A Good Day to Pie by Misha Popp Series: Pies Before Guys #2
Published by Crooked Lane Books on February 7, 2023
Genres: Mystery
Pages: 320
Format: Hardcover
Goodreads
Also by this author: Magic, Lies, and Deadly Lies
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
About A Good Day to Pie
in this second mystery in the Pies Before Guys series, Daisy, murder pie baker extraordinaire, is competing on Bake My Day, a new American reality show modeled after the Great British Bake-Off. Daisy’s thrilled; competing on Bake My Day will raise her pie-baking business’s profile.
Then she has a horrifying realization. She’s scheduled to deliver one of her special (magical murdering) pies to a judge. Then on the first day of filming, a contestant dies of an accident (Or was it). Then Bryan’s found dead from a fall off a balcony never having tasted the murder pie.
Daisy needs to find the killer. Not concerned with avenging Bryan. After all, he was an abusive jerk on the list to get one of her magical murder pies. She doesn’t want the murder investigation to out her and her abused customers.
My thoughts about A Good Day to Pie
This is GBBO plus Knives Out in the most delicious combination. An isolated estate turned luxury boutique hotel complete with hidden passageways serves as the setting. Housing the bakers and judges of Bake My Day along with all of the secrets that they’ll keep hidden at any cost. And then secrets start unraveling once it’s obvious that one of them is a murderer.
Baking happiness
Daisy and her passion for baking make me happy. I love when she’s describing baking, how the ingredients smell and taste, and how the dough feels. I also enjoy when the warmth for her found family and for new friends made during the competition shines through. And I love that her own experience with abuse makes her want to help other women escape the abuse.
The descriptions for all of the bakes made my mouth water. And thank you, Misha Popp for including recipes. Yum!
If you’re a GBBO fan, you’ll spot similarities with Bake My Day. Funny host, sunshine and grump judges, contestants filling roles from the ingenue baker to the sarcastic villain. And it works as a great framework for a mystery.
The banter is first rate and I loved a lot of the other contestants’ interactions.
Shout out to the author for writing a bi FMC and including an ace secondary character. Courchesne even includes the ace flag colors in some of her bakes and refers to herself as the Real Ace of Cakes.
A Good Day to Pie is a quick quozy (queer cozy) read full of fall vibes. This is fast-paced as Daisy has a deadline. She has less than two weeks to suss out the killer before the competition finishes filming. I loved that she again uses her pie magic (she infuses her bakes with intent like encouraging honesty that affects whoever eats her baked goods) to help her solve the mystery.
In closing
You can read this without reading the first book, Magic, Lies, and Deadly Pies but do yourself a favor and read it. If you’re a fan of Two Parts Sugar, One Part Murder by Valerie Burns, Arsenic and Adobo by Mia Manansala, or the Caribbean Kitchen mysteries by Raquel Reyes.
Thank you Crooked Lane Books for the ARC.
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