I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy from the Author. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Pie Yi Yi: Pies So Good You Could Plotz
by S.A. Stolinsky
Series: Jaime Ross Series #1
Series Rating:
Published by Stolinsky Publications on April 1, 2021
Genres: Cozy Mystery
Pages: 292
Format: Kindle
Goodreads
Get Your Copy at: Amazon
When Jaime Ross hosts a party for the reopening of Ross’s World Famous Pie Shop, which previously belonged to her great-grandmother in a little town outside Lake Tahoe, she didn’t expect someone to torch the place for the dough during the celebration. But the hungry entourage of guests—including a crusty Navy officer trained in munitions, a flaky banker who scams old people, and a handsome doctor with a secret ingredient for love—give fresh meaning to the phrase “too many fingers in the pie”.
Pie Yi Yi: Pies So Good You Could Plotz by SA Stolinsky has great characters and a good mystery with a lot of potential.
Will Jaime find who killed Pete and the stolen money together?
Jaime Ross
Jaime is our sleuth. She doesn’t really want the job, but she has to clear her name and save her great-grandmother’s fortune. Jaime has a hospitality degree and runs her family pie shop. Although, it doesn’t seem like they make much money as they are always giving away samples instead of selling the pies.
I like Jaime as a character; she seems slightly off but very likable. It’s like she is a cross between this modern twenty-something and someone from the early 1900s. It could be the influence of her great-grandmother Minnie. But I would think that her mother and grandmother had some effect on her character before their recent deaths. While reading this story, one question that crossed my mind was what happened to her father and grandfather.
The Mystery
The mystery is somewhat classic, with a Ponzi scheme, missing money, and murder. Jaime is set up as the fall guy, but she doesn’t plan to let that happen. So, she investigates, with the assistance of her great-grandmother’s aide and any of the men in town that she can convince to help her. There is a touch of romance and lots of flirting.
I figured who did it before our sleuth, but I was thrown off a couple of times.
Three Stars
My rating for Pie Yi Yi: Pies So Good You Could Plotz by SA Stolinsky is three stars. I like the characters and the premise of the story/mystery. However, many errors took me out of the story. Jaime would be talking to her great-grandmother, and in the next paragraph, her great-grandmother would walk up, and they would start a different conversation. Or, at one point, they are at a carnival/hot air balloon festival in Carson City, then minutes later, the festival was over, and it was the next day.
My suggestion is that the author seeks an editor or just reread the book, the parts that need to be re-worked are easy to find. If the book is edited, I believe that it would be wonderful.
Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of Pie Yi Yi: Pies So Good You Could Plotz by SA Stolinsky.
About S.A. Stolinsky
S.A. Stolinsky is the pen name of award-winning author of non-fiction psychology and comedy fiction novels. S.A. began her career an actress, featured as the original “nurse” on STARSKY & HUTCH. She went on to act in many movie, television and plays. She is also the author of two original plays.
She then became a clinical and forensic psychologist and currently has a private practice in Beverly Hills, Ca.
In 2006, she began writing comedy mystery series, “COUNTERFEIT LOTTERY” is the first of three books featuring gorgeous, struggling actress Lily Handy, who uses her acting skills to solve mysteries.
A life-long Californian, S.A. Stolinsky was born in San Francisco, grew up there and attended UC Berkeley and graduated from UCLA where she majored in English and Psychology.
She is much in demand as a speaker and guest television personality. She is featured in Jane Velez Mitchell’s book, “I WANT” and is currently at work on the second “Counterfeit” book.
Recently, S.A. won second place in the Good Guy Publishing contest for her short story, THE EXECUTIONER. They are also publishing two other short stories, SOMEBODY ATE MY DOG and THE MAN WHO BECAME A BOY.
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