Grounds for Murder has me ready to reach for a piping hot cup of coffee, which is high praise considering I neither drink nor like it.

In author Tara Lush’s debut cozy mystery, former reporter and current coffee café owner Lana Lewis has worked hard to be in top shape for the Sunshine State Barista Championship. However, when her employee and teammate, Fab, quits at the last minute, Lana has some choice (and very public) words for him. So when Fab is then found dead in the alley near her shop shortly after, her outburst lands her somewhere near the top of potential suspects.

It’s a classic case of the main sleuth having to clear her name, even though the police pull away from that line of thinking fairly quickly. Instead of relying on Lana’s possible guilt, Lush finds tension by exploring the chemistry between Lana and the sheriff performing the official investigation. As their platonic relationship grows and the sheriff considers potential theories, so do their obvious feelings. Many cozies have their heroines fall for law enforcement officials, but this is one of the few times I can see sleuthing creating a wedge between them in future installments. Lana is complex and naturally inquisitive and being turned away from a case, even by a well-meaning person she cares for, won’t work. It’s a compelling roadblock with potential ramifications for later in the series.

As to the mystery itself, it’s coated in coffee. Sometimes in cozies, the hook can take a backseat to the action, but Lush makes them work in tandem. The sleuth is a barista. The victim is a barista. He’s a murdered outside a coffee shop. All the secondary characters are either drinking coffee or waiting on their next cup. And Lana knows the best way to get someone to spill the beans is with the bribe of a hot drink. Lush has created the perfect backdrop for starting an investigation.

Even so, Grounds for Murder is strongest outside the café, where Lana’s background in reporting takes over as she hunts for the killer. She has a knack for reading people, and the Sunshine States setting provides plenty of unique characters who could only be found there. From a pot-loving dad to an alligator poacher and a mermaid tail crafter, Lana tosses hardly a second glance at the off-kilter world she’s thrust into outside her shop, resulting in some genuinely funny encounters.

With fun characters, an interesting mystery, and plenty of romantic tension, Tara Lush has brewed up the perfect start to a series.

There are several cozies that revolve around a bakery/coffee shop but Tara makes this one unique. Her use of addicting descriptions took me not only into the scene but I was smelling and tasting along with her wonderful cast of characters. The setting was fresh, unique and made me feel like I was on a wonderful Florida vacation.

This was a great beachy cozy mystery that was perfect for reading on the beach. I am a coffee lover, and this book may have increased my coffee intake with all the wonderful coffee descriptions. The characters were quirky and fun, and I can't wait until the next book in the series comes out.

Grounds for Murder is the first entry in a series that now comprises three titles. Here readers are introduced to Florida, cafe owner Lana Lewis. She has taken over her mother’s business. Lana’s best barista, Fabrizio leaves right before a big competition, the Sunshine State Barista Championship. When he meets a bad end, the story is set up. There are loads of suspects as Fabrizio managed to antagonize or disappoint many.

Here, readers will find a Florida setting, some quirky characters, said murder and, of course, a good looking detective. While readers know that all will work out, there being other entries in the series, it is fun to watch Lana as she makes her way through the case.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for this title. All opinions are my own.

This theme has been done before, yet this new series managed to set itself apart. I think it was the characters. I found this to be a light and fun read. Furthermore, I did guess the killer before the reveal though, but still enjoyed the book.

After being let go as a journalist in Miami and discovering her husband has traded her in for a younger version , Lana Lewis moves home to Devil’s Beach to run her moms coffee shop. Her “Fab” barista, that’s really his name, quits on her with no notice and she finds his dead body the next day. Lana is sure he didn’t commit suicide, with a trail of women behind him and perhaps their vengeful spouses there are a “latte”suspects to choose from. Lana puts her investigative reporter skills to use and under the guise of writing a feature for the local paper on Fab tries to discover who murdered him.

