Sarah Can't Stop Reading

Welcome to my stop on the Great Escapes Virtual Book Tour for Battered and Buried (An All-Day Breakfast Cafe Mystery) by Lena Gregory! Today we are featuring a review of book seven, the newest in this cozy mystery series. Stop by each blog on the tour for interviews, guest posts, spotlights, reviews, and more! It’s a great way to add books to your TBR! There is also a Rafflecopter Giveaway for a $25 Amazon Gift Card!

Battered and Buried (An All-Day Breakfast Cafe Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
7th in Series
Setting – Florida
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Beyond the Page (March 19, 2024)
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 188 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1960511580
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1960511584
Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0CW18PPSQ

The best-laid plans may go awry, but the best-laid clues could frame a man for murder . . .

Never one to let a day off work go to waste, café owner Gia Morelli and a friend head out for a blissful kayaking trip through the local national forest. But the peacefulness of the day is soon shattered when they come across Cole, her head cook, standing over a dead body. Worse still, the victim was a lifelong enemy of Cole’s, and clues found on the body point to the cook as the culprit. When the police take Cole in and subject him to an intense grilling, Gia vows to do everything she can to prove his innocence.

As even more incriminating evidence surfaces—including when the murder weapon itself is found hidden at the café—Gia knows she’s up against someone brutal enough to kill and devious enough to frame Cole for the deed. With the police ready to make an official arrest and wrap up what they consider an open-and-shut case, Gia turns for help to an old friend who’s not above breaking the law himself. Because if she can’t find the killer, Cole may go from serving up hot dishes to serving a life sentence . . .

So many things to enjoy in  Lena Gregory’s newest installment to her All-Day Breakfast Cafe cozy mystery series: Battered and Buried! First I do want to pause and say a big thank you to the author for including the character list at the start of the story. Can we get more of this in books?! So helpful as it had been a bit since I had dipped into this series. 

Readers are not long into the story, when the mystery begins, and with Gia’s cook Cole as the main suspect for the awful business man Rusty, Gia is on full-powered sleuth mode, even forgoing sleep to find the true killer. Her determination is contagious, and I found myself quickly turning the pages as Gia and Savannah worked together.  Lena also does a great job interspersing humor with the journey to solve the mystery. 

I certainly had my suspicions of the true culprit, but couldn’t figure out why. No spoilers here, but that ending was super intense and brought great resolution to the story. 

Aside from the mystery, what I loved most is the theme of found family throughout. Found family stories are my most favorite to read and when I read one I am so happy. Gia’s friends in this small town, far from her life in New York, have truly become her family. It is clear they all care deeply about each other and that’s such a lovely thing to read. 

Lena grew up in a small town on the south shore of eastern Long Island, but she recently traded in cold, damp, gray winters for the warmth and sunshine of central Florida, where she now lives with her husband, three kids, son-in-law, and four dogs. Her hobbies include spending time with family, reading, and walking. Her love for writing developed when her youngest son was born and didn’t sleep through the night. She works full-time as a writer and a freelance editor and is a member of Sisters in Crime.

Author Links:

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Purchase Links:

 Amazon – B&N – Kobo – Bookshop.org

TOUR PARTICIPANTS:

• March 19 – Mystery, Thrillers, and Suspense – SPOTLIGHT
• March 19 – Literary Gold – SPOTLIGHT
• March 20 – Reading Is My SuperPower – REVIEW
• March 20 – Socrates Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
• March 21 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – REVIEW, AUTHOR GUEST POST, INDIVIDUAL GIVEAWAY
• March 21 – MJB Reviewers – REVIEW
• March 22 – Guatemala Paula Loves to Read – SPOTLIGHT
• March 22 – Reading, Writing & Stitch-Metic – AUTHOR GUEST POST, INDIVIDUAL GIVEAWAY
• March 23 – Jane Reads – CHARACTER GUEST POST  
• March 24 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
• March 25 – Read Your Writes Book Reviews – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
• March 26 – Ascroft, eh? – CHARACTER INTERVIEW
• March 26 – Sarah Can’t Stop Reading – REVIEW  
• March 27 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW, INDIVIDUAL GIVEAWAY
• March 27 – Angel’s Book Nook – SPOTLIGHT
• March 28 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – REVIEW
• March 29 – View from the Birdhouse – REVIEW
• March 29 – Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW, CHARACTER GUEST POST
• March 30 – #BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee – SPOTLIGHT
• March 31 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT
• March 31 – Teatime and Books – SPOTLIGHT

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