Callie Costas can’t believe she is finally traveling to Greece with her significant other, Detective Ian Sands. However, this isn’t your average voyage: Callie’s father has invited a slew of colorful family members to his beautiful childhood village to celebrate his recent marriage. Callie is especially delighted to be reunited with her Greek “Aunt Sweetie” aka Glykeria.
The Costas family’s Greek getaway turns to Greek tragedy when murder turns up on the menu at the seaside restaurant of her father’s friend, Dimitrios. A restaurant employee has been killed and Dimitrios is a prime suspect.
With a hodge-podge group of tourists and villagers to round out the suspect list, can Callie help her father clear his friend’s name, before the killer skewers her?
Scroll up and click to start reading this delicious cozy mystery today!
A New Release: Callie’s Kitchen Goes to
Greece!
When I decided to set my latest Callie’s Kitchen
Mystery, SLAYED BY SOULAKI, in Greece, it felt natural for the characters to
take this exotic trip. For one thing, I had already set the scene in my
previous book, The Callie’s Kitchen Mysteries Cookbook, which includes new
scenes including the marriage of Callie’s father who has long been widowed.
Spoiler alert: Callie’s father announces a family trip to his childhood village
in celebration of his recent wedding. Callie and her significant other,
Detective Ian Sands, had been discussing the possibility of a trip together.
However, I’m not sure they had planned on Callie’s family joining them! Still,
the trip is a go, and everyone is excited to visit the homeland of Callie’s
father, George.
For those of you familiar with the series, the setting
in my latest book, Slayed By Souvlaki, also provides a wonderful way to
reconnect Callie and her crew with a beloved character, Glykeria, aka “Aunt
Sweetie.” Adventurous Aunt Sweetie is George’s very removed cousin but Callie
refers to as her “aunt” in the complicated ways of large but close Greek
families. Sweetie is there to welcome the Costas family with open arms and of
course, she becomes involved in the murder mystery. Aunt Sweetie first appeared
in the second Callie’s Kitchen Mystery, Spiced and Iced, where she and Callie’s
Grandma Viv proved to be quite the sleuthing duo!
The Island
Instead of referring to an actual Greek island, I set
the Slayed By Souvlaki on a fictional island called “Kalos.” Kalos is a
combination of several locations in the beautiful Cyclades Islands. The
Cyclades include some iconic destinations including Santorini, Milos, and
Paros. I envisioned a stunning backdrop for the drama that occurs in my cozy
mystery, and through description and plot lines, I want readers to feel like
they are right there with Callie every step of the way.
As with Crystal Bay, Wisconsin, the setting of
Callie’s Kitchen, I chose to be inspired by a location and creating a fictional
place based in reality. This allows a lot more creative freedom and hopefully, more
fun for the reader.
Kalos vs. Crystal Bay
When I brought my cozy mystery cast to the exotic
Greek Isles, I still wanted to capture that “cozy” feeling that you get in
Crystal Bay. Luckily, small Greek islands have many similarities to the
waterfront Wisconsin community in the Callie’s Kitchen Mysteries: tourism, a
beautiful view, lots of restaurants, small businesses (where Callie does some
major sleuthing) and specific local customs that add to the flavor of the
story. Of course, I made sure there was no shortage of drama and action.
Relaxation does not come easily to Callie and just like at home, she takes on
more than she bargained for, but always for a worthy cause!
The island of Kalos in Slayed By Souvlaki also
features an oceanside fishing village, mountains, and ancient ruins – obviously
not things you will find in Callie’s hometown of Crystal Bay, Wisconsin. I hope
readers enjoy the new, exotic locations, along with the elements that are more
familiar from previous books.
Finally, the Food!
Any Callie’s Kitchen Mystery would not be complete
without delicious food mentions, and recipes included at the end of the story.
As you can imagine, Callie and her family experience some tempting foods,
including the souvlaki in the title (aka shish kebab), gorgeous Greek pastries
featuring crispy, buttery phyllo dough, and many other culinary delights.
One of my favorite elements in Slayed By Souvlaki is
the inclusion of a traditional Greek sweet shop. These are favorite spots to
visit after a dinner in Greece because many Greek restaurants do not include a
dessert menu. If you want to satisfy your sweet tooth, you need to visit one of
these charming spots where you can have your fill of Greek-style pastries,
Greek rice pudding, European gelato, and even fancy French-style treats. Of
course, people indulge throughout the day as well.
SLAYED BY SOUVLAKI has an emphasis on traditional
Greek cuisine, and the recipes at the end are some of my (and my family’s)
favorites. I hope you enjoy them too!
If you are already a reader of my books, thanks so
much for joining me on this journey! If you are new to my series, I hope you
will give them a look! You can start at any book, as they are all standalones.
Personally, I like to start at the beginning. If that’s you, here’s the order
of the series:
ON THE CHOPPING BLOCK
SPICED AND ICED
SECRETS AND PIES
A STEW TO A KILL
THE CALLIE’S KITCHEN MYSTERIES COOKBOOKSLAYED BY SOUVLAKI
You can find my books in e-book and paperback on Amazon,
and all the books in the series are free with a Kindle Unlimited subscription.
Thank you, Lisa, and your blog readers for joining me
today! If you’d like to follow me on Facebook and Instagram or join my
newsletter list, I’ll provide the links below.
Newsletter subscribers are eligible for exclusive
giveaways, cover reveals, book excerpts, recipes and more!
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jennykalesauthor
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jennykales_author/
Newsletter: https://tinyurl.com/8w8zef27
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Jenny-Kales/e/B01BRTKL9W
Website: https://jennykales.wordpress.com
Sign up for a FREE author newsletter filled with author news like upcoming releases and author events, exclusive recipes, giveaways, price events, author interviews and more: http://tinyurl.com/huv5pof
Jenny Kales is the author of The Callie’s Kitchen Mystery Series, featuring Greek-American Calliope Costas, feisty food business owner and amateur sleuth, who lives in a scenic Wisconsin town with colorful characters -- and a high murder rate! Each book contains several delicious recipes, both Greek and American. Recent release: THE CALLIE'S KITCHEN MYSTERIES COOKBOOK, inspired by the series with new scenes and recipes.
Jenny is an avid reader, cook and baker and she’s addicted to reading and mystery TV, especially anything on Masterpiece Mystery or Acorn TV. She lives just outside of Chicago with her husband, two daughters and one cute but demanding Yorkshire terrier. She's hard at work on additional writing projects including more Callie's Kitchen Mysteries and a new series.
SLAYED BY SOUVLAKI sounds like a wonderful addition to the Callie's Kitchen Mysteries series. It's on my TBR list and I can't wait for the opportunity to dive in reading it.
ReplyDelete2clowns at arkansas dot net
Thanks, Lisa (and Jenny).
ReplyDeleteHappy Friday!
Pat T
I love Souvlaki and Greece is on my bucket list! Sounds like a great cozy series too!
ReplyDeleteYum on the food!!! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteThanks, I hope you all enjoy the book!
ReplyDelete