Journalist Lana Lewis is laid off by her Miami newspaper, and moves back to her hometown in the Florida Keys to run her family’s coffee shop, Perkatory. The shop was her late mother’s dream, and Lana wants to do everything she can to keep it thriving. When her popular barista, Fabrizio, is found dead outside the coffee shop, Lana is a suspect. Without Fab, business at Perkatory slows down, so Lana turns to her journalism skills to clear her own name and save her business.

Grounds for Murder is the first book in Tara Lush’s Coffee Lover’s Mystery series, and it’s a really fun read. The only real complaint I have is that there weren’t recipes at the end, like there are with nearly all of the other cozy mysteries I’ve read. With some of the treats mentioned in the book sounding quite tasty, it just would have been a nice inclusion. The characters are wonderful, and the mystery will really keep you guessing. Lush’s descriptions of the setting are also fantastic. It makes you feel like you’re in the warm, sunny Florida Keys right alongside Lana. Which right now, with the cold Illinois not-quite-winter weather, would be a welcome change! My recommendation would be to read this all cozied up with your favorite blanket and your warm beverage of choice!

Grounds for Murder and Cold Brew Corpse by Tara Lush are the first and second book respectively in the cozy A Coffee Lover’s Mystery series. As with most cozy mysteries each book in this series has it’s own mystery that will be fully solved so they can be read as a standalone or in any order if choosing to do so. There will be character development that carries over from book to book though for those that follow the series from the beginning.

Lana Lewis has returned to Devil’s Beach, Florida and started a new career after leaving her journalist job. Lana is now in charge of her family’s coffee shop, Perkatory, which is a whole new world for Lana. In the first book of the series, Grounds for Murder, Lana is just about to enter the Sunshine State Barista Championship when her best employee quits on her. When Fabrizio “Fab” Bellucci is found murdered right after leaving Perkatory of course Lana ends up a suspect and needs to do everything to clear her name.

Cold Brew Corpse finds Lana back in action at Perkatory when the neighboring business owner is found murdered. With things heating up at the Dante’s Inferno yoga studio next door Lana finds herself balancing her coffee shop and also taking a job part time for the local newspaper covering the murder. Lana discovers that the owner of Dante’s Inferno has more than her share of enemies so even after her initial story is turned in Lana can’t help but keep rooting out new suspects in hopes of finding her second murderer.

When I first spotted the A Coffee Lover’s Mystery series I was torn on whether to give this one a try or not. First I love beachy settings and with this one being in Florida I was drawn to the covers and wanted to dive right in. However, I’m not a coffee lover so this one seemed like I may not be the reader since sometimes cozies can dive really deep into their themes but thankfully this one wasn’t too overpowering to be a turn off for me. When finished with the first book I had it at three and a half stars enjoying the characters, setting and mystery enough to want to return. Now having read the second I am enjoying the series even more as it really showed the main characters journalistic side. There’s also a budding romance with the detective involved and I like when the law enforcement side is involved and not made out to be useless. So now after two books of this series I definitely call myself a fan and will return for more in the future.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

A really fun and action packed new cozy mystery series by one of my favorite authors. Lana is great. She's a series of contradictions. I look forward to seeing her regain her mojo as the books progress. I loved Noah. He's not what I expected at all. Erica and Peter are fun and I can see them getting into trouble together. The mystery is full of twists and the wrap up was a bit of a surprise.

I appreciate the publisher allowing me to read this book.. This was a good quick !mystery I was able to finish in one day

This is the first in the Coffee Shop Mysteries, and a really great read.

Lana Lewis had a great life in New York..... until her boyfriend cheated on her and she lost her job. She decides to move back to her roots in the small Florida town of Devil's Beach. Eventually she takes over her family's beachside café. She and her employee, Fab are preparing for the Sunshine State Barista Championship when Fab suddenly quits without notice and is murdered a day later. Now Lana is short one employee, one partner for the competition and is one of the many suspects in Fab's murder.

Good characters and a good storyline make this a series I intend to follow.

Lana Lewis returned home to Devil's Beach, Florida from Miami after her marriage crumbled and she was laid off from her job at a top newspaper. Now she's running the coffee house her late mother started, and trying to do her best, especially when her barista, Fab, talks her into entering the state barista contest. Lana also hires a new barista, a strange woman named Erica who seems to have everything together -- including her ability to create great coffee art. But Fab isn't happy, and he lets Lana know about it.

