Featured on Buzzfeed Books! In the first in New York Times bestselling author Lynn Cahoon’s Kitchen Witch series, Mia Malone is starting over in Magic Springs, Idaho—where murder is on the menu . . . What’s a kitchen witch to do when her almost-fiancé leaves her suddenly single and unemployed? For Mia Malone, the answer’s simple: move to her grandmother’s quirky Idaho hometown, where magic is … grandmother’s quirky Idaho hometown, where magic is an open secret and witches and warlocks are (mostly) welcome. With a new gourmet dinner delivery business—and a touch of magic in her recipes—Mia’s hopes are high. Even when her ex’s little sister, Christina, arrives looking for a place to stay, Mia takes it in stride.
But her first catering job takes a distasteful turn when her client’s body is found, stabbed and stuffed under the head table. Mia’s shocked to learn that she’s a suspect—and even more so when she realizes she’s next on a killer’s list. With Christina, along with Mia’s meddling grandma, in the mix, she’ll have to find out which of the town’s eccentric residents has an appetite for murder…before this fresh start comes to a sticky end. . . .
Includes Recipes!
Praise for Lynn Cahoon
“I love the author’s style, which was warm and friendly. . . . A wonderfully appealing series.”
—Dru’s Book Musings on the Tourist Trap Mysteries
more
One Poison Pie is the first full-length novel in the Kitchen Witch Mysteries written by Lynn Cahoon. While I was a little iffy on the prequel book that gets you started, this one is much stronger and made me a bigger fan than I already was of the author’s work. Although the magical/fantasy elements usually don’t strike a chord with me, I found myself excited to learn more here… and I’m definitely going to continue to read this series.
Mia has moved back home after ending her disastrous relationship with Isaac. She’s now mentoring his younger sister, Christina, who needed to get away from her family. Luckily, Mia’s grandmother, a witch, is helping to get them both situated in this small Idaho town. Unfortunately, as Mia opens her new business, her first client is found dead the morning of the big event. The woman was Grans’s bestie, a somewhat rude and wealthy socialite with powers. A suddenly alive / strange / unknown nephew shows up, and he clearly looks guilty of something. Then Mia’s competitor for the property she purchased tries to hurt her. Is he involved in the murder too?
All the evidence points to someone Mia knows, especially when he or she broke in to her home and hurt her… but it’s her new friend Trent that does everything in his power to protect her. Throw in some lovely supporting characters and a few interesting townsfolk, and this series is really shaping up. I find myself eager to learn more about the witchcraft they all practice as well as the history of the town… something happened years ago, and I’m sure it will be critical to Mia’s true powers and purpose. I love that she’s so normal, and they hardly use their powers. When she finally does, it’ll be epic, I assume. Already ordered the next mini-novella so that I can catch up when the latest / fourth book in the series comes out in a few months.
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.
One Poison Pie by Lynn Cahoon has Mia Malone working on the renovations of the schoolhouse she purchased for Mia’s Morsels. She is catering Adele Simpson’s birthday party the next evening at the Lodge as commanded. The day of the party, Adele is found dead at the Lodge. Officer Mark Baldwin has Mia and her roommate, Christina on the suspect list which will not do. Mia decides to do a little nosing around to see if she can reveal the killer. One Poison Pie is the first full length novel in A Kitchen Witch Mystery series. I suggest reading Chili Cauldron Curse first because it gives you needed background information on Mia, Grans, and the town of Magic Springs. I like the characters especially Grans along with the setting. Mia is a great protagonist. She is smart, strong, and a fabulous chef. She is becoming an independent woman. Mia is getting over her former boyfriend, Isaac who is also Christina’s brother. No one knows what she saw in the man. We are introduced to Trent Majors and his brother, Levi. They are both good men with great qualities (strong, dependable, handsome, funny). Two love interests for two women. I want to see the romance play out slowly. I was not a fan of the mention of Mia’s sexual feelings (this is a cozy mystery). Mia is a kitchen witch like her grandmother. I enjoy the paranormal elements and would like more of it. I want to know more about Mia’s magic, and I would like to see spells performed. I also would like to know more about the history of kitchen magic. I loved the addition of Dorothy, a spirit who visited Mia. The mystery was straightforward but there was a surprise or two. There are a couple of suspects, active investigating, and good clues as well as threats to Mia. Avid cozy mystery readers will have no problem solving this one. One Poison Pie is a busy book which I loved along with the vivid descriptions. I enjoyed Lynn Cahoon’s conversational writing style that made the book easy to read. I look forward to the next book in A Kitchen Witch Mystery series. One Poison Pie is a charming tale with tasty treats, a gorgeous grocery guy, coven conundrum, a cookbook bandit, a vanishing feline, a door dilemma, and a mysterious murder.
