Dani Delaney is happily living in Long Island, running an old fashioned malt shop, spending time with her friends Gwen and Eli and her sister Meghan, and her detective boyfriend, Jake. She takes on a catering job for a wealthy woman who ends up dead from a peanut allergy. Dani sets out to solve the mystery and clear her name.
I wanted to read this mystery because I love the Coffee & Cream Cafe Mysteries series! I've read all the books and they are great fun.
I love the malt shop setting and the foodie details in this series. I also really enjoy Dani's near and dear, including her friends, her boyfriend Jake, and her large extended family. She even has a lovable cat!
The mystery aspect of this book was well done. Dani and her friend/employee Eli are certain they carefully checked to exclude peanuts from the dessert menu, and yet a wealthy woman in the community dies after eating a parfait at her catered dinner. There are several strong suspects and Dani works - with the help of her friends - solve the mystery as quickly as possible.
This is a lively, fast paced read. The dialogue adds a lot to the storytelling, and there is a funny scene at a paddleboarding yoga session.
I recommend Rocky Road to Murder - and the Coffee & Cream Cafe Mysteries - for other cozy mystery fans! This is such a fun series.
Book Synopsis
From author Lena Gregory comes a tasty summer murder mystery…
Danika Delaney is thrilled that her old fashioned malt shop, the Coffee & Cream Café, has gotten a catering contract for the biggest party of the season, the Rutherford Manor Fourth of July gala. She’ll be providing desserts for the party as well as attending the exclusive event on Eastern Long Island.
However her path to the gala quickly becomes a rocky road…
Dani arrives at the event, only to find the gala’s hostess, Cressida Rutherford, dead! What’s worse, one of Dani’s signature parfaits sits next to the dead woman, with what looks like peanuts in it—a food Cressida is severely allergic to. Amid the melted ice cream mess, Dani initially blames herself, thinking she made a mistake while rushing with the desserts. However she quickly learns that what appeared to be an accident was actually foul play, and suddenly Dani has to spring into action proving that she isn’t the perpetrator. Along with her friends, Dani uncovers a string of people in Cressida’s life who might have wanted the socialite dead. Can she prove her innocence and make sure the killer gets their just desserts?
Lena Gregory is the author of the Bay Island Psychic Mysteries, which take place on a small island between the north and south forks of Long Island, New York, the All-Day Breakfast Café Mysteries, which are set on the outskirts of Florida’s Ocala National Forest, the Mini-Meadows Mysteries, set in a community of tiny homes in Central Florida, and the Coffee & Cream Café Mysteries, which take place in a small town on the south shore of eastern Long Island, New York.
Lena grew up in a small town on the south shore of eastern Long Island, but she recently traded in cold, damp, gray winters for the warmth and sunshine of central Florida, where she now lives with her husband, three kids, son-in-law, and four dogs. Her hobbies include spending time with family, reading, and walking. Her love for writing developed when her youngest son was born and didn’t sleep through the night. She works full time as a writer and a freelance editor and is a member of Sisters in Crime.
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