The next day, Fab doesn't show up for work. When the local police chief, Noah Garcia, tells Lana he saw him working at a rival coffee house, she confronts Fab in front of a crowd. But then she leaves for Miami for an awards ceremony, hoping it will calm her down. When she returns the next morning she parks her car in her lot, only to find Fab's body. Shaken, she calls Noah and when the examination is completed, everyone thinks it was suicide. But Lana isn't sure. She doesn't believe that someone with a larger-than-life personality like Fab would kill himself. With the help of Erica and Lana's hippie father, she's going to find a murderer...hopefully, the killer doesn't want to kill again, with her as the next target...

This is the first book in the series, and I really thought it started slow, so it took awhile to gain and hold my attention. But I stuck with it (I hate to not finish books) and I was pleased by the end. We have Lana, who's despondent over losing her job and depressed over her marriage ending, and she's sworn off older men like her husband. But Chief Noah is interesting to her, and she to him. So maybe she's rethinking that while trying not to.

She's also trying to run her business but isn't sure about her frothing skills. Fab was her key to getting everything right, and now he's gone. And with everyone shouting suicide except her -- and his distraught girlfriend Paige who tells people Lana killed him -- she has her own self-interest in finding the truth. She's also inherited his puppy Stanley, and the little guy is starting to grow on her.

I do like Lana, Noah, Erica, and most of the other characters although the jury is still out on her father. I'm not truly fond of a middle-aged man who's living like a hippie, but that's my own opinion (probably brought on because I had an awesome Dad myself, whom I bonded with and spent time with every day until I lost him. Still miss him; he was a rock to me).

The mystery is well-written and the main characters are given time to develop, which I do like. Their personalities fit their actions well, and that's part of the charm of a good book to read. This one was easy enough to read in one sitting, and became more intriguing as the story went on. There were plenty of suspects, a ton of red herrings; but I will say that I knew who the killer was the minute they stepped onto the page; and only because I read so many mysteries did I figure it out early. The clues are there, but you have to look for them.

In the end, when all was revealed and the killer discovered, everything came together nicely. We do learn a little bit about what may happen in the next book, and that's a good thing. The book was indeed satisfying to read, and I look forward to the next in the series. Recommended.

Lana Lewis is sure her coffee shop will win the Sunshine State Barista Competition but when her best employee jumps ship to the competition her anger boils over in front of a crowd.
When this employee is found dead the next day under a palm tree in the alley behind her cafe things start to heat up in this Florida town when she is the main suspect.
Even the police are unsure of her innocence but when it turns out there are a lot of suspects from jilted lovers to a shrimp boat captain will this take some of the heat off of her?
Will she be able to clear her name and win the competition or will she be just plain steamed?
Great cast of characters kept me on my toes guessing who the suspects were. Looking forward to more books by this author.

Pub Date 08 Dec 2020
I was given a complimentary copy of this book. Thank you.
All opinions expressed are my own.

This is one of those cozy mysteries that has a heavier than usual dose of romance, or at least, romantic by play. It stays clean except for mentioning bondage and a few other more adventurous sexual topics than typical for a cozy. The more adventurous mentions stop fairly quickly.

The author captures the setting well and I liked most of the characters. I would have liked a little more background for some of the secondary characters, but this is book 1. Lana reads a little young for someone who is almost 30 and talks as if she'd been married for a long time.

The mystery was satisfying for me. I looked forward to book 2, Cold Brew Corpse, which I started right after I finished this one.

I received my copy of Grounds for Murder from Netgally in exchange for my honest review.

