A cozy mystery unlike most that I've encountered, this novel sets up an intriguing series about a character whose hereditary magical abilities become a source of aid for abused women. While this is a premise that could easily become either overwrought or underdeveloped, I believe the author found the sweet spot necessary to make the Pies Over Guys series worth returning to.

Daisy Ellery can bake magic into her pies. During the day she bakes focus and energy into pie for the college students and peace and happiness into pies for customers at Frank's Diner, but at night she bakes murder into her pies. Daisy helps women in terrible situations escape by taking care of their problem, the men that trap them. That is until a note shows up on her door threatening everything she has and stands for. This is an excellent beginning to a series I cannot wait to read more of. It definitely not your typical cozy in the best ways! Thank you to Netgalley and Dreamscape Media for the audio ARC in exchange for my honest review.

4.75 stars really. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me an advanced copy. May contain spoilers.

This book was so delightful. And it’s rare to say that about books about murder. Daisy has magic and is an excellent baker. They say you bake your emotions into your food and this is no different.

There was romance and suspense. Women lifting up women to chip away at the pastry-Archie .

I was at first skeptical about liking this book. I requested it because of the title. And now I have to buy a physical copy. It was great. Had me smiling often and wondering about my own baking skills

Magic, Lies, and Deadly Pies is the first book in the series by Misha Popp featuring Daisy Ellery, master pie baker. A bit of magical realism and a cozy mystery, this book was a fun read. I enjoyed reading about Daisy's magical pies that give a bit of comfort, confidence, and joy to her famer's market customers. But a special batch is reserved for women to serve to the men at who's hands they have suffered abuse. I really enjoyed this book and look forward to more Daisy and all the other characters.

I received a complimentary copy of this audiobook by Misha Popp from DreamScape Media via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for the opportunity.

This was a fun cozy mystery that I really enjoyed. Daisy Ellery is the current owner and pie maker of Pies before Guys. Its a family business that has been passed down from generation to generation. There is a secret network of women who have been wronged, and they send in the same of the male that wronged them. Pies Before Guys will then make a deliciously magical pie to take care of the male.

I really enjoyed getting to know the characters in the story. I loved Daisy and her "rules" to her deadly pies. Noel was a sweet guy who was very understanding. Melly and her sister were annoying to me.

I will definitely be reading more books in this series if it will be continued. The narrator of the audiobook did a fabulous job.

Thanks to @netgalley and publishers for gifting me a copy of the audiobook.

I loved this so much! I loved all the baking lingo and I loved that it was just a clean cute Murder mystery. I am ready for the next one.

Archived before downloaded, though I thought I had started it. Super cute cover and title, disappointed I won't get to listen to it. A victim of that archived date once again.

I LOVED this book! It had my hooked by the very first line:

"I have spent most of my life helping women live better lives by killing the men in their lives."

Daisy Ellery has an interesting power, she's able to bake feelings into her pies. Sometimes those feelings have a deadly consequences - these pies are delivered to men who have done horrible things to women.

This audiobook was so fun! There were many times I was laughing out loud and drooling over the description of the pies. I loved that the audiobook also included recipes at the end.

If you're looking for a fun read, look no further!

I'm so excited that this is the start of a series of books!! I can't wait for the next one.

Thank you to the author, Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for the advanced audiobook version of this story!

This was a super fun, original, cozy mystery. The first in a new series that had me hooked from the start! Daisy is a strong, independent woman making a living baking pies and selling them out of her mobile van. She also has a secret side business, making deadly pies for the men in her town who have wronged their women. The only problem? Someone is on to her and is trying to blackmail her. Can Daisy figure out who the blackmailer is before her life goes up in smoke?

Absolutely loved this one and can't wait to see where the series goes. Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my advance listening copy!

This is a delightful adult book of magic but magic with a purpose, and it’s not to entertain.
   Daisy Ellery comes from a long succession of women who possess magical powers through their skills.  Her grandmother sewed magic onto clothes, her mom through her hair styling and now Daisy through her cooking.
   Daisy runs a business “Pies Before Guys” that helps women that are in problematic situations where they are abused mentally and physically and can not find a way out. Order a pie from her company and the “problem” is eliminated.
   This charming character who looks like a pinup from a Betty Crocker cookbook with her aprons and 50's outfits and her dog Zoe supply pies without the magic baked in to a diner with it’s own set of characters that makes for a special family that takes care of each other.
   Stir in a troublemaker, a love interest, long lost relatives, blackmail and the result is an engaging story of empowering women.
   Make sure you write down those pie recipes at the end. YOU supply the magic in those.

What an interesting and different story line….
Murder via magic pies.
The very first chapter had me hooked,
And then I had to keep going, just to see how it all plays out.
The author Misha Popp, uses her story to deliver a fix to an age old problem, domestic abuse. If it were only so simple.
I enjoyed the story line, the romantic entanglements, and even the way she goes about her murder business. She makes us almost happy to see her carry out her missions.
Murder is wrong, but she rationalizes it as a means to an end. To help those who ask, whom are unable to get out of a situation without some help. And the saying “pay it forward” is a major theme, which I absolutely love about this story line.
Thank you to NetGalley for being the platform to allow me to experience this story.
Thank you to author Misha Popp for giving me an alternative view to helping others in an almost impossible situation of life, just kidding. But seriously, I appreciate the subject matter and knowing that others want to help.

