Bea Reviews Scone Cold Killer by Lena Gregory

Series: All-Day Breakfast Cafe #1
Publisher: Lyrical Underground 
Release Date: January 23rd, 2018 
Source: the publisher in exchange for a review
Buying Links: Amazon* | Book Depository* | iBooks* | Barnes and Noble  | Kensington | Kobo  * associate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.
Blurb from goodreads:

For Florida diner owner Gia Morelli, there’s no such thing as too much breakfast—unless it kills you . . .

When Gia Morelli’s marriage falls apart, she knows it’s time to get out of New York. Her husband was a scam artist who swindled half the millionaires in town, and she doesn’t want to be there when they decide to take revenge. On the spur of the moment, she follows her best friend to a small town in Central Florida, where she braves snakes, bears, and giant spiders to open a cheery little diner called the All-Day Breakfast Café. Owning a restaurant has been her lifelong dream, but it turns into a nightmare the morning she opens her dumpster and finds her ex-husband crammed inside. As the suspect du jour, Gia will have to scramble fast to prove her innocence before a killer orders another cup of murder .

My Thoughts:

Yesterday, I shared a mini interview with Gia Morelli, the main character in this book. Hop on over to check it out and to enter a giveaway for a Kindle copy of Scone Cold Killer.

I enjoyed this book very much and am looking forward to the next one. "Scone Cold Killer" is both a mystery, and the story of a woman rediscovering herself after a rough divorce. She's left her life in New York City and moved to a small town in Florida. She has a lot of adjusting to do and I cracked up so many at her thoughts about and encounters with local wildlife. She is not a fan of spiders, lol. Or bears. Or alligators. Gia is feeling raw and insecure after the end of her marriage and her self-esteem is in the pits. She constantly questions herself, and after her ex-husband's dead body is found in her cafe's dumpster, she decides about a half dozen that she should give up and go back but each time she decides to stay. It helps that her best friend lives in town, and that friend's brother is romantically interested in Gia.

Gregory did a good job not only in writing the mystery, with red herrings and lots of shenanigans, including a couple of stupid moves on Gia part, but also showing us Gia's pain, her insecurities, and her growth. Starting a business is nerve-wracking at the best of times but add in moving to a new location, one very different from your old location and life, and Gia was dealing with a lot even before her ex's murder and the suspicion that she killed him. Gregory kept me entertained, kept me reading, and kept me guessing. There were a couple of characters who it seemed clear weren't what they appeared, and while I was right about that, I was wrong about who they really were. I was saddened to find out the truth about one as I really liked that character and had hoped their story line might go in a different direction.

"Scone Cold Killer" was a light, fast, entertaining read and a strong start to a new series.

Favorite quote:

"All right. Calm down." Leo lifted his hands as if in surrender, but the look of sheer panic in his eyes gave him away. He'd obviously never dealt with a hysterical woman before. "Calm down? Calm down? Seriously? That's the best you can do?" He'd also never read the top ten list of things never to say to a hysterical woman.