Grounds for Murder

by Tara Lush

Overview

Barista Lana Lewis's sleuthing may land her in a latte trouble as Tara Lush launches her new Coffee Shop mysteries.

When Lana Lewis' best -- and most difficult -- employee abruptly quits and goes to work for the competition just days before the Sunshine State Barista Championship, her café's chances of winning the contest are creamed. In front of a gossipy crowd in the small Florida town of Devil's Beach, Lana's normally calm demeanor heats to a boil when she runs into the arrogant java slinger. Of course, Fabrizio "Fab" Bellucci has a slick explanation for jumping ship. But when he's found dead the next morning under a palm tree in the alley behind Lana's café, she becomes the prime suspect.

Even the island's handsome police chief isn't quite certain of her innocence. But Lana isn't the only one in town who was angry with Fabrizio. Jilted lovers, a shrimp boat captain, and a surfer with ties to the mob are all suspects as trouble brews on the beach.

With her stoned, hippie dad, a Shih Tzu named Stanley, and a new, curious barista sporting a punk rock aesthetic at her side, Lana's prepared to turn up the heat to catch the real killer. After all, she is a former award-winning reporter. As scandal hangs over her beachside café, can Lana clear her name and win the championship -- or will she come to a bitter end?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781643856193
Publisher:	CROOKED LANE BOOKS
Publication date:	12/08/2020
Series:	A Coffee Lover's Mystery , #1
Sold by:	Penguin Random House Publisher Services
Format:	eBook
Pages:	304
Sales rank:	214,976
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Tara Lush is a Florida-based novelist and journalist. She's an RWA Rita finalist, an Amtrak writing fellow and the winner of the George C. Polk award for environmental journalism. For the past decade, she's been a reporter with The Associated Press, covering crime, alligators, natural disasters and politics. She also writes contemporary romance set in tropical locations. Tara is a fan of vintage pulp fiction book covers, Sinatra-era jazz, 1980s fashion, tropical chill, kombucha, gin, tonic, seashells, true crime podcasts, Art Deco, telenovelas, street art, coconut anything, strong coffee and newspapers. She lives on the Gulf coast with her husband and two dogs.

Editorial Reviews

10/19/2020

In Lush’s diverting debut, Lana Lewis comes home to the island of Devil’s Beach, Fla., to run Perkatory, her family’s café, and recover after losing her reporter’s job in Miami and divorcing her philandering husband. Among her problems are the upcoming Sunshine State Barista Championship, where she will have to display top-notch barista skills even though she’s a beginner, as well as her employee and championship partner, Fabrizio “Fab” Bellucci, who’s dating Lana’s high school nemesis, Paige Dotson, and is linked to other jealous women. After Fab decamps for the café owned by Paige’s father, Lana’s heated confrontation with him makes her the leading murder suspect to the locals when his body turns up outside Perkatory. Lana thinks the police’s theory of suicide is unfounded and uses her reporter’s skills to uncover Fab’s kinky sexual escapades and involvement with shady characters in potentially illegal activities. Lana’s voyage of self-discovery, along with her new agey father, quirky hire Erica, and feisty puppy Stanley, portend future fun for readers. Agent: Amanda Leuck, Spencerhill Assoc. (Dec.)

Publishers Weekly

Praise for Grounds for Murder:
“Lana’s voyage of self-discovery, along with her new agey father, quirky hire Erica, and feisty puppy Stanley, portend future fun for readers.”
—Publishers Weekly

“A good read for a chilly weekend indoors.” 
—New York Journal of Books

“A treat for all the senses...All's well that ends well, leaving a faithful audience of Coffee Mystery fans awaiting the next installment title with great anticipation.”
—Midwest Book Review

"Grounds for Murder is a must for every cozy mystery fan to have on their shelves...a charming and addicting blend of humor and mystery."
—Seattle Book Review
 
"Tara Lush has created a main character who is smart, clever, and determined...and the mystery is well-plotted and engaging." —MyShelf

“Lush manages to braid the Florida-osity of things into a solid murder mystery...A compelling read.”
—The Gabber

“A solid start to a new series.”
—Red Carpet Crash

“Grounds for Murder was a delightful whodunit and has set this series off to a grand start.”
—Escape with Dollycas

“The setting is written so well.”
—Cozy Mystery Book Review

“A wonderful series debut that is a silky-smooth blend of humor, mystery and romance with a feisty heroine and a delicious island setting.”
—Peg Cochran, USA Today bestselling author

"It doesn't matter if you like your coffee hot or cold, you'll love Grounds for Murder. Tara Lush brings the quirky town of Devil's Beach to life. You can almost smell the coffee and feel the heat. A sure winner!"
—Joyce Tremel, author of the Brewing Trouble mysteries

"A most delightful addition to your cozy mystery library."
—Harper Kincaid, author of To Kill a Mocking Girl 

“Tara Lush brews a fun Florida mystery, topped with a sweet frothy romance. Enjoy this blend of sunshine and quirky characters.”
—Elaine Viets, award-winning author of the Dead-End Job mysteries

From the Publisher

2020-09-16
A journalist divorced by her philandering husband and laid off from a Miami newspaper settles in Devil’s Beach to manage her father’s coffee shop and finds murder, romance, and some outstanding lattes.

There’s no reason why Lana Lewis shouldn’t offer Erica Penmark a job as barista at Perkatory. But Fabrizio Bellucci, the barista who’s talked Lana into entering the first annual Sunshine State Barista Championships with him and is helping her perfect her decorative lattes, takes umbrage at the competition and quits without telling Lana. The next time she sees him, he’s serving coffee at the Island Brewnette, a rival establishment owned by his girlfriend Paige’s father, Mickey Dotson, where Lana tells him off but good. The time after that, he’s a dead body in the alley behind the apartment he rented from Lana’s father. Clearly he took a header from the roof onto which he’d enticed so many ladies charmed by his abs and his Italian accent. But did he fall, or was he pushed? Police chief Noah Garcia, who Lana wishes would take her to some nice roof even though he doesn’t drink coffee, won’t say whether he thinks Fab was murdered, let alone whether Lana gave him a shove. So Lana, ignoring his polite request to butt out, volunteers to do a feature story for her old editor on Fab that will justify her poking around, chatting up suspects like reputed mob foot soldier Lex Bradstreet, and turning up clues like pictures of an unknown woman in bondage in Fab’s place. At length she confronts the killer and narrowly escapes death just in time for the Barista Championships. You’ll never guess who wins.

A debut that ticks off so many boxes of the shopkeeper cozy that the lack of recipes is truly remarkable.

Kirkus Reviews