The Calamity Café

The Calamity Café by Gayle Leeson is the first book in A Down South Café Mystery series. Amy Flowers is ready to open her own café in Winter Garden, Virginia. She would love to buy Lou’s Joint where she has been working as a waitress for the last year (while taking care of her grandmother for the last year), but Lou Lou Holman does not wish to sell. Lou Lou’s son, Pete, though, would love for the restaurant to be sold (and get out from under his mother’s thumb). Amy could build her own place, but it would much easier to remodel an existing structure. Amy is surprised when she gets a call asking her to a meeting at the café to discuss the sale (Pete has been talking to his mom). Amy arrives at the café and no one answers. She goes back to the office and finds Lou Loud dead. Somehow, Amy ends up the prime suspect (just because she wanted to buy the place, had a disagreement with Lou Lou, and quit her job). If Amy wants to open her Down South Cafe, she will need to get her name off the suspect list (and hopefully solve the murder). The Calamity Café is not bad for a first book. With a little work, this could be a good series. The book has a good pace (which I liked) and I found the book easy to read. The characters need more development (of course), but they have potential. Amy cried a wee bit too much in this book (it got on my nerves). I liked that there were several suspects in the crime and is was interesting how it tied back to an eighty-year-old crime. I did wonder how Amy was planning on opening a café without a business plan, budget, etc. (they definitely help when opening a new business). I give The Calamity Café 3.5 out of 5 stars. I will be reading the next book in A Down South Café Mystery series. I received a complimentary copy of The Calamity Café in exchange for an honest evaluation of the book.