Somehow, I missed Ellery Adams’ latest Charmed Pie Shoppe mystery when it came out a few months ago. If any series of cozy mysteries has a cast of strong females, it’s this one. Time and again, Ella Mae LaFaye, her mother and aunts must face the evil in the world. This time, it’s a haunting figure from literature’s past who threatens the safety of the world in Lemon Pies and Little White Lies.
All Ella Mae really wants to do is bake pies that will bring a little magic into someone’s life. But, now that she’s the most powerful woman in Havenwood, she feels an obligation to all the enchanted people who live there, and the ones who came for shelter when they lost their own homes. So, she offers to host the Founder’s Day Event with a celebration of pie, its history and its recipes. But, she has to host the event with a smile although her heart is breaking. She hasn’t heard from the love of her life, Hugh Dylan, who lost his powers and is traveling. There have been two tragic deaths in town, and at each scene there was a message intended for Ella Mae. And, a woman whose powers seem as strong as Ella Mae’s is causing death and destruction throughout the world. Now, she and her supporters are heading toward Havenwood. It will take an unprecedented union of enchanted folk, led by Ella Mae LaFaye, to stop her.
Ellery Adams uses the Charmed Pie Shoppe mysteries to build her own world filled with enchanted folk and based on Arthurian legend. These are dramatic, intense stories, filled with menace and foreboding, just as the legends themselves are. The books have light-hearted titles, such as Lemon Pies and Little White Lies, but there’s nothing light-hearted about the death and violence in these books. The latest in the series is another powerful, slightly bittersweet story. Arthurian legend and cozy mysteries may seem a strange combination, but Adams succeeds brilliantly.
Ellery Adams’ website is http://www.elleryadamsmysteries.com
Lemon Pies and Little White Lies by Ellery Adams. Berkley Prime Crime. 2015. ISBN 9780425276020 (paperback), 292p.
*****
FTC Full Disclosure – Library book
Interesting how we all like something different. I do love Ellery Adams' Books by the Bay series but just cannot get into any of her other series. Maybe too much enchantment for my taste?
Anyway keep recommending books, you are my go to gal for new mystery authors!
What a nice comment, Diane! Thank you! Berkley Prime Crime has a couple new series coming out with their August releases. They'll be listed in my book chat on Thursday. I love the Books by the Bay series, too, although I'm a book behind in it. My sister couldn't get into this series, either. Too much legend and magic as well. Whereas I loved all the stuff, and recognized the Le Faye name when I first read it.