Grounds for Suspicion: A Small-Town Cozy Mystery of Coffee, Courage, and a Dog Who Knows (A Julia Bennett & Macchiato Perch Lakeside Café Mystery Book 1)

In the quiet lakeside town of Heron’s Cove, routines are sacred.

Julia Bennett has rebuilt her life one careful ritual at a time—morning runs along the water, tending the patio herbs at her café, and tracking her hard-won mental stability in a color-coded journal. With her psychiatric service dog, Macchiato, always at her side to help with her bipolar II moods, she has created something steady. Safe. Predictable.

Until the sirens come.

When bestselling author Erin Delaney is found dead near the northern bluffs after a tense book signing at the local bookstore, the town’s polished charm begins to crack. A patio argument. A torn NDA. A missing bookend. A whisper of collaboration that wasn’t supposed to exist.

The police call it an unfortunate tragedy.

Julia starts a list titled: Things That Don’t Add Up.

As secrets rise like mist off the lake, Julia must balance her determination for the truth with the careful boundaries that keep her stable. Because in Heron’s Cove, everyone has something to protect—and someone is willing to kill to keep it buried.

With the quiet intuition of a woman who sees patterns others miss, and a dog who senses trouble before it strikes, Julia is about to discover that in a town built on stories, the most dangerous lies are the ones people tell themselves.

Perfect for fans of small-town intrigue, character-driven mysteries, and cozy suspense with emotional depth.