The fair would have been a lot more fun if Aunt Bess hadn't been accused of murder...and if the streaker hadn't been such a disappointment! (Aunt Bess has her priorities straight!)​​When Aunt Bess enters the county fair's pickle competition to defeat the reigning "Big Dill," she's the prime suspect when the blue ribbon winner is bashed over the head with a jar of pickles. Will Amy be able to set things right before Aunt Bess ends up in the slammer?​"Pickled to Death is engaging and fast-paced, pulling the reader along on a wild tale of murder and suspense. The descriptions of the world in Winter Garden were vivid and I felt like I was right there in the middle of the town and involved in the investigation. The dialogue between all of the characters was believable and well done. I highly recommend the Down South Café Mysteries series and suggest you start with Book 1." - Sapphyria, Vine Voice

A murderer outwitting a quirky flapper ghost? Seams unlikely! Budding retro fashion designer and entrepreneur Amanda Tucker is thrilled about making costumes for Winter Garden High School's production of Beauty and the Beast. But when the play's director Sandra Kelly is poisoned, Amanda realizes there's a murderer in their midst. She's determined to keep herself and the students safe, so when her ghostly fashionista friend Max suggests they investigate, Amanda rolls up her sleeves and prepares to follow the deadly pattern...

Christmas comes with chaos—and a murder—in the fifth book in the Down South Café cozy mystery series! Amy Flowers thinks her biggest problem is going to be creating an enormous cake dummy to mount atop her car for Winter Garden's upcoming Christmas parade. But when one of Roger's employees is murdered, making the float is the least of Amy's worries. Her childhood friend is a prime suspect, Aunt Bess is making a new Pinterest board: Things That'll Probably Kill Me, and her boyfriend's mother is insisting on helping Amy make three-hundred-seventy-five sugar cookies to hand out along the parade route. When Amy starts trying to clear Roger of the murder, she unexpectedly finds herself involved in international intrigue. How will our favorite café owner outwit sophisticated criminals who want to deck the halls with her head?

Stitched together with charm and mystery, this is one ghostly fashionista adventure you won't want to miss!For retro fashion designer Amanda Tucker, creating showstopping Halloween costumes seemed like the week's biggest challenge—until her ghostly companion, Max, discovers an antique Bible tied to her own family history. When the Bible, purchased at an estate sale, is revealed to have belonged to Max's grandmother, Amanda finds herself caught in a whirlwind of hidden relatives, long-buried secrets, and family intrigue. Meanwhile, Amanda's assistant, Zoe, struggles to decide between chasing her dreams in fashion and giving in to her mother's demands to work at the family diner. As if the week couldn't get more tangled, Amanda's grandfather and Max's nephew uncover shocking news at the estate sale's auction house: the proprietor has been shot. With Designs on You hanging by a thread, Amanda and Max must unravel the mysteries of the...

Competition can be murder! When a flashy new food truck rolls into Winter Garden, Amy Flowers isn't thrilled, but she's not rattled either. The Down South Cafe has delicious food, loyal customers, and a reputation for comfort that no passing trend can shake. At least, that's what she thinks...until the food truck's proprietor drops dead after sampling pastries from the cafe.With whispers spreading faster than sweet tea on a hot day, Amy suddenly finds her newly minted partnership with Scott and Jackie under threat. Determined to clear the cafe's name, Amy rallies her crew, and no one is more enthusiastic to help than Aunt Bess, who dives into undercover mode with her trademark flair. As secrets simmer and suspects multiply, Amy must stir through a tangle of motives before the killer cooks up another deadly dish. In Winter Garden, solving a murder might just take a whole lot of heart...and a dash of Southern grit.

Bodies are dropping like gumdrops off a gingerbread house! Max's nephew, Dwight, is in a nursing home; but instead of the holiday season being a time of goodwill, several of Dwight's friends have died under mysterious circumstances. Is the facility merely suffering a run of bad luck, or is there something sinister going on?​Either way, Max, the Ghostly Fashionista, is determined not to let her beloved nephew be the next victim and enlists Amanda to help keep an eye on him. But someone drugs the cake that Amanda gives Dwight, and Amanda is banned from visiting him again. It's going to take a Christmas miracle for Amanda to clear her name and stay out of the killer's line of fire...

The masquerade may be over, but a deadly mystery still looms. Amanda Tucker, a masterful retro fashion designer, jumps at the chance to showcase her skills by designing stunning gowns for an upcoming masquerade ball. Her talented assistant, Zoe, is tasked with creating matching masks for the occasion. However, the festivities are cut short when the caterer is found brutally murdered, and Zoe's mother becomes the prime suspect. As if that weren't enough, Amanda's Grandpa Dave faces a life-changing decision. He must choose whether to stay in the town he's called home for decades or move across the country with his girlfriend. Meanwhile, Amanda uses her keen fashion sense and sharp attention to detail to unravel a tangled web of secrets and lies that threatens to destroy everything and everyone she holds dear. Will she be able to solve the case and bring the killer to justice, or will the killer strike again?

