While Lana grew up in Devil's Beach, she's only recently returned there several months ago to manage Perkatory, the coffee shop started by her now-deceased mom. Lana's a Miami journalist by trade, but following an ugly divorce and her being laid off from the crime beat she had been covering, she has returned home, somewhat with her tail tucked between her legs. On the bright side, her dad has become a pot-smoking, yoga-loving, laid-back dude who has made his money on local real estate and now just prefers to chill and gossip about the local haps, so she has autonomy at Perkatory.
Her star barista is Fab Belluci, a handsome Italian ladies man who has been popularizing Perkatory on Instagram, where he regularly flexes his shirtless muscles and does latte art. His female customers swoon for him. He has convinced Tara to team up with him in the upcoming Sunshine State Barista Competition, which would be great publicity for Perkatory, although she isn't convinced she has the skills to compete.
Enter Erica Penmark, an edgy looking chick with black hair and blue streaks who is new to town and looking for a job. She and Lana immediately hit it off and she offers to help Lana up her latte art skills before the competition. Since Lana could use some help around Perkatory, she hires Erica as another barista, much to Fab's chagrin. The next day, Lana discovers he's jumped ship to work for her main competitor, Island Brewnette, owned by the father of Fab's girlfriend, Paige.
Needless to say, Lana storms over there to give Fab a piece of her mind and the whole coffee shop stops to listen to the outburst. At least now she and Erica can team up in the competition, but she is still hurt, especially since she considered Fab a friend and he lives above her coffee shop, which will be awkward. What's even more awkward is when Lana finds Fab's dead body in the alley behind Perkatory, having fallen from the roof.
While it appears to be a suicide, Lana is convinced there was foul play. After all, how could a man as conceited as Fab kill himself? The local Police Chief Noah Garcia is investigating and while Lana finds him drool-worthy, she can't help but want to investigate things herself, considering her background. But who would have wanted Fab dead? Naturally, most of the island suspects her based on their epic very-public fight the day before, but Lana has a solid alibi since she was in Miami at an awards ceremony. Could it be one of the many angry husbands or boyfriends of Fab's conquests? Or could it be a woman scorned? Maybe even a friend of Fab's mixed up in shady dealings? Either way, Lana is determined to get to the bottom of the mystery, with help from her new bestie Erica, of course, but getting too close to the truth could be the death of her.
I really enjoyed Grounds for Murder and would definitely be into reading more in this series. This first book not only established the players, but wrapped it around a fun murder mystery. I'd consider this more of a light read, because, while it does have a murder in it, the focus is more on the characters and the relationships between them. Lana internally gushes over Noah Garcia a bit much for my tastes, but it wasn't too bad, although if romance turns you off, you may be bothered by this. Grounds for Murder would be a great beach read or perfect when you are stuck in the house during winter (or a pandemic, because... that's a thing now). Check it out.
