Gayle Leeson

Apples and Alibis by Gayle Leeson is the fourth A Down South Café Mystery. It can be read as a standalone if you have not read the previous three books in this series. I like Gayle Leeson’s relaxed writing style which makes for a lovely, easy to read story. Amy Flowers is a kindhearted character who has good friends, a boyfriend, close to her family, and sweet pets. Amy has organized a farmer’s market to take place every Saturday in her parking lot for six weeks which has caused an show more increase in customers into the café. When Amy receives a call asking for food to be delivered after closing that day, she does not have the heart to refuse Gladys Pridemore. Jackie, Amy’s cousin, tags along and the pair discover Gladys slumped over in her kitchen with a faint pulse. Gladys does not survive, and Amy wants answers despite being warned off by several people. Apples and Alibis is a lighthearted, humorous cozy mystery. It is a character driven story. There are a variety of quirky characters which include Homer and Aunt Bess. Aunt Bess and her zany antics provide many laugh-out-loud moments. Her Pinterest boards are unique especially the one featuring local crime scenes. There is a new doctor in town who Jackie and Amy believe is a good match for Amy’s mother, but another female has her eye on him as well. Amy gets to meet Ryan’s parents after an explosive day at the farmer’s market. The mystery provides a variety of suspects, a red herring or two plus direct clues. This entertaining story has charming cozy moments including the ladies enjoying an evening with Aunt Bess. There are recipes at the end for a couple of Amy’s dishes. I wanted to share one of Homer’s saying with you “curiosity killed the cat, but for a while I was a suspect.” Apples and Alibis is a witty cozy mystery with an absconded automobile, delectable dishes, a pompous Pridemore, a bothered boyfriend, a spooky corn maze, fiery altercations, and one curious café owner. show less

Designs On Murder: A Ghostly Fashionista Mystery (Ghostly Fashionista Mystery Series Book 1) gets off to a great start and just keeps on going. The first chapter provides a solid initial description of all the people and places, sets the scene and introduces all of the important players (so far). I had a good sense of the setting and surroundings and the characters to start the mystery.

Amanda Tucker is an interesting, complex character. She’s innocent, cute, and funny with a good heart and show more full of concern and consideration for others. She is kind of immature for her 25 years, but in a sweet way. Her language is often a little proper and at times she speaks in an old-fashioned manner, possibly her grandfather’s influence. Yet she also has the maturity, experience, education and presence of mind to open her fashion design studio in Shops On Main and get off to a very successful start. Amanda also seems a bit insecure and lonely with few friends, but the stage is set so well that I was barely into this book and already looking forward to the change and growth I knew would come in future books in the series.

Max the “Ghostly Fashionista” is also an interesting, complex character. And best of all, she is a ghost that reads! Max died in 1930, so her slang and old-style phrases are from her time. They are just right - quirky, cute and perfect, like calling someone a pillowcase because her head is full of feathers. I like Max. She is fearless (well, why wouldn’t she be?), very enthusiastic, and supportive of Amanda, which is just what she needs. She is funny and she’s going to be a fun character throughout this series.

It’s not just Amanda and Max. Designs on Murder is full of interesting, complex characters, many of whom are suspects at one time or another. I was suspicious (and/or afraid) of nearly everyone at some point. It’s a good mystery that kept me guessing. Max is pretty funny and by her talking to Amanda while Amanda is with other people some pretty funny conversations occur. And I like the way Amanda talks about things, sometimes in a comic, self-deprecating way, to us, her audience. Shops On Main is an interesting place. There is a lot of intrigue and gossip in that building, with everyone rushing to share dirt on everyone else. The story starts with a murder, and when one of the shops is broken into the action really ramps up. The plot is solid and the story so well put together that everything flows smoothly and is very easy to read. In addition to the action and danger, there are interesting descriptions of the vintage clothing and the sewing process and some very pretty outfits. On the darker side, there is a bit of history about alcohol poisoning and Prohibition.

There wasn’t anything I didn’t like about this book. I love Grandpa Dave. He gives Amanda advice, reins her in just a little without judging and criticizing like her parents seem to do. Max and Amanda make a good pair of detectives and are off to a good start as friends. Amanda is very likeable and I was happy to see some romance come into her life. I can’t say enough about the writing – it’s great and made the book a pleasure to read. Details added to the consistency of the plot and little clues added to the mystery and the personalities of the characters. This is a book you can re-read because you’ll see more and more each time through. I received an advance copy of Designs on Murder from the author. I was not expected to provide a review, but I thoroughly enjoyed it and highly recommend it. I look forward to learning more about Amanda and Max and enjoying their adventures in this series. show less

I didn't get to read the first book in this series but it didn't stop me from enjoying this second addition. The writing is so good it kept me glued to the book. The author has a great way of developing her characters with ease. I loved the setting and could find myself sitting at one of the tables enjoying the special of the day. Amy would be busy preparing her delicious cuisine while Jackie scrambled to get orders out. It would be a fun place to gather with friends and enjoy the delicious show more aroma that filled the cafe.

Amy is really busy in the cafe lately and hardly has time to visit with the customers. To her dismay in walks George Lincoln. He is the president of the Chamber of Commerce and is not very friendly. He seems to be pushy and intimidating. George has had his sight on Amy's cafe for some time. His plan is to tear down the cafe and build a B&B. Amy is having none of this and is really not in the mood for him this morning. After he is severed breakfast he starts talking to Dr.Kent. A commotion is heard as George falls to the ground. It doesn't look good for poor old George. Can you imagine eating at a cafe and suddenly a customer falls dead?

