I struggled to get through Magic, Lies, and Deadly Pies. I was expecting this to be a cozy mystery and it definitely was not.
Thank you to Netgalley for this arc ebook in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

“Magic, Lies, and Deadly Pies” by Misha Popp
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
📱 Netgalley ARC
Release Date: 05/10/22

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC! I thoroughly enjoyed it! This is Misha Popp debut novel!

Daisy Ellery doesn’t just make ordinary pies. She can make magical pies that have the capability of avenging women that have been abused or harassed by men. Daisy runs a pie business out of her van by day and makes deadly pies by night. When Daisy is threatened she has to quickly figure out who is behind the threatening message. She has a lot to lose. In the meantime she enters into a pie contestant with the help of the local orchard owner Noel.

I loved thisI I was looking for something a bit different, and this book hit the spot - we learn about Daisy and her ability to infuse pies with magic, which she aims to put to positive use by helping people as best she can - like some help with studying for exams, or trying to get out of a difficult situation.
The characters are well developed and fleshed out and the story is quirky but still has moments of intrigue, suspense and a dash of romance thrown in too. The story kept me hooked all the way through and while it is a complete tale in itself, there is scope for more tales of Daisy and her magical pies maybe in the future!

A cute, unusual, and endearing book with a twist! I enjoyed this read and I think you will too! Daisy inherited a magical power that she uses when making pies. She's called the pie girl and drives her custom van around selling these wonderful special made pies that are packed with magic. Daisy also has a secret mission that no one can know about, one that could get her in big trouble. Daisy never stays long in one area, it's to dangerous, but she's dragged her feet about moving on from where she is now. She might have two friends and as worrisome as that is, it is also really nice. The book has a delightful end to it, one I'm sure you will enjoy. Yes, I recommend this book and it's five star worthy. Thank you NetGalley, the publishers, Crooked Lane Books, and a new author to me - Misha Popp, one who will definitely be on my list of preferred authors.

This book has A very interesting premise and is also unusual in that the protagonist is a murderer. I liked the use of magical realism in this work. The author did a good job fleshing.out the characters and plot and kept me interested. Believe it or not, there were heartwarming moments in the story as well as excitement, suspense and a dose of empowerment. It has a good ending and is wrapped up nicely. Very entertaining.

"The first time I killed a man with a pie, it was an accident. But only the first"

This is the starting line of this book and I loved it! It's a mystery, love, and adventure book. The book combines two things I like a lot, baking and mystery.

Daisy bakes pies but she has a secret and someone is trying to blackmail her if she doesn't follow the rules. Of course, our heroine won't let anyone play with her like that. Ugh! I loved the story. Everytime they described a pie I craved it.

If you want to read a very different type of mystery book this is your book! sweet but dangerous for sure!

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle by Crooked Lane and #NetGalley for my honest opinion. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

Lighthearted cozy mystery with a quirky twist.

I enjoyed how well written this book was, even though it didn't turn out to be something I was fully interested in. I had a good time reading it, especially given the vengeance aspect of it. There were parts that I found to be too drawn out, or that went on too long, and I wanted more from her encounters than just a brief "fade to black" way of ending the moment. I'm also glad that she managed to maneuver her way out of being blackmailed without resorting to killing anyone (even though that's kind of what she does?).

Overall, this was a pleasant read, even if it's not my cup of tea, and I know plenty of people who will enjoy this far more than I did.

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 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 (I would love if this was the beginning of a 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.

Thank you netgalley for an arc of the book.


Daisy makes the best pies and some with a killer ingredient. Daisy runs Pies Before Guys with the intention of being able to help women who truly need it. She has some rules that she will always abide by to help keep her identity safe. When she gets a note for a pie order that she can’t fulfill, Daisy has to work hard to figure out who order the pie and why.

✨ Magic, Lies, and Deadly Pies ✨
Pub Date: May 10, 2022

I finished out October with this e-ARC! Y’all – I loved it!!! It was more lighthearted yet…murdery… Here, read the synopsis from Goodreads:

Daisy Ellery’s pies have a secret ingredient: The magical ability to avenge women done wrong by men. 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.

