53) Decaffeinated Corpse by Cleo Coyle

The Blurb :

When an old friend of her ex-husband develops the world's first botanically decaffeinated coffee bean and smuggles it into the country, Clare Cosi, manager of Village Blend, believes it's a business opportunity she needs to investigate...at least until the first dead body shows up.

My Thoughts :

Sorry for the radio silence here but it is Summer and I have been away enjoying a little time off.  Hopefully things will get back to normal now that I am home again.

I actually finished listening to this fifth book in the Coffeehouse Mysteries about a week ago but didn't get around to posting about it before my little trip.  I have to admit it is now, a week later, hard to remember exactly what happened in the story but I do remember how annoying this series is.

Clare is so aggravating!  Her know it all attitude, the way she treats her daughter, the constant coffee snobbishness and her bad detective skills all make me want to smack her.  However there is something about this series that keeps me going back for more.  It obviously appeals to many readers because there are sixteen books in the series and it doesn't seem to be over.

The plot this time around was very weak, confusing and also quite boring.  I had no idea what was going on most of the time but I still managed to finish this one and wonder why I had bothered. Though I am sure at some point in the near future you will see a review here for the sixth book because there is something that makes me want to come back for more.  Maybe I am hoping Clare changes?  Maybe that her daughter disowns her?   To see how things go with her detective? or maybe I am just hopeful for a nice big 'fall'.

44) Murder Most Frothy by Cleo Coyle

The Blurb :

Clare Cosi’s new friend, millionaire David Mintzer, has an offer no New York barista could turn down: an all-expenses-paid summer away from the sticky city. At his Hamptons mansion, she’ll relax, soak up the sun, and, oh yes, train the staff of his new restaurant. So Clare packs up her daughter, her former mother-in-law, and her special recipe for iced coffee—for what she hopes will be one de-latte-ful summer…

Soon, Clare tends the coffee bar at her first Hamptons gala. But the festivities come to a bitter end when an employee turns up dead in David’s bathroom—a botched attempt on the millionaire’s life. Thanks to the Fourth of July fireworks no one heard any gunshots, and the police are stuck in holiday traffic. Concerned for everyone’s safety, Clare begins to investigate. What she finds will keep her up at night—and it’s not the java jitters....

My Thoughts :

I am having a difficult love/hate relationship with the Coffeehouse Mystery series and fear that it will continue.  This fourth book in the series didn't do much for the love side of the relationship but for some reason I can't stop myself from being interested in the next installment.

Clare is a highly annoying character with conflicting views on so many things and she constantly manages to get on my nerves with her condescending manner.  This combined with her snobby attitude about everything coffee related makes her really hard to like.  Don't even started on her investigations with she stumbles through like an elephant in a minefield.   How she hasn't gotten herself killed or even badly hurt is beyond me.

This is a series that really makes me wonder if the author likes the main character or if she really wants her to come across as this annoying woman who I wouldn't usually give the time of day to.  However I really have to wonder why the series is already so long and doing so well.  There is obviously something about it because I don't think I can keep away either.

Listening to this series definitely helps because I am very sure that I wouldn't have finished reading this if I had read the physical version.  I will be checking out more of the series even though I don't know why I would want to.  There isn't anything very positive I can say about any of it but I still find myself wanting to listen to more of the series.  It is a true mystery!

31) Latte Trouble by Cleo Coyle

The Blurb :

It's Fashion Week in New York City -- and Clare's shop, the historic Village Blend, is the location of a prestigious insider's party for loyal customer and iconic designer Lottie Harmon, who is about to launch a collection of coffee-inspired accessories aptly named Java Jewelry. But the event, which is attended by the city's most zealous fashionistas, goes terribly wrong when a customer is poisoned and dies from cyanide in his latte.

A barista, who coincidentally was recently dumped by the victim, is arrested and charged with murder. But Clare knows in her heart that her employee is innocent and begins to investigate the people surrounding the enigmatic Lottie Harmon. When Clare uncovers a scheme to blackmail one of Lottie's business partners and then that partner suddenly turns up dead, she knows that there is trouble brewing.

My Thoughts :

For some reason I thought I was much further into this series than I really am.  This is only the third book but it feels like the fifth or the sixth.  Is that a good or a bad sign?  I am not sure.  The series is very well established and already boasts fifteen installments so this is obviously a good series.  Or is it?

This third installment was a little slow going for my liking.  The murder happened quite quickly but the investigation dragged on and on with little progress.  It wasn't until the last chapter or two that everything suddenly took shape and was revealed.  Maybe I missed the signs but I would have never figured out the motive before hand.  Now the killer I had picked up on pretty early,,,well at least I had my suspicions but the link between the two failed me.

