When the going gets tough, Ella Mae LaFaye bakes pies. So when she catches her husband cheating in New York, she heads back home to Havenwood, Georgia, where she can drown her sorrows in fresh fruit filling and flakey crust. But her pies aren't just delicious. They're having magical effects on the people who eat them--and the public is hungry for more.

Discovering her hidden talent for enchantment, Ella Mae makes her own wish come true by opening the Charmed Pie Shoppe. But with her old nemesis Loralyn Gaynor making trouble, and her old crush Hugh Dylan making nice, she has more than pie on her plate. and when Loralyn's fiancé is found dead--killed with Ella Mae's rolling pin--it'll take all her sweet magic to clear her name.

Series: A Charmed Pie Shoppe Mystery (Book 1)

Review

For fans of: Melissa Bourbon, Heather Blake

When culinary student Ella Mae LaFaye discovers her husband Sloan in a compromising position with the redheaded twins from apartment 516C, she knows her marriage is over.  She buys a dog carrier and flees New York with nothing but her puppy and the clothes on her back, heading home to Havenwood, Georgia and the only people she knows she can trust:  her family.

She arrives to discover some things haven’t changed; for example, her childhood nemesis, Lorelyn Gaynor, is still in town, and still seems to possess the ability to make Ella Mae miserable at every turn.  Ella Mae’s determined to make a go of her new life, though; she’ll divorce Sloan, open her own pie shop, and live her dream, Lorelyn be damned.  But then Lorelyn’s fiancé manages to get himself murdered with Ella Mae’s rolling pin, placing her at the very top of the police’s suspect list, and Ella Mae finds herself wondering if she should have just sucked it up and stayed in Manhattan…

Pies and Prejudice is the first in Ellery Adams’ new Charmed Pie Shoppe Mystery series, and if you’re a fan of the too-soon-cancelled television show Pushing Daisies, you’re in for a treat.  Remember how in Pushing Daisies, Chuck would lace her pies with homeopathic mood enhancers to lift the spirits of her customers? Well, in Pies and Prejudice, Adams does that idea one better; you see, Ella Mae possesses the ability to – well, charm her pies.  Heartbreak, lust, joy, the desire to help one’s neighbor or spill one’s guts – whatever thoughts or emotions, wishes or intentions she puts forth while making a pie, the eater of said pie will then experience. 

The concept is a clever one, and Adams uses it to fun effect here.  She does occasionally go a little overboard in her attempt to imbue the story with whimsy and magic – the prose can get a tad purple and overwrought, pulling the reader out of the flow of the story, and Ella Mae’s propensity for comparing people and things to pies gets old quick – but if you’re willing to buy Adams’ bit and go along for the ride, you’ll discover a pretty enjoyable way to pass a sultry summer afternoon. 

I did find the book’s ending a little unnecessarily complicated, but I enjoyed the mystery as a whole and thought the plot tight and the pacing quick.  The story positively drips with Southern warmth and charm.  The sense of place is strong, and Adams’ imagery is vibrant enough to transport even the least imaginative of readers.  Ella Mae is a thoroughly enchanting heroine.  Her mother, aunts, and her mother’s housekeeper (all of whom seem to possess their own unique magical abilities) are rich, nuanced, compelling supporting characters with whom I can’t wait to get better acquainted in future books.  Lorelyn is the perfect arch-rival – a total witch-with-a-b you’ll love to hate. And potential love interest (and former childhood crush) Hugh is so sweet and so hot he practically causes the pages on which he appears to smolder.

Hoping to add a little magic to your summer?  Look no further than Ellery Adams’ Pies and Prejudice.

Reviewed by Kat N.

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