That really tells you everything! But my take – I love the vigilante spin on baking pies! While there was definitely some controversy in the book of having a woman in a frilly dress bake pies like it’s the ‘50s, this book has heaps of inclusion, which I loved. Love, anger, revenge, mystery, murder…what more do you need?!

I recommend you read this one when it comes out next year!

Thank you to @netgalley & @crookedlanebooks for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley.

Daisy Ellery is a magical pie maker who helps women by getting revenge on men who have done them wrong. It is her mission to help women through her Pies Before Guys web account. There are strict rules on who can receive on her special pies.

One night, Daisy is warned that someone was snooping around her camper parked behind the diner she uses as a kitchen to bake her pies for sale at said diner and via her food truck. Whoever it is, leaves her a note that they know what she does and wants 3 special pies delivered or they will tell her secret to the world. Who could it be? As she deals with a multitude of other issues, now she is trying to figure out who is trying to ruin her life. Will she figure it out in time?

I really enjoyed this book. Will this be part of a series? If yes, keep me in the loop!!

I wound up loving this book after being not so sure in the middle (the word 'murder' was being used a bit too frequently for my tastes). I guess that word as a hook was more compelling than just plain magic or karma? Either way, the book was populated by mostly delightful characters (the type we want as friends) plus a few requisite jerks (to keep things interesting and slightly off balance). Constant mentions of delicious sounding pie had my stomach growling {grin} all through the book. I am all for people who use their strengths to raise up others and lend support to those beaten down by abusers. Pie Girl definitely did this. Long live magic pies.

This was a tough book for me to review. Some elements of the book were very well done, but others left me wanting.

I'll start with what I thought was very novel. The main character Daisy can imbue her pies with magic, including magic that can kill the person that eats the pie. Though she has rules she aims to follow about the men she targets, only targeting men who she feels are very abhorrent, at the end of the day, she is a serial killer.

This made it somewhat difficult to cheer for her. But Popp does a good job of trying to make us understand, if not sympathize with why she does what she does.

What I thought was a bit off was the characterization of the genre. The summary refers to it as a cozy series, similar to authors like Ellery Adams. As an avid reader of cozy mysteries, I think this description is off. It's not that I dislike thriller/suspense reads, rather, that I wasn't expecting a book of this style when I first started reading it.

One of the reasons is because of the heavy references to social issues made throughout the book. I personally don't mind it as I think that it helps contribute to Daisy's backstory, but I know many readers of cozies prefer to not see such themes in their reads.

Also, there is a good bit of foul language, the MC is certainly not a moral character, there's a bit more violence than the typical cozy (as we see Daisy killing her marks) and it reads a little like a long suspense novel, as Daisy is trying to uncover the identity of someone who is blackmailing her.

I think if I had been better informed about the genre before going in, I would have approached the read with different expectations and a different mindset. If you're looking for a cozy-ish suspense novel, I'd recommend this one!

This was a great read. I bit pushing it for the cozy genre. But the kills were justified in my opinion.

Daisy is a pie baker who has the magic ability to put whatever she wants to in a pie. Whether that is concentration for a test, loss of memory or even death. She never really puts down roots anywhere because she is afraid of being found out for what she does and getting in trouble. When she starts having a stranger stalk her trailer leaving notes she starts getting worried that she may be in trouble and may have overstayed in town too long.

I really enjoyed this book. It was packed full of suspense, mystery, romance, and of course pies! I can definitely say it made me very hungry for pie every time I started reading it. I haven't really read a book like this before, at least the magic part of it and I was surprised at how open I became to believing the character's magic powers when baking pies. I was happy that the lead character had so much development as the book progressed. It was great to see her mature and grow into someone who believes in family no matter if they are blood related or not. And of course, I cannot write a great review without mentioned the sweet dog in the book. Without giving any spoilers I am very content with the the ending of the book. Now I'm off to eat some pie.......

