A Good Day to Pie by Misha Popp

A Good Day to Pie is the second book in Misha Popp’s A Pie Before Guys Mystery series.

Everyone loves a good pie. But how about a pie that’s as deadly as it is delectable?

Daisy is competing in Bake My Day – an American version of The Great British Bake Off. She’s entered the competition but not because the prize is a hundred grand. She doesn’t care about fame either. The one thing Daisy cares about is how the prize money can fund her Pies Before Guys – a darker side of her RV-based baking business that delivers flaky-crusted justice to the worst men out there.

She’s supposed to spend two weeks on an estate where the TV show will be filmed. Each day, the contestants will have to bake and there will be eliminations too. In a completely unexpected turn of events, Daisy discovers that her intended victim is one of the judges. She was supposed to deliver the deadly pie on her way back home from the competition.

As the shooting begins, one of the contestants is found dead in the kitchen. It is brushed off as an accident but the police are called in for formality sake. Tension’s at an all-time high and one of the judges is cranky. This results in a tiff. Then, another murder…

What a fantabulous, completely engrossing and entertaining mystery. Like, seriously, WOW! I haven’t read the series debut but I didn’t have trouble following the side stories of recurring characters. We have our protagonist Daisy who bakes pies for a living. She’s also a serial killer and operates her darker side of business via the dark web. She bakes ‘special pies’ with a dash of magic and hand delivers it to women who are in an abusive relationship.

When Daisy reaches the baking show venue and there’s a meet-and-greet the contestants and judges, she’s shocked to see one of her intended victims is a judge on the show. The competition is fierce. Though the competitors get along well, there’s an underlying current of jealousy – not amongst all though; just a few nasty ones.

Oh, by the way, if you are on a diet, do yourself a favor and pause your diet for a couple of days so that you can enjoy reading this book. At the baking show, contestants are asked to bake delicious goodies – cookies, cakes, pies and whatnots. Presentation is important too, not just flavor and texture. The elimination rounds are quite strict too. Speaking of which, there’s this one contestant who gets to the bottom two always and isn’t sent off. Well, there’s an interesting side story here. (No spoilers though. Sowwie!)

Chocolate-based baked goodies, cookies, ice creams, pies, cakes – as I was reading through, I had this strong urge to bake something nice. There’s a list of recipes at the end of the book and I cannot wait to try them all!

As I was reading through, it felt like a movie playing in my head. The contestants are filmed walking down the stairs, prepping for their baked goodies, and at judging. A scene straight out of them reality TV shows.

I loved Misha Popp’s writing. Fantastic character and plot-to-story development. Likable characters too. The mystery behind the murder kept me guessing till the end. The venue where the shooting happens has secrets of its own. Apart from Daisy, the other contestants whom I liked include Derek, Vic, Nell, and Natalie. Nell is the first person Daisy meets at the venue and they soon become friends.

The ending is fantastic. Three contestants make it to the finale but the killer is yet to be caught – it’s pretty clear one of the contestants or judges is the perp. Oh, the scene where Daisy asks the cameraman to keep rolling because she’s going to announce the name of the killer – I LOVED IT!!

A Good Day to Pie by Misha Popp is a must-read mystery of the year. Go on, buy your copy today and be prepared for a murderous pie with an extra sprinkling of mystery and spice.

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I received an ARC from Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley in exchange for an honest and unbiased opinion.

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