I like it when an author mixes magic and mystery, then tosses in a bit of romance. So this book checked off a lot of my favorite things. The characters appealed to me, too. I didn’t always understand why the protagonist did some of the things she did. They felt contrived a few times, but I liked her enough to go with the flow. And a few threads of the mystery never came together for me, but the pace was good enough, it kept me interested. It wasn’t the best plotted book I’ve read, but it was entertaining. And that’s what I was in the mood for.
One Poison Pie by Lynn Cahoon is a fabulous mixup to paranormal cozy mysteries I’ve read before.
Will Mia be able to figure out who killed Adele?
Mia Malone
Mia Malone is the main character, and she is a witch. Well, a Kitchen Witch who practices hearth magic. That means she can only do spells that work with the kitchen and healing magic. I think this is a neat way to do the magical aspect, and it’s definitely different. I’ve heard of kitchen witches before but not with what they could do. Mia is a lover of lists, being organized, cooking, and trying to be somewhat human even though she isn’t. She doesn’t trust herself to fall in love since Issac used her as a business partner instead of the partners that she thought they were. I like Mia a lot as a character as she’s wonderfully sweet and one that I can’t wait to see more of. Ms. Cahoon has done a fantastic job of creating this little world, and I hope that Mia has a lot of success with her business venture called Mia’s Morsels.
The Mystery
The mystery in this story is who killed Adele and why they would kill her. There are also two others, but they get solved pretty fast. Mia is trying to solve that while also not having the police officer think that she or Christina murdered Adele. It’s a tough time for Mia as she feels like she’s an outsider despite being a summer resident. There is a lot of things to remember while reading this book about the mysteries. Mia is a good sleuth as she could figure out some of the other mysteries but not the one about who killed Adele. I didn’t figure it out until the killer was telling her why the killer did it.
Five Stars
One Poison Pie by Lynn Cahoon is worthy of five stars, and I’m recommending it to everyone that loves to read paranormal cozy mysteries. Ms. Cahoon has done a great job of creating this new universe and how she’s doing the magic is perfect for this world. I can’t wait to see what Ms. Cahoon does for this series in the other books.
Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of One Poison Pie by Lynn Cahoon.
Until the next time,
Karen the Baroness
If you would like to see other reviews like this one, check out BaronessBookTrove.com.
Review Snapshot : Lynn Cahoon knows what us cozy mystery readers want! This is the PERFECT start to a brand new paranormal cozy mystery series! I can’t wait for the next one!
I haven’t read a paranormal book in a LONG time but was craving one, so I decided to purchase a copy of One Poison Pie. This book delivered EVERYTHING I wanted! I am absolutely stoked for this new series! I love how it centers around a kitchen witch and there is a full cast and crew of secondary characters that work with her to solve murders! There’s even a budding romance happening, and I am so excited to see what happens with Trent and Mia, and Levi and Christina. I know this is going to be an amazing series!
If you’re a cozy mystery fan you don’t want to miss out on Lynn Cahoon’s books. They are exceptional cozies and I always look forward to them. I highly recommend this one along with the Farm-to-Fork mystery series!
Mia Malone operates Mia’s Morsels, a new catering business in Magic Springs, Idaho. She’s also a kitchen witch—a good witch who uses a touch of healing magic in her delicious gourmet meals. Her fledgling business is almost ruined when one of her chef knives is stolen and used as a murder weapon on her Gran’s best friend.
