Genre: Mystery
Trade Paperback; Digital Book
ISBN #: 9781516104673
Lyrical Underground
265 Pages
$5.99 Amazon
November 6, 2018
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Gia has become good friends with Trevor, a fun, flirtatious bachelor who owns the ice cream parlor down the street from her popular All-Day Breakfast Café. Trevor has the scoop on all sorts of local attractions and activities. But when he bursts into her diner, trembling and paler than a pint of French Vanilla, she can tell something's very wrong. Trevor points her toward his shop then passes out cold. When Gia runs down to his shop, she discovers a chilling sight - a dead body in the open freezer. But the ice cream man's troubles are just beginning. The police suspect him of this murder a la mode, especially when details of his questionable past surface. Gia believes in her friend and is determined to clear his name and find the real cold-blooded killer before someone else gets put on ice...
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Gia Morelli's life is starting to come together. After moving to Florida and opening a café she's managing to eke out a decent living, has made some good friends, and even started a relationship with Detective Hunter Quinn, who's acting captain of the local police force. Little does she know trouble is brewing: there's a heated mayoral race between Ron Parker and Mitch Anderson, and while it seems it's just another campaign, little does she know it goes far deeper than she or anyone else thinks.
One morning her part-time waitress Willow is preparing to leave with her mother Skyla when two strangers enter the café for breakfast, and while leaving, the wife recognizes Skyla. She seems startled to see them, and though Gia wants to know why, she lets the subject drop. It's also apparent that Skyla dislikes Mitch Anderson, but won't say why, and no one presses the issue. However, Gia knows Skyla has things she's not saying, and she wonders why.
The next day, Trevor Barnes, who owns an ice cream shop down the street and is one of Gia's best friends, enters the shop while as a ghost and in a panic. He insists there's a dead body in his walk-in freezer, and he doesn't know how it got there. When it's discovered that the dead man is Ron Parker, and that Trevor has a past with him, he's suspected of the murder. But Gia knows Trevor, and she knows he couldn't kill anyone. While she thinks the police aren't looking hard enough, she wants to find out who wanted the man dead. She also wants to know why, after Ron's death, Skyla seems to have withdrawn into herself, but no one can get close enough to find out.
But once she begins to learn a little more about Ron's past and his history with Mitch, she realizes that there are secrets someone wants to keep hidden, and if she doesn't find out the rest of the story, it might be too late for everyone involved...
This is the third book in the series, and a very good entry indeed. While I somehow missed the second book after having read the first, the author doesn't reference things that occurred, so you don't feel like you're missing things along the way.
That being said, I liked the way the mystery was written. While the body is discovered almost immediately (as it should be), the clues are hidden well throughout, and pieces of the story are gleaned from each character involved, leading us to the truth. And what a truth it is; ugly, sad, and destruction of lives that never should have been. Unfortunately, such are the truths of life.
In this book, we learn a little bit more about Trevor and Harley's pasts and that of her friend Sybil who haunts the woods near Gia's home. It's things I don't believe anyone anticipated, but interesting nonetheless. We also have Gia and Hunt finding their way in their new-ish relationship, even if there are bumps in that path, and it's handled nicely and quite believable. With this new knowledge at hand, I fully expect the future books to be even more engaging.
Needless to say, I enjoyed the story, including the various subplots woven within, and the fact that they didn't detract from the tale by unwarranted drama. There were plenty of twists and turns, and enough intrigue to keep you reading throughout in one sitting.
When Gia finds out the truth of the matter (and we know she will) it all came together nicely and the ending was satisfying, giving us a hint of what is to come in future books while finding closure for some of the characters in this one. Recommended.
https://www.amazon.com/Cold-Killing-All-Day-Breakfast-Mystery-ebook/dp/B079R5Y14L/ref
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2593251428
More on Lena Gregory's Books: https://www.fantasticfiction.com/g/lena-gregory/
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