The cook at Gia’s diner discovers a dead body in the forest - who happens to be an old enemy who had gotten into a dust up at the diner just the day before. With her cook (and friend) under suspicion, Gia starts asking questions.
While the acceptance of her participation by the detectives investigating the murder (her best friend’s husband and her own boyfriend) strains credulity, Gia has a closely knit set of friends who look after each other. There are a lot of suspects and a lot of twists and turns,
I have to admit as a Bernese Mountain dog owner, Thor may be my favorite character, but the whole cast is well written. Though many books into this series, there’s just enough backstory included to allow for reading this as a stand-alone, while not so much that it bogs down the story.
My thanks to NetGalley for making this available.

Another enjoyable and well plotted cozy mystery by Lena Gregory. Had fun, was glad to catch up with characters and the solid mystery kept me guessing.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Princess Fuzzypants here: Gia and her friends Savannah and Cole are busy with the crowd at her all day breakfast restaurant when she is confronted by an obnoxious customer. He is rude, insulting and threatening and he has a history with Cole. Little did the three expect but this man would mess up their lives and not in the way he intended. Both Cole and Gia are in the forest where his body is found and the first cop on the scene seems determined to lay the murder on Cole. Even Gia and her detective fiancé have to admit the evidence seems to be piling up against Cole. Maybe a little too much. Maybe someone is trying very hard to set up Cole.

Naturally Gia and Savannah feel obliged to investigate even though their better half’s have the case. There is a grudging respect and they share information as they can. So what is often a battle of wills is more cooperative. I doubt an adversarial relationship would last long. Each are able to uncover background information that first implicates and then clears a series of suspects. But this has the effect of making the killer feel trapped. It puts Gia in the middle and an increasingly desperate villain is a dangerous villain.

Four purrs and two paws up.

Brought to you by OBS reviewer Andra

Battered and Buried is the seventh book in the All-Day Breakfast Café Mystery series by Lena Gregory. It is also the second book I have read by this author. So far, Ms. Gregory’s books are engaging and have kept my interest throughout. The best part was that it did take me a while to conclude who the real killer was! Which is crucial to me when reading a cozy mystery.

The crux of the story is that Gia Morelli, the owner of the All-Day Breakfast Café in Rolling Pines, hopes to find out who killed Rusty Bragge. The police believe (and circumstances point to) her good friend and full-time cook, Cole Barrister as the killer. And to further muddy the waters (and does not bode well for Cole) is the fact that the deceased is essentially a life-long enemy of Cole’s – they have history – and it is not pretty. This history revolves around, you guessed it, a woman – Rusty’s wife…an ex of Cole’s. Cole describes Rusty as “vicious, mean, spiteful and a person that who will stop at nothing to get his way”. Definitely not a nice person! And I must say – that is proven throughout this story.

Gia and Trevor (Gia’s friend) were out kayaking when they came upon Cole and Cybil walking in the marsh. They pulled over to see what Cole and Cybil were looking at…soon to discover it was a body. Which of course, turns out to be Rusty. At this point in time, Cole is going to be hard pressed convincing anyone, let alone the police, that he had nothing to do with Rusty’s murder since they had a shouting match at the All-Day Breakfast Café the day before… with a LOT of witnesses.

What made it an interesting read was that it was not obvious as to who the killer really was. I also enjoyed the journey that I had to follow while Gia unravelled the truth. While there are a few suspects, I think it was the myriad of towns folks that kept me interested. As the story proceeded, I truly began to really dislike the deceased. While I didn’t really wish him dead, I certainly think he did not have any redeeming qualities!

I quite enjoyed Trevor’s enthusiasm with respect to Goa’s impending nuptials, especially while kayaking. And then the fact that Gia and her fiancé Hunt (Captain Hunter Quinn – captain of the Boggy Creek PD) have not actually set a date or discussed any details. This made me chuckle just a wee bit.

I must say, the cover art for this book is good. The puppy was cute and I found the pancake in the shape of a skull eye catching. A bit of foreboding I must say.

