In this fifth installment of the Coffeehouse Mystery series, Matt, Clare’s ex-husband, and their old friend Ric Gostwick are about to unveil a breakthrough coffee plant, an actual botanically decaffeinated bean. Ric was attacked on his way to the Village Blend the night of their tasting, and refuses to go to the police about it, making Clare suspicious (although we know it doesn’t take much to do that!) that something is going on.
Clare and her baristas are amazed at the taste and agree to serve at the official unveiling of the coffee a few days later. Not everything is on the up and up however, as Claire soon discovers as she investigates the situation, getting back in touch with old friend Ellie Lassiter, who was assisting Ric in the development and registering of the new plant.
Detective Mike Quinn is back, and things start heating up a bit between he and Clare, finally!
I’m really enjoying this series, despite the fact that there’s not a cat, ghost or archaeological ruin to be found! ;) Lots of interesting coffee history and facts, fun characters, and some tasty sounding recipes at the back! I highly recommend. They reference past history, but the mystery itself can generally be stand alone in my opinion.
This order thus far is:
1. On What Grounds (2003)
2. Through the Grinder (2004)
3. Latte Trouble (2005)
4. Murder Most Frothy (2006)
5. Decaffeinated Corpse (2007)
6. French Pressed (2008)
7. Espresso Shot (2008)
I’m looking forward to the next ones in the series!
Interesting note: Cleo Coyle is also Alice Alfonsi, and 1/2 of Alice Kimberly, along with Marc Cerasini, who write the Haunted Bookshop series, starting with The Ghost and Mrs. McClure, which I'm looking forward to reading!
I'm probably the only person left in America who has never been to Starbucks but I like my coffee with more cream and sugar than coffee so I've never seen the need. These sound a bit like JoAnna Carl's Chocoholic Mystery series which I really enjoy but since I'm not that wild about coffee I've debated picking the series up.
ReplyDeleteWell, honestly I'm not a straight coffee lover either. Growing up I liked things like coffee flavored frosting or ice cream, but the thought of drinking an actual cup of coffee was just disgusting! I've always been disappointed at how good the flavored coffees smell versus how they taste! But then I discovered Starbucks and the Latte with whip cream... heehee! My favorite is the White Chocolate Mocha, add Caramel and whip cream, and I am hooked! It's very sad... lol! Actually I started out on the frozen versions first, and have now moved to the hot ones. I'm one of the fallen! But I still don't think I'll ever like a straight cup of coffee!
ReplyDeleteI do like an occasional cosy mystery but I am not sure if I could read one based on coffee...I love my cafe latte to go every morning on the way to work but a book about coffee??? Hmmm
ReplyDeleteI know, I thought that too, I like my fluffy coffee on occasion (lately it's becoming everyday, kind of an expensive habit) but a coffee mystery? Like I said, no cats, or ghosts or archaeological ruins or anything! But the characters are good, and the story is fast paced, and now that I've read several of them, it's like checking in on old friends to see what they're up to! And the coffee facts are interesting, without being too hard to understand, or so easy that they're boring.
ReplyDeleteI love coffee and I love mysteries, so these sound like great fun.
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