6 copies

Sleuthing pie-oriented adventure set in Ipswitch, PA in 1955. Love the crabby cat, the strong and thoughtful heroine, and the way Aunt Polly chose to live her life. Particularly delighted that Alice learned the real, be true to yourself lesson better than how to make a perfect piecrust. Sweet and satisfying. ( )

Cute ( )

children's fiction/mystery with recipes. The ending was a little tidy (mom all of a sudden realizes she could be more loving towards her daughter) but a nice kids' story nonetheless. Will want to make you want to bake multiple pies. ( )

It's 1955, and the best part of Alice Anderson's life is spending time with her Aunt Polly at Polly's unusual shop, Pie. (Unusual because she doesn't sell her pies, she gives them away. People leave ingredients on her doorstep.) But when Aunt Polly passes away, she leaves the shop to Reverend Flowers and her famous pie crust recipe to Lardo - and she leaves Lardo to Alice. Alice's mother is furious, having envied and resented Polly since they were children. When Aunt Polly's shop is broken into and Lardo is cat-napped from Alice's room, Alice teams up with errand boy Charlie Erdling to solve the mystery. Most resolution comes in the final chapters, and there's an epilogue set in 1995.

I enjoyed this story, though I think I might have preferred it in print. The setting (the time, not the place) didn't really stick with me, and Charlie's constant exclamations of "Good gravy!" sounded corny rather than authentic.

Pie recipes (but not crust recipe) included.

Quotes

"I'd rather be mad than sad."
"I'd rather be happy." (Alice and Charlie) ( )