If you are a fan of cozy mysteries – then I would like to suggest picking up this 7th book in the All-Day Breakfast Café Mystery series. I myself plan to go back to the beginning of the series and learn about Gia, her pets Thor and Klondike as well as the love story between her and her fiancé, Hunter. Maybe learn more about her bestie, Savannah and her hubby, Detective Leo Dumont and the other residents of Boggy Creek.

Though I must say, this book does stand on its own and was a delight to read.

Any time I am up for some good ole breakfast and some crime solving, I return to Gia and everyone at the All Day Breakfast Cafe. I find myself there and smelling everything, mouthwatering and feeding my soul at the same time with the fellowship and comradery of the people that come to the cafe and work there as well.

An amazing group of characters. I love how everyone just clicks and seems to balance each other out. I do not know if a place like this actually exists but if it did, I would hang out there every day just soaking up the friendships and harmony.

I relate a lot to Gia. I have lived in a lot of different places and have also had to leave some of them because of other people. It's frustrating but also character building and you can tell that that is exactly what has happened with her. She's grown because of having to have left New York City. And yes, that pain is still somewhat evident, but she's surrounded herself with such wonderful people that you can tell she is starting to be able to heal.

I love how the cafe gang comes together to be able to help solve these crimes. I know there is a thin line between help and hindering the police, but I think they walk that tight rope very well. This mystery really had me going around in circles. Nothing made sense, until it did.

As always, these books are very well written, and I love that you can root for them all to figure out the clues and solve the crime. It's all about justice and not about egos. I wish I could live in these books. I recommend this book and this series highly.

Thanks to Net Galley, the publishers, and to Lena Gregory for the ability to read and review this book. All thoughts and opinions are mine and mine alone.

Quite a cute and cozy murder mystery. One of Gia’s friends and employee is accused of murder, so her group of friends make it their mission to not only prove the friend isn’t involved, but also find the true killer.

The characters are very relatable and evoke emotions in the reader easily. At times the book dragged on a bit, but the overall idea was good. The ending left me wanting a bit more, mainly since there seems to be a lot of coincidences.

Overall a good story and I am definitely interested in reading more by this author.

Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the Advance Reader's Copy in exchange for my honest review.

This is the seventh book in the All-Day Breakfast Café Mysteries by Lena Gregory, and set in Florida.

This book started quickly and just kept going. It wasn’t difficult for me to know who did it. The difficult part was the reason. I enjoyed every twist and turn.

Looking forward to the next book. I was given an advanced readers copy days after publication. I am not required to leave a positive review.

rural, rumor-mill, local-law-enforcement, friendship, fiancé, Florida, arachnophobia, cozy-mystery, amateur-sleuth, small-business, small-town, culinary, pets, murder, murder-investigation, racoon, bear, situational-humor*****

Gia Morelli runs the 'All-Day Breakfast Café', a diner in Boggy Creek, Florida and has made many good friends there since moving from NYC. A former resident who alienates others quite deliberately and successfully is found murdered and Gia's friend/cook is the chief suspect because of past history between the two. Let the sleuthing (and fun!) begin. The publisher's blurb is pretty good, I was happy to see a cast of characters listed at the beginning. Loved it!
I requested and received a free temporary EARC copy from Beyond the Page Publishing via NetGalley. Thank you!

this was another winner in the All-Day Breakfast Café Mystery series, it had everything that I wanted based on the previous six books. The characters were everything that I wanted and glad it worked so well overall. It uses the mystery element perfectly and thought the overall feel worked well. It left me wanting to read more in this series and from Lena Gregory. Lena Gregory has a great writing style and glad it worked well overall.

Gia Morelli is working the day at her cafe when her friend and waitress Savannah tells her that a man wants to see her. When she goes to the front, he complains about how bad the meal was. No matter what she offers, he continues his rant, and when her cook Cole comes to the front, he makes derogatory remarks to him about his cooking, and leaves. Gia later finds that the man, Rusty, is an old enemy of Cole's and Rusty's never happier than when ruining businesses so he can open the same ones in the same area.

