Book 1, 2018
Jan. 5th, 2018 08:04 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
chez_jaeIt was on Wednesday night, the 3rd, that I finished reading Pecan Pies and Homicides, which is the third book in author Ellery Adams' "Charmed Pie Shoppe" mystery series, featuring baker and witch Ella Mae LeFaye.
After a neighboring enchanted grove is deliberately destroyed by fire, the magical denizens of that town turn to Havenwood to begin anew. Ella Mae, whose mother is the vaunted Lady of the Ash for Havenwood, is ready to welcome all to her community. Not everyone shares her enthusiasm. Opal Gaynor, the grande dame of Havenwood's magical society, hosts a party to welcome those from Oak Knoll; however, the Gaynors have only invited the cream of the crop. Ella Mae attends the party as her friend Suzy's "plus one", and there she meets the lovely and ethereal Eira Morgan, along with Eira's ogre of a husband. When Eira is later found dead, frozen to death just steps from the entrance to Havenwood's enchanted grove, Ella Mae is convinced that the woman's husband is responsible. As the Lady's representative, it's up to her to find answers.
In the meantime, Ella Mae's business is booming, and she is trying to get ready for Havenwood's annual winter carnival. She ends up hiring Jenny and Aiden, siblings who were displaced from Oak Knoll, to help in the pie shop and to handle deliveries. Ella Mae is also dealing with her growing feelings for Hugh Dylan, as well as still grieving the loss of her mother, Adelaide. It is Ella's fondest wish to find a way to rescue Adelaide from her duty as the Lady of the Ash. A book in the Gaynors' library may hold a clue, and Ella Mae will do anything to get it, even make nice with her lifelong nemesis, Loralyn Gaynor.
There was a lot going on in this book, but it made for a fast-paced, exciting read. At times, the story seemed to veer into the realm of urban fantasy, what with elementals, both fair and foul, a truly terrifying creature, another fire, and another murder. One thing that bugged me was that when Ella Mae discovered the second body in a few feet of water in Lake Havenwood, she stupidly took off her shoes and socks and waded out in an attempt to pull the body to shore. Of course, the water was frigid, and she ended up falling in and getting hypothermia and needing to be rescued, and all I could think was, what sort of an idiot would do that? Why not call for help and let the experts, who had the gear, go out and retrieve the body? It made no sense.
Favorite line:"I don't know why the two of you are hootin' and hollerin' like hyenas on crack..."
I'm a bit on the fence about this one. It was exciting and engrossing, but there were just as many questions left unanswered as there were answered. I also felt cheated of the abilitiy to make a good guess as to who the murderer was. Giving this one a four:
****
After a neighboring enchanted grove is deliberately destroyed by fire, the magical denizens of that town turn to Havenwood to begin anew. Ella Mae, whose mother is the vaunted Lady of the Ash for Havenwood, is ready to welcome all to her community. Not everyone shares her enthusiasm. Opal Gaynor, the grande dame of Havenwood's magical society, hosts a party to welcome those from Oak Knoll; however, the Gaynors have only invited the cream of the crop. Ella Mae attends the party as her friend Suzy's "plus one", and there she meets the lovely and ethereal Eira Morgan, along with Eira's ogre of a husband. When Eira is later found dead, frozen to death just steps from the entrance to Havenwood's enchanted grove, Ella Mae is convinced that the woman's husband is responsible. As the Lady's representative, it's up to her to find answers.
In the meantime, Ella Mae's business is booming, and she is trying to get ready for Havenwood's annual winter carnival. She ends up hiring Jenny and Aiden, siblings who were displaced from Oak Knoll, to help in the pie shop and to handle deliveries. Ella Mae is also dealing with her growing feelings for Hugh Dylan, as well as still grieving the loss of her mother, Adelaide. It is Ella's fondest wish to find a way to rescue Adelaide from her duty as the Lady of the Ash. A book in the Gaynors' library may hold a clue, and Ella Mae will do anything to get it, even make nice with her lifelong nemesis, Loralyn Gaynor.
There was a lot going on in this book, but it made for a fast-paced, exciting read. At times, the story seemed to veer into the realm of urban fantasy, what with elementals, both fair and foul, a truly terrifying creature, another fire, and another murder. One thing that bugged me was that when Ella Mae discovered the second body in a few feet of water in Lake Havenwood, she stupidly took off her shoes and socks and waded out in an attempt to pull the body to shore. Of course, the water was frigid, and she ended up falling in and getting hypothermia and needing to be rescued, and all I could think was, what sort of an idiot would do that? Why not call for help and let the experts, who had the gear, go out and retrieve the body? It made no sense.
Favorite line:"I don't know why the two of you are hootin' and hollerin' like hyenas on crack..."
I'm a bit on the fence about this one. It was exciting and engrossing, but there were just as many questions left unanswered as there were answered. I also felt cheated of the abilitiy to make a good guess as to who the murderer was. Giving this one a four:
****
