Grounds to Kill by Wendy Roberts is the first book in the new “Barista” mystery series. Publisher: Carina Press, January 2013

Barista Jen Hamby’s coworkers give her a hard time for bringing coffee and pastries to a homeless man who sits outside her café–but she has a secret. The scruffy man is her father.

She’s also hiding the little matter of why her palm itches. But how can she explain that her hand has a mind of its own and writes messages from the beyond? Right. That’ll get her Employee of the Month.

When she finds herself scrawling your boyfriend is cheating on you! to herself on the bathroom mirror, she immediately dumps the guy. But then his little fling–who just happens to be her half sister–turns up dead, and suddenly Jen’s homeless father is the prime suspect.

Jen knows he is being framed and must take matters into her own hands to protect him. But will anyone believe that the crazy old man is innocent? Or that his spirit-writing daughter holds the truth?

What an exciting debut! Jen has a secret that comes in handy when she stumbles upon the dead body of her half-sister. When the police start looking at her father for the murder, Jen with help from her two BFFs, set the stage for finding a killer and what a fun read this became. This was a good mystery that I could not put down as I had to know what happens next and who was trying to stop Jen’s effort in proving her father’s innocence. This was an action filled drama that never let up even when I thought I had a handle on the killer’s identity. A good read boasted by a likable cast and great dialogue, I can’t wait to read the next book in this enjoyable series.

previously posted on the Cozy Chicks blog