Book Review: Live and Let Grind by Tara Lush

A Coffee Lover´s Mystery Book 3

Devil’s Beach is percolating with a hot murder case, and reporter-turned-barista Lana Lewis could be the next to get beaned in Tara Lush’s third Coffee Lover’s mystery, perfect for fans of Cleo Coyle and Lucy Burdette.

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?

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My Review:

Because I enjoy consuming coffee it’s fun to sometimes read about it. However, I’m not an aficionado, so I appreciated that this book toned down the technicalities we’d encountered earlier in the series. This was a lot of fun. I give the author huge credit for the novelty of ‘death by leaf blower’. It certainly sounded like something that was perfectly up Lana’s alley to dig into. I feel like Lana is starting to grow a little; she didn’t take quite as many reckless chances as we’d seen in previous books. Though, that’s not saying that she actually played it safe in really any way at all. I had my suspicions the whole way throughout the book as to who the villain would be, but I was never all the way certain until the big reveal. One thing I know I can count on with this series is that it will provide me with a lot of entertainment. And I’m already curious to see what the future is going to bring for Lana and Chief Noah.

Other books in the series

Give Me Chills (A Coffee Lover's Mystery Prequel)

Grounds for Murder (A Coffee Lover's Mystery Book 1)

Cold Brew Corpse (A Coffee Lover's Mystery Book 2)