I'm not a coffee drinker myself but that doesn't take away from my enjoyment of this book. The mystery is decent with plenty of suspects and a couple of twists to keep things interesting. I didn't instantly connect with Lana but she grew on me and Stanley, her new puppy, is adorable. It has nice setting and sexual chemistry between people who aren't in their 20s and at the same time not overdone. A light read that can be done easily in a sitting or two and engaging enough to keep you in your seat.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in return for a fair review.

Barista Turns Amateur Sleuth....
The first in a new series (Coffee Lovers) featuring Barista Lana Lewis, set in Devils Beach, Florida. The Sunshine State Barista Championship is looming and while preparations are being made events take a turn for the worse. Entertaining cozy mystery with a fun and colourful cast in a delightful setting.

Grounds for Murder by Tara Lush takes place in Florida. Thank you Netgalley for the early access. The main character, Lana, in this book is a barista, working in a nice little cafe. A barista dies and Lana tries to find the murderer. This was a fun and exciting book.

Grounds for Murder by Tara Lush is a fun cozy mystery. I love the setting of the coffee shop. The book is set in a fun Florida town, Devil's Beach. Tara has a rescue shih tzu which is a fun addition for the dog lovers.

The characters are fun and quirky. The mystery is well written with some red herrings. I enjoyed following the clues. I did not guess who the murderer was until the final reveal.

This was the first book I have read by Tara Lush and it will not be the last.

Looking forward to the next book in this fun series.

Grounds for Murder is the debut of the A Coffee Lover's Mystery series set in Devil's Beach, Florida and featuring journalist/coffee shop owner, Lana Lewis. Recently divorced and fired from her job in Miami, Lana has returned home to run Perkatory, the coffee shop started by her late mother. She's looking forward to entering the Sunshine State Barista Championship with her talented employee, Fabrizio "Fab" Belucci and is busy practicing her latte art.

Fab is popular, maybe too popular, with the ladies so he's been a big customer draw for Perkatory. However, when he doesn't show up for his shift one day and isn't in his upstairs apartment over the shop, Lana is stunned to learn that he's quit and gone to work for the competition at the Island Brewnette. Did Fab quit because Lana was looking to hire another barista or did it have to do with his girlfriend, Paige whose father owns the competing shop? Either way Lana is mad and goes to confront him resulting in a very public argument - unfortunately, when Fab turns up dead in the alley behind Perkatory the next morning all fingers point to Lana as the killer.

Desperately wanting to clear her name and save her mother's coffee shop, Lana sets out under the guise of writing an article about Fab's life for the local newspaper to find out what really happened. She quickly learns that Fab was hiding quite a bit about his personal life from alligator poaching to a rumored Mafia connection to a kinky sexual appetite.

Lana teams up with Chief Noah Garcia, her new barista Erica Penmark, her pot smoking hippy Dad and an adorable Shi-Tzu named Stanley. A fast paced plot with twists and turns makes for an easy afternoon read. Lana is a little tough to warm up to but by the end of the book I was enjoying spending time with her and Stanley and will look foward to her next adventures.

I received an advanced copy of Grounds for Murder from NetGalley via Crooked Lane Books. While not required to write a review I am happy to offer my honest opnion.

Coffee shop mystery, set in Florida on beach.
Lana takes over family's coffee shop.
Popular barista that is supposed to compete with her leaves her high and dry.
Her dad is a fun character. Cute dog Stanley.

for a first book this one was quite decent. The characters were quirky and fleshed out. The story line kept moving along. At times it felt as if there was too much thrown into the story and that it got off track once or twice. I am not a coffee drinker but I find it fascinating how fanatical some people are about that. The mystery moves along into a resolution that while not entirely surprising was satisfying. It is a good summer read at the beach.

This is the beginning of a new series, and I can't wait to read more. It captures the quirkiness of Florida beach towns with a light touch, and the journalist-turned-barista Lana Lewis is an intriguing lead character. Make yourself a pot of good coffee, turn off your phone, and enjoy a good book!

