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dollycas's review
5.0
Dollycas’s Thoughts
I started reading and just couldn’t stop. Love, love, LOVE this story!!
There is a lot of history at Lou’s Joint, it has been in the family forever. After working there just a short time Amy Flowers knows it is the perfect place for her restaurant but if Lou Lou won’t sell she is ready to start from scratch with a brand new building. Lou Lou does turn her down and it totally surprised when her son calls to say sure has changed her mind and wants to meet with Amy as soon as possible. But when Amy arrives she finds Lou Lou had a previous visitor, one that killed her and left her for Amy to find. While Lou Lou had lived in Winter Garden her whole life she wasn’t the friendliest of entrepreneurs and there are quite a few people that may have wanted her dead. Because Amy is the one that found her, opportunity. And she wanted the joint and was turned down, motive. And the murder weapon is still to be determined, means. She is one of the prime suspects.
Gayle Leeson is off to a fantastic start with this series. I liked Amy right away and enjoyed meeting all the people that pull together to make her dream come true while she tries to clear her name and find a killer. I really enjoyed that friendships that grew throughout the story. The way Amy knew people needed her to keep up with their daily routine was touching.
The plot had some very clever twists. and some suspenseful moments. The real world around me just drifted away and I was right there in Winter Garden. I was not only following the clues, but enjoying the food, and supervising the changes taking place to Amy’s new restaurant. I loved the dashes of humor and the smidgen of romance. Note – I would love a Down South Cafe t-shirt or apron
I started reading and just couldn’t stop. Love, love, LOVE this story!!
There is a lot of history at Lou’s Joint, it has been in the family forever. After working there just a short time Amy Flowers knows it is the perfect place for her restaurant but if Lou Lou won’t sell she is ready to start from scratch with a brand new building. Lou Lou does turn her down and it totally surprised when her son calls to say sure has changed her mind and wants to meet with Amy as soon as possible. But when Amy arrives she finds Lou Lou had a previous visitor, one that killed her and left her for Amy to find. While Lou Lou had lived in Winter Garden her whole life she wasn’t the friendliest of entrepreneurs and there are quite a few people that may have wanted her dead. Because Amy is the one that found her, opportunity. And she wanted the joint and was turned down, motive. And the murder weapon is still to be determined, means. She is one of the prime suspects.
Gayle Leeson is off to a fantastic start with this series. I liked Amy right away and enjoyed meeting all the people that pull together to make her dream come true while she tries to clear her name and find a killer. I really enjoyed that friendships that grew throughout the story. The way Amy knew people needed her to keep up with their daily routine was touching.
The plot had some very clever twists. and some suspenseful moments. The real world around me just drifted away and I was right there in Winter Garden. I was not only following the clues, but enjoying the food, and supervising the changes taking place to Amy’s new restaurant. I loved the dashes of humor and the smidgen of romance. Note – I would love a Down South Cafe t-shirt or apron
dianchie's review
2.0
I thought this one might be better but I was wrong. It was predictable and the writing got old quickly which is saying something because cozy mysteries are formulaic to begin with.
pavedwithbookss's review
2.0
Plenty of things about the premise of The Calamity Cafe appealed to me: a persevering leading lady, small-town whodunnit, the inclusion of comfort food. In those ways, it was a nice, cozy read. It didn't, however, quite manage to surprise me.
As it should be, the most compelling part of the book is the mystery. I enjoyed the way it unfolds and how we meet the suspects. Lou Lou as a victim is hardly sympathetic, but I like how the story slowly shines a different light on her character. I like that a good amount of Amy's detective work is carried out through conversations with friends and rumours - it's true to the way small town operates. Plus, the part where Amy builds her cafe is fun, and not only because of the amount of food mentioned.
Frustratingly, I could not connect to the characters. While the dialogue was fun to read, the relationships were predictable. I don't mind the predictability of the romance, but the chemistry wasn't there. There were several points during the book where I thought about giving up because I didn't care for the people at all, but I kept going because I wanted to know the answer to the whodunnit.
All in all, despite the interesting mystery, this book fell flat for me. It might appeal more strongly to fans of cozy mystery and Southern settings.
(I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. The expected publication date is 7 June 2016.)
As it should be, the most compelling part of the book is the mystery. I enjoyed the way it unfolds and how we meet the suspects. Lou Lou as a victim is hardly sympathetic, but I like how the story slowly shines a different light on her character. I like that a good amount of Amy's detective work is carried out through conversations with friends and rumours - it's true to the way small town operates. Plus, the part where Amy builds her cafe is fun, and not only because of the amount of food mentioned.
Frustratingly, I could not connect to the characters. While the dialogue was fun to read, the relationships were predictable. I don't mind the predictability of the romance, but the chemistry wasn't there. There were several points during the book where I thought about giving up because I didn't care for the people at all, but I kept going because I wanted to know the answer to the whodunnit.
All in all, despite the interesting mystery, this book fell flat for me. It might appeal more strongly to fans of cozy mystery and Southern settings.
(I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. The expected publication date is 7 June 2016.)
marquessa17's review
2.0
Sigh this book took me longer than I was expecting to finish and the ending dragged on and on. I was hoping that this cozy mystery series would be one that I liked to include in series that I binge but that is not the case. In the first book. Amy decides that she is finally going to begin her dream of owning a restaurant. She offers Lou Lou, the owner of the local cafe, a deal so that she can take over ownership and put her own spin on it. Unfortunately, Lou Lou absolutely does not want to sell and when she turns up dead Amy is on the list of suspects. I was expecting to enjoy the small town country feel but instead it was lackluster. There were even moments where I felt that the author was making fun of the people that live in the south, which did not sit right with me. I was not attached to any of the characters and found Amy's detective skills to be ridiculous.
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