Saturday, August 12, 2023

Review: Murder A La Mode (Coffee & Cream Cafe Mysteries) by Lena Gregory (Blog Tour/Tour-Wide Giveaway)

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Murder A La Mode (Coffee & Cream Cafe Mysteries) by Lena Gregory

About Murder A La Mode

 

Murder A La Mode (Coffee & Cream Cafe Mysteries) 

Cozy Mystery 1st in Series 

Setting - New York 

Gemma Halliday Publishing (August 8, 2023) 

Digital - Number of Pages 230 

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0C2LH144G

From author Lena Gregory comes a delicious new series that will warm your heart and leave you guessing until the very end...

When twenty-five-year-old Danika Delaney, black sheep of the Delaney clan, returns home to Long Island to take over Jimmie's, her eccentric uncle’s old fashioned malt shop on eastern Long Island, she’s not exactly thrilled. But things start to look up when her uncle tells her she can do whatever she’d like with the shop, and it seems she might realize her dream of a small trendy café. That is, until she discovers the body of her ex-boyfriend’s estranged wife in a melted puddle of rocky road in the malt shop basement. With her two sidekicks, her sister and a good childhood friend, in tow, Dani searches for–or stumbles upon—one clue after another. But as she narrows down the suspect list, she realizes if she’s not careful she may end up in a puddle of her own...

 My Review

Danika Delaney returns to her hometown of Watchogue, Long Island to take over her uncle’s ice cream shop.  It’s not what she originally planned to do with her life, but the idea of turning it into a cafe has her excited.  Of course, returning to your old hometown means running into old friends (and a few enemies, too!)  

Her ex-boyfriend is one of the first people she sees.  He is now getting a divorce from one of her former enemies, Heather.  When Dani discovers Heather’s dead body in the basement of the ice cream shop, her life is totally turned upside down.  The police have sealed off her shop and many people close to her are now under suspicion.

Dani can’t sit quietly by and wait for the cops to figure it out.  She decides to do some snooping on her own.  Fortunately, she has a good friend willing to help her out.  

This is the first book in a new cozy mystery series, and I loved it right from the start.  I found the characters interesting and well developed.  Dani is a strong amateur sleuth.  Although she makes your typical amateur sleuth hasty decisions, she has good motivation and intentions.  There’s a possible romantic triangle in Dani’s future but doesn’t take over the book.  The mystery is the main story and should be.  

I devoured this book.  It’s captivating with wonderfully portrayed characters.  I, also, enjoyed that it was set on Long Island where I spent most of my life.  It’s always enjoyable to me to read books set in areas I know.  

Murder A La Mode has everything I look for in a cozy - strong characters, a good storyline, many possible suspects and a surprise ending.  It all worked well for me, and I look forward to the next book in this series.



For reading challenges:

Craving for Cozies Reading Challenge 2023
Cloak & Dagger Reading Challenge 2023


FTC Disclosure: I voluntarily reviewed a free Advance Reader Copy of this book from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review.  All opinions expressed are my own.


About Lena Gregory

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
Purchase Links 



MURDER A LA MODE TOUR PARTICIPANTS 

August 8 – Read Your Writes Book Reviews – CHARACTER INTERVIEW 
August 8 – Sapphyria's Book Reviews – REVIEW 
August 9 – Literary Gold – AUTHOR INTERVIEW 
August 9 – #BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee – SPOTLIGHT 
August 10 – Hearts & Scribbles – SPOTLIGHT 
August 10 – Baroness Book Trove – REVIEW 
August 10 – MJB Reviewers – REVIEW, INDIVIDUAL GIVEAWAY 
August 11 – Ruff Drafts – AUTHOR GUEST POST 
August 11 – Christa Reads and Writes – SPOTLIGHT 
August 12 – Elizabeth McKenna - Author – SPOTLIGHT 
August 12 – Socrates Book Reviews – REVIEW 
August 13 – Cozy Up With Kathy - REVIEW, AUTHOR INTERVIEW 
August 13 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT 
August 14 – Celticlady's Reviews – SPOTLIGHT 
August 15 – The Mystery Section – SPOTLIGHT
August 15 – Christy's Cozy Corners – REVIEW 
August 16 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW 
August 16 – Jane Reads – CHARACTER GUEST POST 
August 17 – Ascroft, eh? – AUTHOR GUEST POST 
August 17 – Mochas, Mysteries and Meows – CHARACTER GUEST POST 
August 18 – Guatemala Paula Loves to Read – REVIEW
August 18 – Brooke Blogs – REVIEW, INDIVIDUAL GIVEAWAY 
August 19 – Reading Is My SuperPower – REVIEW 
August 20 – Maureen's Musings – SPOTLIGHT 
August 21 – StoreyBook Reviews – REVIEW
August 21 – My Reading Journeys – SPOTLIGHT 

Tour-Wide Giveaway

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10 comments:

  1. messymimiAugust 12, 2023 at 7:55 PM

    I do love an old-time malt shop, it sounds like the perfect setting for a mystery.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Lena GregoryAugust 13, 2023 at 10:53 AM

    Thank you so much for such a wonderful review! I'm so happy you enjoyed Murder a la Mode! And thank you for sharing my release! BTW, where on Long Island are you from?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. YvonneAugust 13, 2023 at 11:15 AM

      I lived in Shirley which is near Port Jefferson. Way out east :)

      Delete
    2. Lena GregoryAugust 13, 2023 at 1:00 PM

      I lived most of my life in East Moriches, about ten minutes easy of Shirley!!

      Delete
    3. Lena GregoryAugust 13, 2023 at 1:01 PM

      I lived most of my life in East Moriches, about ten minutes east of Shirley. :) Small world!

      Delete
    4. YvonneAugust 13, 2023 at 1:01 PM

      Oh wow, that is very close to Shirley.

      Delete
  3. sherry fundinAugust 14, 2023 at 1:16 PM

    Wow, five stars for a cozy. It must be good. Lena's name is familiar to me, but I'm not sure if I've read any of her work. It looks scrumptious.
    sherry @ fundinmental

    ReplyDelete
  4. Katherine PAugust 14, 2023 at 6:19 PM

    I have really enjoyed everything I've read by Lena Gregory! I'm adding this to my TBR.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Mark BakerAugust 16, 2023 at 12:13 AM

    Sounds like a great book.

    ReplyDelete

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