"A Bean to Die For" takes you on a quirky adventure in Devil's Island, where Lana, a former crime reporter, stumbles upon a murder in the community garden. The setting is charmingly odd, with hippy mecca vibes and a latte art machine. Lana's attempt to solve the murder is hindered by her impending meeting with her boyfriend's family. The characters, including Lana's tech-savvy hippy father and her sleuth-loving friend Erica, add humor and depth to the story. The plot is intriguing, with Lana navigating through a murder mystery and family dynamics. The book offers refreshing twists, a dose of humor, and a cast of likable characters. It's a fun, enjoyable read that keeps you guessing until the end.

The community garden was flourishing in Devil's Beach, and Lana's dad, co-owner of Perkatory, a highly popular cafe, took Lana there to look at a plot for growing coffee. Finding the body of Jack Daggett among the garden's growth was a shock to Lana, but knowing it wasn't a natural death made it much worse. Darla, owner of the garden, was on the top of the suspect's list, and she asked Lana and her barista and best friend Erica, to help prove her innocence. But Noah, chief of police and Lana's boyfriend, wasn't keen to have Lana investigating - she'd put herself in danger in previous cases.

But Lana investigated - she couldn't help it - and discovering that Jack had plenty of enemies didn't help. Then Darla died and Lana and Noah knew they had to find the killer/s before someone else met the same fate. With a family dinner coming closer, Lana was becoming stressed. What would be the outcome in this twisty case?

A Bean to Die For is the 4th in A Coffee Lover's Mystery series by Tara Lush and I quite enjoyed it. A little silly at times, nonetheless, it was entertaining and fun. I love Stanley, Lana's little dog who is extremely cute!! And I'm looking forward to the next in the series. Recommended.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my digital ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.

I gave A Bean to Die For by Tara Lush 4 stars

Lana Lewis is brewing up new concoctions at Perkatory, a popular café in Devil’s Beach, when she decides she wants to try her hand at growing her own coffee. She secures a gardening plot in the community garden, thanks to her father and the garden’s owner, Darla. Darla’s list of rules is long, but that doesn’t stop someone from leaving Jack Daggett’s body amongst the gardening plots.

Jack, an environmental activist, had been banned from the garden previously, because of his many fights with Darla about organic produce. Lana promises her boyfriend, police chief Noah, that she’s going to stay out of this case, having been too involved in previous cases. But when she learns that Jack died from an accidental overdose, and Darla is the top suspect because of her shady past, Lana can't help but poke around in an attempt to clear Darla's name.

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The fourth installment in A Coffee Lover's Mystery series. I really enjoyed this book and thought it was better than the previous ones in the series. Great and interesting mystery and fun characters. I especially like Lana's father, who is such a quirky and fun character for being a cozy.

If there was something I was missing in this book, I must say the ending was a bit too short and also not very exciting. I like when the sleuth has to fight her way out and figure out whodunit. Now there was no real takedown, and we also figured out who was the culprit before we met the person.

Still, it was a great book and I laughed out loud a couple of times.

This book come out Jan 9.

Thank you NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

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While I don't enjoy reading the heroine in this series, I still enjoy reading the mysteries in each book.

Culinary Cozy Mystery following a Florida reporter-turned-barista who uses her sleuthing skills when a contentious environmental activist's found dead in a community garden.

5/5 stars: This is the fourth entry in Lush's Coffee Lover's Mystery series, which is a Culinary Cozy Mystery that takes place in Florida and features a former investigative reporter who now runs and works in her family's coffee shop. With plenty of twists and turns, Lush has crafted a mystery that deftly balances the suspects, clues and red herrings and will leave you pondering the whodunit until the final reveal. Lush's character work is excellent, creating complex yet incredibly likable characters. It's a joy to catch up with Lana and the rest of the eclectic folks of Devil’s Beach and Perkatory. I especially get a kick out of her activist, pot smoking dad, Peter. It's also great to see Lana's relationship with her police chief boyfriend, Noah continue to grow. And of course I can't forget the adorable fluff-ball that is Lana's Shih Tzu, Stanley. While you could read this as a stand-alone, you'll gain so much more by reading the series from the beginning; so be sure to pick up book one, Grounds for Murder.

I received this eARC thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books in exchange for an honest review. Publishing dates are subject to change.

I keep trying to like cozy mysteries but they just aren't my jam. Nothing against the author or plot. Just wasn't for me. Rating 3.