This is the debut book by the author and a fantastic read ! I literally was unable to put this book down. Thank you to the publisher and to Net Galley for the opportunity. What a fun read that was compelling with a well crafted mystery and a great revenge story based in feminism. Well done to the author !

I loved this story of Daisy a independent woman who has special gifts and is a fantastic pie baker. She lives in a renovated rv where she travels around and sells her pies with her devoted dog. She has magical gifts in that she can infuse emotions , happiness, love and needs into each pie as well as a secret she has kept for many years. She also can create pies that murder deserving men without a trace and that is her side business. She is very good at it and uses the dark web and a network that keeps her safe and brings her customers of women in desperate circumstances. She murders only men that are rapist, abusers and murderers. She also murders rapist that get light sentences and or released without jail time. Her courage and determination to rid the world of these monsters saves many women over the years She keeps this side business to herself and lives a private life with few contacts or friends.

Her popularity as a pie baker is well known and when she meets a local farmer they strike up a friendship that grows into a relationship. .Her first in many years. She is trepidatious about being involved but they are a good match and he recommends she enter a famous state pie contest. She is suddenly blackmailed by a man who claims to know her side business and is stalking her. As she manages her entry into this prestigious contest and her relationship with the blackmail she is determined to win the contest and find out who her stalker is. When a mysterious new friend enters her life she soon finds out this person is not who she seems to be and has motives connected to the stalker . Daisy is savvy and soon connects the two and the explosive finish kept me turning pages into the night. A very exciting conclusion to this fun read. I loved the theme of feminism and applaud the author for her approach with this book of honestly of women's issues. I highly recommend this book for all that enjoy revenge stories and strong women's stories. Bravo !!!

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of Magic, Lies, and Deadly Pies in exchange for an honest review.

When I saw the cover and title I was intrigued. This is my first book by the author so and I didn't really know what to expect. In the book we meet Daisy Ellery’s, pie baker extraordinaire. All her pies have a secret ingredient a spell made especially for its intended customer. Daisy tries to help with her recipes, giving something back to people who have been wronged, usually women. In the opening scene, we see her deliver a pie to a man who was acquitted of a rape he committed, taking the law in to her own hands. She also delivers pies and tarts to womens support groups for ladies who suffer at the hands of domestic violence lacing her pies with strength and hope to see them through. Giving them something else nobody is able to.

Then Daisy starts to receive blackmail notes, someone knows what she is doing and wants her to bake pies for them to dish our as retribution. The book then becomes a cosy mystery/suspense whilst Daisy tries to work out who it could be. All he while doling out her kind of retribution.

I really liked the concept of this book it was like nothing I had ever read before. Although there are a lot of hard subjects talked about in the book, there is the perfect blend of ingredients and humour to keep the book from being dark. I really enjoyed it and look forwards to reading more from the author in the future and hoping this may be the first book in a series. I was also pleased to discover recipes were located at the back of the book.

Expected publication date 10th May 2022.

Macgic, Lies, and Deadly Pies is a is a wonderful and incredibly rich contemporary novel, so well built and fast paced that I wasn't able to put it down till I reached the end. I was absolutely captivated by the atmosphere, and the characters.

This novel submerges the reader in a landscape so imaginative and detailed that the information of the world building/plot never feels forced, and is never difficult to understand or picture in one's mind. I had an enjoyable time reading this and it held my attention the entire way through that I finished it within the day! I enjoyed every page and thought that the plot/story was very unique. Would recommend to anyone!

Daisy makes murder pies… for guys
Using Ellery Magic, she bakes up a mean batch of revenge for women who need help exiting bad relationships.

One day, her “business” is jeopardized by someone lurking in the dark around her camper… they leave a letter threatening to reveal who she truly is. This would end her career in the town that loves her pies.

Will daisy figure out who’s behind the lurking and threats?!


GUYS, I loved this book.
Normally, i am not into the feminist type of books… because past ones I’ve read paint every single guy in the story as a horrid disgrace to the human race. I am a boy mama, married to an incredible guy- im sensitive to that.
But this book was amazing. It was the perfect balance..
I will most definitely be reading more misha popp books! Her writing flows beautifully, the story line was great!