds intriguing, and if I ever do get to making a pie, I may try it for myself!

+

Thank you to Crooked Lane Books for an e-galley in exchange for an honest review.

Timely and tasty, daring and delicious, I could not put this book down! It had me questioning and reconsidering the ways we characterize cozy mysteries, which was a pleasant thought exercise amid a truly gripping, thrilling, and somehow still charming, novel.

This was such a fun one!! It made me crave pie soo many times, and then when I found out there were actual pie recipes in the back, I got way too excited. So the constant pie cravings definitely kept things interesting.

This was marketed as a thriller which I kind of get, but it felt very tame to me and had much more of a romcom/badass female lead type novel, which I was totally fine with! I didn’t feel like I needed anything more intense in this story because there were so many other interesting things going on.

One sentence synopsis: Daisy has magical powers and bakes pies with her magic that kill bad men upon consumption. That’s all I think I really have to say to make you want to read this one.

I loved Daisy so much and thought she was such an iconic main character. She was so headstrong and independent. Also hello, she bakes pies with magic in them! I also really, really loved that she had two potential love interests in the story: Noel and Melly. Yes, a male and a female! I thought Melly was meant to be your classic sidekick/soon-to-be best friend, but soon realized Daisy was developing romantic feelings for her as well as Noel. Seeing diversity and representation makes me so happy.

I really enjoyed this book and thought it was different than anything else I’ve read lately. Big thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the eARC!

Who doesn’t like a good book and pie 😍🥰
Magic, Lies and Deadly Pies was an interesting and different read. The plot is definitely unconventional.
There was quite a lot to this book that required a lot of imagination because it was beyond real life and I had a hard time fitting into this imaginative magical world. It is not my usual cup of tea. When I decided to read this, I didn’t actually believe the ‘magic’ was actually magic 🙈
However, with that being said there were a lot of underlining interesting social issues, romance (love triangle that had me hooked) and suspense that caught my attention and kept me reading. It wasn’t as lighthearted of a book as I had come to believe. There are some difficult topics such as domestic abuse and non consensual sex that brings a darker and deeper meaning to deadly pies. Overall a gripping, fictional story. Also, best part? There are recipes in the back of the book!
Thank you Netgalley, to the author and the publishing company for this ARC for an honest review!

This is such a feel good book. I’m so grateful for receiving an ARC of it. It has magic, friendship, camaraderie all blended in together. Daisy Ellery uses her magic in the best way possible by helping to get rid of abusive men. But suddenly she finds herself being blackmailed for it. But she will not be cowered into submission. It’s a feel good tale about girl tribe, magic and pies! This book makes me want to learn how to bake one and the author generously has out recipes too at the end of the book. All in all, a cozy and happy read.

Trigger Warning for: abuse, sexual assault, toxic relationship, death
"The first time I killed a man with a pie, it was an accident"
"Patience is overrated... Except where pie is concerned"
"I know you're going to do great things. Ellery women always do"
I absolutely loved this book!
I'm not going to lie, it took me a bit to get into but, at the end, it was really worth it!
A great combination of magic, mystery, a bit of romantic vibes and an amazing Pie Girl, with the ability to bake something extraordinary!!
I loved how important cooking is for her, and how much it shouldn't undervalue a woman... she can be a feminist and crave making pies and have a family !!!
I loved how open she is to relationship and, when she finds herself in the middle of a "love-triangle", she doesn't deny different possibilities ... maybe at different times.
I loved how committed she is to the whole "Pies Before Guys" organisation and how important that is for a lot of women...
This book dealt with important themes, such as sexual assault and abuse and toxic relationship, with a bit of sugar and some apple, just to create the greatest pie recipe of all time...
I loved the characters and the Farmboy will have a special place in my heart.
Everyone should read this book, even only to get to the end of it where some special recipes will wait for them!!
"Right now, just for a minute, I want to be the pie girl this farm boy believes I am, simple and sweet as apple pie"
"Does this all - the pies, Penny, the contest - make me a bad feminist?"
"It may not be a global revolution, but a single pie can make a single person's day better, even if only for a few minutes. And I have to think that counts for something"

The superhero I never knew I needed! Daisy is a genius pie maker, loved by many though she should also be feared. For those who have harmed women, Daisy's pies can also be deadly. This was such an exciting book as we discover, along with Daisy, what is really going on and who has discovered her secret.