Darla, who runs the community garden, and Jack might have clashed over her rules and organic gardening but she didn't kill him. Someone did though and Lana is determined to find out who it was. Her romantic interest Noah, the police chief, knows she's going to snoop but the bigger issue for that relationship is that she's about to meet his family. Lana and her pal Erica work their way through the suspects in classic cozy fashion even as they also keep the family coffee business Perkatory going. I like this series for the people (I'm a big fan of Lana's father Peter) and the setting. Thanks to Netgallet for the ARC. A quick entertaining read-and each installment is fine as a standalone.

Lana Lewis is back with an idea to make her coffee shop even more appealing than it already is by growing her own coffee beans in a community garden. The problem is that a former member of the garden is found dead by her plot... When asked to investigate, by a suspect in the murder, Lana's
former career as an investigative reporter kicks in and she's on the case!

This book and series has it all - a coffee shop you'd love to go to,in a gorgeous beach town, a mystery with twists and turns, relatable characters, humor and dash of romance. I enjoy the interaction between Lana and her quirky but lovable Dad, Erica her best friend and Noah her police officer boyfriend,
For a fun read that will keep you guessing, I recommend this book!

I received an ARC from NetGalley and the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Fun Coffee Shop cozy
Lana runs Perkatory with her dad on Devil's Island. He's heavily involved in the politics of the island scene, and her main focus is her shop, her pup and Noah, her police chief boyfriend.
When Lana and her dad find a body in the community garden, they team up to help Noah get to the bottom of it … and then there's another body. Lots of family, friend, pet interaction and twists and turns. Very enjoyable read.
I requested and received a NetGalley arc to peruse gratis and offer my opinion in the same.

Through NetGalley, I received a free copy of A BEAN TO DIE FOR (Book 4 of the Coffee Lover’s mysteries) by Tara Lush in exchange for an honest review. Lana Lewis has marked her life through cups of coffee. Lana is now a part owner of a popular café and coffee shop in Devil’s Beach. Lana decides to make an attempt at growing her own coffee on a community garden plot. However, it looks like more plotting than planting is going on because someone was using an environmental activist for fertilizer. When the prime suspect is also murdered, Lana and the police have to explore alternative theories of the case.

I like this book. I haven’t read the prior three books, but I had no problem connecting with the characters or following the storyline. I recommend this book to fans of cozy murder mysteries featuring coffee and quirky family members.

#ABeantoDieFor #NetGalley

I love this series so much! Every character is quirky, including Stanley the dog, but they all fit so perfectly well with each other. Every time I read a book in this series, I wish I lived in a small town just like Devil’s Beach….maybe just one with less murder. In this installment, Lana stumbles upon a dead body and her natural instinct to take investigate takes over again. With her best friend Erica and dad Peter helping her, Lana works through the details and shares them with her perfect boyfriend, Police Chief Noah. There is a big development at the end of the book and I’m excited to see how that evolves the series in future books.

Thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the arc.

This was a super fun, cozy read with the perfect amount of mystery. Loved the fact that these characters all live within a small island, it makes it more interesting to see all the character dynamics. I am also now very jealous that I don't live there too!

This book exceeded my expectations in the best ways possible! I was a bit skeptical when I realized this was the 4th book in a series and was afraid that I wouldn't connect with the characters since I hadn't read the previous books. But that wasn't the case at all! All the previous books were seamlessly introduced in this one without it being an information dump. The story flowed amazingly without making me feel like I needed to refer to the other books to make sense of it. The setting, the description, and the quirky characters were all done extremely well as is the case in all of Tara Lush's books. And the mystery couldn't have been better. It's one of the few books that kept me up until midnight just to see how all of the ends tied up together. So far, it's the best cozy mystery I have read and I would definitely check out the other books in the series.

Do you know what a mushroom log is? You will after reading this book. It's actually rather intriguing, gotta admit, as was the latte art machine. Being a former Floridian, I thoroughly enjoyed the setting, happy that I didn't live in quite as quaint and quirky and area. In this case, Lana is living the good life on Devil's Island, It seems to be a cross between a mecca for hippy types and those wanting to start a new life. The gardens overseen by the community seem to bring them together although it isn't always in peace. Even worse, Lana stumbles across a body in the community garden. Her coffee related plans will have to wait.

