I really enjoyed this cozy mystery novel. I thought the main character was great, she wasn’t morally gray and made you question whether you were on her side or not often. I do wish it went further into the magic elements and the fact that she comes from a family of witches. I’m not sure if this will be a series but I hope so!

Magic, Lies, and Deadly Pies
by Misha Popp - Narrated by Tanya Elby
Pub Date: 10 May 2022
3.5/Stars

Dana bakes pies and not just any pies. She bakes ones that are imbued with magic. Her enchanting pies can make you feel good or focus your energy. Certain ones can also kill a guy, but only if the pie was requested through the requisite channels and his dirty deeds have been vetted.

I’m the first to admit I’m not a fan of “Cozy Mysteries” or “Magical Realism” for that matter, but this one caught my attention. It was the perfect funny, quirky read and right up my alley. I started out listening at 1.85x speed but the narrator sounded a little robotic. When I slowed the playback a little it was much better.

I enjoyed listening to audiobook, but I might just have to get the print book for all the delicious sounding recipes at the end. Enjoy your pie!

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for this enjoyable ARC

I must admit that Misha Popp’s Magic, Lies, and Deadly Pies caught me off guard. Based on the book’s cover, it’s cute title, and the description I went in expecting a typical cozy mystery, but that’s not exactly what I got. In fact the truth is I’m not sure how I’d actually categorize this one. Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of the hallmarks of a cozy mystery to be found. Daisy Ellery, the pie girl, is a seemingly sweet lead character, complete with a lovable dog which would seemingly fit perfect for a cozy mystery series heroine…and yet most heroines aren’t killers. Yep, you heard me. The ‘hero’ of the story is a killer. And honestly not a regular killer but a dang near serial killer! You see Daisy run Pies Before Guys, in which she bakes magic pies that have the power to ‘deal’ with abusive men. So as you might imagine this is definitely somewhat darker than your typical cozy mystery tends to be, and yet it was still quite fun. In a way Daisy is a much more fun loving Dexter, killing bad people to make the world a better place, lol. It’s weird in that you know what she is doing is wrong even if it is for a good reason and you should condemn her actions, and yet you still end up wanting to cheer her on. What’s also different in this book than your typical cozy mystery is the mystery isn’t revolving around a dead body. Rather the mystery centers on that fact that someone knows Daisy’s secret is attempting to blackmail her. Overall I enjoyed this quite a bit and I’m very interested to see where Daisy’s next adventure takes her.

The book is narrated by the talented Tanya Eby who does an excellent job bringing the characters and story to life. I’d like to thank Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for allowing me to listen to and review an audio ARC of Magic, Lies, and Deadly Pies.

Picture Dexter.

Except instead of a man working as a blood pattern analyst, you must envision a sweet, pie baking lady named Daisy.

Magical pies that kill the bad guys.

The problem is: Someone knows what she is doing and that someone is now blackmailing her. They want some people murdered in exchange for their silence.

This definitely falls into the cozy mystery genre, which is often one I struggle to get into, but this concept really appealed to me and I felt pretty invested from the start. I can’t say that I was madly in love with the story as a whole, but I did enjoy it.

I did like that there wasn’t any frivolity in Daisy’s murderous ways. Arguably, she isn’t a cold-blooded killer. Instead, she is someone offering a sweet chance at redemption, but you’ll have to read this book to understand the secrets of her pies!

Despite all of its fun aspects, you should know it addresses some serious themes (outside of murder), which include rape, domestic violence, death of a parent, and addiction. The tone is always light and the traumatic elements are never graphically detailed. This was one of the main factors that made it difficult for me to fully adore the story. It’s not that I mind seeing such things illustrated in books. It’s simply that I’ve survived certain aspects this touched upon and I struggle when I see them superficially developed. I’m sure it wouldn’t have been appropriate to go deeper in this type of story, though.

As a bonus, the book includes recipes at the end, so if you love pie and mysteries, this book might be a delicious addition to your TBR.

3.5 stars

I am immensely grateful to Dreamscape Media for my audio review copy through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Magic, Lies, and Deadly Pies will be out on May 10, 2022!

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for letting me listen to this audiobook arc.

It is important to know that my rating is based off of the part of the story that I read, not my issues with the narrator.

I consider myself an avid audiobook listener. If there is an audiobook, I will pick it over a physical or ebook copy 99% of the time. So when I saw that Magic, Lies, and Deadly Pies had an audiobook, I immediately wanted to listen to it. With that being said, there are some books that thrive in audio and some that thrive when you read them yourself. This book could definitely thrive either way. The problem for me personally was that I could not connect with the audio narrator's voice. Their voice just absolutely killed the story for me. I couldn't focus and constantly felt like I was pushing myself to listen and get through the book. The story itself is great! I think that I would truly love it if their was a different voice actor. Sadly, I had to DNF this for now. I made it about 30% in before I just had to stop. I tried multiple times but I could not get over the voice.

When this book comes out I will definitely pick it up. I do not want to deter anyone away from the book itself because I think it will be great! I was into it. I want to know what happens and how it ends. I WANT to read this story but I definitely think a physical or ebook is where this book will thrive.

This could just be a me issue, other people may vibe with the narrator so definitely listen to the previews before purchasing the audiobook but in my opinion, pick up a physical or ebook version. The story so far is great and I can't wait to actually read it when it comes out.