Jaymie Leighton collects vintage kitchenware and cookbooks in the small town of Queensville, where everyone knows everyone, and most of the townspeople have lived there since childhood. Jaymie and Kathy Cooper were best friends in high school, but a couple of decades have passed since then, and Kathy has refused to speak to Jaymie since then. Jaymie has no idea what caused the rift and when she tries to ask Kathy about it, she gets the cold shoulder. After a major blow-up as the town prepares for the Fourth of July festival, Jaymie decides that she's going to confront Kathy and try to clear the air once and for all.

However, she never gets that opportunity. After the festivities end, Jaymie finds Kathy's body by the park washrooms. Unfortunately, Kathy was killed with Jaymie's Depression-era glass bowl. As everyone in town knows that Kathy and Jaymie had been feuding for years, Jaymie becomes a natural suspect, especially since her fingerprints are all over the bowl and they recently had another spat.

Jaymie knows she didn't kill Kathy, but what she doesn't know is whether whoever used her bowl to kill Kathy did so as to intentionally set her up. Jaymie decides to quietly investigate Kathy's death, feeling guilty that so many years have gone by since they were friends, but also wanting to ensure that the right culprit is caught. Since Jaymie isn't the only person that Kathy had been feuding with, there are suspects aplenty -- including Kathy's own sister, with whom Kathy had been having a custody fight (the sister had been an unfit parent until recently).

The plot was fun and moved at a good pace, mostly following Jaymie's actions as she investigated the mystery. There really was discernible subplot, which was fine as there so many suspects and motives that Jaymie tracked down as she kept her business running. The characters in the book were all fun to get to know, especially Jaymie's friend Valetta who is pretty much the only person who stands behind the person who is arrested for Kathy's murder.

Jaymie is a great character, too. Her family is interesting, as is her relationship with the man she is dating. She has a little bit of a tendency to be pessimistic about things, but that may have also been because of the content of this particular mystery. I would be willing to see what she's like in another book before saying that it's a character flaw. Overall, BOWLED OVER is a fun book with a likable protagonist.

Book Summary

Stirring up trouble…

Vintage kitchenware and cookbook collector Jaymie Leighton has been estranged from her high school best friend Kathy Cooper since they were teenagers, but she never knew what turned Kathy against her. After fireworks at a Fourth of July picnic, Jaymie discovers the body of her former friend in the park. On the ground nearby is Jaymie’s own Depression-era glass bowl, broken in two.

With her fingerprints all over the bowl and a troubled history with the victim, Jaymie suddenly finds herself at the top of the list of suspects. Did the killer intend to frame her for the murder? If so, she is ready to mix it up, because solving crimes is vintage Jaymie Leighton…