Member Reviews
Interesting and well-written cozy mystery with great character development and an intriguing mystery. What more could you want or need?
Many thanks to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book. My thoughts and opinions are my own and without bias or favor or expectation.
Lana runs a coffee shop on Devil's Beach Island with her dog, Stanley. She has a pretty good life, except for her pain-in-the-butt neighbor, Gus. Gus is found dead, and Lana's BFF is suspect number 1! Lana works to clear her besties name, and there's lots of fun along the way!
I love coffee shop mysteries. This book has great characters, a great story, and made me laugh. I can't wait to read more in this series!
The Florida Keys, a coffeehouse, an ex-journalist with an inquisitive "snoop" gene, great friends, wild monkeys and an attempted murder or two.....yep, the perfect concoction for a great read! This series has grabbed me from the start as the characters are so much fun. The interactions between the various personalities will have you giggling and the mystery will have you deducting and not always in the right direction! A well thought out plot and a few weird side tangents (disco skating anyone?) will have you enjoying your time with Lana and her sidekicks! I can't wait to read what happens in the next book to Lana!
Live and Let Grind by Tara Lush ( A Coffee Lover’s Mystery #3) 3.5 stars
Life is good for Lana Lewis, former journalist and current proprietor of Perkatory, a coffee shop located in Devil’s Beach, Florida. She has a cute dog named Stanley and a hunky boyfriend (Police Chief Noah Garcia). Unfortunately, the snag in her silver lining is her next door neighbor, Gus. He has an obsessive need to care for his lawn and garden at all hours of the day. His leaf blowing antics has the entire neighborhood up in arms because of the sleep disturbances. Lana’s temporary roommate, Erica gets into a heated argument with Gus which makes her suspect #1 when Gus’s leaf blower blows up and kills him. Lana must use her interviewing and research skills to delve into Gus’s background in order to find the real culprit or Erica will be wearing orange jumpsuits in the future.
This was a fun afternoon read for me. But after reading all three books in this series, I have to say “Cold Brew Corpse” was my favorite. In terms of relationship development between Lana and Noah, I felt that they were in a holding pattern in this book. I like that Lana seems to understand that self-care is not a dirty word in this book and a new hobby might help her a lot. I look forward to the next book in this series. In addition, I read the novella that could become an offshoot to this series – “Give Me Chills”. I really enjoyed the characters and hope to see the ice cream truck proprietor in the future.
Thank you Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books for this ARC.
I'm new to A Coffee Lover's Mystery series by Tara Lush and I am so glad I requested this book. Can't wait o read the whole series.
I enjoyed reading this book and its coffee theme. I'm a big fan of cozy mysteries and a HUDGE coffee lover, so this was perfection for me.
Tara Lush did a great job of bringing the characters and setting to life. I felt as if I was in the world with the characters solving the mystery. It's a nice cozy mystery read perfect for anyone wanting a fun and quick read.
This series has quickly become a favorite cozy mystery. I look forward to reading more of Lana's sleuthing with her little team of Erica and her father, Peter—along with Stanley, her little puppy. There were so many wonderful twists and turns that I was left wondering who the murderer wreaking havoc on Devil's Beach was. As always, the connection between Lana and Police Chief Noah is blazing hot. I have a theory about Chief Noah, so I'm looking forward to reading more of the series. I can't wait until the next book.
Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this installment of "A Coffee Lover's Mystery.
Lana and the Perkatory crew are back in Live and Let Grind by Tara Lush. Lana is still seeing Noah and her dad is still over zealous in his causes, this time about the plight of the island monkeys. Erica is staying with Lana while her boat is being renovated. A run in with a neighbor and their leaf blower leaves Erica a suspect when the leaf blower explodes and kills the man. Investigating the murder is personal for Lana and causes some tension between Lana and Noah as he investigates.
I enjoyed catching up with the inhabitants of Devil's Beach and look forward to seeing what they get up to next.
Thank you to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC.
Lana is getting used to her new life as a coffee shop owner. Her life seems to be on tract with Erica new best friend and her deramy cheif of police boyfriend. Only thing ruining her peacefulness is her new neighbor and his consistent need to use a leaf blower at all hours of the day. After an altercation with Lana's neighbor he is found dead and Erica is the prime suspect. It's now up to Lana to help Erica and find the murder.
Live and Let Grind was an Enjoyable read. Lana is more focused in this book and is actually doing her job being a owner of a coffee shop not running willy nilly all over the place like in previous books, which made this book more enjoyable for me then the other books in the series. There is more interaction between the main characters in this book and I enjoyed seeing their relationships evolve.
