Treacherous Tart
A Pie in the Sky Mystery
2nd Book in the Series
Publisher: Pocket Books (October 28, 2014)
A Division of Simon & Schuester Inc.
Mass Market Paperback: 368 pages
ISBN-13: 978-1451689563
E-Book File Size: 2315 KB
ASIN: B00IWTWRWK
In this second charming novel in the Pie Shop cozy mystery series, a modern-day Lothario is shot dead, and it’s up to Maggie to clear her aunt and partner-in-pie from the suspect list.
It’s Christmastime at Pie in the Sky, Aunt Clara’s pie shop, and she has a new beau, Donald Wickerson, who loves her Marvelous Mince Pies.
Unfortunately, it seems that this holiday, Donald might only be interested in Aunt Clara for her money. Ryan and Maggie research his background and find he’s had several wives who met with unfortunate “accidents” that left him wealthier. Now they have to convince Aunt Clara that her boyfriend is after more than just her pie recipes.
When Donald stumbles into Pie in the Sky and dies after being shot, Aunt Clara is devastated—and also a suspect, since everyone in Durham knows about Donald from Ryan’s newspaper article. Now Maggie and Ryan will have to prove that someone else in the long list of people he’d wronged finally got the courage to end his life.
Dollycas’s Thoughts
Pies, kittens and MURDER…OH MY!!
Ellie Grant has served up another awesome story for readers to devour!
Aunt Clara and Maggie Grady run Pie in the Sky, a shop featuring tasty delights like Evie’s Elegant Eggnog Pie, Marvelous Mince Pie and Pumpkin Pizzazz Pie. The are even going to start offering savory pies to bring in a lunch crowd. These two ladies are at work baking pies before the sun comes up and serving pie until late in the day. I don’t know how they do it and still find time to not only sleep but have boyfriends. Aunt Clara’s new beau, Donald, has quite a checkered past that she didn’t know about until right before he fell dead right in the middle of Pie in the Sky. Maggie has Ryan but he may have a little competition. Bring on the romantic tension… But the police looking much too closely at Clara as a suspect so romance aside Maggie needs to find out who really killed philandering Donald. She sees plenty of suspects, why can’t the police?
I love these characters. Aunt Clara reminds me of my mother who also ran an eatery that was as important to her as Pie in the Sky is to Clara. Clara heart is huge and she always finds the “silver lining” to every situation. I felt so bad that she was falling for such a despicable man and then to have him die and her being suspected of killing him just broke my heart. But she persevered knowing she was innocent and handled it all with grace and dignity. Even some very scary situations. She is a wonderful woman.
Maggie had a lot on her plate. She not only had to keep the Pie in the Sky up and running and meet the commitment they had for a huge fundraiser, she also had to find the real person responsible for dastardly Donald’s death.
We also were introduced to some fun furry felines. You will love their names.
The author penned a fine mystery as well with quite a variety of suspects. Donald Wickerson had not only left behind scorned women but families and friends of those former wives who died due to “accidents” where he inherited all their money. The killer really could have been so many different people. The pages just flew by as we followed the clues until the awaited “aha moment”.
A very entertaining read. You will be craving pie by the end so be sure to check out the included recipes, perfect for the upcoming holiday season.
About This Author
Ellie Grant writes award-winning, bestselling mystery fiction as themselves, J.J. Cook and Joyce and Jim Lavene. They have written and published more than 60 novels for Harlequin, Berkley, Amazon and Gallery Books along with hundreds of non-fiction articles for national and regional publications. They live in rural North Carolina with their family.
Author Links:
www.romanceofmystery.blogspot.com
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16130461-plum-deadly
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ellie-Grant/409736699080379?ref=hl
https://twitter.com/AuthorJLavene
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of this book. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
I have the first one on my t-b-r list 🙂
Thank you for the great review of this book. It’s on my shelf waiting to be read.
Oh wow. This sounds good. I have to add the book to my reading list.