From the very beginning I was completely engaged in this perfect cozy mystery. There was a tautness to the story that kept me on edge and not wanting to put it down. The characters were well written and likeable, and the betrayal was totally believable in today's climate. I was delighted to know that there is more coming. I can't wait.

This is one of my favorite covers of the year. It’s why I asked for this book. I looked for the cover designer, to give credit, but couldn’t find it. Whoever you are, Amazing Cover Designer, you nailed this one beautifully!

I loved this book! The story starts right up on page one, with Gia meeting her friend and former roommate, Savannah, at the cafe Gia has just purchased. The two were roommates in NYC for years as Savannah tried to establish a dancing career and Gia worked at a deli. They are very close, and that bond shows in ways big and small throughout the story.

Gia’s life unraveled rapidly when her husband was convicted of fraud. She was harassed and threatened throughout her husband’s trial, and comes to the small Florida town of Boggy Creek to open a cafe and get a fresh start. As you can tell from the blurb, that didn’t work out so well. Her ex-husband was murdered and left in the dumpster behind her cafe. If could have gotten ugly fast if not for her friendship with Savannah and Savannah’s cousin, Detective Hunter Quinn. Hunt, as he is known locally, is a kind of scary badass...until he smiles. He’s also relentless in finding the murderer of Gia’s ex-husband and the person starting to leave threats against Gia.

On top of all that, Gia has purchased a small house in a fairly remote area, and is afraid of virtually everything that scurries in the dark. Savannah wants her to get a dog for company and protection, and eventually takes her to possibly the best rescue facility I’ve ever read about. She finally settles on a Bernese Mountain Dog puppy. I would love to tell you his name, but that would be a spoiler. Needless to say, first time dog owner Gia fell in love with this sweet puppy right away. So did I!

I have given much more information than I normally would, and still there are no spoilers. All,of the things I have mentioned happen very early in the story. The most important thing I want you to know is that this book is suitable for most age groups...teens to your grandparents. It’s a murder mystery, but there are no grisly details. There is a possible love interest, but no sex scenes. The most important thing, though, is how much I enjoyed this book, and how I’m looking forward to the next book in the series, Murder Made To Order. So, grab a chair at The All-Day Breakfast Cafe and...

Enjoy!

2shay

She left New York to get away from the stares and the shame of being married to man who conned people out of their money. They even had her in court trying to prove she was an accomplice. She didn't know a thing about it. Neither did she know he was having affairs the whole time he was married to her. She's going to run a diner that serves breakfast all day and get her feet back on the ground. That sounds good, she has a great friend for support, and the grand opening does well. Then she finds a body in her dumpster. She thinks it might have been the homeless man she met but it turns out to be her ex-husband...

Lyrical Underground and Net Galley allowed me to read this book for review (thank you). It will be published January 23rd.

Gia is a suspect, of course. She had no idea he was in town but he ate at her restaurant. She's not lying but they don't know that.

She's trying to track down the killer and not having much luck. Then a woman comes in and threatens her. She tells Gia she's got important information that she wants. Again, Gia is clueless. This is lot like the games a cat and mouse play. Unfortunately, Gia is the mouse in this instance.

The killer is much closer than she thinks and she's in danger. There's a dramatic finale. Gia finds herself thinking she might have found a new home and a new potential love, too. I like these kind of endings.

A cozy mystery with enough twists and turns to keep the reader involved.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Kensington Books for giving me the chance to read and review this book.
This is a first instalment in a new series and it is a good book. Well written, good plot, interesting mystery and a charming cast of characters.
I surely recommend it.

The first book in a new series and a new author for me. The writing flows easily and the editing of the book is excellent. This makes it easy to read. The MC, Gia Morelli come off as an unstable person afraid of her shadow. It is hard to understand how a person who plans and opens a restaurant could be afraid of all insect life. No wonder her ex-husband was able to take advantage of her. The author should learn more about dogs and other animals before incorporating them in her books. The mystery was not much but the romance was.
Gia flees to Florida after her husband is convicted of fraud. The first day her breakfast cafe is open she finds her ex-husband dead and stuff into the trash receptacle behind her shop. Gia is the center of the action as both the authorities and the crooks tried to find out what her ex-husband was doing. Both believe that Gia has knowledgeable of the scam and where the money is located.

Disclosure: I received a free copy from Kennington Books through NetGalley for an honest review. I would like to thank them for this opportunity to read and review this book. The opinions expressed are my own.