My favorite charater is Lana's hippy father. He always good for some over the top comic relief and it's fun to see what crazy new age stuff he's into. He's also in the middle of an animals rights protest for the local monkeys, which I enjoyed immensely especially the March scene with him in a monkey suit! I was glad he was more of a prominent character in this edition to the series. You also got more of a feel of island living. Overall I enjoyed this book alot and will be coming back for the forth enstalment.
Author Tara Lush offers a fun-to-read cozy mystery series, set in fictional Devil’s Beach, Florida, with delightfully offbeat amateur sleuth Lana Lewis. Lana is smart, geeky and hilariously funny, with quips that make me laugh out loud. Her coffee shop, cleverly named Perkatory, makes me wish the bistro was real so that I can order an espresso during a visit. Lana’s sweet romance with police chief Noah Garcia keeps me coming back to these stories, though I rarely review more than book one in a series. Like a coffee lover, I’m hooked.
Though Live and Let Grind is the third cozy mystery set on Devil’s Beach, it can be read as a stand-alone. Be warned; you’ll probably want to go back and read the first two entertaining and well-written installments. Highly recommended for lite-fare mystery fans.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for providing an ARC to read and review. This review will be posted to Bayside Book Reviews at https://baysidebookreviews.com and its Instagram page on release day. *NetGalley Top Reviewer*
This is a fun, captivating cozy mystery. Love the characters, the plot flowed smoothly from scene to scene, and there were many laughable moments.
Lana and her best friend, Erica, are fed up with their leaf blowing neighbor. But is Erica so annoyed that she would tamper with his leaf blower until it exploded and killed him? When Lana's boyfriend and police chief, Noah, has no choice but to put Erica on his suspect list, the two friends take it upon themselves to begin their own investigation. But soon they find themselves too close to the right answer, and Erica may be in danger.
Truly enjoyed this book from cover to cover. Highly recommend. Cannot wait until the next book is out.
I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Murder by leaf blower?
Yes! I love it when I find a new-t0-me series that sucks me in and refuses to let me leave. That compulsion to finish once I started made me appreciate Lana's seeming inability to let go of a case. To quickly summarize, Lana's friend Erica's temper gets the best of her and she gets into it with a neighbor who has the annoying habit of running his loud leaf blower way too early, too often, and too long. Then, the neighbor is murdered. Former reporter Lana feels the need to investigate when Erica becomes a suspect. Then one of the customer's in the coffee shop belonging to Lana's family is poisoned. Are the two cases related?
How is it that Lana isn't aware that her own neighbors are doing a true crime podcast? Could the killer be the victim's wife, Honey? Why is Lana's father arrested while dressed up as a monkey? Will Lana ever meet boyfriend Noah's mother? Is Stanley the Shih Tzu spoiled rotten? What's the story on Lana's school friend who disappeared years ago? What's the wildest mailbox design you've ever seen? Who.... oh, never mind. Enough questions to tantalize you to read.
"Live and Let Grind" is a fun, quick read. My thanks to #NetGalley and #CrookedLaneBooks for letting me virtually travel back to my ol' state of Florida to meet Lana and friends. I'm looking forward to many future visits. I'm not even much of a coffee drinker but would love to try an Orange Blossom Special.
This is the third book in the series where an ex-journalist has moved on to run the family run cafe named Perkatory located in Florida. The mystery is interesting since the annoying neighbor who runs a leaf blower all the time is the victim. The characters are super well written and fun.
This series takes place on the Island of Devil's Beach, Florida and follows a thirty-something former reporter turned barista named Lana Lewis. Lana manages her father's Cafe and freelances for the local paper. That reporter instinct has gotten her invested in some murder mysteries and found her a boyfriend in the new Police Chief.
This third book in the series involves the death of Lana's neighbour who has been upsetting the locals with his constant leaf blowing. Gus even got into it with Lana's BFF Erica right before he died. This makes her a prime suspect and pulls Lana in the investigation to clear her name.
Lots of red herrings/suspects and some suspenseful moments as the mystery unfolds. There's also some drama involving Lana and romantic relationship, so if you haven't read the other books in the series you may not be as invested in those aspects of the story.
Looking forward to the next in the series.
This is a fun cozy series with great charcters and always a enjoyable well crafted sleuth . This is the third in the "Coffee Lovers Mystery Series." Thank you to the publisher and to Net Galley.
