A good book. Well written with great characters and a good plot. The storyline flows and the mystery is enjoyable. I highly recommend.,

It’s been about two or three years since I’ve read the last book in this series and that may be why I couldn’t get into this story as easily as before. The group of characters associated with the crime was just confusing to me. I do like Gia and Savannah as characters and will probably read the next book and hope it’s better.

Dollycas’s Thoughts

It gets mighty chilly in Florida when a dead body is found in the freezer of the ice cream parlor of Gia’s new friend Trevor. She and Trevor had big plans for bringing cold brews to both their businesses but that is on ice for now. Of course, Trevor is the prime suspect of the police but Gia just knows in her heart the man is innocent. Now she just has to find the evidence to prove it.

It was so good to get back to these characters. I don’t know how I got behind on this series but I plan to rectify that very soon.

Gia, Savannah, Hunt, Leo, Willow, Earl, Harley, Cybil, Cole, and Thor all return and are joined by several new characters. Two mayoral candidates, although one doesn’t last long, ice cream shop owner, Trevor, Willow’s mom, Skyla, join the cast. Ms. Gregory’s characters are all realistic. People you would expect to find in Boggy Creek at Gia’s All-Day Breakfast Café. I enjoy Gia and Savannah’s friendship. This time it is tested just a bit but I really liked the way Savannah convinced Gia it was okay to take some time off. Their relationship is believable and steady. They have each other’s back even when things get downright crazy.

The new secondary characters along with Harley play key roles in the mystery. They have been Boggy Creek residents for a long time and while the murder maybe political it could also be something in their pasts that has gotten Ron Parker killed. There are several twists and turns, shots fired, and another death before all the clues align and secrets come out for the killer to be revealed. The author has plotted an intriguing mystery with many possibilities.

The book also has a message and a revelation for Gia regarding families. It is so true and heartwarming.

A Cold Brew Killing was so entertaining! Great characters, a wonderful mystery and don’t even get me started on the food. We did have breakfast for dinner during the time I was reading this book. Yummy!

Stay tuned, in my quest to get caught up on this series I will be reading A Waffle Lot of Murder soon so I am ready when Whole Latte Murder hits stores on April 27.

It’s election time in Boggy Creek, Florida and residents are all abuzz about the upcoming mayoral race. Former friends Mitch Anderson and Ron Parker are both in the running. Both seem a little too slick and their smiles are a little too practiced and fake. After only arriving in town six months ago and opening the All-Day Breakfast Cafe, Gia Morelli is curious about what her new friends and residents think about the candidates.

The race takes an interesting and tragic turn when Gia’s new friend, Trevor Barnes runs into the cafe after discovering Ron dead in the freezer of Storm Scoopers, the ice cream parlor owned by Trevor. When Trevor refuses to cooperate and answer questions asked by Gia’s boyfriend, Detective Hunter Quinn, Trevor is arrested for Ron’s murder. While Trevor is definitely acting strange and not like himself, Gia knows there’s no way Trevor would kill anyone. Gia makes it her mission to prove Trevor is innocent. If she also just so happens to find the real killer in the process, all the better.

Lena Gregory has written a mystery all about secrets and those secrets coming to light. She’s introduced several new characters who are all connected by the past. Through the course of Gia’s search to clear Trevor, she discovers new things about people she considers to be her friends, and along the way, some questions about characters readers have grown to love are answered. Lena definitely has you guessing as to what is happening and who the killer is up until the very end of the book. I only wished that she would have used more descriptions for some of the characters, as I had a hard time remembering who some people were and how they were all linked to each other. Now that I have some questions answered, I’m looking forward to the next book in the series.

~ Favorite Quotes ~

“The things you appreciate most in life are those you have to wait for.”

“Family doesn’t have to be related by blood.”

“Sometimes friends aren’t what they seem.”

“Circumstances change over time; the heart doesn’t.”

There are only a few series I will read back to back, this has become one of them, more to the point one I will re-visit again and again! We have murder, mayhem and history coming back to bite in Boggy Creek, we find out more about the history of some of the regular members of the pages of Lena Gregory's books, we discover treachery, honour and sadness, all wrapped in a wonderfully crafted tale.

Gia is settled in Boggy Creek, she now has a relationship with her best friend's cousin and some more good friends (as close if not closer than family, not that Gia knows about close family), and the main one, Savannah, has chivvyed her into taking a few days away from her beloved All Day Breakfast Cafe, Earl and Cole are going to man the kitchen and Willow will do her usual fantastic job front of house, but everything comes to a screeching halt when Trevor (another friend and the owner of the local ice cream parlour, Storm Scoopers) comes staggering into the cafe and faints, having uttered that there was a dead body in his freezer! Add in local politics, secrets coming home to roost and injuries, Hunt and Gia having a misunderstanding (and Savannah and Leo coming to an understanding) this is another fun, semi fast paced, cozy that hits all the right spots!

