Jane Reads: Secrets and Pies by Jenny Kales | Blog Tour with Character Guest Post and Giveaway

Secrets and Pies by Jenny Kales

Series: A Callie's Kitchen Mystery, #3

Genre: Cozy Mystery, Culinary Mystery
Self Published
Release Date: October 19, 2017

Paperback: 245 pages

ISBN-13: 978-1549933912

e-Book File Size: 946 KB

ASIN: B075R47R7B

Amazon | Goodreads

The Blurb

If you can’t stand the heat, get out of Callie’s Kitchen! Greek-American restaurateur Callie Costas faces down another killer in the small waterfront town of Crystal Bay, Wisconsin. Recipes included!

Summertime in Crystal Bay means tourist season for Calliope “Callie” Costas, owner of Callie’s Kitchen, a Greek-meets-Midwest from-scratch eatery. Business is booming but so is the stress. Callie can barely keep up with the demand for her famous summer fruit pies and savory Greek delicacies, plus she’s agreed to bake dozens of “pitas” for the annual Greek Fest.

When Callie is asked to deliver cast party treats for a Murder Mystery Night at the historic Harris House, it seems like a welcome break from her hot stove. That is, until she finds herself an unwilling player in yet another suspicious death. Worse yet, the victim is a family friend and graduate student working on a project involving Crystal Bay’s colorful past.

Before long, a motley crew of suspects makes things as juicy as the succulent berries strewn around Callie’s Kitchen. And that’s not all Callie’s got on her plate. Add family obligations, a deepening romance with a local detective and unexpected personnel problems to the mix.

One thing’s for sure: Callie’s got the recipe for a long, hot summer!

Turn to the back of the book for delicious Greek and traditional Midwestern recipes!

The Character Guest Post

by Callie Costas

Baking pies is an awful lot like life. Not only do you need only the best ingredients to ensure your success, but you also need the right ratio of ingredients. In other words, you need the right balance. If you have balance, your pie crust and filling will turn out just right. They say that finding balance in life will ensure your success as well as your happiness. It sure sounds good, but these days, I really wouldn’t know. For me, balance is in short supply, kind of like fresh berries in wintertime.

I’m Calliope Costas, Callie for short. I run Callie’s Kitchen in Crystal Bay, Wisconsin, my picturesque hometown, set right on the water. Callie’s Kitchen has been my passion project for the last three years, ever since my husband and I decide to call it quits. We get along fairly well, especially because we have a wonderful daughter, 10-year-old, Olivia. However, working to make a go of your new business and raising a child certainly do require some juggling. Try adding a social life to that, as I have recently, and let’s just say that I wish there were just a few more hours in the day.

It’s not all bad. Even though I’ve been touched by two recent murders in my small town of Crystal Bay, Wisconsin during the last year, business has started to pick up. Sometimes I wonder if they come for the food and stay for the excitement. It seems like even when I do my best to stick to the business at hand, I get into some interesting situations. OK, if I’m being honest, I do my part in getting involved in sticky situations. I do have a strong sense of justice, and sometimes, too much curiosity than is good for me.

This leads me to my present status of overworked baker and business owner. I may have finally bitten off more than I can chew. Callie’s Kitchen is currently booming and I am struggling to keep up with the current food requests, which include my famous summer fruit pies as well as my Greek specialties.

Whoever came up with the term “easy as pie” clearly never had to make dozens of them. True, it’s soothing to roll out dough and bake fresh fruit fillings into a heavenly-smelling mélange of sweetness and crispy crust. Customers also clamor for my Greek pites, aka savory Greek pies. After some coaxing from my father, George, I’ve agreed to bake dozens of the crispy, buttery delicacies for our town’s annual Greek Fest.

And that’s not all I’ve got lined up at the moment. Right now, I’m on my way to deliver cast party treats for a “murder mystery night” at The Harris House, a lovely old mansion-turned-hotel, with stunning waterfront views.

Luckily, I’m not alone in the kitchen. I have Max, my most loyal and valuable employee. Young Max can cook up a storm and his edgy good looks make him the perfect person to work the registers, if you know what I mean. But for all that, he’s a great chef and right hand man. He even brought his girlfriend in to work with us, and for all that she’s quirky, she has been a great addition.

I’d better get a move on. Next stop, The Harris House. I sure hope I get a chance to enjoy some summer relaxation after a long, cold Wisconsin winter. It doesn’t look like I will, but you know what they say: a girl can dream.

Click here to buy SECRETS AND PIES: A Callie’s Kitchen Mystery Book 3

The Author

About Jenny Kales

Award-winning writer Jenny Kales is the author of The Callie's Kitchen Mystery series. Though she's worked as a writer and journalist for years, fiction writing is her first love and her marriage into a Greek-American Midwestern family inspired The Callie's Kitchen mysteries, featuring Calliope Costas, food business owner and amateur sleuth. The setting of the story, "Crystal Bay," is inspired by a favorite family vacation spot — Wisconsin's beautiful Geneva Lakes.

Kales is an avid reader, cook and baker and she's addicted to mystery TV, especially anything on Masterpiece Mystery or BBC America. She lives just outside of Chicago with her husband, two daughters and one cute but demanding Yorkshire terrier.

Find Jenny on the web at