“Coffee makes a sad man cheerful, a languorous man active, a cold man warm, a warm man glowing. It awakens mental powers thought to be dead, and when left in a sick room, it fills the room with a fragrance…. The very smell of coffee terrorizes death.”
― Cleo Coyle, On What Grounds
Ten years ago, Clare Cosi left her job managing the historic Village Blend coffeehouse in New York City. She moved to the quieter suburbs to raise her daughter. These quieter spaces are starting to bother Clare, so when the owner of Village Blend calls and proposes that Clare come back to manage the coffeehouse, she is intrigued. Soon Clare is moving back to New York City, right in the action and ready to serve up coffee.
Clare has scored the spacious rent-free apartment located right above Village Blend. Bringing her last bit of belongings to her new place early one morning, Clare is shocked to see that Village Blend is closed and locked when it should be open, serving customers. Angry that her new assistant manager is slacking on the job, Clare walks into the coffeehouse to find coffee grounds all over and her employee gravely injured. The arrival of the police and their subsequent ruling that this whole incident was an accident rubs Clare the wrong way. She isn’t convinced, despite their certainty, that her employee was clumsy enough to fall down the stairs. Clare begins an investigation of her own, determined to uncover the truth.
This series has been on my to-read list for quite a while. I took a risk and decided to read the first. While not a coffee drinker, I did find myself enjoying all of the coffee making tips and recipes that the author sprinkles throughout the book. I was pleasantly surprised with the plot. It wasn’t the best cozy mystery start to a series that I’ve read, but it also wasn’t the worst! I’m excited to see where the second book takes me.
This title is also available as a Libby eBook.
“As the 1902 coffee almanac put it, ‘When coffee is bad it is the wickedest thing in town; when good, the most glorious.”
― Cleo Coyle, On What Grounds
Coffeehouse Mystery series
- On What Grounds (2003)
- Through the Grinder (2004)
- Latte Trouble (2005)
- Murder Most Frothy (2006)
- Decaffeinated Corpse (2007)
- French Pressed (2008)
- Espresso Shot (2008)
- Holiday Grind (2009)
- Roast Mortem (2010)
- Murder by Mocha (2011)
- A Brew to a Kill (2012)
- Holiday Buzz (2012)
- Billionaire Blend (2013)
- Once Upon a Grind (2014)
- Dead to the Last Drop (2015)
- Dead Cold Brew (2017)
- Shot in the Dark (2018)
- Brewed Awakening (2019)
- Honey Roasted (2022)
- Bulletproof Barista (2023)