Grounds for Murder

In Lush’s diverting debut, Lana Lewis comes home to the island of Devil’s Beach, Fla., to run Perkatory, her family’s café, and recover after losing her reporter’s job in Miami and divorcing her philandering husband. Among her problems are the upcoming Sunshine State Barista Championship, where she will have to display top-notch barista skills even though she’s a beginner, as well as her employee and championship partner, Fabrizio “Fab” Bellucci, who’s dating Lana’s high school nemesis, Paige Dotson, and is linked to other jealous women. After Fab decamps for the café owned by Paige’s father, Lana’s heated confrontation with him makes her the leading murder suspect to the locals when his body turns up outside Perkatory. Lana thinks the police’s theory of suicide is unfounded and uses her reporter’s skills to uncover Fab’s kinky sexual escapades and involvement with shady characters in potentially illegal activities. Lana’s voyage of self-discovery, along with her new agey father, quirky hire Erica, and feisty puppy Stanley, portend future fun for readers. [em]Agent: Amanda Leuck, Spencerhill Assoc. (Dec.) [/em]