To me, a good book is one that I finish and immediately wonder when the next book in the series will be out. This amazing series debut definitely hits that criteria! First of all, as a self-admitted coffee junkie, a series set in a coffee shop always catches my eye. Second, it's set in a location where I desperately hope to find myself in a few years (retirement please get here soon!). Yes, many aspects meet the standard cozy mystery checklist (Divorced protagonist starting over, check. Said protagonist falling for police officer/chief, check. People thinking protagonist committed the murder, check. etc.), however, the characters are fun and the story is told well. The mystery kept me guessing and going back and forth...in fact, almost all the way up until the reveal, I honestly kept thinking that there was a good possibility that the murderer was someone I really liked and definitely didn't want to see in trouble.
I will be waiting for book 2 anxiously!

Grounds for Murder is the first in the series in A Coffee Lovers Mystery by Tara Lush is about Lana Lewis returning home to a small Florida town of Devil's Beach after losing her journalist job and her marriage ends. Lana takes over her deceased mother's coffee shop, Perkatory with her two baristas Fab and Barbara. Fab the womanizer ups and quits without notice to go to work for Lana's competition and Lana has words with him before leaving for Miami for journalism event.

Upon returning to coffee shop the next morning Lana finds Fab dead. Chief Noah Garcia believes that Fab's death should be ruled as a suicide from a fall from the rooftop of Perkatory but Lana believes that is murder and starts investigating. With the help of Erica the new barista, her stoned dad, and Stanley, Fab's Shih Tzu Lana starts to investigate. Did Fab really kill himself? If not, who killed him and why?

Tara Lush is new author to me and I really enjoyed this different type of Cozy Mystery. I can't wait for the next book.

This was an interesting start to a new series. Lana and the other residents of Devil's Beach are definitely eccentric characters. Lana runs a coffee house started by her now deceased mother. Her co-worker Fab is an Instagram star and draws plenty of customers to the shop. When he defects to the rival coffee shop, Lana confronts him in a very public tirade. When he dies mysteriously, she is obviously the top suspect. This is a nice, light read, and I am interested to read the second book.

Sometimes with a brand new cozy series (and with a debut author, no less), it can take a minute to get into it. But with Grounds for Murder I was hooked from the very beginning! Devil's Beach, Florida, was a wonderful place to take a virtual vacation (especially since I read it during an insane snowstorm here in Texas!). Lana is an awesome heroine. I loved her investigative reporter background, giving her reasonable cause and expertise to launch her own investigation into the mysterious death of her barista - and local island playboy - Fabrizio. Lana's family's coffee shop, Perkatory, that was started by her mother, who has since passed away, is a wonderful setting. I could totally envision myself having a tea (sorry, but I don't actually like coffee!) and one of Lana's tasty treats there.

The side characters were equally compelling and entertaining: Lana's hippie, yoga-loving, pot-smoking (for medicinal purposes, of course!) dad; mysterious and quirky island newcomer/Lana's newest barista Erica; and of course hunky Police Chief Noah. Oh and I can't forget about Stanley, the adorable Shih Tzu Lana rescues after Fab's death!

Lana does a great job of clearing her name as she investigates Fab's death, encountering some zany characters along the way. Strong writing, a great sense of place, and wonderfully original characters make this a delightful start to a new series! I loved it!

Grounds for Murder (A Coffee Lover’s Mystery #1). By Tara Lush. 2020. Crooked Lane Books (ARC eBook).

Coffee shop manager, Lana Lewis, has just lost her most popular barista at Perkatory to the competition right before a big barista competition. But then the barista, Fabrizio “Fab” Bellucci, ends up dead right outside of Perkatory and her and Fab’s apartments. As a former reporter Lana begins her own investigation into his death in order to get the heat off herself.

There are a lot of colorful characters and a handsome police chief in Devil’s Beach that either help or hinder Lana’s investigation. Overall Grounds for Murder is an entertaining read and builds the world up enough to easily imagine Lana stumbling across another story to report on.

This is the first book in a new series and it's definitely enjoyable. I love coffee, so Perkatory, the name of the coffee shop grabbed my attention right away. The setting of the book is great, the beach and coffee? Perfect! A downfall for me was the number of characters in the book, it was a lot to keep track of. Another downfall was I found Lana not completely enjoyable. On the other hand, if found her pot smoking dad to be the most interesting character in the book. It's only book one so I'll wait for book two and see how I like Lana then.