Praise for Magic, Lies, and Deadly Pies:
“Darkly humorous . . . Cozy readers looking for something different will find much to like.”
—Publishers Weekly
“An exciting debut that has you rooting for a morally conflicted witch while salivating over her pies.”
—Kirkus
“The rapid pacing and tantalizing plot will keep [readers] engrossed in this strong debut.”
—Booklist
“Wickedly funny and wonderfully twisted.”
—Popsugar
“Utterly original . . . a deliciously charming story filled with female empowerment, humor, women helping women, and lots of tasty pies.”
—San Francisco Book Review, 5-star review
“Introducing unique and original protagonist . . . unabashed fun on the printed page.”
—Midwest Book Review
“Well written and intriguing.”
—Gumshoe Review
“Magical, decadent, and addicting! Magic, Lies, and Deadly Pies is a breath of fresh air, and Daisy Ellery is a heroine worth rooting for. Honey Crunch Apple pie is my new favorite thing!”
—Melissa Bourbon, national bestselling author of the Magical Dressmaking mysteries
“Take a cup of Promising Young Woman, stir in a tablespoon of Like Water for Chocolate, add a dash of Arsenic and Old Lace, then bake with knife-edge wit and keen dialog and you get Misha Popp's darkly funny whodunit. Revenge fantasy meets magical realism meets edgy culinary cozy. Magic, Lies, and Deadly Pies gives new meaning to ‘dessert to die for.’”
—Alexia Gordon, award-winning author of The Gethsemane Brown Mysteries
“Daisy Ellery puts a little vinegar in her pie crusts, and Misha Popp has added a drop to her cozy debut. Magic, Lies, and Deadly Pies is as sassy as it’s sweet and as fierce as it’s fun. Add a clever plot and a budding romance and this series opener is a slice of heaven. Seconds, please!”
—Catriona McPherson, multi-award-winning author of the Last Ditch Motel mysteries
“I DEVOURED it! There is nothing conventional about Misha Popp's flavorful debut. Sparkling with sinister magic, sugary pies, and vigilante homicide, Magic, Lies, and Poison Pies is rocking the Pushing Daisies vibe. When an avenging pie-maker's secrets are threatened, it's going to take more than magic and vintage swing dresses to circumvent a messy recipe for disaster. With inclusive characters, sharp pacing, and a dark sense of humor, Misha Popp is one of my new favorite authors.”
—Olivia Blacke, author of the Brooklyn Murder mysteries
03/14/2022
Turnbridge, Mass., baker Daisy Ellery admits at the start of Popp’s arresting debut and series launch, “The first time I killed a man with a pie, it was an accident.” She adds, “But only the first.” Daisy, a loner with a lovable dog as her only real friend, uses the special witchy talent she possesses to target men who cause serious harm to women. She has reason to worry after she finds a blackmail letter on her door that threatens to reveal she’s a vigilante serial killer. Several people in her orbit raise her suspicions, including Frank, the cantankerous owner of the local diner, and do-gooder Melly, but farmer Noel also gains her attention for other reasons. Daisy needs to thwart the blackmailer before that person can spoil her efforts to help women at the upcoming state pie fair. Popp addresses social issues such as domestic violence, politics, and same-sex partnerships, and she peppers her charming and darkly humorous tale with profanity. Cozy readers looking for something different will find much to like in this unusual culinary cozy. Agent: Rebecca Podos, Reese Literary. (May)
09/01/2022
Popp's delicious new cozy combines feminism, the MeToo movement, and other recent events into a fun mystery. Daisy Ellery is out to right the wrongs of the world, one pie at a time. Her pies are to die for, literally. Using skills passed down through generations of her family, Daisy exacts vengeance for the crimes men commit against the women of her town. When she learns someone's been prowling around the camp trailer she calls home, she sets out to also solve crime. She finds a letter, guesses it's blackmail, and starts considering suspects. A local pie-baking contest may just be the key to solving this mystery and allowing her to continue helping wronged women everywhere. Using her magic, passed down through the women of the world, Daisy is able to infuse her food not only with ingredients to kill, but to also strengthen. Narrator Tanya Eby brings the effervescent Daisy to life. VERDICT Fans of The Great British Baking Show will enjoy hearing about the pies made by Daisy. This first in a new series is for fans of cozy mysteries looking for one with a modern twist.—Elyssa Everling
Tanya Eby delivers a sweet treat, including delicious pie recipes, in this delightful new audiobook series. Daisy, a most unusual heroine, confesses, “The first time I killed a man with a pie, it was an accident. But only the first.” Eby introduces upbeat, warmhearted Daisy, a baker whose scrumptious pies are infused with strength, hope, and love. However, Daisy’s Pies Before Guys mobile bakery van can also provide justice in an unjust world. That’s because Daisy is a pie-baking, vigilante, serial-killer-witch who settles scores with her “murder pies” for women who have abusive men in their lives. When threatened with exposure, Daisy and her close-knit friends meet the challenge with wisdom and pie. Eby’s quirky, engaging performance makes Daisy’s questionable moral compass unquestionably digestible. S.J.H. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine
2022-02-08
Say hello to a witch whose pies have magical ingredients—some tonic, some deadly.
When Daisy Ellery’s mother died from cancer and her father fell apart, she and her dog, Zoe, took off in the pink RV her witchy family had passed down. Now she makes a living selling her deliciously enhanced pies. After she accidentally kills a man with a pie, she realizes she may have been called to avenge women who get no justice from the law. She brings pies laced with power to a support group for abused women and pies laced with vengeance to men who deserve it. Daisy parks her trailer behind Frank’s Roadside Diner, where she provides pies in lieu of rent as she travels around selling her wares, accepting new women who seek her help only if they’re recommended by former clients. Then her life is turned upside down when she gets an anonymous note from someone who’s trying to blackmail her into killing three women. Since there’s no poison in her pies, there’s no way to prove a case against her, but she doesn’t like being threatened. When she befriends Noel, a farm boy who’s selling apples, cider, and honey at the farmers market to keep his family orchard going, he urges her to enter a pie contest with a big cash prize. As she’s creating a winner for the contest with Noel’s apples and honey, Daisy tries to uncover the identity of her blackmailer. Even after she discovers the shocking truth, she still has to find a way to escape the trap she’s in.
An exciting debut that has you rooting for a morally conflicted witch while salivating over her pies.