When Gia discovers that Rusty wants to open a cafe down the street, she's dismayed. But later, while kayaking with her friend Trevor, they see Cole and his friend Cybill on the shore and Cybill looks distressed. When they reach her, they find that Cole found Rusty's body -- and now Cole is the main suspect in his murder. Determined to prove Cole innocent, she and Savannah set out to find clues they can give to Gia's fiancé, a homicide detective and Savannah's cousin. But doing this might be harder than they think, since the widow isn't talking, and neither is anyone else -- for now.

Sifting through clues as they can, Gia enlists help from a computer hacker, and what she discovers only makes things more tangled. Will she be able to untwist the lies long enough to find a killer? Or will she finally meet her end?

This is the seventh book in the series and just as good as all the others. Ms. Gregory is a talented writer who is able to pull you into the story and experience life with the characters. While never having been to Florida (not sure if I want to, either, after all the critters show up), I still get an idea of the area and how Gia's life is progressing; she's happy in her new life -- until murder slows her down.

When she finally starts putting things together, she's sure she has the end result locating a killer, until an unexpected situation arises that puts her back at square one. While I knew the killer before Gia did, this did not diminish my enjoyment of the story at all. I loved how it played out, and in the end, we get an epilogue that gives us something to look forward to in the next book. Recommended.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley but this in no way influenced my review.

Battered And Buried
An All-Day Breakfast Cafe Mystery
Lena Gregory
5 Stars

Synopsis:

The best-laid plans may go awry, but the best-laid clues could frame a man for murder . . .

Never one to let a day off work go to waste, café owner Gia Morelli and a friend head out for a blissful kayaking trip through the local national forest. But the peacefulness of the day is soon shattered when they come across Cole, her head cook, standing over a dead body. Worse still, the victim was a lifelong enemy of Cole’s, and clues found on the body point to the cook as the culprit. When the police take Cole in and subject him to an intense grilling, Gia vows to do everything she can to prove his innocence.

As even more incriminating evidence surfaces—including when the murder weapon itself is found hidden at the café—Gia knows she’s up against someone brutal enough to kill and devious enough to frame Cole for the deed. With the police ready to make an official arrest and wrap up what they consider an open-and-shut case, Gia turns for help to an old friend who’s not above breaking the law himself. Because if she can’t find the killer, Cole may go from serving up hot dishes to serving a life sentence . . .

Praise for the Books of Lena Gregory:

“I loved the protagonist, Cass. She and her friends were very well developed, and felt like a group of people I’d like to get to know.” —The Book’s the Thing

“This has quickly become one of my favorite series! A well-written cozy mystery with a touch of the paranormal, making for a delightful story full of unexpected twists.” —Books a Plenty Book Reviews

“The future shows much success for this series! Fun, vibrant characters (as well as a sexy smolder or two for good measure) give the novel just the right tone.” —RT Book Reviews on Death at First Sight


About the Author:

Lena Gregory is the author of the All-Day Breakfast Café Mysteries, the Bay Island Psychic Mysteries, the Coffee and Cream Café Mysteries, and A Mini Meadows Mystery. She grew up in a small town on the south shore of eastern Long Island, and 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. (Amazon)

Review:

The characters are well rounded and well developed. While Gia is out having a relaxing kayaking adventure, she stumbles across a dead body. If that was not bad enough, her head cook is found with the body. She knows Cole did not kill anyone, so she has to find to find the real killer

The author is very talented in her descriptive writing and these descriptions pulled me into the story from the very beginning. The writing style flows smoothly and the book is an easy read. The mystery was well plotted and not easily solved.

I would recommend this book, and series, to anyone who enjoys a well crafted cozy mystery. This author is one of my favorites and I cannot wait for her to write more.

Thank you, NetGalley and Beyond the Page Publishing for the opportunity to read this book.

I have not read any other books in this series but I found it easy to follow since the author includes a cast of characters list with a summary of who they are. The characters were entertaining and I kept wanting to get to know them better.

The murder happened early in the book so it was a great way for me to get to know the characters as they worked together to solve the mystery. I found this to be somewhat a light hearted mystery that had me smiling at times. As for the who done it, I couldn't figure it out which made the book more enjoyable for me.

I will warn readers that if you haven't read the other books in this series, there are a few spoilers in this book since they do refer to past events. It may turn off some readers but it actually made me want to go back and read those others books. In fact, I will be going back to read the rest of the books of this series since I enjoyed this one so much.

