A Cuppa Trouble (The CafFUNated Mysteries #2) by Angela Ruth Strong

Kindle Edition, 235 pages

Published July 1st 2019 by Mountain Brook Ink

Can a couple of baristas chase down a car thief without spilling a drop of their favorite drink?

Plans for a Valentine's Day grand opening of a small town coffee shop go awry when the first customer is killed. Evidence points toward the victim being mixed up in a car theft ring, but shop owners Tandy and Marissa have reason to believe he was framed. An assortment of suspects--from a pink-haired heir to Tandy's charming ex--all seem to know a little too much about grand theft auto.

Without approval from either their boyfriends or the gum-chewing FBI agent in charge, the shop owners go on stakeouts, plan stings, and pursue justice in a high-speed car chase. If they don't find the killer soon, it might be more than their love lives in trouble.

Captions by Roderick Field read: 

"Tea is the finest solution to nearly every catastrophe and conundrum that the day may bring." 

"The first coffee of the day is a stalwart companion in the face of an unreasonable world."

My Review

4 STARS!!!

“Choosing to be vulnerable in a relationship was about as scary as being captured by a killer.”

Strong never disappoints me with her stories. Her contemporary novels and novellas always have plenty of charm, wit, mystery, fun and camaraderie between the characters.

A Cuppa Trouble is the second book in Strong's CafFUNated Mysteries and as ridiculous as Marissa is (she is a big-time klutz!), I couldn’t help shaking my head and chuckling at some of the crazy predicaments this girl gets herself into. And Connor, her boyfriend, is a saint. He’s steady (literally for her at times…haha), dependable, not without his tiny flaws but such a great partner for her that I adore him more with each book.

Tandy just gets better and better to me. Her character development is coming along nicely and she’s becoming my favorite. Greg, her new love interest, is rock solid and a nice man. It’s good to read a book where the guy is not some reformed rogue with a horrid past. At least, that’s not what Greg is yet. ;-)

The story, while it is a cozy mystery (it’s good and a bit predictable), is really more about Marissa and Tandy and their relationship. They discover a few things about each other in this book that reveals their inner insecurities and helps deepen their bond of friendship. Overall, I really liked this second offering and look forward to reading the next book.

I received a digital copy from the author. I was not required to write a review. No compensation has been received.