Lemon Pies and Little White Lies
A Charmed Pie Shoppe Mystery #4
By Ellery Adams
ISBN# 9780425276020
Author’s Website: elleryadamsmysteries.com
Brought to you by OBS reviewer Daniele
Synopsis:
Ella Mae LeFaye’s Charmed Pie Shoppe has become a phenomenon beyond her wildest dreams, providing the enchanted town of Havenwood, Georgia, with spellbinding desserts and magical pies. Her personal life is also heating up as she takes on the responsibilities of leadership within her magical community. In fact, the only thing weighing her down is the fact that handsome Hugh Dylan won’t return her calls…
Still, when Havenwood is rocked by a series of mysterious deaths, Ella Mae must put romantic longings aside—especially when she realizes that the mystical symbols left at each crime scene are dangerously personal. Now she will have to whip up all her supernatural skills to uncover a killer out to settle an ancient score—before the murderer devastates everything Ella Mae is determined to protect….(Goodreads)
Review:
Ella Mae’s professional life is really on a roll. As the proprietor of the Charmed Pie Shoppe in her small Georgia town, she has the ability to imbue her baked goods with emotions, making her food very popular with locals and tourists alike. She hopes to spread her success even further by sponsoring the town’s Founder’s Day Celebration. She has finally accepted her role as Clover Queen, and member of the Elder Council, and sees the festival as a chance for her fellow magical folk to convene in an effort to break a longstanding curse. But, her heart is heavy since her boyfriend Hugh is away searching for a way to reinstate his own powers. Ella Mae soon feels the danger of her position when a water elemental named Nimue claims to be the Clover Queen and will stop at nothing to take over. When a relative newcomer to the community is found dead in a bathtub and Aunt Dee almost perishes in a fire, Ella Mae cannot help but think that everything is connected to Nimue and directed directly at Ella Mae. She puts her own welfare aside to protect her family, friends, and magical people and get to the bottom of the mysterious happenings.
I love this series, and Lemon Pies and Little White Lies does not disappoint. It is full of harrowing mystical adventure and mysterious twists and turns. Though the mystery seems to take a back seat to the magical element, there are enough possibilities to keep the reader guessing for most of the book. The perpetrator was a bit of a surprise, and his/her motivations were unexpected. Ms. Adams does a fine job of bringing the Arthurian legend of Merlin and Nimue into present day and mixing up the various magical beings while at the same time making them feel completely human and relatable. The characters are all well drawn and continue to grow with each book. Ella Mae is likeable, but I sure wish she could catch a break because she is always surrounded by such drama. Her aunts are delightfully zany, and her friends and Hugh are people I would like to hang out with. I did miss Hugh’s presence in this installment and hope that he will be back in all of his glory in the future. To be honest, I even missed Loralyn in all her delicious evilness.
This book had a sense of finality to it, and I hope it is not the end of the series. There are still so many adventures to be had. This series has a lot to offer readers; it is full of pets, good food (with recipes included), small-town charm, paranormal elements, and, of course, dead bodies. Ms. Adams is one of my favorite authors. I highly recommend this to all cozy readers and look forward to my next opportunity to visit Havenwood, Georgia, and its inhabitants.
*OBS would like to thank the publisher for supplying a free copy of this title in exchange for an honest review*