This is a fun, entertaining cozy mystery. Gia, Savannah, their significant others and friends all work together to uncover the truth behind a murder, and clear Cole's name. As always, the series has great characters, enjoyable plot, and a great ending. Lots of motives, a sprinkle of action, and some fun four legged heroes. Overall, a great read.
Ii received an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

A cozy mystery that throws multiple suspects for the murder of a very unpopular local. The heroine navigates mystery and danger while running her cafe and keeping up with her friends and fiancée. Will she go to far in her investigation and get herself killed?

Gina is embroiled in a murder mystery when her head chef is the chief suspect. This was lots of fun to read. The characters are engaging and there are twists enough to keep you guessing throughout.

I am really learning to enjoy cozy mysteries and this book is one of the reasons. When we think of a cafe that serves breakfast all day, we think comfort foot but there was nothing comfortable in the situation that Gia and her team found themselves in. Gia’s café seemed to be the place to meet for a small town full of interesting characters. With amicable chatter, good food and friendly staff, nothing prepared this team for the menace that was Rusty Bragge. He wanted to follow his normal path and destroy lives and livelihoods and he had just set his sights on the All-Day Breakfast Café. When he becomes the victim on a murderer, we learn that he lived like he died violently and even in death he tried to manipulate the situation.
The more we learn about the “victim”, the more suspects we find, and we soon realize that more than murder was on the menu in this well written cozy. It is difficult to have much sympathy for the vile and contemptable man who was murdered. Instead, we found ourselves feeling for the victims of his schemes and one of Gia’s own could have been on the list. The author did a nice job of creating a vile person who sought to sow destruction in his wake. Doing so, we are provided with multiple suspects, and a few read herrings to really keep us guessing as we eagerly turned the pages.
The author also did no skimp on levity adding a fun aspect to a cozy murder mystery. Gia may be chasing a murderer at work, but at home it was the four-footed forest dwellers that gave her a fun challenge. The raccoon in her car and the bear in her yard gave us a quick chuckle to lighten the mood. Oddly enough, the bear may just prove instrumental in the outcome.
While this book can be read stand alone, you will find yourself wanting to know about Gia’s past and the man she came to love as well as the clever side characters in the book. This is another cozy I am glad I read. I will be on the hunt for other books from this author.
Thanks to NetGalley and Beyond the Page Publishing for the opportunity to read this ARC.

BATTERED AND BURIED by Lena Gregory
The Seventh All-Day Breakfast Café Mystery

Gia Morelli strives to make every customer happy at her café, but it's not always easy. Rusty Bragge despises the food, the service, and everything about her café declaring she needs to shut down and return to New York! Gia soon learns Rusty has a history of destroying people and their businesses. He also has a history with her good friend and cook, Cole. A kayaking trip to try and get the nasty encounter out of her mind leads Mia and Trevor into the Ocala National Forest where they find Cole standing over Rusty's dead body. While she knows Cole could not have murdered the man, Cole has shut down and isn't talking. When it becomes obvious that someone is trying to frame him, Gia and her friends will use all their skills to uncover the killer.

While visiting the All-Day Breakfast Café is usually a relaxing comfortable visit with friends, in BATTERED AND BURIED my stomach was in knots thanks to Rusty Bragge and his vitriolic diatribe. I got increasingly nervous when I learned more about him and his plan to destroy the café. His death didn't even solve the problem. Though the café was probably safe, Cole's freedom was definitely up in the air.

It's a good thing that Gia is surrounded by close friends because a lot of unpleasant and downright nasty people turn up in the seventh All-Day Breakfast Café Mystery. Rusty is by far the worst of the bunch. He lies, cheats, and not only wants to win, but wants to utterly destroy his competition. Those associated with him aren't much better.

The mystery was finely crafted with a victim that everybody hated. So much was riding on solving this murder and I loved how everyone pulled together. I appreciate how real the characters are, with their pasts incorporating into their present, especially the ramifications of Savannah's trauma from the previous book in the series. Despite all the drama, there's plenty of comedy too, especially from a certain wily raccoon.

