Pies & Peril by Janel Gradowski – the first in the Culinary Competition cozy mystery series, set in Michigan – is a fun read for foodie mystery fans. Readers with a sweet tooth will drool over the descriptions of the prize-winning baked goods made by the main character Amy, such as Bumble Apple Crumble Pie, Lemon Cheesecake Muffins, and Hot Fudge and Pound Cake Trifle.
As in all cozy mysteries, the person found dead at the beginning of the story was someone who wasn’t much liked and won’t be missed much by anyone, but friendly, generous Amy, the perennial baking contest winner in town – at first a suspect, herself – quickly finds herself in danger of becoming the murderer’s next victim.
Here’s a short paragraph from the early part of the story, where Amy’s friend Carla is trying Amy’s latest “chocolate therapy” – a fresh-out-of-the-oven batch of Quadruple Chocolate Muffins – the morning after Amy discovered the dead body of her main competitor in the annual baking contest:
“Carla peeled the paper wrapper off a muffin and took a bite. Heavenly was too weak a word to describe the taste. Tender, intensely chocolate cake studded with pockets of gooey, melted chocolate. If there was a more decadent thing to eat for breakfast, she couldn’t think of one at the moment. Poor Amy was exhausted and stressed out, but she still turned out muffins that were ten times better than anything Maxson’s Bakery ever served.”
The recipes in the back of Pies & Peril are not on my diet, so I haven’t tried them, but they sound delicious!
Fruit & Nut Brownies
Savory Parmesan & Salami Muffins
Tomato Pies for Two
Spicy Maple Dipping Sauce
The Culinary Competition Mysteries series titles in order so far are:
- Pies & Peril
- Chicken Soup & Homicide
- Christmas Canapés & Sabotage
- Doughnuts & Deadly Schemes
- Fudge Brownies & Murder
- Banana Muffins & Mayhem (June 14, 2016)
Pies & Peril
Gradowski, Janel
Gemma Halliday, 2014
9781500385835
Disclosure: I won a free SmashWords download from the author in a Novel Meals giveaway in July 2014. I don’t read many cozy mysteries, but I like culinary ones the best, so I’m glad I finally got around to reading Pies & Peril!
Other opinions on Pies & Peril:
Joy’s Book Blog
Happy Weekend Cooking!
Linked to Weekend Cooking, a weekly feature on Beth Fish Reads. Click/tap image for Weekend Cooking posts from other bloggers.
As you know, I love a fun culinary cozy. This one is set in Michigan, so I’ll have to check it out. Happy to see that some of the recipes are for savory muffins — always good and welcome.
I know you’re a cozy reader! This was cute and quick to read.
A new-to-me cozy culinary series. I may be in trouble! 😉 This sounds like a fun one and those recipes do sound very tempting. Thanks for sharing.
I am an official addict of these culinary cozy mysteries. This sounds like a series to add to the list.
Am hearing so much about these cozies that will soon have to give them a go. Cheers
I’d forgotten all about that giveaway!
It was back in July of 2014, so no wonder! 😉
They’re fun every now and then, but I wouldn’t want a steady diet of them!
There are a lot of them out there! I haven’t gotten addicted to them…yet.
I think I’m going to try the brownie recipe for Memorial Day weekend.
I pulled the same quote for my review — such a perfect foodie description. I’ve got the ARC for Janel’s next book in this series and I’m looking forward to it — it comes out in June.
I knew I had seen other reviews, but didn’t have time to look them up before posting. I’ll add a link to yours now, so thank you!
I think the savory muffins recipe sounds delicious too.
I have never read a cozy story, in fact I didn’t even know what they were until I started visiting the blog I Wish I Lived In A Library. She reads a lot of food themed cozies, and I questioned her as to what the term meant. I found out that the Cat Who books my sister and mother are so fond of are cozies. I happened upon a few free paranormal themed cozies with witches and ghosts, so I am planning a Halloween post about reading them. I am not sure they will be my cup of tea, but I want to be able to say I tried them. 🙂
I was never much of a mystery reader, so I was never much interested in cozy mysteries, but have discovered that they’re fun now and then. I especially like the culinary or bookstore/library/book club related ones.