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Thank you Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books for an advance copy of Live and Let Grind by Tara Rush.
Laid-off journalist Lana Lewis is thriving as the proprietor of Perkatory, a coffee shop on quirky Devil’s Beach island, Florida. She’s juggling a relationship with police chief Noah Garcia, enjoying the company of her best friend, Erica, and relishing the companionship of her golden Shih Tzu, Stanley. Only problem is her neighbor, Gus, who incessantly uses his leaf blower, disturbing everyone in the neighborhood. Lana has learned to tune it out, but Erica’s rage boils over and she confronts Gus.
Then Gus is found dead, killed when his leaf blower explodes. Erica immediately becomes suspect number one. But there are plenty of other candidates as well: Gus’s soon-to-be ex-wife, Honey Bailey, who thinks she’ll be written out of his will; Mickey Dotson and Doug Beck, who were scalded financially after purchasing a pirate-themed tourist cruise business from Gus; and plenty of angry neighbors who’ve had run-ins with him.
As the clock ticks down will Lana get someone to spill the beans on the killer so she can clear her friend’s name, or will Erica go to jail for a crime she didn’t commit?
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.
Have you read Live and Let Grind or another Coffee Lover’s Mystery series? If it sounds like something you would enjoy, Live and Let Grind is due to be published October 11, 2022.
The Spinny Bookworm Mama 