Wir sind in auf Devil’s Beach Island in Florida. Lana Lewis, ehemalige Crime-Reporterin aus Miami, ist wieder auf die Insel ihrer Kindheit zurückgekehrt und hat den Coffeeshop ihrer Eltern übernommen; Perkatory, hier gibt’s den besten Kaffee mit den coolsten Baristas der Insel. In Lanas Leben läuft gerade alles ziemlich gut und nach Plan: sie ist verliebt in Noah Garcia, dem Polizeichef des Ortes, befreundet mit Erica, die mit ihr im Perkatory arbeitet, und sie hat ein freundschaftliches Verhältnis mit ihrem Vater, einem Ex-Hippieh. Es könnte alles entspannt und schön sein, wäre da nicht Nachbar Gus, ein etwas exzentrischer Typ, der regelmässig die halbe Nachbarschaft mit seinem Laubbläser terrorisiert….und der eines Tages tot aufgefunden wird. Besagter Laubbläser ist explodiert und Gus hat das Zeitliche gesegnet. Als ausgerechnet Erica unter Mordverdacht steht, erwacht in Lana das alte Reportergespür wieder, und sie macht sich gemeinsam mit ihrem Dad und Erica auf, den wahren Täter aufzuspüren. Ihr Freund Noah findet das erwartungsgemäss nicht wirklich gut, dass seine Freundin sich in polizeiliche Ermittlungen einmischt, muss aber zugeben, dass Lana oft den richtigen Riecher hat…..
Mit „Live and Let Grind“ hat Tara Lush nun schon den dritten Band mit Lana geschrieben, für mich war das jetzt der erste Fall, und man kann ihn auch völlig unabhängig von den Vorgängerbänden lesen. Hin und wieder wird mal Bezug auf die ersten Morde genommen (in Devil’s Beach ist schon ein Barista aus dem Perkatory ermordet worden, ebenso wie eine Yogalehrerin aus dem Studio nebenan – es lebt sich dort gefährlich 😉!), aber alle Infos hierzu bekommt man dann auch gleich geliefert; also kein Problem. Ich habe jetzt aber Lust bekommen, die ersten beiden Fälle auch noch zu lesen 😉.
Die Autorin ordnet ihre Krimis ein unter „cozy crime“. Wikipedia sagt hierzu: „Der Cosy-Krimi besitzt eine dichte Atmosphäre und Lokalkolorit. Die Spannung eines Cosy-Krimis besteht weniger aus aktionreichen Szenen, als vielmehr aus den auszulotenden Tiefen der handelnden Figuren.“ ; und ja, hier haben wir viel Lokalkolorit: genauso stelle ich mir eine Insel in Florida vor. Eine sonnige Kleinstadt; im Winter mit weniger Touristen, jeder kennt jeden; coole und hippe locations, Fun und Sport am Strand und – in diesem Band zumindest: im Roller Skate Rink. Ich hatte beim Lesen Urlaubsfeeling, und mir sind die Figuren ans Herz gewachsen. Lana und Erica: best friends, die gemeinsam durch dick und dünn gehen; Dad Lewis, der gerne Weed raucht, für die Rechte der wilden Affen protestiert und sich dafür auch gerne mal festnehmen lässt, Honey, die Rollerskating-Queen und junge (und nicht wirklich trauernde!) Witwe des Mordopfers – ich mochte sie alle!
A propos Action: die gab es hier auch, deshalb finde ich dieses „cozy crime“ nicht ganz so cozy wie angekündigt, aber ich muss sagen, gerade das hat mit gefallen. Es gab hier durchaus ein paar wilde Verfolgungsjagten, es war definitiv nicht alles cozy – aber ich fand die Mischung genau richtig.
Ich fasse zusammen: ein gut geplotteter Fall, wie gesagt durchaus auch mit Spannung und Action, nur teilweise cozy, super sympathische Hauptdarsteller, und mit Witz erzählt. Ich war bestens unterhalten.
….und ich rezensiere dieses englischsprachige Buch auf deutsch; zum einen, da es mir definitiv leichter fällt, und zum anderen hoffe ich, auch deutsche Leser zu inspirieren: lest das Buch! Es ist auch für Nicht-Muttersprachler gut zu lesen, sehr flüssig geschrieben, liest sich richtig gut weg. Und wer in Devil’s Beach dabei sein will, muss zwangsweise zum Original greifen; da die ersten beiden Bände (noch ?) nicht auf deutsch erschienen sind, wird es sicher sehr lange dauern, bis dieser hier übersetzt wird……ich könnte mir aber sehr gut vorstellen, dass auch viele Leser hierzulande begeistert sein werden!
Danke an Netgalley für die Bereitstellung des Vorab-Leseexemplares!

