It is time for the town's annual Blueberry Festival, guaranteed to bring in tourist dollars.  The highlight of the event is the Blueberry Queen pageant where, traditionally, a local high school girl is crowned. This year's contestants include Candy's friend Maggie's daughter Amanda and thirty-something local gossip columnist Sapphire Vine.  The town is aghast that Sapphire is brazen enough to enter this contest, and when, after a less than stellar performance, Sapphire is crowned Queen, the town is scandalized.

The next day, Sapphire is found murdered in her home, hit on the head with a new, red fiberglass hammer, leading police to local handyman Ray. Ray is somewhat slow, but Candy is very fond of him and knows he wouldn't hurt anyone and sets out to prove it. The serendipitous offer by the local (single and cute) newspaper editor of Sapphire's old job to Candy gives her the chance to poke around Sapphire's life and see who might want to kill her.

Candy finds that Sapphire was holding plenty of secrets, some hers, some not hers to share, but many that may explain why she was killed and why she won the title of Blueberry Queen. 

Town in a Blueberry Jam, the first in a new series, is full of small-town details, but is short on character development. Cape Willington is depicted as a charming seaside Maine town, but readers don't really get to know its residents. It is hard to tell if Candy is industrious - working so many jobs, part-time at the bakery, selling pies to the new cafe, and now gossip columnist, or if she is just unable to focus on one thing. Also, she and Doc don't spend much time working on the farm, even though its harvest season.

There is another murder before Sapphire's, but that is mostly ignored until the very end when Candy ties it to Sapphire’s murder. There are several possible suspects and motives for the murder, but none strong enough to be believable.

--Jennifer Monahan Winberry