This was a fun who done it because the obnoxious leaf blowing neighbor is the victim. After he has a argument with a friend of our protagnist and coffee shop manager Lana his leaf blower explodes. He had a terrible argument with witnesses by Lana's good friend and co worker Erica. When Gus is killed Erica becomes the prime suspect. Lana and her her boyfriend. police chief Noah Garcia argue over the case and he does not want her involved, Soon suspects abound and Lana is the smart savvy investigator as she closes in on the killer. A fun well crafted mystery. I look forward to the next in series.
Lana Lewis is a former journalist who now runs her familys coffee shop called The Perkatory, which is located on Devil’s Beach island in Florida. Gus, her obnoxious neighbor, insists on using his leaf blower at all hours of the day and night which disturbs the peace for all the neighbors. Erica, Lanas"s friend and barista and temporary roommate gets into a loud argument with Gus. Gus is killed when someone rigs his leaf blower to explode and Erica becomes the prime suspect. Lana decides to use her former investigative skills to try and clear Ericas name, often butting heads with her boyfriend. police chief Noah Garcia, There are plenty of suspects including not only the angry neighbors but also an estranged wife, his new girlfriend. and a few former business associates. I enjoyed this book and it's quirky characters. especially Lana's dad who is a pot smoking old hippie and also the antics of her cute little Shih Tzu. Stanley. This was a cute mystery and a fun quick read. Thank you for the advance copy netgalley!
Lana Lewis and her quirky friends and family are back for another mystery to solve in sunny Florida. When Gus, Lana's annoying neighbor, is murdered by a leaf blower explosion, it becomes clear that Gus has many people who weren't unhappy to see him out of the picture. Problem is it's Lana's boyfriend Noah who is on the case and has to follow where the evidence leads and it leads to Erica, her best friend and barista.
I always enjoy this series! Lana and Noah are getting closer and his suspicion about Erica is hurting their relationship. Lana, never one to sit back and let life happen to her, finds a myriad of suspects. I like her spunk, determination and loyalty to her friend. There are so many twists and turns in this mystery that you won't want to put it down. Lana's dad and his latest "protest" is perfect and the coffee drinks will make you head for the kitchen or local coffee shop!
I'm already looking forward to the Florida sun and mystery in the next book!
I received an ARC from NetGalley and the opinions expressed in this review are my own.
I'm new to A Coffee Lover's Mystery series by Tara Lush. I enjoyed reading this book and its coffee theme. I'm a big fan of cozy mysteries and the variety of themes and topics to choose from. Tara Lush did a great job of bringing the characters and setting to life. I felt as if I was in the world with the characters solving the mystery. It's a nice cozy mystery read for anyone.
My thanks to Crooked Lane and NetGallery for a digital copy of this book for my review!
The third in the Coffee Lover's Mystery series! Lana is dealing with an annoying neighbor. He keeps blowing his leaf blower early on the weekends and it's getting to all his neighbors, especially Lana's best friend and roommate Erica. However, Gus's leaf blowing is put to an end when he is murdered. Lana must investigate to prevent her best friend from being arrested for murder.
Overall, I liked this newest book addition! I will say to be forewarned that if this is your first one in this series, it does give away the whodunit of the other two early on. My only other criticism is the culprit of this one. Without spoiling anything too much, it was a more established character (aka from previous books) that felt like a weird choice. Besides that, another fun mystery!
I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Lana Lewis is the manager of Perkatory, a coffee shop on Devil's Beach. Due to repairs needed for her sailboat which she lives on, Erica, a friend and fellow barista, is currently staying with Lana. Things are going well except for the problem with the neighbor Gus who is disturbing everyone with his constant use of a leaf blower. When he is found murdered, Erica is a suspect due to the loud confrontation she had with Gus prior to his death. As Lana is positive that Erica is innocent, she starts investigating with the help of her Grandfather and Erica. Suspects to be considered are the soon-to-be ex-wife, current girlfriend and business associates. Will Lana manage to stay safe while uncovering the truth?
Thanks to NetGalley for a copy.
Lana and Erica are at it again for another mystery, but this is closer to home when Erica is a suspect. The dynamic of Devils Beach, I would love to live there with all of these little shops. Perkatory sounds like my kinda coffee place. The way they described the victim, a part of me was not upset he was gone. Noah and Lana look like they are going towards a good part in their relationship...I can't wait for another one.
Thank you, NetGalley, Tara Lush and Crooked Lane Books for this advance read.