The art of deception takes center stage.Dina and Patty, two sisters with a shared love for the arts, find themselves entangled in a real-life mystery that mirrors the intrigue of the stage. Dina, the proud owner of a quaint movie memorabilia shop, and Patty, a talented director at the Skillet Ridge Reparatory Theater, are shaken when Imelda, an older actress starring in Patty's latest production of Neil Simon's Barefoot in the Park, is brutally murdered. As the sisters delve deeper into the shocking crime, they discover an enigmatic clue that takes them on a thrilling journey. Dina stumbles upon an early script of the classic movie Casablanca with a heartfelt inscription addressed to Imelda, which reads, "We'll always have Paris. R." This poignant message raises unsettling questions: Was Imelda's death merely a random act of violence, or does it conceal a sinister connection to her mysterious past? Meanwhile, Kurt, Imelda's...

That's the last time Amy agrees to do a favor for a stranger...Down South Cafe owner, Amy Flowers is in over her head.  Operating a cafe while hosting the first Farmers' Market in Winter Garden has her swimming in apples. And when an elderly woman calls the cafe, pleading for a delivery for her upcoming party, Amy relents, feeling compelled to help the desperate customer. But when she arrives, the woman is slumped over her kitchen table, and Amy is catapulted into the middle of a small town crime.  Guilt-ridden for not arriving earlier to save the woman, she sets out to unravel the mystery surrounding the woman.  Now, between running the cafe and dealing with the chaos of the farmers' market, Amy is squeezing in a murder investigation, a run-in with her boyfriend's mom, and her own mother's quirky life decisions.  Life can't get any worse...or can it?  This cafe owner needs a break—in the...

In the snowy retreat of Beech Mountain, the grand opening of a ski lodge becomes the backdrop for a chilling crime when a cast-iron skillet attack shatters the festivities, drawing Amy, Scott, and Aunt Bess into an icy puzzle.Join Amy, the owner of the Down South Cafe, her quirky Aunt Bess, and talented cake decorator Scott as they embark on a thrilling culinary adventure. Their journey begins with catering the grand opening of a luxurious ski lodge in the breathtaking Beech Mountain, North Carolina. As if the frosty landscape weren't intriguing enough, Scott has delved deep into the local lore to craft a cake masterpiece, featuring a legend of buried Civil War gold hidden amidst the mountain's secrets.However, before the grand opening festivities can commence, a shocking discovery in the kitchen's icy depths changes everything. A lifeless body is found, its demise brought about by an unlikely weapon—a cast-iron skillet.Initially, Amy believes...

What if you discovered your lively new friend wasn't really...alive?Amanda Tucker is excited about opening her fashion design studio in Shops On Main, a charming old building in historic Abingdon, Virginia. She didn't realize a ghost came with the property! But soon Maxine "Max" Englebright, a young woman who died in 1930, isn't the only dead person at the retail complex. Mark Tinsley, a web designer with a know-it-all attitude who also rented space at Shops On Main, is shot in his office.Amanda is afraid that one of her new "friends" and fellow small business owners is his killer, and Max is encouraging her to solve Mark's murder a la Nancy Drew. Easy for Max to want to investigate—the ghostly fashionista can't end up the killer's next victim!​In DESIGNS ON MURDER, Gayle Leeson sketches a stylish plot accessorized with a spectral fashionista sidekick. This series debut is a delight!"...

FIND OUT WHO KILLED VIOLET. I WON'T REST UNTIL I KNOW...AND NEITHER WILL YOU.The note, typed on a manual typewriter, is Amanda Tucker's first introduction to the second ghost she's ever met.When retro fashion designer Amanda learns that Violet, the sweet little old lady from whom she bought antique buttons, has been murdered, she's dismayed—especially when she realizes the murder occurred the evening after Amanda had visited Violet's shop. Now the ghost who was enamored of the victim is demanding that Amanda help him bring the woman's killer to justice.It certainly isn't an ideal time for Amanda's parents to be visiting her from Florida for the first time. In addition to Max, the ghostly fashionista, Amanda now has another sassy specter to deal with. Will this one haunt her for the rest of her life?Praise for the Ghostly Fashionista Mystery Series:"Grab your copy and follow along in the investigation. The characters...

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!From the Paperback edition.

First in a new cozy mystery series featuring Southern cooking that is to die for.Aspiring chef and small-town Virginia native Amy Flowers is ready to open her own café offering old-fashioned Southern food. But her dream may go up in smoke when someone kills the competition...Tired of waiting tables at Lou's Joint, Amy Flowers doesn't just quit—she offers to buy the place from her bully of a boss, so she can finally open the café of her dreams. Amy can't wait to serve the kind of Southern, down-home treats and dishes that her grandmother always loved to the kooky cast of regulars at the restaurant. She knows her comfort food will be the talk of the sweet, small town of Winter Garden, Virginia.At first Lou Lou refuses to sell, but when she seems ready to make a deal, she tells Amy to come see her. Showing up at the eatery ready to negotiate, Amy is shocked to find her former employer murdered. As the prime suspect, Amy will have to clear her...