Pies & Peril: A Culinary Competition Mystery (Culinary Competition Mysteries) (Volume 1) Paperback – July 6, 2014

The constant references to food made me want to put this book down on more than one occasion. I stuck with it only to see how the murder was solved.* If Amy wasn’t eating, drinking, or baking something, she was thinking about eating, drinking or baking something. And, my goodness, the over use of analogies to food was annoying. Examples from just the first two chapters: “The hot sunshine made her feel like a salmon roasting on a cedar plank.” “It felt like her body had been sprinkled with spicy, tingly, Szechuan pepper.” “Carla would pounce on the admission like a feral cat on a roasted chicken.” “…more unpleasant than a dozen deviled eggs left on a hot car all day.” “…like batter covered chore devils perched on her shoulder.”On and on they went throughout the entire book. I cannot recommend it to anyone except those who love culinary analogies with a little mystery thrown in.*Three stars because the ending was refreshing – the heroine actually left it up to the police to catch the murderer instead of putting herself in peril as with so many other cozy endings

What a tasty whodunnit mystery that let me DROOLING!! I loved Amy Ridley, part time sleuth, and quite the baker. When Amy entered a pie baking contest against her rivalry, she had no idea how dangerous it was and she never expected to find Mandy Jo dead under a table with her pie smeared all over her face! Mandy had made more enemies with her harsh tone and her hateful words, but just when Amy knew that she could dethrone the reigning queen, she ended up DEAD! Pies and Perils is LOADED with sweets that tempted me off my game and I was floored by who killed Mandy!

I received this book free and to tell the truth, I probably wouldn't have read it otherwise, mostly because of the title and also because I am getting a little tired of books framed around recipes. Aside from that, it was a little better than I thought it would be. The story is actually told by two different characters, which was a bit of a twist; one of them, Carla, I liked more than the other, Amy (Amy comes off like a ditz). And one of my pet peeves occurs in this book: Although Amy states that she hates bad grammar (no apostrophes, misspellings, etc.), throughout the book there are incomplete sentences (where are the grammar police when you need them?) The plot was fairly predictable and I found myself rolling my eyes at just how stupid Amy was in a lot of circumstances, but all in all it was a rather entertaining book and a harmless way to pass the time. And naturally there are the obligatory recipes included in the book. Will I continue to read the rest of the series? I don't think so, unless I am offered more free books, and even then I'm not sure.

I have to admit that when I saw Culinary Competitions in the series, I was expecting competitions more along the lines of what I see on television's The Food Network or Cooking Channel. So it was a bit of an adjustment to realize that the cook (Amy) in this series competes in local events (Kellerton's Summer Festival) and in competitions akin to the Pillsbury Bake-Off. In the end, I found that fact did not matter as I enjoyed the story and the characters. Things that detracted from the story for me: Amy's preoccupation with food grew old for me after a while and I felt it detracted from the plot; No one stood up to Amy and told her to stop investigating and/or sending the detective on wild tangents every time she thought she'd found out something new; sometimes feeling like the author was stretching out the story to meet a page limit.

This was a rather predictable story. (I figured out the murderer about 1/3 of the way through.) That said, the writing is witty and the characters are fun. The food overshadowed the story, and I found the description of the small town a bit unbelievable. How many restaurants, coffee shops, cafes, and bakeries can be supported in a small town? And a cookbook store? Really. Nevertheless the writing made it worth reading.

I absolutely loved this book. The characters are charming and the writing is great. In some cozy mysteries, I have found myself getting bored, but not with this one. The main character, Amy, is charming, if not just little bit silly, but not in an obnoxious way. I also adored her sweetie of a husband, Alex and her best friend, Carla. Plus, all of the yummy recipes mentioned in the book. I can't wait to try some of them. Overall, a great read.

I must say that Amy’s cookie kept making me hungry! I really liked her character and how she showed love by her cooking for her husband and her friend Carla and then for Bruce, the police detective. This was a fun read, not heavy and I figured out the mystery early, but still enjoyed reading the progress and action of the story. I really enjoyed this one.

Fantastic read, and fantastic characters. Being a contestant in a pie contest sure could be deadly, if you are seen talking to a certain person. With the help of the detective one of the contestants can solve the mystery. Definite must read