I thought this cozy mystery was light and fun! The smooth writing of Author Lynn Cahoon makes it a quick, enjoyable read. I loved the surprise ghost who appears and talks to Mia several times. I was very suspicious of the victim’s nephew so it wasn’t too much of a stretch at what he wound up being guilty of. I adore Mr. Darcy, the cat—love the name! The killer reveal was a bit shocking, and the motive sad and pathetic. I really enjoyed the very end where Mia receives a gift, and…..have to wait until the next book to find the answer! LOL! #WhyDidYouDoThatToMeLynnCahoon
I loved this book! It was fun that it was set in Idaho and I recognized some landmarks (with slight name changes). It made it so much more fun for Mia. I like Mia and her dream to turn a school house into a a new gourmet dinner delivery business. She does all this while getting over the betrayal of her fiance. She has to sift her way through real clues and red herrings to discover the murderer. Who can she trust and is she next?
Great, fun story. It is the first in the series and I would recommend it for anyone wanting a fun, little escape.
Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and offer my honest opinion of this book.
Mia Malone moves to Magic Springs, Idaho after a nasty break up not only to be closer to her grandmother but also to open a catering business and cooking school. The old schoolhouse she buys for this purpose understandably will take both time and money to renovate.
As a favor to her Grans, Mia agrees to cater a birthday dinner for one of the town’s oldest residents. Adele is also Ma’s gran’s longest friend, with a reputation for being difficult — OK outright mean.
She is also a very wealthy woman.
Surprises arise all through this book, from menu changes, to unwelcome visitors, to stormy weather.
There are some positive surprises also but the worst is when the guest of honor, Adele, is murdered before the appetizers are served. Will this also kill Mia’s chances for a new business and new life?
The characters are amazing. I want to be best friend’s with several, even if they are cloaking secrets.
The book is very fast paced, flowing smoothly, more so than Mia’s dreams.
Mia has a cat, who is not exactly a cat, but also not her witch’s familiar. I know we all want to know more about him. Even those with magical powers learn that not all witches or all magic are the same. Once again, I am not letting any secrets out of the bag. Trust me that you will not be disappointed.
I look forward to further adventures, but I feel in my bones that Magic Springs is in for more unpleasant moments.
One Poison Pie by Lynn Cahoon is the start of a new series, and a very promising one, at that! I loved this book! I loved the characters, the plot, the everything! I love magical witch stories and this is definitely one with the kitchen witch taking the forefront! Mia Malone has purchased the old school building and is refurbishing it to open her own store: Mia’s Morsels. It will be a shop featuring small food items and a catering service. In fact, she has her first client: her grandmother’s best friend, Adele is having a birthday and Mia is catering her party. Only too late did she discover that Adele was the client from hell…and it wasn’t just her experience. Sadly, she discovered the woman’s body at the same time. Happily, she discovered Trent Majors, owner of the grocery store, at about the same time. So many people disliked Adele that eliminating those who did like her as suspects was easier. Trent proved himself to be a good friend, and maybe more?
This book has all the necessary ingredients: a nightmare ex-boyfriend, a lovely grandmother, a tricky kitty, good friends, and a challenging murder to solve. There was the bad guy that wanted her school and Adele’s nephew who turned up out of nowhere. Mia is a darling character who is going to take a while to learn the ins and outs of her business and of her recipes. Her ex’s sister, Christina, who is staying with Mia is a gift, in so many ways. The few little hiccups hardly counted. It is a well-written plot with excellent characters. It is a fun premise: a witch that only does good things. A town full of magic, only part of which is being used. I look forward to more!
I was invited to read a free ARC of One Poison Pie by Netgalley. All opinions contained herein are solely my own. #netgalley #onepoisonpie
One Poison Pie is the first book in the Kitchen Witch Mystery Series by Lynn Cahoon. We meet Mia who is a kitchen witch. She is coming out of a relationship and starting over. She has bought an old school and plans to turn it into a catering business and eventually a cooking school.
The day of Mia’s first BIG event, there is a murder, and she is a suspect, but she is not the only one. Mia has become a target and works to find out who the murderer is before it could ruin her business or worse.
I LOVED this book from beginning to end. I could not put it down. The mystery and the magic was perfectly paced and intertwined. The characters are complex and well fleshed out.
I cannot wait for the next book in this series.
I highly recommend reading Chili Cauldron Curse which is a prequel novella to the series to get a little bit of background on the characters. It is an equally fantastic read.