This seemed an under developed author with heavy handed attempts to lay out her clues. For example, in the first chapter she notes her friend Skyla’s behavior seems off. Ok, say it, point it out. But the continued repetition of the observation is artless. The book opened this way and the clumsiness continues throughout. Not an enjoyable read.

Thank you very much for allowing me the opportunity to read this book! I appreciate the kindness. <3

Gia's busy with her breakfast cafe when her friend Trevor from the ice cream parlor next door rushes in saying that he found a body in his freezer! Gia runs over and discovers the body of the man running for mayor. She calls the police and decides that she really doesn't want to get involved but Trevor is her friend so she is drawn into the investigation. Many of her new friends seem to be caught up in the web of the victim's life and Gia works to untangle the clues that only she seems to find. Solving the murder also reveals details of the lives of some of the minor characters.

Cozy definitely fits this mystery and the story within!

I enjoy this series. It's a fun read with a good mystery that keeps you guessing till the end. This is book three of the All-Day Breakfast Cafe Mystery series and it can be read as a stand alone. Gia and Trevor have become good friends and when the local mayor candidate is found dead in his ice cream shop's freezer he becomes the main suspect for the murder. It turns out there are a lot of people happy to see Mitch dead. Secrets heat up the Florida town when it seems Mitch has been a bad boy since high school. I received a copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

A Cold Brew Killing by Lena Gregory is the third book in the All Day Breakfast Cafe Mystery series. One of Gia's business neighbors finds a body in the freezer of his ice cream shop. Gia's breakfast cafe becomes the meeting place following the murder. It soon becomes apparent that the mystery involves events from years ago and many suspects. This book could be read on its own, but I highly recommend the previous books. The mystery in this book was strong, and the characters fit together well. I look forward to many more books in this series!

I absolutely love the All-day breakfast cafe books! This is the third book in the series and the characters continue to grow.

Gia is looking to bring new items for the cafe menu. Partnering with her friend Trevor who owns the ice cream shop, they are working on cold brew that the two shops will share. When Trevor stumbles into her café in shock and she finds a dead body in his, her only instinct is to figure out what happened. Gia is certain that Trevor is innocent.

I love the flow of the book, the storyline and the characters. If you have not read this series then I recommend that you start it right now. Also, I recommend starting with the first one.

Murder made to order was a very good book and I was looking forward to reading A cold brew killing, but I didn't find it as good. I had completely forgotten that Gia had a boyfriend since he was so briefly mentioned and he appeared only to cause some tension between him and Gia. The author needs to work on that relationship because is not going anywhere and it doesn't feel solid. Trevor is a lot more present and I didn't like that. The main focus of the book is the mystery-solving rather than the connections the characters have with each other. The mystery was good, but not wow. Some parts were weird and a little over the top if you ask me. I was just disappointed with the book, which is a shame since I wanted to read it so much! I hope that the next installment will be improved.

PS. I love the cover. It's so cute!

A Cold Brew Killing by Lena Gregory
Book #3: All-Day Breakfast Café Mystery Series
Source: NetGalley and Purchase
My Rating: 3/5 stars

**MINI-REVIEW**

The Bottom Line: Generally speaking, I enjoyed the third installment of the All-Day Breakfast Café series, but perhaps not as much as I expected to. It took me an unusually long time to get through this book and I think it is because I just couldn’t get fully on board with the plot. Typically, I very much enjoy a good past meets present read, but this one isn’t quite as seamlessly woven together as it could have been. What’s more, there are A LOT of characters in this book and most won’t make another appearance in future installments of the series. Along with the beloved regular cast of characters, there are so many people to keep up with that I found it somewhat frustrating. With all that being said, I was so pleased with the regular cast of characters and how they are all moving forward in their own lives and diving in to help Gia solve yet another mystery. In fact, the group effort is one of the things I am beginning to really love about this series. Everyone in Gia’s circle now fully appreciates she isn’t going to stay out of the messes that come her way, so they all find ways to help and keep her safe if possible. While I wasn’t totally thrilled with this individual plot, I was overjoyed by the continuing sense of a growing community and binding friendships. The larger themes are what kept me going with this one and I truly am looking forward to the next adventure undertaken by this motley crew of friends and neighbors.

“A Cold Brew Killing” earns 5/5 earns Scoops of Frozen Treats…Murderously Fun!

