The Jammed Judges

 

 

The Jammed Judges: Doro Banyon Historical Mysteries
by D.S. Lang

About The Jammed Judges

 

The Jammed Judges: Doro Banyon Historical Mysteries
Historical Cozy Mystery
3rd in Series
Setting – Ohio
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Debra Sue Lang (April 2, 2024)
Number of Pages – Approx. 310
Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0CSXQQQ81

 

Journey back to the Roaring Twenties in small-town America and join Doro Banyon, college librarian and armchair detective, as she confronts another mystery.

Spring in the air, and Doro is looking forward to her hometown’s May Day celebration. When her friend Aggie wins the baking contest, their celebration is short-lived because the two local lawmen—judges for the competition—fall ill after consuming extra portions of Aggie’s jam roll. Rumors run rampant, especially when the town doctor pinpoints the cause as arsenic poisoning.

With the constabulary down for the count, the two friends must unravel the mystery. As they study possibilities, Doro and Aggie find plenty of dangling threads and likely suspects. Is someone trying to make Aggie look bad or get even with her? Or do area bootleggers want the police out of their way while a big load of illegal liquor is transported through the area? Doro resolves to crack the case before more trouble hits town.

About D.S. Lang

D.S. Lang is a former teacher, tutor, mentor, and program manager. As an only child, she often created stories to entertain herself when she didn’t have her nose in a book. She is still making up stories, but now she puts them in writing.

She writes historical mysteries set in small-town America during the Roaring Twenties. Her books feature women amateur sleuths dedicated to solving crimes, along with a team of colorful characters—often including a local lawman.

Q&A With the Author: D.S. Lang

What was your inspiration for writing this book?

This is the third book in a series, which is set outside my hometown of Sylvania in Michaw, Ohio. Michaw once existed as Mitchaw but disappeared from maps before I was born. It was the birthplace of my dad and his siblings, so I thought bringing it back would be fun. I have made it larger and placed a small college there, which makes it an interesting setting. Since many people in this area have heard of the town, I changed the spelling.

The Jammed Judges is set during Michaw’s annual May Days festival. I love old-time events like cakewalks, picnic basket auctions, and May baskets, so I incorporated them to give the story an extra cozy feel. Since I like to change things up, I didn’t have a murder in this book. Instead, the two local lawmen serve as judges in the baking contest. When they fall ill from poisoning, Doro and her best friend take charge of the investigation.

What did you enjoy most about writing this book?

Exploring life in 1920s small-town America is fun. Times were somewhat simpler, especially in little villages. Townsfolk knew one another, and people shopped small and local (most didn’t know of any other way back then). Although I enjoy the convenience of modern supermarkets, I like to imagine stepping into an old-fashioned general store and having the clerk pull items out and package them for me—a far cry from the self-checkouts that keep getting added at modern chain stores.

For the basket auction, Doro, my amateur sleuth, makes shortbread, and I include the genuine Scottish recipe (from a friend) in the book. I love shortbread, and so does Ev, one of the lawmen. 

Do you have any other books you are working on that you can tell us about? 

I’ve written part of the next book in the series. It isn’t titled yet, but Doro returns home after summer vacation to discover Ev is gone, and no one knows where. When he doesn’t return as scheduled, she becomes worried. Ev is a former Prohibition agent, so Doro wonders if his absence is related to that face. After a local man, suspected of bootlegging, dies her anxiety grows, and she sets out to find Ev and identify the killer. 

Can you tell us about what you have planned for the future?

My current series, Doro Banyon Cozy Historical Mysteries, is slated for nine books. Right now, three are out in paperback and electronic form. I plan to get large print versions out soon.

Anything more you would like to say to your readers and fans?

Readers can subscribe to my newsletter for more information. Subscribers get two free novellas and a short story. Also, I’m on Facebook (Author DS Lang), and I periodically have giveaways. 

Author Links

GoodReads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/21325652.D_S_Lang

Facebook https://facebook.com/p/Author-DS-Lang-100064024056297/

Website https://dslangbooks.com

Purchase Links – Amazon – B&N – Apple – Kobo – Smashwords 

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