The day of the pie eating, company president Alan Breitenstrater announces that the company has decided to try a health food inspired pie, lemon ginseng. His brother Cletus also claims to have a big announcement, but never arrives at the contest, leaving Alan to take his place. Cletus had been pie-eating champion for many years, choosing a chocolate cream pie as his weapon; Alan decides, in light of his announcement, to opt for the new lemon pie. A mistake because within a few bites, Alan falls face first into the pie and dies.

Since Alan was so quick to switch out the chocolate pie, Josie suspects he may have put something in the pie to harm Cletus and because Cletus was a no-show at the contest, Josie suspects him of poisoning Alan’s pie. Josie’s nemesis Chief Worthy isn’t having any of it, though, and suggests that Josie stick to laundry. Josie, out of pure orneriness, steals the pies in question and gets her boyfriend Owen to run tests on them to try and prove murder.  

While all this is going on, Josie’s own life isn’t going to well. She has just learned that her boyfriend has spent the last eight years in jail, was previously married and has a young son, all things he previously neglected to mention. Owen’s ability to hide eight missing years of his life from Josie makes him a very good liar and her very gullible.

Josie has also begun to get nightly visits from a now late, former teacher in an odd twist, perhaps to add a bit of woo-woo factor that has become so popular in cozy mysteries. A troubled Breitenstrater heir, a smelly, noisy ferret and a utopian experiment called New Paradise also do little to add to the atmosphere. Paradise is described in an overly cute way (shops with names like Cherry’s Chat N Curl & Odds N Ends Bait and Tackle Shop) and is more annoying than charming. Josie, while overall a likable character, and very protective of an autistic cousin, her only living relative, has no real purpose or goal in life other than keeping Paradise clean.  

Death by Deep Dish Pie is a fast read with an easily solved mystery that offers very little in way of characterization, though there is potential, and a setting that is very contrived.  

--Jennifer Monahan Winberry