Murder Made to Order – Rosepoint Publishing

Rosepoint #Reviews – July Recap

Dog Days of Summer

Navy buddies didn’t make it in July–now we are looking forward to their visit in August–ah, the dog days of summer. I must admit, so far NWI has been gorgeous and for July–couldn’t complain. I did spend some time out in the garden where my tomato plants went nuts. Must have been all that good fertilizer the C.E. insisted they needed! I’ve got enough zuccini to feed an army, but it appears the bunnies beat me to the carrots and beets.

July reads

These are all fun and several will be going on my favorites list! Clockwise beginning at one o’clock: The Colonel and the Bee by Patrick Canning Murder Made to Order by Lena Gregory Dirty Who? by Jerry Kennealy S’More Murders by Maya Corrigan A Soufflé of Suspicion by Daryl Wood Gerber Shelved Under Murder by Victoria Gilbert See You Soon, Afton by Brent Jones The Perfect Friend by Barbara Copperthwaite

In July, I reviewed the above eight novels, most of which were for book tours and the C.E. reviewed another four, which if you consider his review of The Invisible Mind entailed his reading #1 and 2 of the series prior to #3-The Invisible Mind, he actually contributed a great deal more (for which I’m extremely grateful!).

The Invisible Mind-Murder by Munchausen #3 by M.T. Bass

Lion on Fire – a #BookReview

The Other Vietnam War by Marc Cullison #BlogTour #BookReview

The Invisible Mind by M. T. Bass #BlogTour #BookReview

#ThrowbackThursday – The Dying Hour by Rick Mofina – a #BookReview

These books covered a wide variety of genres from cozy mysteries to sci-fi and police procedurals and wartime biographies. The books were gleaned from NetGalley and author requests, though having been overwhelmed with author requests have had to become increasingly selective.

So what’s up next? SOOO many, but in August have already reviewed Knot My Sister’s Keeper (a #MustRead)!! First half of August:

Upcoming book reviews for August

Due to publish in September, am looking forward to the new Margaret Mizushima book, Burning Ridge, A Timber Creek K-9 Mystery. (Can’t wait!) I read Hunting Hour last year and loved it. You might wish to check out that book about her K-9 service dog (Robo)–sooo good.

Hope this summer is going well for all of you: Blue Skies, Easy Breezes, Green Gardens, and nothing but GOOD books coming your way!

A big thank to all my new followers and as always so appreciate you who continue to read and comment! Thank you!

Murder Made to Order by Lena Gregory #BlogTour #BookReview #Giveaway

I am super-excited today to provide a review at my blog stop for Murder Made to Order by Lena Gregory on the Great Escapes Virtual Book Tour. Scroll down to enter your chance at the Giveaway!

Book Details

Murder Made to Order (All-Day Breakfast Cafe Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
2nd in Series
Lyrical Underground (June 19, 2018)
Paperback: 196 pages
ISBN-13: 978-1516104666
Digital ASIN: B075WBZH6L

Book Blurb

To save her cozy Florida diner, Gia Morelli must choke down a heaping helping of murder.

New York native Gia Morelli is just getting used to life in Florida when she gets word that the town government wants to shut down her pride and joy: the charming little diner known as the All-Day Breakfast Café. A forgotten zoning regulation means that the café was opened illegally, and hardboiled council president Marcia Steers refuses to budge. Gia is considering hanging up her apron and going back to New York, but before she gives up on her dream, she discovers something shocking in the local swamp: Marcia Steers, dead in the water. There’s a secret buried in the books at town hall, and someone killed to keep it hidden. To save her café and bring a killer to justice, Gia and her friends will have to figure out a killer’s recipe for murder . . .

My Review

Anyone knows a New Yorker can’t make grits like a true Southerner would have their grits. Nevertheless, Gia Morelli is making real progress with her All Day Breakfast Cafe and has a growing number of true and loyal diners. That’s one of the things that makes this second installment of her mystery series so appealing, the support characters.

Unfortunately, her success may have spurred the city council to recall an old zoning regulation and now the local council president is spearheading the drive to shut her down.

Gia has been wrestling with the changes to her life anyway, from the bears and alligators to the bugs and snakes, and she’s been freaking out over the differences the small town of Boggy Creek offers compared to her former NYC life. But then, there was a reason she left the big city behind. Still, she can’t believe she’d be forced to close just when it appears to be taking hold and she’d require some additional help.

Her friend Savannah (perfect name, huh?) is there to interpret everything southern and Gia has managed to make a number of friends along with a possible romantic interest in Tall, Dark, and Compelling. But then as she’s taking Thor, a Bernese Mountain dog who doesn’t walk so much as bound through the tick-infested brush, for a walk she stumbles across Marcia Steers, half in, half-out of the swampy bog and it’s obvious she won’t ever move to try to oust Gia from her restaurant again. She was supposed to have met with Marcia to discuss a private matter. Oh well…

I’ve gotta say, I’ve been plunked into Florida before, and it is definitely an eye-opening experience. I’m not sure why a city girl would choose to live at the edge of bear territory instead of closer to her diner, but she does. And then she takes on a mountain of a puppy, who having walked into the brush would definitely come out with more ticks than Gia, but she does. But who doesn’t love a dog in a cozy mystery and Thor definitely is given some appealing traits. I really enjoyed BFF Savannah as well as Earl, the cafe’s early and first very loyal customer. Reading about him and the characters that comprise her patrons, I’m reminded of a welcome breakfast stop we took when moving to Idaho and overheard the conversation of a group of good ole boys in coveralls at the next table:

“Whar’s Homewood?” “Wahl, it’s out aways.” “How far?” “Wahl, if you get to the river, you’ve gone too far.”

(It still cracks us up.) Well, anyway, the author does a great job fleshing out her characters and you quickly learn to appreciate them all–there is a reason they are in the story.

The protagonist, Gia, follows the breadcrumbs from the murder and thankfully doesn’t sit down with possible suspects and skewer them with questions. She does, however, give us a close-in kitchen account for whipping up breakfasts for groups of eight or more (the last thing I’d ever try), and she seems to have a fine handle on being a short-order cook until she can find one.

This series entry could function as a standalone as details carried forward from the debut answer most questions. Strong character-driven book gives an affectionate look into a small southern town with all the flavors of the season. I might have done without all the short-order lessons, but enjoyed the side-trips into the hinterlands, and the sleuthing is very subtle. Red herrings aside, the conclusion is smooth and not wholly unexpected but was fun to see played out. The plot is well-paced and satisfying and is highly recommended. If you enjoy cozies, you will enjoy this one.

Rosepoint Publishing: Four point Five of Five Stars

Giveaway

You MUST hurry (like today!) to get in on this one (1) chance to win a $25.00 Amazon Gift Card in the Rafflecopter giveaway

About the Author

Lena Gregory - author Lena lives in a small town on the south shore of eastern Long Island with her husband and three children.

When she was growing up, she spent many lazy afternoons on the beach, in the yard, anywhere she could find to curl up with a good book. She loves reading as much now as she did then, but she now enjoys the added pleasure of creating her own stories.