Charming characters, a potential romance and watching a big city girl face the wilds of a remote Florida community, with wildlife, made for comic relief vs. terrorizing fear. I am already looking forward to the next book in this series.

Gia Morelli has escaped the NYC scandal her now ex husband created. Opening up All Day Breakfast Cafe in Boggy Creek Florida with the help of her friend Savannah Quinn is as far away from her old life as she can get.
Savannah's cousin Det. Hunter (Hunt) Quinn is willing to be there for Gia when murder and mayhem follow her.

Scone Cold Killer is the first book in Lena Gregory’s All-Day Breakfast Café Mystery series. This is a well-written and steadily paced cozy mystery, with well-developed and likeable characters and a touch of romance. This book sends a strong message regarding the importance of true friendship. The unpredictable story line, along with lots of twists and turns, kept me guessing until the reveal.

New York native Gia Morelli has gone through a divorce and learned that her ex-husband, Bradley Remington, not only cheated on her, but also swindled his investment clients. Now she’s moved to the small, artsy, tourist town of Boggy Creek, which is just south of Central Florida’s Ocala National Forest to be near her best friend and open the All-Day Breakfast Café. One of her employees, Willow, is a young woman with a nose ring and an eager smile, and the other, Maybelle, is a middle-aged woman who claimed to be an experienced cook. Gia’s nervous about her opening day, but other than discovering her cook is lazy and probably won’t work out, things go well until she’s closing up and taking the trash to the dumpster. The first thing Gia notices is an awful stench and then she sees an arm sticking out of the dumpster. At first, she believes the arm belongs to Harley, a local homeless man, but when he didn’t respond to her, she stepped closer and recognized the manicured fingernails and run as belonging to Bradley. Detective Hunter Quinn, Savannah’s handsome and competent cousin, is assigned to the investigation and promises to help her if she’ll just trust him. When Gia starts getting threats to hand over something she is in the dark about, and because of her experiences with the police, Gia doesn’t trust them to do their jobs properly and feels she must investigate on her own prove her innocence and save her café.

I received an Advance Reader Copy of this book from NetGalley and voluntarily reviewed it.

First thing I want to say I think I found this book more entertaining as a Floridan. I've been to Ocala and know what kind of animals we have: alligators, bears, snakes, and the good ole love bugs was mentioned. And Yes, we do wear a jacket if it's under 70%. There seems to be a lot of bad guys in this book. A series of unfortunate events make up this cozy mystery. It was well written and a great start to the series. I look forward to the next book.

Scone Cold Killer is the debut of the All-Day Breakfast Café Mystery series set in the artsy town of Boggy Creek, Florida. Gia Morelli has fled New York to escape the shame brought on by her scam artist ex husband who'd managed to swindle millions from unsuspecting people including their friends.

With the help of her best friend Savannah, Gia has purchased a small café on Main Street, bought herself a cute little house on the outskirts of town and is ready to start over. Her grand opening day doesn't go as planned - nobody told her that grits were a staple of Florida breakfasts and it seemed as though every customer wanted them, the woman she'd hired to cook in the kitchen turned out to be useless and when hauling the trash out back to the dumpster she finds Bradley dangling out of it dead.

The police have every reason to suspect Gia and she gets the feeling that even though he's Savannah's cousin, the hunky Detective Hunter Quinn would like to pin Bradley's murder on her. She's tempted to run back to New York but Gia decides to stick it out and with the help of Savannah, Hunt and her new Bernese Mountain Dog puppy, Thor sets out to find Bradley's killer.

A fun new series with a quirky cast of characters, a fast paced storyline, a touch of romance and an adorable puppy.

I received an advanced copy of Scone Cold Killer from NetGalley via Lyrical Press, a division of Kensington Publishing. While not required to write a review I am more than happy to offer my honest opinion.

Scone Cold Killer
Lena Gregory

Gia just wants to leave the pressure and fear of her husbands criminal activities behind her. So she moves to a small town in FL at her best friends urging. A new start with a new business. The "All-Day Breakfast Cafe" would be opening the next day.
The opening was a success, sort of, she ended up doing most of the cooking. Her "cook" had never worked in a Cafe before. However the worst was yet to come. When she went to take the trash out to the dumpster there was a body in it.
There is a great cast of characters. The stranger from NYC who might be the killer. The hunk cop,Hunt, who keeps showing up when she has a problem. Her friend, Savanna, who believes she could never hurt anyone.
There are some others but I don't want to spoil the plot.