BATTERED AND BURIED is an emotional roller coaster highlighting the relationships of the characters as they do what they do best, solve murders and share great food. I look forward to visiting the All-Day Breakfast Café and spending more time with these friends.

Dollycas's Thoughts

We are back in Boggy Creek at Gia Morelli's All-Day Breakfast Cafe after a short time away. She is delighted to have realized her dream of owning a successful cafe where people love to gather for "good food, a cozy atmosphere, and to stoke the Boggy Creek rumor mill". Most of her customers are friendly and enjoy their time there but there is always someone that has to make a scene. Rusty Bragge was not happy with his food or the service and he seems to know her head cook, Cole. He finally leaves after making some threats but that wouldn't be the last Gia saw of him.

On a well-deserved day off Gia and her friend Trevor head down the Ocklawaha River, drifting along in their kayaks. She has become accustomed to seeing the monkeys and the gators but she watches carefully for the deadly water moccasins. She gets a pleasant surprise when they notice Cole and Cybil on the shore. Then they notice Cole is standing over a dead body. The dead body of Rusty Bragge.

Clues on the body point to Cole and the altercation at the cafe doesn't help. Gia knows Cole is no killer and even after the murder weapon is later found in the cafe, she is determined with a little help from her friends to prove his innocence. She plans to serve the real killer up on a silver platter for her fiance Captain Hunter Quinn and his partner Leo Dumont.

_____

The core characters of this series are a tight-knit group of people and when one of their own is in trouble they quickly band together to help. Savannah and Gia always make me smile. They are there for each other no matter what. Their romantic relationships are strong. Hunt and Leo know Gia and Samantha are going to get involved in their cases and work hard to keep them safe. I love Alfie, his skills are amazing, and he is quick to do anything to help solve the case. All of Ms. Gregory's characters are well-developed and continue to evolve as the series continues. She has created some wonderful pets for her characters too.

The author has written a fast-paced well-plotted mystery with several possible suspects and confounding clues. There was twist upon twist but I finally moved someone to the top of my own suspect list. That being said, I was surprised by how the showdown occurred and how fast the pages were turning. This is not the first time and I am sure it will not be the last that I found a book by Lena Gregory impossible to put down.

Battered and Buried is an excellent addition to this series. I am thrilled that this series has found a new home and that we will be able to continue to visit Boggy Creek and Gia and all her friends. I am very excited for their stories to continue.

I’m not sure if I’ve read any of the All Day Breakfast Cafe mysteries before Battered and Buried. I felt like I was able to follow the characters and storyline fine from the introductions the author provides to the main cast.
I enjoyed following the twists and turns of this mystery. There are classic elements of amateur sleuth having a member of law enforcement as their love interest. There are the pets, in this case a dog Thor and a kitten. One of the sleuth’s friends is the main suspect in the murder, so there is no way Gia isn’t getting involved.
The friendships in this book are solid and act a bit like a warm blanket. Friendships and these warm feelings are some of the main reasons I like cozy mysteries.
I am happy to recommend Battered and Buried as a fun cozy mystery.
Thanks to Netgalley and Beyond the Page publishing for the opportunity to read the book.

So many things to enjoy in Lena Gregory’s newest installment to her All-Day Breakfast Cafe cozy mystery series: Battered and Buried! First I do want to pause and say a big thank you to the author for including the character list at the start of the story. Can we get more of this in books?! So helpful as it had been a bit since I had dipped into this series.

Readers are not long into the story, when the mystery begins, and with Gia’s cook Cole as the main suspect for the awful business man Rusty, Gia is on full-powered sleuth mode, even forgoing sleep to find the true killer. Her determination is contagious, and I found myself quickly turning the pages as Gia and Savannah worked together. Lena also does a great job interspersing humor with the journey to solve the mystery.

I certainly had my suspicions of the true culprit, but couldn’t figure out why. No spoilers here, but that ending was super intense and brought great resolution to the story.

Aside from the mystery, what I loved most is the theme of found family throughout. Found family stories are my most favorite to read and when I read one I am so happy. Gia’s friends in this small town, far from her life in New York, have truly become her family. It is clear they all care deeply about each other and that’s such a lovely thing to read.