by: Lena Gregory
Series: All-Day Breakfast Café Mystery
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Release Date: April 27, 2021
Publisher: Kensington ~ Lyrical Press
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Ex-New Yorker and local diner owner Gia Morelli is still getting used to the sweltering Florida sun. But this summer she'll have to deal with a more dangerous kind of heat--when she's hot on the trail of another murderer ...
Summer in Boggy Creek has arrived, and Gia's best friend, successful real estate agent Savannah, is getting hitched. Now she's enlisted Gia's sleuthing talents in a desperate search for the perfect wedding dress. But when Savannah mysteriously vanishes after showing a mansion to a bigwig client, Gia investigates the house Savannah was trying to sell. The first clue she finds is Savannah's car in the driveway. Inside the house, they stumble on Savannah's potential buyer--dead. Someone had apparently closed the deal--with a two by four full of nails to the client's head. Soon afterward, a woman's body is fished from the lake near the same house. The townsfolk are now sweating bullets over the murders, and the heat comes down on poor Gia to find her missing friend, and track down the killer ...
It’s great to be here, thank you.
How are you and things at All-Day Breakfast Cafe? Is it still rumor mill central?
I’m doing well, thank you! And I’m thrilled to be back visiting with you. Business has been picking up at the All-Day Breakfast Café, and rumors are definitely still flying. Though I’m very happy to hear that people come in for the food and atmosphere as well as the gossip.
Can you tell readers about some of the people they’ll meet in your story?
I’d love to. I always enjoy sharing what wonderful friends I’ve met since moving to Boggy Creek. Readers will meet my best friend and partner in crime, Savannah. She’s such a sweetheart, the kindest person I know really. I feel so bad about what happened to her recently. Then there’s Savannah’s cousin Hunt and her fiancé, Leo. I’ve become very good friends with Trevor, who owns Storm Scoopers, the ice cream parlor down the road from my café. He’s such a sweetheart, clumsy as can be until it comes to outdoor activities, then he suddenly becomes graceful. Can you even believe his newest venture is bungee jumping? That’s one I can promise you I won’t be joining him for.
How are things going with Hunt?
Hunt…hmm…I’m beginning to think the lack of time we get to spend together might be less about our demanding careers and more about my trust and commitment issues. But he earns bonus points for understanding and not pushing things. Mostly, anyway.
I hear Savannah and Leo are getting married. I assume you’re the bridesmaid. How’s the wedding planning going?
I am Savannah’s maid of honor, and we were supposed to go dress shopping, but that gets postponed, unfortunately. And we are still looking for a venue, but I think I might have a great idea on that, but I have to talk to Savannah about it before I can mention it.
Oh sorry. I just heard in your latest story, Whole Latte Murder, that Savannah goes missing and the person she was meeting with was found dead. I thought A Cold Brew Killing was personal for you. This is more so. Can you tell me the first thing you did to find her?
The very first thing I did when she didn’t show up to go dress shopping, was go out to the house she was showing and look for her. Thankfully, Trevor was with me, or I’d never have kept my wits about me when I found her client’s body in the bathtub and realized Savannah was nowhere to be found. After that, I wanted to search every square inch of Florida to find her. Instead, Hunt asked me to go back to the café and wait in case a ransom demand came in. Well, I did go back to the café, after one quick stop, anyway, and I can tell you that was the hardest thing I’ve ever done, just sitting there waiting for word.
You’ve been in Boggy Creek, Florida for about a year now. In that time, you have stumbled upon at least four murders and have been in danger yourself too many times to count. What do you do to protect yourself?
Unfortunately, not enough. Thor is a big help. He’s the sweetest dog in the world, but strangers don’t know that. All they see is a very big, black dog, so he’s a pretty good deterrent. Hunt has tried to teach me a few self-defense moves, but I’m not very good at it. I guess maybe with practice I’ll get better. Of course, I could always go with Hunt’s idea and just stay out of trouble, and I do try; it just doesn’t seem to work out for me.
Last time we spoke, you said your creator Lena Gregory likes to do things her way, but that you usually get your way in the end. What’s something you wish she would do with you and your stories in the future?
I would love to see her expand the café, and I think it might be time for me to resolve some of my trust issues so Hunt and I can finally move our relationship forward. And I definitely think it’s time for Thor and Klondike to have a brother or sister, so I’m hoping a future story brings me back out to Debra at the rescue center to adopt another puppy.
Speaking of future...What can readers expect from you and this series in the future?
My next story is Mistletoe Cake Murder, due to release in October. It’s Christmas time in that story, and Savannah and Leo are planning to be married on Christmas Eve, so I’m very excited about that. Of course, there’s no way Lena will allow us to pull that off without a hitch, so there’s a murder to solve before the big day.
Gia, thank you so much for answering some questions for me.
Thank you so much for having me! I always enjoy visiting with you and your readers.
Purchase A Waffle Lot of Murder from:
The All-Day Breakfast Café Series:
Scone Cold Killer ~ Review
Murder Made to Order ~ Review
A Cold Brew Killing ~ Review
A Waffle Lot of Murder ~ Review
Mistletoe Cake Murder releases October 12, 2021
Lena grew up in a small town on the south shore of eastern Long Island. She recently relocated to Clermont, Florida with her husband, three kids, son-in-law, and four dogs. Her hobbies include spending time with family, reading, jigsaw puzzles, 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.
Places to find Lena Gregory:
You can follow the Whole Latte Murder Blog Tour here.
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Sounds like a good read!
ReplyDeleteThank you!
Deletei love a good cozy mystery!!!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Molli!
DeleteSounds like a great read.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, Rita!
DeleteNeat theme, good interview.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, Calvin! I enjoyed visiting.
DeleteThank you so much for having me and for sharing the release of Whole Latte murder!
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome. Thank you for stopping by and commenting. Congratulations on the new release, and thank you for doing the character interview.
DeleteSounds good. Cute cover
ReplyDeleteThank you, Shelly!
Deletecongrats on the release, sounds like a great book
ReplyDelete