I love breakfast! So, besides eggs, bacon, and toast, you get a side order of murder with Lean Gregory’s entertaining third book. This book is much like a standalone making it easy for newbies to start here…engaging murder mystery than concludes, no spoilers to other books, and character connections are revisited. The murder mystery is very clever requiring Gia Morelli to step in and support her friend who has found a dead body in his freezer tucked in next to the Italian Ice. Plenty of suspects with motives and secrets revealed make it a nice mystery all the way to a satisfying conclusion. Characters are developing nicely with fun banter and budding and endearing relationships. “A Cold Brew Killing” was a great read…definitely recommended!

Gia is back at it in A Cold Brew Killing. Partnering with her friend Trevor who owns the ice cream shop, Gia is working on cold brew that the two shops will share. When Trevor stumbles into her café in shock and she finds a dead body in his, her only instinct is to figure out what happened. Gia is certain that Trevor is innocent even though, now, she may be the only one. As the mystery unfolds, childhood friends, enemies, and frenemies crawl out of the woodwork bringing with them means and motive for both the murder and the set up, if indeed, Trevor is innocent.

I really enjoyed A Cold Brew Killing. The book is perfectly paced - not too fast and not too slow. I was pulled in from the very beginning and engaged in the plot. The character development continues, and we learn more about the characters and learn backstory without being bogged down with useless filler. The story was fun, exciting, suspenseful, and full of twists and turns. I had a wonderful time trying to figure out just what happened and who was responsible. The continued world building is great, and I was able to visualize the story.

Gia came from New York one person and has since evolved into another as she gets used to the differences in Florida. Gia is a very strong character and I enjoy the books about her world. I love that the author does not, at any time, write her as weak or unstable. She's just had a very rough past that she thought she would escape by moving away from her former life and completely starting over. Samantha and Hunt are stability characters for Gia. Savannah is a wonderful best friend and Hunt proves to be another person who has Gia's back.

As in previous books, Gia does some questionable things in A Cold Brew Killing that made me shake my head. Her shenanigans don’t detract from the story, though. The characters are all likeable, the setting in Florida is nice. The chemistry between Gia and Hunt is sweet and believable. I prefer a little bit of soft romance in my cozy mysteries. I really enjoy the author's writing style and love her Bay Island Mystery series.

A small-town homicide puzzles café owner Gia and her friend Savannah, while it sets the rest of the town on edge. As Gia sets out to prove her accused friend innocent, gradually a picture forms of the murky past that lead to the truth coming out. I liked how much time the main character, Gia, spent working in her cafe. I also appreciated how her routine was explained and the food was made to sound so appetizing. I think I would like to visit the All-Day Breakfast Café when life is quiet. By the end of the book, I just felt like I was in mourning for a certain group of friends. I wished they had had someone they could have turned to who would have helped them deal with life better. I also wanted to see Hunt spend a little more attention on Gia. It seemed he was an all or nothing guy, and sometimes she got nothing. I will be looking to see how the next books in the series develop the characters and town. Quotable: “Sometimes you didn’t need a friend to interfere; sometimes you needed them to stand by while you made a mess of your life, then jump in and pick up the pieces.” I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley. No positive review was required and all opinions are solely my own.

A Cold Brew Killing: An All-Day Café Mystery
By Lena Gregory
Lyrical
November 2018

Review by Cynthia Chow

Even in the small town of Boggy Creek, Central Florida, politics can be deadly. Having recently fulfilled her dream of opening the All-Day Breakfast Café, Gia Morelli gets a front row seat to some of the hostile attitudes regarding their two candidates for mayor. Although Ron Parker seems to be heartily distrusted and disliked by most of the locals, it is his rival Mitchell Anderson whom Skyla Broussard seems to despise the most. The mother of Gia’s young employee Willow, Skyla is close-mouthed about her reasons and uncharacteristically abrupt with her daughter. Gia has no choice but to pry into Skyla’s secrets though, when Ron Parker is found dead in the freezer of Storm Scoopers and the ice cream parlor owner Trevor Barnes quickly suspected of murder.

The awkward Trevor has been instrumental in introducing Gia to the outdoor wonders of Florida through paddle boarding and kayaking, and despite her friends’ warnings she’s unable to believe him capable of murder. That puts her in an uncomfortable position with her maybe-boyfriend Detective Hunter Quinn, who adamantly wants Gia safe and away from his investigation. Gia’s not about to sit on the sidelines and watch Trevor be implicated in Ron Parker’s death, which means that she will be tracking down alibis, questioning Ron’s trophy wife, and searching through yearbooks to discover how the relationship between Ron, Trevor, and Mitch became so fractured.

