Virtual Tour & #Giveaway for Silence of the Jams by Gayle Leeson

Welcome to my stop on the Virtual Tour, presented by Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours, for Silence of the Jams by Gayle Leeson.  Please leave a comment or question for Gayle to let her know you stopped by.  You may enter her tour wide giveaway by filling out the Rafflecopter form below.  You may follow all of the stops on the tour by clicking on the banner above.  The more stops you visit, the better your odds of winning.  Good Luck! 

Silence of the Jams

By Gayle Leeson

A Down South Café Mystery, Book 2

Publisher:  Berkley

Release Date: April 4, 2017

Length: 299 pages
ISBN-13: 978-1101990803
ASIN: B01IAUG44C

Buy Links:  Amazon US | B&N | Kobo | iTunes | Google Play | IndieBound | Amazon UK | Amazon AU | AmazonFR  |  Indigo

About the book:

In the latest Southern cozy from the author of The Calamity Café, small-town chef Amy Flowers can’t take her freedom for granted when she’s served up as a murder suspect… 

It’s Independence Day in Winter Garden, Virginia, and the residents are gearing up for their annual celebration. The Down South Café is open and flourishing, and Amy Flowers is busy making pies and cakes for the holiday. The only thorn in her side is Chamber of Commerce director George Lincoln, who is trying to buy the café so he can tear it down and build a B&B on the site.

When George collapses while eating at the Down South, everybody assumes it’s a heart attack—until the autopsy declares it to be poisoning. Now, it’s up to Amy to prove her innocence before her liberty is lost.

Includes delicious Southern recipes!

About The Author

Gayle Leeson is a pseudonym for Gayle Trent. I also write as Amanda Lee. As Gayle Trent, I write the Daphne Martin Cake Mystery series and the Myrtle Crumb Mystery series. As Amanda Lee, I write the Embroidery Mystery series. I live in Virginia with my family, which includes her own “Angus” who is not an Irish wolfhound but a Great Pyrenees who provides plenty of inspiration for the character of Mr. O’Ruff. I’m having a blast writing this new series!

Authors Links:

Webpage – http://www.gayleleeson.com

Gayle Trent Webpage – http://www.gayletrent.com

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/GayleTrentandAmandaLee/

Twitter – https://twitter.com/GayleTrent

GoodReads – https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/426208.Gayle_Trent

Homemade jam, a murder victim and some crazy family drama take center stage in Silence of the Jams, the second installment in Gayle Leeson’s Down South Café Mystery series.  Well-developed characters, a victim few people liked, and a solid mystery kept me turning the pages right from the start.  If you like small, southern town settings, food, family drama and murder mysteries, this is a series you’ll definitely want to check out – just make sure it’s on a full stomach because you’ll definitely be hungry by the end of the book!

Ms. Leeson does a good job re-introducing established characters, and adds a few new ones, right from the start.  Having previously read The Calamity Café, the first book in this series, I already knew and liked Amy Flowers, the main character in this series.  A young single woman, who lives in the “guest house” at the back of her grandmother’s home, Amy owns and operates The Down South Café in Winter Garden, Virginia.  While the business has only been open for a few weeks, Amy already has established customers and has been refusing almost daily offers to sell the Café to George Lincoln, Winter Garden’s Director of the Chamber of Commerce.  When he dies while eating at her restaurant, Amy finds herself tangled up in a murder investigation – she’s got to prove her homemade strawberry jam had nothing to with George’s death.

Ms. Leeson also does a good job developing the secondary characters, especially those who made an appearance in the first book.  We get to know Ryan, one of the local detectives who has just begun to officially date Amy, Jackie, Amy’s cousin, Jenna, Amy’s mom, and Aunt Bess, who lives with Amy’s mom, much better in this installment and I really enjoyed getting to know them.  We also meet some new characters, such as Jackie’s mom, Renee, who has some serious personal problems, a doctor who recently moved into town and of course people who were connected somehow to the victim.  And we also get to spend more time with “Homer”, one of Amy’s customers, who is determined to help Amy solve the murder.

The mystery is well written and the story’s pace is fairly fast.  The mystery has plenty of twists and turns and plenty of potential villains.  George Lincoln was not well liked and gave people, including his wife, brother and several other business owners, a reason to want him dead.  Ms. Leeson’s voice as an author is well established and enjoyable to read. I also enjoyed reading the recipes provided at the back of the book. 

Will Amy discover who wanted George dead the most?  Is there a reason he died after eating her homemade jam?  And will her family get closer together or further apart by this stories end?  You’ll have to read Silence of the Jams to find out, I enjoyed it and can’t wait to read Honey-Baked Homicide when it comes out in December. 

My Rating:  4.5 out of 5 Crowns

FTC Disclaimer:  I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley.  My review is solely based on my opinion of the reading material provided.

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