Just as Lana is heading to Noah’s for this elusive first date of grilled steaks and wine, he cancels their date. Well, he leaves her a note with the receptionist at his building, so maybe Lana should keep her phone charged. It seems the owner of a local hot yoga studio has gone missing and since her boyfriend is the son of a prominent politician, Noah has to jump on the case immediately. Interestingly enough, Dante’s Inferno is in the same building as Perkatory, right next door, and the owner, a blonde beauty named Raina Rose, has always been somewhat coolish to Lana, despite the fact that Lana's father owns the building. But now that Raina’s missing, the old crime reporter in Lana can’t help but want to investigate, especially since Mike at the local paper wants her to do a freelance story since his crime reporter’s on vacation. If only she didn’t have to deal with the new photographer for the paper, Cody, an arrogant pretty boy who is proud of his freelance work in Iraq and seems a bit too confident for Lana’s taste. Ugh, and he is also hitting on her, despite the fact that they’ve only just met.
When the missing persons case turns into a murder after Raina’s body is found in a local swamp, even more pressure is on to find the killer, especially since Kai, Raina’s politically-connected boyfriend, could be a person of interest. With Noah working the case and out of the picture for the time being, Lana gets to work, with a little investigative help from Erica, her sometimes partner-in-crime (investigation). The more she digs into Raina, the more questions she uncovers, including the fact that Dante's Inferno was having money troubles and Raina was pressuring clients to spend big bucks and/or invest money into her studio. Then there was Raina's costly yoga retreat to Costa Rica that many of her students recently attended, but there was plenty of drama that unfolded there. It appears she also had a bit of a stalker in the local jet ski rental guy, Shawn Sims, or was there more to the relationship? One thing is for sure – Raina Rose was an enigmatic beauty who held many under her sway with her incredible powers of persuasion, but that is definitely not the whole story.
While Lana is juggling interviews with locals for the story she is writing for the paper, she also has to contend with a problem with Perkatory’s new cold brew, which was been a recent big hit, but the latest batch tastes rancid. If she doesn’t figure it out soon, she could lose a lot of her regular business. Successful store manager or freelance reporter? She’ll have to pick one soon. As she inches closer to the answers, she could wind up in a watery grave, just like Raina.
Cold Brew Corpse is a fun follow-up to Grounds for Murder. It keeps the same lightweight pace as the previous book, with Lana and Noah making incremental progress in their romance. It's definitely more of a light murder mystery, but is a fun beach read and the recurring characters are progressing nicely.
