Secrets and Sequins by Gayle Leeson

 

Reviewed by Jeanne

Fashion designer Amanda Tucker has her hands full with designing gowns for the Brea Ridge Historical Society’s masquerade ball.  Her assistant Zoe is busily designing masks, and Max is happily commenting everything.  Given that Max is a ghost since her death in 1930, that’s pretty much all she can contribute.  Only certain people can see Max, but that includes Amanda, Zoe, Amanda’s beloved Grandpa Dave, and other relatives.  However, Zoe’s mother Maggie refuses to acknowledge the ghost in the room.  That makes for a sticky situation sometimes, but things get even stickier when Maggie is accused of murder.

This is the fifth in the Ghostly Fashionista series, but can be read as a standalone.  Max aka Maxine is a delight.  While she drops a lot of period slang, she’s also become rather techno-literate, using a tablet to video chat, read books, and stream videos.  She’s also a—well, spirited was the word which came to mind, character with some strong opinions.  Amanda has a host of friends and family around, including a photographer boyfriend with an office in the same building as Amanda’s dress shop. As a local reader, I always enjoy the mentions of Abingdon (Amanda’s shop is on Main Street), Bristol, and other nearby places. 

There’s a secondary plot involving Grandpa Dave and his lady friend, just to keep the story moving briskly along.

Other titles in the series include:

Designs on Murder

Perils and Lace

Christmas Cloches and Corpses

Buttons and Blows

Note:  Gayle Leeson has several series and has also written under the name Gayle Trent and Amanda Lee. 

Pickled to Death: A Down South Café Mystery by Gayle Leeson

Reviewed by Jeanne

Amy’s Aunt Bess is a woman on a mission.  Mabel Hobbs has been bragging about her prize winning pickles, even proclaiming that no one else could hold a candle to her in that department.  Those can be fightin’ words.   Aunt Bess is determined to prove that Mabel isn’t the only Pickle Queen around so she comes to the Winter Garden fair armed with a pickle entry of her own. 

While Mabel’s title of Pickle Queen may be dubious, it’s undeniable that she was crowned—fatally so, in fact.  Unfortunately, Aunt Bess was right beside her when it happened so she becomes the obvious suspect. She’s got a secret weapon, though:  her crime solving niece Amy is on the job and she is determined to uncover the real murderer. Unless, of course, the murderer is the streaker who conveniently ran through the crowd—he could do with a bit more covering.

Local readers will find a lot that sounds very familiar in Winter Garden, which I have to confess, is part of its charm to me.  The descriptions of the county fair bring back a lot of fond memories, and of course the Ray Stevens jokes have that darn song stuck in my head.  (“Don’t look, Ethel!”)

I always enjoy a visit with Amy and her friends and family. I will have to say that it was shorter than I expected and that the ending seemed rather abrupt.