While this kind of murder mystery has a nice surprising end with a twist in the tale there is no actual way for the reader to enjoy the sleuthing because it isn't helping you solve the mystery before protagonist.  Which is half the fun of reading cozy mysteries.

Anyway, this wasn't bad.  If you can get past Clare's coffee snobbish rants and encyclopedia moments then you can really enjoy the book for what it is.  A nice mystery with a lovely theme and a bunch of characters that are getting more and more interesting as the series progresses.

I will be checking out the next book sometime soon.  The audio versions are definitely worth listening to if you are a fan of audio books.  The narrator does a great job and does some nice voices for the characters.

11) Through the Grinder by Cleo Coyle

The Blurb :

Business is booming at Clare Cosi's Village Blend, until her female customers start to die. Lieutenant Quinn is convinced that someone has an axe to grind, and, unfortunately, his prime suspect is the new man in Clare's life.

Now Clare will risk her heart--and her life--to follow the killer's trail to the bitter end.

My Thoughts :

I started this series sometime last year and never got around to the second part.  The Coffeehouse series is a very well established series with already fifteen books under the name.  So I need to play catch up and that fits in with my Series Challenge for this year and also the fact that this one is a great listen via Audio book.

Now there is so much I like about this series.  The location is a huge pull for me.  I love New York and can't wait to visit the city again so the talk about all the districts and the history is wonderful.  I could listen to it all day.  Then there is the mystery plots.  So far they have been well thought out and interesting.  Keeping me guessing and not going too over the top.  The characters are also a nice bunch.  I am sure there is more to learn about all of them and I am looking forward to the many books ahead full of their stories.

However there are a few things about this series that have me wondering if I want to continue but are so far only a slight annoyance.  For instance, Claire is a coffee snob of the highest order.  Now I love coffee and it is interesting to hear some of the stories but her constant ramblings are quiet unnecessary.  The other element of the series so far is that the author doesn't seem to like her main character.  Claire has had to go through some really horrible things already.  With this second book really being quiet nasty.  Maybe it was part of a bigger plan but I was pretty shocked.

I look forward to listening to the next books in the series.  Maybe at some point things will turn around and I will totally love this series or decide to give up on it.  Only time will tell but until then this is a nice cozy series that has a lot going for it and must have something special because it has been going for over 10 years.

10) On What Grounds by Cleo Coyle

The Blurb :

Clare arrives at work to discover the assistant manager dead in the back of the store, coffee grounds strewn everywhere. Two detectives investigate. But when they find no sign of forced entry or foul play, they deem it an accident. Still, Clare is not convinced. And after the police leave, Clare can't help wondering...If this was an act of murder, is she in danger?

My Thoughts :

This book/series has been on my wishlist for a while and when I saw it cheap on Audible I snatched it up.  I, like most people, love coffee and drink a couple of cups a day to survive work and life in general.  Coffee shops are a regular occurrence and despite not having a regular coffee place I do live in Vienna which is famous for its coffeehouses.

I'll start by saying that if I had read the book I may have actually given up on it.  Listening to the book was hard enough and at some points I thought about turning it off and starting something else.  Why?  The coffee!  Yes this is a cozy with a coffee theme but wow!  I think half of the book was coffee facts, how to make coffee, Clare making coffee (always a long descriptive process) and stories about coffee.  It was too coffee and it was annoying.

Clare is a total coffee snob and she is constantly going off on tangents talking about coffee this and coffee that.  At first I thought it would be nice to hear a few facts but this author went over the top.  It drowned out the actual story and made me want to slap Clare.  She may run a coffeehouse and love coffee but she needs to get a life.

That wasn't all that annoyed me.  There was so many unbelievable things.  The fact that Clare's mother-in-law just gave her the coffeehouse to run with loads of incentives and the free apartment on top was just too easy.  Clare being a mother also felt weird.  She used it as an excuse/reason for things but I never really believed she was a loving mother.  More distant than close.  I won't even get started on her relationship with her ex.  I could rant all day.

The plot would have been good if there had been more of it.  There was so much potential at the beginning but it seemed very flat and boring till the end.  So much coffee chat and not enough action made things drag on and on.  I felt like the story was taking place over a week or two weeks but in reality only two days had passed.

There must be something amazingly good about this series because there are another twelve installments after this one.  So I have to believe that the author gets a grip on the characters and grows into the series because otherwise I can't understand how there can be so many more books about the coffeehouse.  For this reason and this reason only I am going to at least try book two in the series.  I am intrigued to see what the author comes up with next and if the many kinks get ironed out.

Lovers of coffee will appreciate the in-depth workings of everything coffee but if you are looking for a strong cozy then you may want to rethink this one.

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