I really enjoyed this third installment of the coffee house book from Devil's Beach. I think the character of Tara is really becoming more developed and she is more likeable now. The other people in the book are interesting and add a lot to the book. The relationship between Tara and her boyfriend is amusing now. There are a lot of suspects for the murder of the Gus who can't seem to stop using his leaf blower which would drive me crazy. He also seems to be a bad businessman creating disharmony that way. This will keep you guessing til the end. So it was a great read and I look forward to the next one.

When murder hits close to home, Lana finds herself sleuthing to find out who killed her annoying next door neighbor. She knows it wasn’t Erica, but with her being the prime suspect, she has to do what she can to save her friend. But will this be the one that ends up burning Lana’s beans?

A great series set in South Florida that will keep you guessing whodunit and changing your mind as new clues and red herrings are introduced.

Coffee shop proprietor Lana Lewis is caught in her third murder in nine months on Florida's Devil's Beach Island near Tampa. This time it is her new and annoying next-door neighbor Gus who dies by exploding leaf blower. True to character, Lana puts on her reporter and sleuthing hat and pals with Erica, barista extraordinaire, to investigate the murder, much to the exasperation of Lana's lover, Noah Garcia, Devil's Beach police chief. Lana's hippy-dippy father, Peter, and her dog, Stanley, add to the fun story that shows the mysterious side of the Sunshine State where many people go to escape from their pasts and reinvent themselves. A new touch are neighbors, Jeri and her wife, Perry, who host a local true crime podcast. This is the third book in the Coffee Lover's Mystery series.

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, Crooked Lane Books and by #NetGalley. Opinions expressed are completely my own.


The third in an established cozy mystery series. It can stand alone, I throughly enjoy the previous titles too.

ARC Kindle Copy from Review from Net Galley and Crooked Lane Books.

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

Lana finds herself trying to clear her friend and coworker name who is prime suspect in the death of a annoying neighbor. She was seen arguing with the deceased before his demise. The suspects could be anyone in the neighborhood who did not appreciate his leaf blowing at odd hours.

A delightful read with a good cup of java to savour.

As a former Floridian, I love the ambiance of the Coffee Lover's mysteries. I could feel the sand underfoot and the sun overhead and remember when temperatures in the sixties were "cold" when I read the latest "Live and Let Grind". Lana butts heads with her hunky boyfriend when he goes behind her back and asks the local newspaper editor to not encourage her to report on the death of her neighbor. Of course, Lana dives deep into the investigation since the primary suspect is her best barista, Erica, and her investigation ranges from her rival's coffee shop to a tourist pirate-themed harbor cruise.

Great fun to read and a great companion to other Florida-based cozies by Sherry Harris and Lucy Burdette.

Thanks to Crooked Lane Books for access to a digital ARC on NetGalley.

former-journalist, island-life, Florida, law-enforcement, family, family-dynamics, small-business, small-town, cozy-mystery, barista, murder, murder-investigation, situational-humor, verbal-humor, relationships, pets, roller-skating, secrets*****

Lana is a former crime writer in Miami and returned to her hometown after she divorced the scum as the owner/operator of the coffee shop. The romantic interest is the local police chief. She didn't find the body this time nor is she at the top of the suspect list, but her bestie is. The dead guy is the obnoxious neighbor, and both bestie and Lana's dad had a row with him before his leaf blower exploded. Lots of interesting characters, plot twists, red herrings, and laughs. Loved it!
I requested and received a free e-book from Crooked Lane Books via NetGalley. Thank you!

I love this series! I was originally drawn in by the series name - Coffee Lovers Mysteries- but stayed because the story/characters are relatable (well minus being involved in a murder) plus I would love to hang out at Perkatory and get that orange blossom cold brew that Erica and Lana came up with for the drink of the month.

Lana was a journalist in Miami before she got laid off and returned home to run her parents coffee shop, Perkatory. It's who she is and her trying to get the story is causing problems with her police chief boyfriend, Noah. This time though, her best friend Erica is a suspect and they both decide to do some sleuthing together to find the real killer.

Grab some coffee and get to know Devil Hills. You won't be disappointed.

3.5 stars

Lana runs Pekatory, her family’s coffee shop ☕️ on the island of Devil’s Beach, Florida. Last year, she was laid off from her dream job as a journalist in Miami. Occasionally she does freelance articles for the Devil’s Beach *Beacon*.

She runs her shop with her best friend Erica, who’s also a coffee afociando.

She’s been dating Noah Garcia—the police chief of Devil’s Beach—for almost five months. After being divorced for two years now she is in no rush to get into anything serious.

Lana’s new neighbor Gus Bailey who moved a few months ago has a leaf blower that he uses to disturb his neighbors. According to Lana’s father, Gus has been married for three years to a younger woman he met online while he was still in Fort Lauderdale.