First, I will say that I enjoyed this book and recommend it to those not offended by swearing. The characters are interesting and for the most part, realistic. The story is engaging and moves at a nice pace. The setting is interesting, a small town in Massachusetts. It is easy to envision as you read. The problem I have with this book is that it is labeled a cozy mystery. I don’t feel it fits the genre due to the swearing. Also, having a serial killer for the main character is a stretch. Then again, it doesn’t fit the general mystery category either. I would consider reading the second book in the series when it is released.

If this was 100 pages shorter, it could've been gold.

Magic, Lies, and Deadly Pies has a fun premise of murdering men with magic pies and that's it. The actual book quality lowers as it drags on and on. The premise is reiterated repeatedly in the mc's, Daisy's, narration. Almost every time pie is mentioned she gives a long-winded narration of what she does. I know you kill men with pies, thank you for reminding me for the millionth time. Does the author think I would randomly forget?

I don't want to be cruel to this book. There isn't anything offensive or terrible about it. It's just simply boring. The first chapter is the most interesting, Daisy's deep love and care for food, her family, and their lineage is written really well. Everything else dragged the novel down. This is my doing, but I called the "twist" extremely early on, so waiting for our hero to catch up was frustrating. Once we got there it was almost Scooby-doo like how our antagonist behaved.

Taking out the blackmail plot entirely and leaving just Daisy, her business, her love of food, and her family's history for us to discover would've actually been excellent. Short, sweet, and cozy. Instead, we have this weird in between where it's not truly cute and cozy, and not super sinister either. It needed to lean more to one side than the other. It teetered on both leaving a bloated, awkward, just okay book.

About the audiobook:
Tanya Eby was a great choice. She's a realistic voice of Daisy, I liked the choices she's made when voicing other characters. If I was just rating her, I'd give her four stars.

Thank you NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

What an interesting concept for a book! I went in blind for this one, and can honestly say I wasn’t expecting a story about magical murder pies… but I didn’t hate it?

I actually enjoyed this book a lot. There was so much information given about each character, that I was able to really picture them in my head, and understand their actions.

I really liked how Daisy comes from a long line of women with magical powers. It was interesting to see how she uses her magic (by baking it into pies!), and then delivers her pies to men who have seriously wronged/hurt women.

I’m excited to see where this series goes, and will definitely read book two!

Okay, for real, THIS is a new style of cozy mystery, and I'm totally down with it! These deadly pies are fantastic, there some sexy next door neighbor fun, and there's great characters! I absolutely recommend this one!

Warning: this is NOT your grandma's cozy!

Daisy Ellery makes the most amazing pies. But in addition to flour and butter, she also adds in a little magic. But beware: if you are a rapist, woman beater, or all around nasty guy, this pie might be your last...

I can't get over this one. This is the least cozy "cozy mystery" I have read and I loved it. I'm sure there are going to be regular cozy readers that are thoroughly annoyed with this tale, but since I generally read horror, Daisy offering women the chance to enact revenge on the men (and only men) that mistreat them didn't offend me at all. Of course, I am one of those people that cheered on Carrie at the prom... I am absolutely going to look for more of this series in the future.

Also included are several recipes at the end, which is always a treat.

Killer pies?! Yes please! I love listening to cozy mysteries while I work, carpool, and workout. This adorable audiobook did not disappoint! I craved pie the whole time! The plot is timely, sweet and thoroughly entertaining. I absolutely love the characters, Noel. No one uses the term “hubba hubba” anymore- but yeah. That’s him. Apple farmer hunk who is sincere and supportive. He’s an awesome book boyfriend! Hoping this is a continued series!

Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for the eARC audiobook in exchange for this review.

Magic, Lies, and Deadly Pies is a book that combines baking with murder in a decidedly light-hearted manner. Though I did expect the main character, Daisy, to be slightly more malicious then she ended up being, I thought that the book was a fun, feminist read where crimes against women do not go without punishment— even if one has to go around the law for it. I did think that the story did lack some complexity, but overall was not put off by that.

The theme of this is immaculate. A witchy woman assassinating men who are domestic abusers with magically deadly pies. It was everything I wanted and more. I love pretty much everything about this. It has a cozy mystery vibe, but didn't follow the traditional cozy mystery plot lines. I loved the background romance, and honestly the entire mystery was done well. I didn't entire guess who the blackmailer was, but I did have my suspicions. And the pies... All of the pies sounded absolutely delicious. I never got tired of Daisy describing them and I love that there are a couple of recipes at the end of the book.

I really appreciated the fact that our lead had two love interests, 1 man and 1 female, and that they were, for the most part, treated as though they both had a chance throughout the book. But I did feel that Daisy's ultimate choice was obvious, especially after the reveal as to who her stalker was. It's not super prevalent with cozy mysteries to have a clearly bi-sexual lead with two budding relationships of different genders. It was also nice to see Daisy have a dog as her pet sidekick instead of a cat. While I love the cat tropes in cozy mysteries, it was nice to read about a happy pup helping out.

Overall, Magic, Lies, and Deadly Pies has an interesting mix between vigilante justice assassinations and homey pie baking. I cannot wait for the second book in this series.

Such a cute book. The audio fits the book perfectly. The idea of deadly pies was so fun and lighthearted even though it is about murder. There were some moments that were a little off putting and that is why it was 3.5 stars over a 4 or higher. I definitely was captivated by the book and wanted to see what would happen next. Daisy was a great character.