This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase using my links, I will receive a small commission from the sale at no cost to you. Thank you for supporting Brooke Blogs!
Scone Cold Killer by Lena Gregory
All-Day Breakfast Cafe Mystery #1
Lyrical Underground • January 23, 2018
For Florida diner owner Gia Morelli, there’s no such thing as too much breakfast—unless it kills you…
When Gia Morelli’s marriage falls apart, she knows it’s time to get out of New York. Her husband was a scam artist who swindled half the millionaires in town, and she doesn’t want to be there when they decide to take revenge. On the spur of the moment, she follows her best friend to a small town in Central Florida, where she braves snakes, bears, and giant spiders to open a cheery little diner called the All-Day Breakfast Café. Owning a restaurant has been her lifelong dream, but it turns into a nightmare the morning she opens her dumpster and finds her ex-husband crammed inside. As the suspect du jour, Gia will have to scramble fast to prove her innocence before a killer orders another cup of murder…
Meet Gia Morelli
Hi. I’m Gia Morelli. Until recently, I worked in a busy deli in the heart of Manhattan, I was married to the man of my dreams, I enjoyed spending time with my friends, and I was about as clueless as you can get. Due to circumstances beyond my control—aka, my lying, cheating, philandering ex-husband swindled who knows how many people out of millions of dollars, when he wasn’t busy hanging out with one of his numerous girlfriends—I was forced to flee New York.
Thankfully, I have the best friend in the entire world, Savannah Mills. Savannah was my roommate for a while when she lived in New York, before I met Bradley. When Bradley and I moved in together, Savannah returned to her hometown in Florida.
When Bradley was arrested and his victims started harassing me, Savannah urged me to relocate to Florida and live with her. After Bradley’s long line of lovers was paraded through the courtroom, I finally accepted her offer to help me move.
Savannah helped me set up my life long dream, the All-Day Breakfast Cafe. In keeping with the neighborhood architecture, we painted the beautiful, historic, two-story building pale yellow with white trim. Round tables of varying sizes dot the dining room, covered in navy blue cloths. Light-colored, wood chairs with homemade cushions, made by Savannah, surround them. Savannah has always been amazing at anything craft related. A skill I don’t share but admire immensely.
It fits nicely with the other shops along Main Street in the small, artsy, tourist town of Boggy Creek. Nestled a bit south of Central Florida’s Ocala National Forest, the town is known for its festivals, art and craft shows, and seasonal fairs, and I hoped my breakfast café would be the perfect addition.
And it might have been, if I hadn’t gone out the back door to put the garbage out, after an opening day that could have gone better, to say the least, and found Bradley’s arm hanging out of my dumpster. Unfortunately, the rest of him was found in there too. Since the detectives in New York never believed I had no knowledge of or involvement in Bradley’s schemes, I jump to the top of the suspect list.
Now, I’ll have to somehow prove my innocence, not only to the police, but to the townspeople—in a town where murders never occur, if the statistics Savannah spewed while trying to convince me to move can be believed.
And if all that isn’t enough, it seems Florida is home to an abundance of wildlife. I’m not talking about cute little squirrels with fluffy tails or kitty cats, either. I’m talking about alligators, snakes—poisonous ones!—and bears.
So, now I spend my days trying to keep my business afloat, while making a list in my head of all the positives and negatives of living in Florida. Someday, I’ll decide if I’m going to stay, but for now, I’m here. And I’d love for everyone to stop into the All-Day Breakfast Café and visit with Savannah and me.
About the Author
Lena Gregory lives in a small town on the south shore of eastern Long Island with her husband and three children.
When she was growing up, she spent many lazy afternoons on the beach, in the yard, anywhere she could find to curl up with a good book. She loves reading as much now as she did then, but she now enjoys the added pleasure of creating her own stories.
Author Links
Website: http://www.lenagregory.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lena.gregory.986
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/Lena.Gregory.Author/?fref=ts
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LenaGregory03
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14956514.Lena_Gregory
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/lenagregoryauth/
Enjoyed meeting Gia Morelli from “Scone Cold Killer”. Thanks for the information and for being part of the book tour. I’d very much love to have the chance to read this book.
2clowns at arkansas dot net
Thank you for following the tour & Good luck! 🙂
Thank you so much for having me & for sharing the release of Scone Cold Killer!