Who killed cranky Jack Daggett? Unfortunately for Lana, she has no time to play sleuth. Boyfriend Noah's mother and sister are due to arrive in a few days and Lana desperately wants to make a great impression on them. So why can't she even seem to find the time to go shopping for dinner ingredients? Why are community residents arguing over....monkeys? Will Lana be able to withstand the pleading of suspect Darla to help her clear her name? Even with the help of her best friend and barista Erica, she's definitely feeling stressed. Her forever hippy father isn't exactly helpful. Amazingly enough, her boyfriend, Police Chief Noah, ultimately doesn't even try to stop her sleuthing behind his back. He simply asks her to do it safely, it via online and such, not in-person snooping, er, questioning. That's rather a pleasant twist of the ol' trope of the romantic partner being strongly discouraging. I do give kudos to Lana for not being TSTL, ie too stupid to live, too. I liked that her character didn't go rushing blindly into danger as many cozy mystery amateur sleuths do. In other words, this book offers up some refreshing twists in addition to an intriguing plot full of quirky characters.

Even better, I thoroughly enjoyed meeting these characters again (having read the previous book). Lana is a former crime reporter, so delving into crimes isn't exactly new to her. She'd hoped to have left all that behind her when she left Miami but, well, life (or death?) happens. Erica is a hoot. She seems far more into the sleuthing than Lana, to be honest, but isn't exactly subtle in her questioning. Read the room, Erica! And don't make Erica mad, either. Lana's father Peter, the once-and-forever hippy, is an odd mix of ol' hippy and techno pop, oddly enough. Ol' timer with a modern twist. He definitely enjoys the sleuthing. And, Noah? Well, he sounds like a saint. A good looking saint with patience to spare. So, why is Lana so anxious about meeting his mother and sister? They're....oh, enough teasers. Their meeting is....no, no, no more hints. Let's just say there is a lot going on when they meet.

It's a fun read, full of likable, interesting characters, soft/sly humor that will make you smile, a cute dog, and a setting with some bizarre critters and townspeople Thanks #NetGalley and #CrookedLaneBooks for inviting me down to spend some time in Florida. It's always an adventure.

What can I say I enjoyed reading this because of the humour,and mystery and the characters themselves, will be looking forward to reading more of this series.

Such and easy and quick read for me and I do enjoy that just as much as I enjoy a longer and more intense read. Having only read one other in this series I now might have to go find the others just to se how it all started.

There is humour, murder and mystery and of course the main character Lana Lewis trying to work out what went down and who dunnit. A bit of fun, quite entertaining and a very easy and enjoyable read. 3 1/2 stars from me for this one.

Thank you NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

Another win for this series!! Lana once again finds a body. This time it’s in the community garden. Because a friend is a suspect and asks her to investigate she does. What I love is that while she’s investigating a murder, she was also planning a dinner to meet Noah’s mom and sister. Such a cute series and a little romance added in!!

With A Bean To Die For, Tara Lush continues the Coffee Lovers Mystery series with another well-written, intriguing whodunnit.
The book is infused with a gentle humour that balances off against the tension of the murder mystery as the main character Lana Lewis strives and fails to keep our of the drama this time around. Despite her better judgement, she finds herself investigating another murder while trying to keep up with her responsibilities as co-owner of her coffee shop and the upcoming visit from her boyfriend's family.
While a tad bit on the drawn-out side, the mystery is complex with a number of suspects, and keeps you turning the pages. The characters continue to develop and grow, and the continuing plot line advances in a satisfying manner.
I was fortunate to receive an ARC of #ABeantoDieFor from #NetGalley.

“A Bean to Die For” is the first book that I’ve read in Tara Lush’s A Coffee Lover's Mystery cozy mystery series but it won’t be the last. I thoroughly enjoyed everything about this book from the setting – Perkatory, a café in Florida with a strong focus on coffee – to the characters, main character Lana Lewis, a reporter-turned-barista who hasn’t quite left the investigative part of being a reporter behind and helps her Chief Police boyfriend Noah solve mysteries (and he actually listens to her!), her slightly off the wall friend and fellow barista Erica, her hippie father Peter, and her dog Stanley. At first I was a bit afraid that this would be overdone – especially her perpetually stoned father – but to my nice surprise it wasn’t and I liked all the characters. There is a nice sense of humor throughout the book – not laugh out loud funny but the type of humor that made me smile while reading the book. The mystery is well done with just the right amount of suspects – I like trying to figure out who the killer was but didn’t really have enough clues in this book to do so – however, I still enjoyed reading it.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley.

It is always a fun time at Perkatory in Devil's Beach! Lana and the team are the best!!

I received a complimentary copy of the book from Crooked Lane Books through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.