Book Review -- Through the Grinder
The Second of Four Clare Cosi Mysteries
This coffehouse mystery by Cleo Coyle has all of the elements -- a likeable protagonist, a surprise ending, and even coffee drink and food recipes.
Through the Grinder is the second in a series of coffeehouse cozy mysteries, featuring barista and coffee aficionado, Clare Cosi. In this book, the reader finds Clare newly divorced and living and working in New York's West Village neighborhood. In fact, she's managing and living above her former mother-in-law's popular neighborhood coffee emporium, The Village Blend.
The Dating Dilemma
The shop's morning regulars include a number of single women and when the talk one morning turns to dating, the subject of online dating services arises, to the interest of Clare's 19-year-old daughter, Joy. Clare, in an effort to check out these services, joins two of these groups, meeting an array of interesting, comical, and deadly (?) bachelors.
When Village Blend women start dying by "convenient" accident, Clare's suspicions are alerted and she tracks down the killer in an effort to protect her daughter and the man about whom she's come to care. Will she find the ruthless individual in time?
Coffee Facts and Fun
One of the best parts, to me, about Cleo Coyle's Clare Cosi books in the liberal sprinkling of coffee facts and trivia. We learn, for example, the optimum mix of body, acidity, and aroma for the perfect cup of coffee as well as how to marinate beef in coffee for tender, flavorful steaks. The book concludes with a selection of recipes for dishes features in the book. Yum!
About Cleo Coyle
Cleo Coyle is a pseudonym for the husband-and-wife writing team of Marc Cerasini and Alice Alfonsi. Their other mystery novels include Latte Trouble, Murder Most Frothy, and On What Grounds. Their fifth Clare Cosi novel, A Decaffeinated Corpse is due out in July of 2007.
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