Celebrity cook Patsy Lee Presley has come to Old Town Alexandria to serve as judge at the annual pie festival but before the judging can begin Patsy Lee keels over and dies. Turns out murder has been on someone's menu and now Sophie Winston, as the event coordinator feels obligated to find out who. But that's not all that's on Sophie's agenda in the culinary environment, a young girl has enlisted her in finding who really killed local restaurateur, Grainger Gibbard 5 years ago. It seems the young girl's mother was convicted of the murder but her daughter and family feel there was a rush to judgment and inadequate representation. Could the cases be connected since Patsy Lee and Grainger had worked together?

The characters are well done, the mystery compelling and it was just plain fun! ( )

The Diva Sweetens the Pie starts off strong then meanders off on a tangent from which it never fully recovers.

Paula Deen-esque Patsy Lee Presley is in town to act as judge at Old Town Alexandria’s pie festival. When Patsy Lee keels over dead during her opening remarks at the festival’s commencement, no one is quite sure what happened. Was it a heart attack or something more sinister? It seems hard to believe that sweet as pie Patsy Lee could have an enemy in the world; after all, she is a celebrity chef with legions of adoring fans. However, Patsy Lee was not as sweet as she seemed; she actually connived, stole, and sabotaged others on her way to the top, leaving behind a shattered trail of betrayed, bitter, and boiling mad former friends—any one of whom would just love to see Patsy Lee get her long overdue comeuppance.

Local food columnist and event planner Sophie Winston witnesses Patsy Lee’s untimely demise and sets out to identify the murderer. She gets sidetracked, however, when a precocious (i.e. annoying) twelve-year-old girl, Aly Stokes, shows up on her doorstep in the middle of the night and asks for Sophie’s help in freeing her mother from prison. Aly’s mother Nellie was convicted five years ago of killing local restaurateur, Grainger Gibbard. It just so happens that both Grainger and Nellie were part of Patsy Lee’s social group back when they were all aspiring chefs. Could this long ago murder be linked to Patsy Lee’s recent demise? Of course it is. And as Sophie slips closer to uncovering the truth, she finds herself framed for attempted murder.

This could have been an enjoyable little mystery if not for a couple of major flaws in the story.

First, although it gets off to a decent start, the narrative flies off the rails when we get sucked into the stale murder case of Grainger Gibbard. When Patsy Lee gets murdered at the pie festival, there is no shortage of suspects present at the scene who have the means, the motives, and the opportunities to commit the crime; this scenario alone could have made a good, compelling mystery tale. Instead, we get sidetracked into an old murder case that distracts from what should be the main focus of the plot—the murder of the pie diva at the festival. Although both murders eventually get tied together, all of the additional clues and suspects (some of whom we never even meet) serve as more of a needless distraction than a meaningful addition to the plot.

Second, Sophie’s sidekicks (and she has a ton of them) in this yarn are neither endearing nor particularly helpful. Her police officer “friends” don’t seem to really like her all that much, and they certainly don’t do her any favors. Her best friend, Nita Norwood, is unbelievably aggravating. She lives across the street and is constantly popping in (i.e. intruding) into Sophie’s house. Sophie turns on a light in the middle of the night, Nita pops in to see what is going on. Sophie has company over one afternoon, Nita pops over to see what is going on. Sophie closes her blinds, Nita comes running over to see what she is doing. Sophie isn’t home at all, Nita pops in and eats everything in the fridge. Can you imagine turning on a light to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night and having your next door neighbor barge in to find out what is going on? Good grief! Sophie really needs to learn to establish some boundaries and pick better friends.

Because of the unnecessarily convoluted plotline and the aggravating characters, what could have been an entertaining story falls seriously flat. ( )

It has been a couple of years since I have read this series. This one had more depth to it than some of the others which made me love it. While judging a pie contest at Old Town's Pie Festival, one of the well known judges Patsie Lee, falls into the pies Some did try to revive her but it was no use. Sophie has a late night visitor....a little girl , Ali Sokes, who asks Sophie to help her Mom get out of prison. The little girl and her father are convinced that the Mom, Nellie, has been framed for the murder of Grainger Gibbard. Of course, Sophie can not tell the little girl no.
Lethal Caffeine powder, poisoned pies, a lawyer who gets beaten up and a fire all make this book a winner. There are so many suspects, including Sophie! Her friends do not abandon her and with everyone's help the killer is caught. ( )

This is a good one for me. PIES! ( )