Another fun mystery in the Coffee Lover's Mystery series. I love all of the coffee knowledge that Tara Lush shares in her books. Being a tea drinker, it is interesting learning how the drinks are made, beans are chosen, and how the latte printer works.
I love how close the coffee shop staff are with one another and how well they work together to solve the mysteries.

Kae Marie Denino did a great job narrating this novel and I will definitely look for more books narrated by them in the future, ( )

The Perkatory crew returns to solve the murder of a cantankerous local activist.

A Bean to Die For is the fourth book in author Tara Lush’s fabulous and fun cozy Coffee Lover’s Mystery series, and what a delightful return it is to the sand and sun of the close-knit Devil’s Beach, Florida community. With its engaging ensemble of recurring characters, suspicious death, and tantalizing Gulf Coast setting, this is a perfect bookish escape from the current wintry weather.

The main character, Lana Lewis, has a lot going on as usual, but life has somewhat settled down since the events of the previous books. Her relationship with Noah Garcia, Devil’s Beach’s chief of police, is progressing nicely and is about to take a big step forward. Noah’s mother and sister are arriving on the island at the end of the week, and he’s introducing them to Lana. However, Lana is stressing to impress as she plans to prepare her specialty, lasagna, for dinner at her home on Saturday night, especially when she finds herself, once again, embroiled in a murder case.

Lana is the first to discover the body of local activist Jack Daggitt, a man with plenty of people who have a bone to pick with him, and Noah doesn’t want her anywhere near this investigation. She’s more than ready and willing to comply until a regular customer becomes a prime suspect and asks for her help in proving her innocence. However, Lana’s desire to help wins out, and soon, she and Erica are hip-deep in suspects. I loved Erica and Peter’s enthusiasm for tackling this new case and how they tried to keep things on the hush-hush and Lana out of dutch with Noah. But Lana was really more twisted up over putting her best foot forward for Noah’s family, initially, than the potential danger involved in tracking down a killer. The three do a great job of identifying possible suspects and working to cross them off their list, yet the discovery of the perpetrator comes as a surprise after all. The author has an absolute gift for creating fresh and fun dialogue, making reading a joy. And while this is the fourth book in the series, newcomers shouldn’t have any trouble getting into and enjoying the story. The author also does a great job referring to past investigations without giving everything away, so readers who will want to read the previous books won’t have had those stories spoiled.

I recommend A BEAN TO DIE FOR to cozy mystery readers, especially those who enjoy coffee, Florida settings, and fans of the previous novels.

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advanced Review Copy from the author through Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours. ( )

Devils Beach. The rules are different here

My favorite Coffee Lovers book yet! I got a kick out of the hijinks of Lana and her pals as I laughed my way through the book at the most unexpected times. The mystery was engaging and well presented and I love how much the characters have grown over the four books. Well done! ( )

island-life, former-journalist, family, family-drama, family-dynamics, Florida, local-law-enforcement, small-town, small-business, cozy-mystery, barista, murder-investigation, situational-humor, verbal-humor, relatives, relationships, pets, coffee, coffee-culture, coffee-shop, gardening, mushroom-culture, orchid-thefts*****

Not really an unbiased review as I love the earlier ones in series with all of the wildly interesting characters, superfun locale, surprising plot twists, amazing red herrings, and endless laughs.
Lana is a former crime writer in Miami and returned to her hometown (after she divorced the scum) as the owner/operator of the coffee shop. The romantic interest is the local police chief.
This time Lana has been granted a plot in the community garden and finds a dead man in it! The guy is an octogenarian who is known to be contentious and more. And then it gets weird. And the long list of suspects is positively psychedelic! Loved it this one, too!
I requested and received an EARC from Crooked Lane Books via NetGalley. Thank you! ( )

4.5 stars. This was an entertaining story. My interest was peaked by the mystery and plot twists. I enjoyed getting to know all the characters, but Lana is my favorite. I believe I've uncovered a new series; therefore, I'm going back to read the others before continuing.

Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book. ( )