5/5 Stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for providing me with an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Well the title of the book says it all, it js a cozy magical book with a lot of talk about yummy pies . And I really do smell cinnamon while I think of the book and while I am writing the post 😊

The protagonist of the book , Daisy Ellery has magical powers , just like her mom and grand mom , but with a twist . Her pies are not only delicious , magical but also highly feminist , deadly only for the wrongdoers against women😊

Well , if you are looking for an easy , fun , thrilling , warm read for the holiday season , this little nugget might be the best recipe for you ❤️
If you are interested in baking and pies , the experience of reading the book would surely be amazingly flavoured ❤️

utterly adored MAGIC, LIES, AND DEADLY PIES. It’s such a fun, dark, genre combination.

I was expecting something more along the lines of a ‘regular’ cozy mystery, but with a magical bakery angle. There is a mystery angle here — who’s blackmailing Daisy? — and it does have a really cozy feel to it — baking contests, diners, and autumnal orchards — but the dark, killer pie aspect give it all a fresh twist. I was surprised, but soon delighted!

Think… Dexter meets Pushing Daisies meets The Great British Bake Off.

The romance angle is subtle and ties the different plot points together well. I loved how casually the diversity was handled and, even though I though the outcome was obvious from the start, the love triangle didn’t bother me at all as all three characters felt like well-rounded, fully developed and likeable characters with distinct, different personalities.

I’d highly, highly recommends MAGIC, LIES, AND DEADLY PIES to cozy mystery lovers and anyone with a slightly darker taste to their humour. I don’t know how well this would work as a series, but if there is a sequel I’d be first in line to pick it up.

Buy in some snacks though, because all the different types of pie are going to make you hungry.

It is surprising for me to find out the dark side of its book cover. For that reason, it’s a wicked fun read!

Daisy Ellery is a popular pie baker in Turnbridge town, Massachusetts. Little do they know, she’s the person behind a unique “delivery” service named “Pies Before Guys”. Her business helps victims (specifically women) to get out from difficult situations from their abusers. Through a software app, the deadly pie she makes is strictly upon request only. She makes sure everything is untraceable, and it is completely caused by natural death. The only price is through referral to someone who needs it.

Sounds intriguing? There’s more about the book. I’ll definitely leave you hanging. It’s for you to find out and for me to know what’s happening in this book.

Although this book has an interesting premise, it has to be read with caution since there are difficult subjects being addressed like feminism and politics. Nonetheless, the author @mishapopp_ has effortlessly managed to bring out a well-balanced interest in wickedness, humor and suspense.

It’s the first dark cozy mystery I have ever read. Chapter 1 has kept me interested. From then on, I thoroughly devoured myself on every chapter until the end. What’s more about this book is that it has a lot of descriptions of delicious pies that make me crave for more. Personally, I love the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups! Not to mention, there’s a bonus page of pie recipes that will surely be loved.

Thank you to @netgalley and to its publisher, Crooked Lane Books for providing me an e-ARC in exchange of an honest feedback.

Magic, Lies, and Deadly Pies is a book that seems to have all the elements of a great cozy mystery. A cute cover, an awesome title, and an interesting premise.

Daisy is our main protagonist and she has this amazing power of infusing magic into her pies. This magic renders her pies deadly and once she found out she could kill someone with them after accidentally killing a man, she decides to make that her calling and goes on avenging women who suffered in the hands of evil men.

She soon starts a word-of-mouth free service she calls Pies Before Guys, calls herself an avenging pie maker, and goes on with her business of killing men who she deemed have done their share of evil in the world. Until one day she finds an anonymous letter threatening to expose her killer business, so she sets out to discover the owner of the letter.

I have to say that when I read the synopsis of this book I was really intrigued. I figured this was going to be a cozy and funny story with some mystery element in it. Unfortunately, the final product was quite different from what I had in mind.

The concept of being able to infuse pies with magical powers was a very interesting start. But as you read the story, you soon realize that there is nothing really cute about that and that in fact, Daisy is no better than any other gun for hire or even a serial killer. Although Popp tried really hard to make us sympathize with Daisy and her struggles growing up, I had a real hard time connecting to her or any other character in this book, except for Zoe, the dog.

Another thing that did not work out for me was the misrepresentation of the book genre. The synopsis, title, and book cover lead you to believe that you are embarking on a cozy mystery adventure, but the reality of the story is a lot darker than that. Once you get past this initial annoyance, the story does get a little better and the pie recipes at the end of the book are a nice addition, but not enough to pull off a 3-star rating from me.

