On What Grounds (A Coffeehouse Mystery #1)

Author:  Cleo Coyle
Genre:   Mystery

Hardcover; Mass Market Paperback; Digital Book
ISBN #:  9781587246470; 9780425192139
Berkley Prime Crime Publishing
270 Pages
Various Prices; $7.99 Amazon
September 2, 2003

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With a sprawling rent-free apartment directly above The Village Blend, her cat Java by her side, and plenty of coffeehouse redecorating ideas, Clare is thrilled to return to work.  Until she discovers the assistant manager unconscious in the back of the store, coffee grounds strewn everywhere.  Police arrive on the scene to investigate.  But when they find no sign of forced entry or foul play, they deem it an accident.  Case closed.  But Clare is not convinced.  And after the police leave, there are a few things she just can't get out of her mind...Why was the trash bin in the wrong place?  If this wasn't an accident, is Clare in danger?  And...are all detectives this handsome?

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Clare Cosi is divorced, her daughter is in college, and she's decided to return to Manhattan to manage the Village Blend, a coffeeshop that is the best there is (according to her).  When she arrives she finds the coffeehouse closed, and is immediately angry with her new assistant manager, Annabelle.  But her anger soon turns to horror when she finds her at the bottom of the stairs, in a heap and unconscious.  She immediately calls 911, and Annabelle is taken to the hospital.

When questioned by the officers, Clare is too shaken to respond, so she does what she does best -- makes them coffee while she answers their questions.  But things don't stop there: when the shop is finally allowed to open, and her staff is in place, she goes to her new apartment above the building and finds her ex-husband, who refuses to leave, since his mother told him he could stay there when he is in town (he travels to purchase coffee from plantations).  Clare knows her ex-mother-in-law, Madame, is thinking they'll get back together this way, but she's having none of it.

Still, things are conspiring to disrupt her life.  She's attracted to the homicide detective on the case, though she believes him married and keeps her distance, and her daughter has brought a young man for them to meet -- and her ex-husband Matt hates him on sight.  But it's the attempted murder of Annabelle that keeps her busy -- even if the police think it was an accident -- and she's not going to rest until she ferrets out who wanted the young woman dead - even if her own life is in danger...

I really wanted to like this book, since I do like the other series by this author.  And I love coffee.  A lot.  But even I found it boring when she was telling us all the different ways to make the various coffees.  I found it distracting from the murder (yes, eventually there was one).  Every time we'd hear something about Annabelle, it seemed to be an opportunity to tell us about coffee.  It felt more like a coffee guide than a mystery.

So much so, that when the murderer was identified, and the reasons for it, I really didn't even care.  But what made it difficult for me (and I hope it doesn't continue) is the fact that it read a little bit like it might turn out to be a love triangle.  I absolutely detest them.  Let me put it this way: (as I have many times before) if it were a man, and he was stringing along two women, you'd think him a dog, or worse.  But somehow it's fine if a woman strings along two men.  It's not.  It takes away from the plot.  Pick one and be done with it.

When all is said and done, I will read the next in the series to see if it improves.  But if the potential love triangle continues, I'm done with the series.

https://www.amazon.com/What-Grounds-Coffeehouse-Mysteries-No/dp/042519213X/ref

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3224386764

More on Cleo Coyle's Books:  https://www.fantasticfiction.com/c/cleo-coyle/