Pies and Prejudice: A Charmed Pie Shoppe Mystery

By: Ellery Adams
Publisher: Berkley
Publication Date: July 2012
ISBN: 978-0425251409
Reviewed by: Deb Fowler
Review Date: July 2012

Sugar and spice and everything nice always managed to get into Ella Mae’s pies, but apparently not in the men she chose. She thought she loved Sloan Kitteridge, but in hindsight only used him to get out of Havenwood and into the Big Apple. When she caught him diddling around ... well, frankly he wasn’t even worth a memory or hanging onto his name. Seven years away from home and the Georgia peaches who’d loved and raised her was too long. Far too long. Ella Mae LeFaye pensively rolled out some dough for a blueberry pie as she thought of Reba and the three LeFaye sisters who raised her. A single tear and heartbreak drifted into the pie along with the berries.

Ella Mae’s aunts, Verena, Dee, and Sissy nibbled on her pie and chattered about their past loves and shattered dreams as indigo-colored teardrops speckled their fingers and napkins. Joy emanated through the room as Dee reminisced about “blueberries and heartache.” Was Ella Mae missing something? She certainly didn’t miss Sloan who was making a valiant attempt to make amends. The only amends she was willing to make was with her estranged mother, Adelaide. her childhood nemesis, Loralyn Gaynor, who was was chasing after Bradford Knox, was another thing sticking in her craw. The Hatfield’s and McCoys hadn’t cornered the market in the feud department in their neck of the woods.

Shattered dreams would be a thing of the past and with the help of her Georgia peaches, Ella Mae was planning to open The Charmed Pie Shoppe. She would enchant the residents of Havenwood, and possibly her old love, Hugh Dylan, with her pastries. Loralyn was none too happy when she snatched a storefront out from under her bouffant business and began throwing insults and making threats. Ella Mae let her have it. “Stay away from my dog and my family! If you don’t, Lord help me, I will KILL YOU!.” Now she’d done it. A homecoming bust was all she needed. Another thing Ella Mae didn’t need was the bludgeoned corpse of Bradford Knox found in the ashes of Loralyn’s frou-frou beauty shop. He was lying next to a rolling pin that just happened to have her fingerprints on it. And then there was the one face down sucking up her creamy lemonade pie...

This is a unique, utterly divine start to a new series that will magically enchant its readers. The blend of mystery with a touch of magic gave this tale a delightful twist that kept me wanting more. I loved the beautiful literary touch this cozy had to offer in a sweet, southern Georgia peach pie way. Ella Mae and her magical mother and aunts are definitely women I’ll look forward to seeing again. Murder, magic, a touch of romance, greed, drugs, and an odd assortment of chicanery wove its way nicely through these pages. The little magical nest of loving, mystery solving women surrounding Ella Mae is definitely a cozy series I’ll look forward to following!

Quill says: If you need an enchanting mystery with a whole lotta charm, Pies and Prejudice will serve you up a big slice!