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. It has all the things that a good murder mystery needs, with just a pinch of romance sprinkled on top.
You should give it a try.

I received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. So glad I did.

I love "crazy Florida", especially in mysteries and thrillers. My shelves are filled with John McDonald, Elmore Leonard, Robert Lane, and other writers who use the normal craziness of Florida as a backdrop for crime. I do not normally read cozy mysteries, but decided to ask for Scone Cold Murder because the publisher's blurb suggested that Ms Gregory would be able to pull off a successful fusion.

Well, she didn't.

The protagonist complains about the heat. She finds one spider. She sees two bears. She sees one snake. Sounds like summer anywhere in the USA. The only other "Florida" component of the book is grits, which Ms Gregory seems never to have seen in New York City.

Even if we don't look for authentic Florida, Scone Cold Murder is rather lame overall. Boggy Creek is supposed to be a bustling "arts" town but we don't meet any artists or any bustle at all. There are loose ends all over the place, not the least of which is how the villains ever met, given that they are from entirely different backgrounds. It's hard to go into detail without revealing too much, but people touch each other too much and too early in their relationships. Professionals don't act like professionals. There is too much time spent setting up for later books.

The puppy is ok though.

I received a review copy of "Scone Cold Killer" by Lena Gregory (Lyrical Underground) through NetGalley.com.

This would be a great book except why would you have a character who is smart enought to start a business act so stupid no to interview a new hire? And not call the police when threatened?

I had one major problem with this book...i couldn't put it down..i really tried. I would put it down..shut the light and then had to get back up to read another chapter...finally i gave up and stayed up all night to finish it.
It absolutely kept my interest with great characters and a great story line.
Thank you for allowing me to read it!!!!!

Absolutely loved this book. Can't wait for the next in series. Gia has left New York and all the drama created by her ex husband when he was convicted in a swindling and fraud scheme. Moving to the small town where her college roommate, Savannah, lives, she's starting over with a new home, a new fur baby, and a new business, The All Day Breakfast Cafe. Then the unthinkable happens, she finds a body in the dumpster behind her cafe, and it's her ex. Savor and enjoy the events that follow in this exciting new series, you won't be sorry. Thanks NetGalley and publisher for the advance copy, it's a winner.

Kindle Copy for Review

I received a free, advance copy of this book and this is my unbiased and voluntary review.

Gia Morelli finds herself in Florida opening an all day breakfast café when her marriage falls apart. Moving from New York after her husband swindling millions rom others to start fresh with her best friend in a small town.

But before she could get use to the snakes, spiders and other creatures that she dislike, her e husband is found dead in her dumpster near the café. Gia must prove her innocence as she is prime suspect. Who really killed and why did they do it?

An engrossing read that will keep you guessing.

A good start for this series, the "creepy crawlies" just about did me in though and the story really made me crave breakfast foods! Plenty of twist and turns to keep it interesting. It'll be interesting to see how the series develops.

An excellent start to the series. The introduction of the characters was complete and detailed enough to give you a good background. The story flowed and had enough twists and turns to keep it interesting. I won't post a spoiler but the ending was a total surprise.
Very good read.

Great cozy mystery! I love the idea of an "All Day Breakfast Cafe" and I'm not ashamed to admit that every meal I ate while reading this book was breakfasty!

There is only one thing about this book - when it ends and you have to wait months for the next installment!

When Gia Morelli’s marriage falls apart after her husband is found guilty of cheating his clients out of a boatload of cash (while cheating in his marriage, as well) she moves to Florida to be near her best friend, Savannah and open the All-Day Breakfast Café. Gia has some concerns after opening day, but they are nothing compared to the concerns she has after she finds her ex dead in a dumpster in back of the café. Savannah’s (ruggedly handsome, of course) cousin, Hunt, is on the police force and takes the lead on the case. He promises to help her, but when Gia stats getting threats to hand over what she doesn’t have, she feels the need to investigate herself.

This is the first in the All-Day Breakfast Café mystery series by Lena Gregory. Well-written, humorous, and full of likable characters, it is a true cozy in every sense of the word. The second book in the series, Murder Made to Order, isn’t available until June of 2018, so read slow so you can savor it since it will be a while before we get another installment.