George's death raises suspicion when it is discovered that someone may have poisoned him. He had plenty of enemies and for some reason he had secret files on people in the town. What was George doing with these files? Did he know something that got him killed? The mystery is well written and I had a hard time figuring out who the killer was. It was fun reading about the different townspeople and to me they were all on my suspect list. I was very surprised when the killer was revealed and thought the author did a brilliant job of keeping readers guessing.

I really enjoyed getting to know more about Amy's family and applaud the author for writing about a subject that is hard to have a family member go through. It was written with sensitivity and I loved how the author gave details that were helpful and encouraging . I can't forget about Aunt Bess. She is quirky and funny and most definitely a hand full. She lightened up the story with her shenanigans and I loved her compassion for her family and friends. I will be looking forward to the next book in this series. I'm sure as you read the story you found yourself getting hungry with all the wonderful dishes being served up at the cafe. As a bonus the author has included several amazing recipes at the end of the book. I know what I'm having for dinner tomorrow.

I received a copy of this book from The Great Escapes Book Tour. The review is my own opinion. show less

Amanda Tucker lives in Abingdon, Virginia. She's a twenty-four-year-old young woman with a recent business degree, and she's just concluded a disappointing job interview, realizing that she doesn't want to work in an office for the rest of her life. Therefore, when she sees an 'available' sign in the window of a Victorian home that's been converted into shops, she decides then and there that she wants to follow her passion and open her own custom clothing shop, and goes to look at the empty show more space. While there, she meets a young woman dressed like a flapper, who tells her that her name is Max - short for Maxine, and helps convince her that this would be perfect for her new venture.

After talking with her grandfather, Dave, he agrees and loans her the funds needed to begin her dream. The owner, Mrs. Meacham, takes her around and introduces her to the other tenants, and it's not long after that when Amanda discovers that Max is a ghost - and she's the only one who can see or hear her. But before she thinks she's losing her mind, she tells her grandfather, and when he comes to the shop, it turns out he can also hear and see Max...along with Amanda's cute cat, Jazzy.

While she's ready to embark on her new career, it needs to be put temporarily on hold when one of the tenants is murdered. While Max wants her to investigate, Amanda refuses to have anything to do with it. Then she meets new tenant Jason, who's moving into the space recently vacated by the death.

Now Amanda is trying to make a go of her clothing business, trying to keep Max out of her love life, and trying to stay as far away from a killer as she can -- because Max is convinced, along with her grandfather -- that maybe one of her co-tenants might be a murderer, and she doesn't want to be next on the list...

This is the first book in a new series, and I'm pleased to say that I really enjoyed it. Amanda honestly doesn't want to get involved in a murder investigation, which is a breath of fresh air, but she's being pushed by her new resident ghost Max. Also, Amanda actually spends time in her shop and works, unlike a lot of other amateur sleuths, who always have time for investigating but never seem to be in their stores to actually do anything.

I also like the fact that she pays attention to her cat Jazzy - keeping her indoors instead of letting roam around outside, making sure she's fed and safe, etc. This also pleases me, as I love cats and hate it when the protagonist just allows her pet to run wild, never caring if being outdoors can get her cat killed. So that's several pluses to begin with.

I do like ghosts in books as long as they're not poltergeists and not boring. Max is as vibrant as if she were living; as Grandpa Dave would say, she's a firecracker. I love her personality and the fact that she says things that Amanda echoes without thinking. It's pretty funny at times seeing Amanda flustered and trying to cover her tracks.

Although Jason wasn't in the book constantly, he shouldn't be because he has his own career to worry about, and again, I like the fact that he's a photographer and not the ubiquitous police officer who usually winds up as the love interest. But I really like Dave, because after his wife's death he still manages to keep going as a carpenter and restoring furniture, and it shows that he's not going to be cantankerous, sit in a chair and watch television all day while offering advice about 'back in the day.'

In other words, these are characters that are an integral part of bringing fresh eyes to a tried-and-true genre. They make for a book that was a delight to read, because as much as the plot (which we'll get into in a minute) is good, the characters are what bring it all to life, and these characters are certainly different than the norm.

As to the plot, when the murder occurs, it seems that while everyone was surprised, only Amanda seemed outright nervous while everyone else was willing to sit back and let the police handle it. But the police were basically a non-presence, and they weren't reassuring anyone that they had suspects in mind, so of course she'd be nervous. When Amanda discovered that there was more to the murder than meets the eye, it propelled the story forward, because she didn't know which - if any - of her coworkers she could trust, so she didn't trust anyone except Max and Dave.

When the ending came it wasn't terribly climactic, but then again, I don't always care for nail-biting scenes all the time, anyway. When the killer was revealed, it wasn't too much of a surprise, because the clues were there; but if you happened to miss any along the way, Amanda enumerated them shortly before the scene with the killer (as we knew there would be one) so it was pretty much laid forth for you, which was a nice touch. The reason for the murder made sense in the mind of the murderer, for as anyone knows, some things are better left alone than to lose your life.

All in all, I found it a pleasing tale that was a decent introduction to a new series, and hopefully it will be around for a good long while. I look forward to reading the next in the series. Highly recommended. show less