Murder Made to Order is the second installment in the All-Day Breakfast Cafe Mystery series set in the small town of Boggy Creek, FL and featuring cafe owner, Gia Morelli. The town council has notified Gia that they have discovered a mistake in the zoning laws and they are going to close down her cafe as the building is actually located in a residential area and not zoned for commercial use.
Determined to save her business, Gia teams up with best friend Savannah Mills, and her loyal first customer in the cafe, Earl to take on the town council. To Gia's dismay, Maybelle Sanford is one of the council members, and she knows that the woman still harbors bad feelings after Gia fired her for being lazy and would like nothing more than to see the restaurant close. Marcia Steers is the president of the council and although she also appears adamant to close down the restaurant, she does ask for a mysterious meeting with Gia. Unfortunately, before Gia can find out what the woman wants she stumbles over her dead body in the middle of a marsh.
There are plenty of suspects to choose from and with the help of Savannah's boyfriend, Officer Leo Dumont and Detective Hunter Quinn, Gia soon discovers that Marcia's death is tied to decades old Boggy Creek feuds including the unsolved murder of Savannah's mother and the untimely death of a local boy. It's not long before Gia finds herself and her furry sidekick, Thor the target of a killer.
A fast paced plot with a cozy community feel. The only thing that does get old is Gia's constant anxiety attacks when faced with going home alone or having to do any outside activities and that includes walking her dog. I hope that the author lets up a little in future episodes or else she moves Gia into town and away from her remote wilderness home, because the constant references to snakes, bears, spiders and ticks takes away from the main story line and becomes very frustrating.
Determined to save her business, Gia teams up with best friend Savannah Mills, and her loyal first customer in the cafe, Earl to take on the town council. To Gia's dismay, Maybelle Sanford is one of the council members, and she knows that the woman still harbors bad feelings after Gia fired her for being lazy and would like nothing more than to see the restaurant close. Marcia Steers is the president of the council and although she also appears adamant to close down the restaurant, she does ask for a mysterious meeting with Gia. Unfortunately, before Gia can find out what the woman wants she stumbles over her dead body in the middle of a marsh.
There are plenty of suspects to choose from and with the help of Savannah's boyfriend, Officer Leo Dumont and Detective Hunter Quinn, Gia soon discovers that Marcia's death is tied to decades old Boggy Creek feuds including the unsolved murder of Savannah's mother and the untimely death of a local boy. It's not long before Gia finds herself and her furry sidekick, Thor the target of a killer.
A fast paced plot with a cozy community feel. The only thing that does get old is Gia's constant anxiety attacks when faced with going home alone or having to do any outside activities and that includes walking her dog. I hope that the author lets up a little in future episodes or else she moves Gia into town and away from her remote wilderness home, because the constant references to snakes, bears, spiders and ticks takes away from the main story line and becomes very frustrating.