Her dad is quite the quirky one: he’s into all kinds of new-age stuff such as Reiki, yoga, chakras you name it. He even has an Instagram account, where he posts pictures of Lana’s dog 🐶 Stanley, and sometimes checks out Gus’s wife Honey's account.
According to him, Honey roller skates 🛼 as a full-time job and has a million followers and sponsorships.

Irritated by the racket Erica storms off to Gus’s to warn him to put off his blower. An argument ensues between them whereupon Erica threatens to file a complaint with city hall against him.

Soon after Gus turns up dead in his own house. It appears his leaf blower was tampered with so it exploded and killed him. Who would want to have him killed and why?

Thank you to Tara Lush, NetGalley, and Crooked Lane Books for the arc of this book

Thank you Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books for an advance copy of Live and Let Grind by Tara Rush.

This is the third book in the Coffee Lover’s Mystery series and my first time reading the series. While I have not read other books in the series, I found this to be a fun quick cozy mystery and did not feel like I needed to read the previous books since the mystery was contained to this one. Live and Let Grind had all the hallmarks of a great cozy mystery. I enjoyed the book from start to finish but felt the wrap up was a little quick.

Lana Lewis was the perfect amateur sleuth. With her journalist background she knew how to ask the right questions to help solve the murder. I enjoyed her character and liked seeing a fun side of her as well.

The supporting characters were all had distinct personalities and I really enjoyed Lana’s dad. He is a free loving hippie that just wants to enjoy life and help his daughter. The other supporting characters were very enjoyable. However, I did not like Lana’s relationship with Noah. I felt like he was controlling in the book (I won’t go into spoilers on what he did). Lana and Noah’s relationship felt stunted as well. The way Lana acted you would have thought she was a young girl not a thirty-one year who had been married before. With that said, Lana and Noah’s relationship was not the main point of the book, and it did not make me decide to read other books in the series. In fact, I plan to go back and read books one and two.

Overall, Live and Let Grind (by the way I love the title and it’s play on the James Bond movie) is a good cozy mystery. There were many suspects and I loved how Lana and her friends went to eliminate each one. I figured out the murderer about halfway through the book, but I typically do that in cozy mysteries.

I thoroughly enjoyed the last two books when I read it. And I find myself enjoying this installment more. It was a bit predictable at times but I still liked following the characters and watching the story unfold.

I enjoyed this book. The characters are great and the story is interesting. It’s a fast read. I was surprised by who the killer is. #LiveandLetGrind #NetGalley

Thank you NetGalley, Tara Lush and Crooked Lane Book for the ARC of Live and Let Grind.
This is the third book in the Coffee Lover´s Mystery Series. This was a great addition to this series.
Lana is back and she is living the life she loves. She is the proud of the coffee shop Perkatory which belongs to her on Devil’s Beach island in Florida. She has a great coffee shop and wonderful friends plus a fabulous boyfriend Noah who happens to be the chief of police! Her best friend Erica works with her at the coffee shop. Her father is quite the character and adds to the story as well as her dog Stanley.
Everything is going good for everyone until the death of her neighbor Gus happens. He dies in a very mysterious way with a mishap centering on his leaf blower. The death of Gus points fingers at Erica and Lana is positive Erica is innocent.
The story revolves around this death, but soon other odd things happens and this set things in motion for Lana and Erica to find out the truth.
Pick up a copy and find out why things happen and who the culprit really is and why!
#NetGalley #LiveandLetGrind #TaraLush

I read (and enjoyed) the first two books in this series, which is why I picked this one up. However, upon starting, I realized that I didn’t remember anything about the first two books, other than the clever name Perkatory, and some Florida vibes. But Lush did a great job of reminding me of who the characters were and the salient points from previous books without hitting me with a “previously on” exposition dump. Also, like Lana, I had forgotten that I loved skating growing up and decided to give it a try as an exercise that I wouldn’t hate. I did guess the culprit fairly early on but without the how or why, so it was still interesting to watch it unfold.

Live and Let Grind is the newest addition to this cozy mystery series.
Lana is managing Perkatory, the family coffee shop, with the help of her talented barista and friend, Erica.
Lana's neighbor has a habit of running his leaf blower whenever he has opportunity, which is becoming a problem in the neighborhood.
A loud confrontation between Erica and the neighbor escalates to threats, and when his corpse is discovered, Erica is the prime suspect.
I had a lot of fun reading this book, the characters are well done and the mystery was intriguing, but not obvious at first.

This is a great coffee inspired cozy mystery which I will happily recommend to other readers.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for selecting me to read an advanced copy of this book.

#LiveandLetGrind #NetGalley