BATTERED AND BURIED is the seventh book in the All-Day Breakfast Café Mysteries by Lena Gregory. I was so happy to see this series continue and it was fun catching up with Gia, the owner of the breakfast café and her group of friends. I especially loved how close they are and when Cole, her head cook, is accused of murder, they all band together to prove his innocence. Ms. Gregory’s strong descriptive voice brings each scene and the Florida setting to life, with some humor thrown in about NYC transplant Gia’s aversion to creepy crawly Florida critters, which I can relate to. The victim was a mean-spirited man, and it wasn’t a surprised when he finally met his demise. With so many people hating him, there were enough suspects to keep the reader guessing. The plot was well-paced and kept my attention throughout as it led to an edge-of-your-seat reveal. If you haven’t read any in this series before, this can be read as a standalone, but you’ll want to go back and catch up with these delightful characters!

"Battered and Buried (An All-Day Breakfast Café Mystery #7)" by Lena Gregory is able to be read fairly standalone. I feel like the right parts that were needed from past books were filled in without being overdone and the mystery didn't require past book info.

That being said, there were a lot of characters and some with names a bit too close to each other or backgrounds a bit too close together. I kept confusing Caleb and Cole because of their names. Then I would confuse Brynleigh and Ariyah because they both were mistresses of the same man but one kept getting brought up while the other maybe should've been more. Maybe could've done with just one of them.

Mystery wise, there were several good suspects. I, personally, have one in mind the whole time just because. Call it a gut feeling after having read hundreds of cozy mysteries. I was right but was totally going, "well if not them, then...," the whole time too.

Gia loves her new life in a small town and her All-Day Breakfast Cafe. Everything is great until a loud, rude customer berates the food, the service, and her cook. Gia finds out the man is opening a diner in direct competition to her. He routinely ruins a business while opening his own, then runs his own business down and files bankruptcy. Before any of that can happen, Gia’s friend and cook discover a body in the swamp and soon her cook is the main suspect. Because the dead man was universally disliked, there is no shortage of suspects for Gia to investigate with her friends.
This is a good cozy mystery with warm friendships and lots of red herrings to keep you guessing.
Thanks to NetGalley and Beyond the Page Publishing for the ARC.

I'm not sure how I've missed this series until now, especially since the idea of an All-Day Breakfast Cafe sounds like a place I'd love in real life. In any case, I'm glad I finally found this series. I have to admit to being a bit taken aback by Gia's rather aggressive questioning but admired the way her whole network of friends stuck together and had each other's backs. As investigators, they obviously bring different strengths to the table, including some master online snooping skills, and it's great to see the togetherness. They're an interesting group with back stories I'm looking forward to catching up on as time permits. In this case, Cole, chef at Gia's cafe, is a prime suspect in a murder where several members of the group stumbled on the victim while hiking. I mean, we go from still relative newbie to Florida Gia agonizing over the proximity to gators and snakes to finding a body. Yikes.

I won't detail the plot other than to say there are many suspects since the victim was guilty of destroying so many lives. You'll dislike him from the very beginning, I'm sure. As for the other characters, well, aside from the eventual killer, you'll find the cast of characters (which the author provides a list of with a brief description at the beginning) quite likable and marvel at how organized they are as they work together to figure out whodunit. Gia and Savannah are definitely a force to be reckoned with, playing good/bad cop together well, maybe having taken a few hints from their romantic partners, Hunt and Leo. No one seriously believe Cole could have killed anyone, even if his stubborn reluctance to talk to investigators leaves all frustrated. We've even got some romance brewing, so lots going on and past occasionally meets present in this story.

And, hey, love Thor, Gia's huge Bermese mountain dog. Gia felt very human to me, even to the point of momentarily forgetting all she'd been taught about self-protection at one point, which seems a very real life reaction. Nope, not sharing any more details. You'll just have to read the book and, I'm betting that, just like me, you may find yourself hooked and on the look out for past episodes. Thanks #NetGalley and #BeyondThePagePublishing for introducing me to this series with this sneak peek. I'll definitely be playing catch-up and on the look out for the next installment. Fun read.

4.5 stars
This is a fun, entertaining, captivating story. Gia and all her friends are interesting, intriguing, relatable, quirky, fun, entertaining characters. I enjoyed both the human and animal characters and what they brought to the story. I loved how the mystery played out and the fact that all the characters helped solve the crime. The story is easy to read and get into.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

#BatteredandBuried #NetGalley is a wonderful addition to this series by Lena Gregory.
Gia and Savannah make a great team, and I was not prepared for how much I was going to love this story.
Cole is the chef for Gia's all day breakfast cafe, and when he becomes the prime suspect in a murder investigation, Gia and Savannah do whatever is necessary to prove his innocence.
The victim is a childhood friend of Cole's, but there's no love lost between them. Rusty, the victim is a weasel, a cheat, and just downright mean, so even though not many people are upset by his death, the suspect list is long.
Gia knows Cole wouldn't hurt a fly, but his refusal to provide information throws suspicion on him.
I couldn't put this book down, it grabbed my attention from the beginning and kept me guessing until the big reveal, which was very unexpected.
This is a fun cozy mystery with strong characters who will make you laugh and cry.
I'm excited to recommend this book to other readers.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for selecting me to read an advanced copy of the book.