A local author hopes to serve up a hometown slice of mystery with her latest release, which will debut this week.

Darci Hannah of Howell had previously published two works of historical fiction, but found that it lacked popular appeal. So she turned to what she calls "cozy mysteries," usually set in small towns with more of a PG-13 feel. That led her to write “Cherry Pies & Deadly Lies,” set to be released Friday at a book launch and cherry pie bake-off.

In the book, the main character rushes back to her small Wisconsin hometown of Cherry Cove after her father is accused of murder during a cherry blossom festival. Hannah, speaking on WHMI's Mike & Jon in the Morning, says the idea to hold a cherry pie bake-off as part of the release party just made sense. "I am so excited by it, because its not only a celebration of a book, which is kind of a weird thing. I'm excited about the book, but its also about coming together as a community and I tell you Howell is a fabulous place. It is a small town and when I think of a small town and I write about it...Howell is in my head."

The book launch and bake-off to celebrate “Cherry Pies & Deadly Lies,” will be held from 6 to 7:30pm this Friday at the Howell Carnegie District Library. The deadline to enter the bake-off is Thursday. Anyone interested can call the library at 517-546-0720 ext. 131 or email events@howelllibrary.org. (JK)