I want to thank Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I received this book for free for an honest review from netgalley # netgalley

Total Original! I laughed and cried. Beautifully written.

3.5 ⭐️ rounded up

The cutesy cover really does not give an indication as to what lies within - this book is much darker than I was expecting. In fact , I assumed that it was going to be an easy little read about baking pies. Oh how wrong I was!

Daisy Ellery wears quirky vintage dresses, lives in a van behind a diner with her ditsy dog and bakes pies for a living. What she also does is kill abusive and abhorrent men with ‘murder pies’ via a special app called Pies Before Guys. The pies aren’t poisonous, oh no, they are infused with magic (or Daisy’s will and intention) - if the man is unable or unwilling to change his nature, then he’s dead as a dodo after eating the pie. If that hasn’t grabbed your attention, I don’t know what will.

The plot follows Daisy’s secret murder pie life and a crazy blackmail plot to have her murder 3 women (in case you were wondering, women are off limits in Daisy’s wee noggin). As tries to unravel who is behind the blackmail and why they want these women dead, she also has to circumnavigate building new relationships with a cute lad who owns an orchard, and a feisty opinionated gal with purple hair whilst trying to keep her unusual ability under wraps.

Daisy does have some rules which she tries to follow when choosing her marks, but that doesn’t detract from the fact she is a murderer. That being said the Author does a pretty good job of helping you root for and sympathise with Daisy, despite the fact she is essentially a serial killer.

I wasn’t overly keen on the love triangle between Daisy, Melly and Farmboy. I felt like Melly got done a bit dirty by the author and Farmboy was just too perfect to believe. I didn’t much care for the antagonist; I felt that the motives for wanting the women dead were pretty stupid and I didn’t really get behind the whole agenda there. I also felt that there was too much social dilemma thrown in haphazardly where it didn’t necessarily fit.

I did really enjoy reading this and I would fully recommend giving it a go if you want something a little different in your cozy reads.

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane for the ARC in return for an honest review.

I am really get into these cosy mysteries have been enjoying them immensely. This one I did enjoy and always love a story that involves some sort of food theme as I am a foodie!

So easy to read, a lot of fun and I love the quirkiness of Daisy. She really is a great character.

Another great read, a good first for this debut author and a little bit different from the other cosies I have read recently. Read it, have fun and I reckon you will love it.

Okay, WOW, this book. The humor's a little darker than in your average cozy mystery, but I think what I love about this book is that it's not at all average. It's fresh and has wonderful chaotic good vibes—especially once it's explained how the murder pie magic works. If you miss Pushing Daisies as much as I do, you'll be happy to know that this book fills the void. Also appreciated the bi rep—will be exciting to see how the romantic subplot will progress through the series (and am really hoping this is indeed a series and not just a standalone).

Also loved the recipes at the end. This is the sort of book that makes you really crave desserts while you're reading it, and I'm gonna keep that apple pie recipe in mind for Thanksgiving.

Misha Popp’s debut cozy in her new Pies Before Guys series, Magic, Lies, and Deadly Pies is different from what you’d expect from a cozy. Daisy Ellery is in the pie business. She’s a bit antisocial and keeps to herself, choosing to sell pies from her Pies Before Guys food truck and choosing to take orders from her home. Apparently Daisy has a few magical powers, and puts magic in her pies. That magic is used to kill men who abuse women, and Daisy also sponsors a secret group of woman who buy pies from her to carry out their deed. Unfortunately someone knows about it and tries to blackmail Daisy. Because there is no poison in the pies, there is no evidence, but Daisy is worried anyway. It’s only when a friend is murdered and then a neighbor that Daisy begins to pay attention and in order for her not to get caught, she needs to find out who the murderer is.

Lately there have been several authors who have been releasing so-called “cozies,” but they don’t fit the traditional parameters, i.e., no language, graphic violence, or sex. Magic, Lies, and Deadly Pies is one of these, and while the premise of the novel is interesting, and the characters are well developed and interesting, there is a fair amount of sexual innuendo as well as plenty of profanity. These aspects make the book unsuitable for younger readers as well as those who read cozies to avoid those aspects.

The storyline is interesting, but the profanity isn’t necessary, and definitely takes away from the cuteness of the novel. One wonders if the author is a garbage-mouth herself, or if she is trying to characterize Daisy as a person with no class.

The best part is that there are a few recipes for Murder Pies at the end of the book, and they are worth trying.

Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.

I was super excited to have gotten this book, the blurb sounded great. But I was expecting one of those cozy mystery stories.