I thoroughly enjoyed kitchen witch Mia and the cast of characters around her. It’s so rare to find a mystery with a paranormal main character where the mystical doesn’t overtake the mysterious, but this worked.
Mia setting up her business, making new connections, finding dead bodies, there might be a mystical angle with each, but it was the human element that rang true.
And while there’s more than one romance involved, see how she deals with that pesky ex, when you know if you were her you’d want to turn him into a rodent, was just the icing on the cake… it was almost as good as having an unusual suspect.
“One Poison Pie” the first instalment in the “Kitchen Witch” Mystery series by Lynn Cahoon. I loved visiting Magic Springs, Idaho again and catching up with Mia, Grans and Christina!
I found myself engrossed in the story and really enjoying the new side characters of Trent and James. It was entertaining, full of twists and turns that kept me guessing till the very end.
I cant wait to see what happens next for Mia and her friends. I am sad I have to wait till July 2021 to read Book 2 “Two Wicked Desserts”
I highly recommend this new series to all my cozy loving friends.
I requested and received an Advance Reader Copy of this book from Kensington Books and NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my OWN.
This is the first book on the Kitchen Witch series. Mia is a witch, that has just ended a relationship, and bought an old school building to turn into a cooking school and catering business. But on the morning of her first event, a birthday party for her grandmothers friend, the client is found murdered. The sheriff thinks Mia is a suspect. Then Mia is attacked and other things start to happen. While Mia tries to get her business up and running, she must also figure out who wants to harm her.
I really enjoyed this book. It held my interest from the beginning, and had just enough mystery to keep me interested. It was wonderfully written, and I loved how Mia was strong and independent. I recommend you read the novella Chili Cauldron Curse first, as it gives you an introduction into Mia, her grandmother, and the reason she’s in the town. This was a very enjoyable read.
This was a cute cozy featuring Mia, who is descended from a long line of kitchen witches-a bit different than your typical witch. Kitchen witch magic is more centered around making a house a home.
Mia has moved back to Magic Springs, Idaho after a breakup with a long term live in boyfriend. She is renovating an old school into a catering/made to order dinners/culinary class venue. Mia’s grandmother lives there and it also home to other witches. MIa’s first gig is catering a birthday party for her grandmother’s best friend, and the morning of the party, she is discovered stabbed to death.
I thought the mystery was good and I didn’t figure out who the murderer is. I like the characters and look forward to seeing how the romance between Mia and Trent moves forward.
My qualms with the book were that there is so much thrown in-a slimy ex-boyfriend who is after Mia’s receipes and may be using his sister to get at it, a real estate developer who wanted to purchase the school and tear it down for a mall, a missing knife that reappears giftwrapped. There appear to be inconsistencies and a lot of dropped story lines. A ghost visits Mia to warn her of dark times ahead and she tells her friends she’ll share the warning but she doesn’t. There is discussion of a decades old murder and a secret tunnel but the tunnel is discovered but not closed off. Maybe that’s setting the scene for the next book.
I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley, however, the opinion expressed is my own.
Great story. I really enjoy how all the “witches” have different abilities. Makes it more fun, in my opinion. I’m really enjoying these characters the more I get to know them. This is a fun series (from what I’ve read so far) definitely would recommend. Can’t wait to see what happens next.
I loved this one! I’m hooked and want to read more. I loved getting to see more about the characters. I was guessing the whole time! I can’t wait to read the next one!
A fun read.
Interesting introduction to the characters.
I enjoyed the premise with its touch of magic.
This might have been my first “witch” mystery, but it certainly won’t be my last. The characters were wonderful, and I especially adored Mia. She was a witty and fun sleuth, and I found myself chuckling aloud several times in the book. The grandmother was a hoot, too. All and all, a really enjoyable mystery.
I found myself really enjoying this new series. The characters are fun and entertaining. The paranormal aspect is interesting. The mystery is well-plotted and moves at just the right pace to keep me invested in the storyline and the characters. There were quite a few twists and turns to keep me guessing. I am looking forward to the next book in the series and seeing how each character develops along the way.
All thoughts and opinions are my own, and in no way have I been influenced by anyone.