A Pie to Die For by Gretchen Rue

 A Pie to Die For

Book Summary

Este March runs the family-owned Lucky Pie Diner on Split Pine Island in Northern Michigan. The pies at Lucky Pie aren’t just good, they’re magical, with a family recipe that grants certain customers their greatest hopes and dreams when they eat the pie. The remote island is closed to outsiders over the winter months, but on the last day of the season, the unpopular new produce vendor, Jeff, turns up dead on his boat, and Split Pine Island’s peace goes up in smoke.

Tom Cunningham, the local sheriff, casts suspicion onto Este, who may have been the last person to see Jeff alive. Not to mention several people witnessed her getting into an argument with the rude vendor in some of his final hours. Este decides to clear her name and her diner’s reputation by launching her own investigation, which means she must turn suspicion on her friends and neighbors, because only a local could have murdered the victim.

As Este investigates, she uncovers a deeper web of secrets, finding that many of the locals had reason to either frame her, or kill the victim. The clock is ticking to figure out the killer, and the clues in the case are flakier than an apple pie. Este will have to uncover the killer before her future crumbles.

My Thoughts

A Pie to Die For by Gretchen Rue is the debut of A Lucky Pie Mysteries. I liked the basic premise of a tourist island that is cut off from the world for the winter (I wanted to start off with something positive).  I found the book to be dominated by cooking and baking.  There are paragraphs with Este describing in detail what she is cooking or baking (it takes up at least forty percent of the book).  There are too many characters introduced in the beginning (information overload). The bad guys were overdone (remind me of cartoon villains). The mystery was very simple (and it is pushed into the background).  There is a lack of suspects.  Este does very little sleuthing (she is too busy cooking, baking, and flirting).  Este thinks about the investigation repeating the suspects and clues.  The reveal was anticlimactic (extremely).  Magic is a subtle element in the story.  I thought A Pie to Die For lacked depth. There were lots of different elements, but all of them were superficial.   The story plods along to the end with no excitement (plenty of sandwiches, soup, and pie).  As you can tell, I could not get into A Pie to Die For.  

A Pie to Die For is available from Amazon*.  While A Pie to Die For was not my cup of tea, if the summary appeals to you, I suggest you download a sample to judge it for yourself.  Thank you for stopping by today. Tomorrow I am a stop on the Celebrate Lit Bloggers Tour for A Season of Harvest by Lauraine Snelling.  It is the fourth book in the  Leah's Garden series.  I hope that you have a delightful day.  Take care and Happy Reading!

Kris

The Avid Reader

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