Gia’s confidence and strength has slowing been building through the three books of this series, and here she displays it in full force as she refuses to back down from her efforts to discover the truth. It’s a characteristic Gia’s going to need as she encounters an all-too timely crime that often goes unpunished despite the costs to the victims. Gia’s new attitude enhances her empathy for others as well, especially when a woman seeking Boggy Creek’s roaming man Harley desperately asks for help and protection. With so many of her friends and neighbors keeping secrets, it’s no wonder that Gia looks for comfort in the one place she has always found it; in her kitchen producing mouth-watering good-for-anytime treats. The step-by-step descriptions are as intricate as any written recipe and will have readers rushing for their stovetops or their closest diner. Gia’s attachment to her ever-growing Bernese mountain puppy continues to grow, with her love for a furry companion spreads to a new friend. Boggy Creek residents may be slow to appreciate Gia’s new cold brew coffee concoctions, but readers will quickly grow attached to her friends, welcoming breakfast food café, and of course her adorably affectionate canine Thor.

Princess Fuzzypants here: Politics can be murder or at least that is how it seems to Gia. When a local candidate is murdered and left in the freezer of a friend’s ice cream shop, her friend becomes suspect number one. While she does not believe Trevor is capable of murder, as the story evolves, she realizes she knows very little about him and nothing about his past.
It turns out there are a lot of people around her who were close to both of them and the other candidate for Mayor when they were all in High School. It seems something happened that changed a number of lives. Whatever it was, it has come home to roost and when a second member of the group is murdered and others are attacked, it becomes obvious someone will do anything to keep the secret.
Naturally Gia and her friends are right in the midst of it all yet the reader never gets the feeling that she is being foolish. A lot of this story is character driven and fills out backstory for some of the characters who are central to the series. Some of the characters are quite touching, especially Harley. He is such a tragic soul and we are given the history of why he is that way. When an author can make you feel deeply about the characters, it really does elevate the experience.
I give four purrs and two paws up.

This is another of my favorite series that just keeps getting better. One of the Facebook book clubs I'm in had the first book in this series for our November discussion, and since I'd read the second one this summer, I was in the mood to read this one--especially since I had all the characters and situations fresh in my brain! ;)

When a local guy who was running for mayor was found dead in Trevor's ice cream shop freezer, Gia had the need to help find the killer despite what her sorta-boyfriend (as she calls him) acting-Captain Hunt Quinn says. He is awfully sweet to her and I loved the awesome scenes they had together! He had his few little moments of jealousy over Trevor, but Gia assured him he had nothing to worry about. I liked the side mysteries as well that centered on Harley and Skyla.

A new character introduced was Skyla who was Willow the cafe waitress' mom, and she had a secret of her own, as did the gentle homeless man Harley that Gia has kept supplied with dinner since the first book. Harley is such an awesome character. He doesn't say much, but he sure is always there for his pal Gia. Another character that was somewhat new but introduced in the second book was a retired cook named Cole who was now working for Gia and loving it. He said retirement was boring. Earl (my fave since the first book since he makes me think of Columbo) got more page time as well, since he's also a helper in the cafe when Gia needs him as well as a regular breakfast customer. A really cool character that I liked from the second book was Cybil, a somewhat mysterious woman who always walked in the woods. Gia became closer friends with her and invited her to the cafe. Cybil was a widow that Gia thought might enjoy meeting Earl, a widower.

Savannah is such a hoot! She's the perfect bestie and she was determined that she and Gia would get a girls' getaway. It didn't quite happen the way she planned, but it was still some good adventure. Gia and Hunt are in a really good place right now. I like how their relationship has been a little slow, sometimes shaky but not stormy. I'm anxiously waiting for the next book!

There's nothing more delightful than curling up on the couch to read a book that just makes you feel warm and cozy inside, and that's what A Cold Brew Killing was like for me.

Which is kind of weird for a book that deals with the murder of a politician who's found inside the freezer of the local ice-cream parlour... but there you go.

I'm beginning to understand the types of cozy mysteries that I really enjoy reading, and this book was that for me. It was equal parts enjoyable whodunit with likeable characters that made me want to understand how everything fit together.

Gia's friendship with local ice-cream shop owner Trevor is thrown into disarray when the body of a man running for mayor is found dead in his freezer. With Trevor suspected of murder, Gia sets out to prove his innocence putting herself in the crosshairs.

Gia was really fun, and I identified a  lot with her character. While I may not run a cafe, I can appreciate her strong sense of self and a desire to always give herself 100% to her career and to her friends and loved ones. She's warm and likeable and a great narrator for the story. She has wonderful relationships with the people around her and makes time for them... even if sometimes she does go digging for information that other people might politely wait for others to offer up.

I loved all the friendships in this book, and how it was the antithesis of the murder plot which saw the hidden pasts of former residents of the town come back to haunt them. It was a nice juxtaposition to read on the page.

While I haven't read the first two books in the series, I do look forward to future instalments in the All Day Breakfast Cafe Mystery series. It's just too fun.