Review - Decaffeinated Corpse
The Latest Coffeehouse Mystery by Cleo Coyle
Decaffeinated Corpse, the fifth in the Clare Cosi Coffeehouse mystery series, finds Clare's handsome, but philandering ex-husband temporarily in residence at the townhouse they share about their Greenwich Village coffee house, the Village Blend.
Usually Matt is scouring the world for prize coffee beans or managing their string of coffee kiosks around the country. He's in town now, however, because his old boyhood friend, Ric Gostwick, has developed a naturally decaffeinated coffee plant and is introducing it to the coffee industry powers-that-be and the press at a New York gala. Before the event takes place, however, Ric is nearly killed in what appears to be a mugging, behind the Village Blend.
The Elusive Decaf Plant
Disturbed by Ric's near miss and his subsequent refusal to go to the police, Clare starts asking questions about the new coffee plant and about Ric. She finds the true story of his boyhood, that he and his family were exiled from their Caribbean island home by a Castro-like government overthrow. She learns that his college sweetheart, now married, might just still be sweet on him. And, she learns that some of the procedures necessary to get approval for Ric's plant have been at best rushed through. Could any of this have to do with his attack?
Murder at the Gala
The story comes to a climax at the lavish coffee gala. There's gate crashers, a missing botanist, and impersonators. Will Clare and the ones she loves make it out of the party without being hurt? Is the coffee plant that she and her husband have gambled on the real thing?
Unlike the other coffee house mysteries, this one waits until near the end for the murder to occur. Before that, there's a lot of character background and interesting facts about coffee, its history, and the different kinds of beans (my favorite part of this series). Readers are rewarded at the end with seven coffee and food recipes. Not as fast-paced as the rest of the series, but enjoyable none-the-less.
The teaser at the end of the book says the next book, to be released in 2008, will feature Clare's daughter, Joy, a culinary student, and her much older (and married) chef boyfriend.
About Cleo Coyle
Cleo Coyle is a pseudonym for the husband-and-wife writing team of Marc Cerasini and Alice Alfonsi. Their previous mystery novels include Latte Trouble, Through the Grinder, On What Grounds, and the 2006 release, Murder Most Frothy.
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