After I finished this book I was already jonesing for the next one. I enjoyed the unique characters and location. I can't wait to see what happens in this series!

Great first book in the cozy mystery series. I'm not a coffee drinker but I enjoyed learning about the different types of coffee and the craft behind it. Add in a murder mystery, a cute budding romance between the main character Lana and the police chief, and I'm hooked. The secondary characters are fantastic too. Lana's co-worker Erica and Lana's dad are ones I'd like to learn more about. Can't wait for the next book in this series.

Grounds for Murder
*𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝗺𝘆 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺 𝗼𝗻 𝟴/𝟭𝟬/𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟬
While I am continuing to post my regular content, the BLM movement is still going on. Please keep referring to my story and linktree to find ways to help out.✊🏻‼️
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Welcome back to another netgalley review! netgalley has so many amazing cozy mysteries in stock, so go check them out!😉
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Lana Lewis’s life has thrown her a curve ball. She got let go of her journalism job in Miami,
right after she wrote her best story, and has had to move back home to Devil’s Beach, her dad letting her take over their coffee shop business. When her frustrating employee quits without warning, Lana doesn’t know what to do, and decides to confront him. A couple hours later, after she cools off, she decides to go home and finds him dead, leaving her as the number one suspect.😨
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I’m pretty critical with my cozy mysteries, mainly because I read so many and because they are probably my favorite subgenre. For the most part, I really enjoyed this, but there was a TON of information in this novel that didn’t have follow the murder. It felt like we need to know every little detail about Lana, which distracted me. This is the first novel, in a new series, and I feel like half of the things we leaned about Lana could be separated into the novels that are to come. For example, we could’ve found out about her ex, but maybe he could come to do some reporting in the sequel, instead of pushing it inside of this one. So that was awfully annoying from time to time, BUT, I didn’t guess the murderer correct, which is so rare, I had to boost it up from 3.5, to a 4.0. I recommend this to people that might want a little bit more of literary fiction, with a little extra punch.🤗
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Do you read cozy mysteries? Which ones do you recommend to me? Let me know!💋
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Dm me to talk about all things book or writing related! I’ll be looking forward to it! —Em😌

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Lana Lewis has come home to Devil’s Beach after being laid off from her journalist job and divorcing her loser ex. Now she’s running the family coffee house and gearing up to compete in a barista competition with her best barista, Fab. When Fab doesn’t show up for work and doesn’t answer his phone, Lana finds that Fab quit and went to work for the competition and heads on over to give him a piece of her mind.

The next morning Lana finds Fab’s body in the alley behind the coffee house and vows to find his killer and write an article in homage to her friend. Where to begin? Fab was a man who loved women and that could mean lots of exes and partners of lovers who might wish him harm. How can Lana break the story without becoming the next body found?

A new cozy mystery series set in South Florida that will have you jonesing for a latte or cold brew as you read. I found the inaugural entry to be good and the series to hold great promise. Looking forward to my next visit to Devil Beach!

As a first in a new series, I found this story to be quite good.
Lana is back working in the family coffee shop, and hoping that things begin to look up for her.
When an employee turns their back on Lana, she doesn’t hold back, telling him exactly how she feels.
Unfortunately for her, discovering a dead body does nothing but make her a suspect, so it’s usually to her to find the answers.
I’m looking forward to reading more in this fast paced series.

I enjoyed reading this book as it was an easy weekend read, the plot was interesting, the characters easy to relate to and most of all the storyline was simple to follow.

Lana Lewis who owns a cafe loses her most prized employee, Fab to competition just a few days before the barista championships. A day later after Lana confronts Fab, he is found dead in an alley behind her cafe. Lana becomes a prime suspect.

I would recommend this book to anyone seeking a lazy afternoon read.

I have a big problem with the overuse of the word 'grin' in cozy mysteries. It seems to be used for every positive emotion. All I can picture are a bunch of grinning people walking around like zombies. This author used the word grin or a fashion thereof 69 times in a 320 page book. I won't finish.