Pie Hard

 The Soap Maker's Mysteries Book 2

Author:    Liz Clay

Genre:     Mystery

Digital Book

ASIN #:    B0FQSHGYJB

Independently Published

94 Pages

$0.00 Amazon

September 11, 2025

⭐⭐

The deadliest recipes are family secrets.  

Kate Hartwell just wanted to make candles and maybe not find any more dead bodies.  Apparently, that was too much to ask.

When the Pumpkin Pie Festival turns into a poisoning party, Kate's nose for trouble leads her straight into another murder mystery.  Because nothing says "small-town charm" like botanical assassins and fifty-year-old grudges served with a side of revenge.

Armed with her grandmother's herbal recipes and a growing suspicion that everyone in Moonrise Key has secrets worth killing for, Kate must catch a killer before they catch her.  Again.

Some pies are to die for.  Others are just plain deadly.

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Kate Hartwell is watching the pumpkin pie contest when she smells something off in the first pie.  But it's too late to stop Ellie, a retired schoolteacher, from tasting the first pie...and being poisoned.  At least Ellie isn't dead, but Kate knows that this echoes a previous murder, and now she wonders if there's another killer on the island.

When Ellie calls her to her hospital bedside, she discovers that it may tie in to a fifty-year-old suspected murder of a young woman who was visiting her relatives for the summer.  Someone is seeking revenge, and Kate is determined to find out who...

I love reading, and I love reading mysteries most of all.  I won't state my background, but I'm a big believer in details.  I look for them everywhere, and I'll never get away from it.  Oh, well.  At any rate, I was charmed in the first part of the book, as I found it a decent cozy to pass the time.  Then I kept reading.  And the inconsistencies and details got me, unfortunately.

I won't list them openly, but put them in a spoiler below:

Victoria was Mr. Pemberton's niece, not Ruth's; and once Ruth divorced her first husband (which was before Michael was conceived since he was Mr. Walsh's son) she nor her children would have any relation to Mr. Pemberton's family. I found it odd that Michael would be upset over a woman he wasn't even related to; there would be no reason for revenge of any sort. I certainly wouldn't be upset if I had heard this story; sad, yes, but not willing to avenge my non-aunt. I didn't like the idea that he was willing to sacrifice his own flesh and blood for someone he wasn't related to. His mother! He chose a non-aunt over his own mother! What does that tell you? There is also a conversation that he has with the protagonist where she calls her grandmother his grandmother. Not once, but twice. That confused me as to who was talking at the time, and I had to read this passage twice. Also, I spend a lot of time baking (I have over 500 cookbooks and use them) and I've never gotten flour (or any ingredients) in my hair or on my body. On my hands, yes, but I've never made a mess in the kitchen like she describes. Why was the sheriff calling on a fire inspector to help with a murder investigation? As far as I've ever known, they aren't involved unless fire is, too. Plus, why should I go back and read the first in this series if you've already told me who the murderer was in that one. Authors should never divulge that information from previous books. It's the Spoiler of All Spoilers. I have the book, but now it's a non-read for me since I know who the murderer was.

 

The things that I've listed in the spoiler are the reasons why I've only given this book two stars.  I really wish I could rate it higher, but I have to go with what I feel is honest.  Sorry.

https://www.amazon.com/Pie-Hard-Halloween-Mystery-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B0FQSHGYJB/ref

Goodreads:   https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/8025932686