Lori C. (dollycas) reviewed on 2/6/2021 + 704 more book reviews

Dollycas's Thoughts

After reading Chili Cauldron Curse I dove right into One Poison Pie. Mia has broken up with her cheating boyfriend and returned to Magic Springs to restart her life by opening Mia's Morsels in an old school building. She plans to do some catering but to also build a client list of people that would enjoy a gourmet dinner delivered to their home one or more times a week. While the school is being revamped for her business her grandmother pushes her to cater a friend's birthday party. It ends up being harder than she thought when her client, Adele Simpson, changes the entire menu at the last minute but Mia rolls with the changes committed to make her first event a hit, hopefully gaining her several new customers.

Sadly the event takes a deadly turn when Adele's body is found under the head table stabbed with a knife. When Mia is tapped as the prime suspect she can't believe it. Adele was a difficult client but Mia wouldn't kill her over a few changes. There has to be someone else the police should be questioning and Mia is going to do a little snooping to give them several options . . . that is unless the killer murders her next.

Mia is a fantastic protagonist. She is smart, strong, and getting more independent every day. She has a great business plan along with the support she needs to get Mia's Morsel's up and running. We met her Gran and her ex-boyfriend's sister Christina in Chili Cauldron Curse. They continue to immerge as important supporting characters. We are introduced to brothers Trent and Levi, and also Chef James. Trent has some romantic notions with Mia and Levi is just fun to be around. James allows Mia to use his kitchen to prepare the meal for Adele's party. All the characters are very well crafted, some are more magical than others. Ms. Cahoon has fleshed them out pretty well but has left them plenty of room to grow over what I hope will be a long-running series. The relationships between the characters really drew my attention and the dialogues were true to life.

The mystery plot was complex with a lot of things happening. Someone definitely wants Mia off the case and out of the way. Physical attacks, threatening messages, chilling calls, and more show the danger Mia is in. I love that witches and warlocks are common in Magic Springs and they have a variety of talents. Some are more active in the craft than others but coexist easily. I enjoyed the ghost stories and an actual ghost appearance. The paranormal elements are all well placed and did not overtake the main mystery at all. That mystery has plenty of twists and turns and surprises. A subplot with Mia's ex adds another interesting element to the story.

I find the author's writing style very comfortable with clear descriptions without being too wordy. People and places are easily visualized and the characters really come to life. The pace was perfect and humor popped up in all the right places.

I found One Poison Pie to be totally entertaining and easy to escape right into. The characters are engaging and I can't wait to visit them again in Two Wicked Desserts this summer.

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