Fourth in the Coffeeshop Mystery series revolving around the manager of the Village Blend, an independent coffeeshop in Greenwich Village, New York.My TakeIf you want to understand coffee as one would appreciate wine, this is the series for you as Coyle goes into great detail about the roasts, the blends, and the pairings of food with the different kinds of coffee beans. What to take into account, how to prepare the ideal cup of coffee or espresso.I do enjoy the battles between mother and daughter. Mom doesn't want Joy making the same mistakes she or her father made. At the same time, Mom doesn't realize just how similar Joy is in temperament to herself. Clare is also deluding herself---or is she being hypocritical?---about her own reasons for detecting. What she condemns in others are the same actions she takes. Something her new love interest points out.For those of you interested in architecture, Coyle knocks on those wealthy owners who want 'old' new houses; who are afraid to take a chance on something interesting. One of Coyle's characters describes Robert Motherwell's Quonset hut house. A tiny bit of reminiscence about Pollack and the Hamptons as an artists' colony in its early days as well. I did love Coyle's description of the redesign of the Cuppa J as well as her mentions of other renowned restaurants. Yummy memories of Chez Panisse and this lovely restaurant up in Lakeport, California...Okay, this is just weird. Coyle tells of the Bagisu tribesmen who use donkeys to transport their cherries as though this is some new, unique idea. Interesting point Coyle makes about the movers and shakers of New York who vacation in the Hamptons---and are unable to leave their aggressive personalities behind.Sometimes I really wonder about Clare. She's quick to jump on some obvious possibilities and just as quick to ignore other just as likely ones. Naive. Just as she's quick to condemn Madame about Edward, but jump on Joy for condemning Madame. Okay, I'm impressed. I fully expected Clare to back out on her deal and she didn't.The StoryClare and David have made an arrangement in which Clare "trains and oversees his barista staff" at David's Hamptons-based restaurant in exchange for a salary and staying in his guesthouse---a ploy to allow Joy to work in the Hamptons for the summer, but under her mother's watchful eye.The action begins with a Fourth of July party at David's Hamptons house when an unintended target is murdered. Naturally, Clare and Madame can't resist becoming involved much to the local police department's dismay for they believe the victim was the target. Clare believes that David is the one threatened. A threat David does not believe even as Clare uncovers enemy after enemy.Slowly the evidence mounts. The celebrity photos. David's almost-death from his allergic reaction. The laced cocaine. A shooting champion. The routine of a former SEAL.The CharactersClare Cosi and Matteo Allegro are divorced but Madame Blanche Dreyfus Allegro Dubois, the owner of the Village Blend, the family's historic coffeehouse in the Village, is determined to reunite them and made them each an offer of a share in the business and the townhouse apartment above the shop. Clare accepted not knowing of the duplicate offer Madame made to Matteo. Clare manages the Blend while Matteo is the coffee buyer. He's currently implementing an expansion on the Blend with gourmet coffee kiosks in upscale malls---David Mintzer is a major investor. Joy is their 19-year-old daughter enjoying a summer break from culinary school in New York.Clare is relying upon Tucker Burton, their gay head barista, to hold down the fort at the Village Blend while she works in the Hamptons. Waitstaff for David's restaurant, Cuppa J, and for his party on the Fourth of July include Graydon Faas, Treat Mazzelli, Suzi Tuttle, and Colleen O'Brien. Victor Vogel is the Cuppa J chef and Jacques Papas is the manager. Alberta Gurt is David's housekeeper.Marjorie Bright hates David for the mature trees he's had planted around his house---it interferes with her view of the water. Edward Myers Wilson is an artist and professor whom Madame is *ahem* making time with in the Hamptons. Bom Felloes is a chain restaurant chef with a grudge against David. Breanne Summour still seems to be maintaining her place in the series; she's seeing Matteo and jealous of Clare. And Clare is so enjoying rubbing it in to Matteo! Jim Rand is a former SEAL now making a living shooting photographs of celebrities; he wants to make enough money to buy a yacht and sail her down to the Caribbean. He is partners in the photography business with a fellow ex-soldier, Kenny Darnell. About to be a former friend, too.Sergeant Roy O'Rourke is in charge of the investigation---he obviously has no experience with Clare's detecting abilities, hmmphf. Detective Melchior is part of the team.Detective Mike Quinn has been attracted to Clare from the beginning, but has some marital issues to resolve. Officers Langley and Demetrios don't appear this time.The CoverThe cover is all scratched up in shades of blue as we attend a bullet-ridden party on someone's patio. That cherry is certainly surprised as the bullet whips through the mounded whipped cream!The title refers to the summer coffee drinks Clare whips up.
Okay. I like coffee. I like mysteries, and I don't expect them to be great works of literature except in exceptional circumstances. I like the main character of this series, and the plot was okay. BUT.I DO expect someone to have edited these books before they're published. Even the mass-market paperbacks. Even the cozy mysteries. ESPECIALLY the books of a "national bestselling author" being published by a division of Penguin Publishing. PLEASE, please put 0.00001% of your profits toward hiring someone like me to read your books before you publish them. Why? Well... I've gathered a few examples.Page 4 (which is the FIRST PAGE of CHAPTER ONE): "sterling-sliver serving trays overflowed with flutes of obscenely expensive champagne"Page 9: "Out here, sterling sliver serving trays . . . overflowed with seemingly endless rounds of seafood canapes"Gotta love how the "sliver" is consistent but the hyphenation is not. Also, apparently trays overflow. That's just what they do. Every time.But seriously, Cleo, put "sliver" on your list of Ctrl-F's to check before publication. I do it with "pubic" and "trail" when I write legal briefs, because hey, spellcheck doesn't know that I meant "public" and "trial," but I do. And, importantly, I WOULD BE EMBARRASSED if I accidentally argued that a trail for my client would be against pubic interest. YOU ALSO SHOULD BE EMBARRASSED to have sliver serving trays in your book -- twice!Page 17: "I believe he's been shirking work every since!"I shirk work every since I get, too.Page 68: "Millions of dollars and thousands of employees livelihoods are at stake."I know it's just a missing apostrophe, but still. There's also a reference to some "ex-Masaad" agents on the same page... I think she meant "ex-Mossad," since that's how it was spelled earlier in the book. Even spellcheck should have caught that one, no?Page 140: "I invited David here tonight . . . to wheedle an invitation to sample his dessert parings for myself."No, David does not serve apple peels and potato skins for dessert. Page 241 (during the big "I would have gotten away with it too, if it weren't for you meddling kids!" speech): "Jim snorted. 'You give me undo credit, pal.'"Gah. I actually snorted myself, in disbelief. Pal.
What do You think about Murder Most Frothy (2006)?
A good continuation to the series. Clare Cosi again gets embroiled in a murder mystery, this time while staying in the Hamptons with a friend and colleague, as she helps wealthy David Mintzer start up his restaurant Cuppa J. She is the "coffee steward," helping to ensure that there are proper coffee and dessert pairings on his menu. A man who looked somewhat like David is shot while at David's house for a party. Clare is convinced that David was the real target, though the police are not. So, of course, she investigates, and, as usual, puts herself into ridiculously dangerous situations. Still, the story was well thought out. Since the setting was different, it was actually quite different from the previous books in the series, which was a nice change. There was far less talk about making coffee than in the previous books as well--also a nice change. The twist in the end sort of came out of left field, which I didn't particularly like, since there should be some indication of whodunit from early on. (Well, there sort of was here, but the identity of the shooter couldn't really have been determined.)Still, a decent entry in the series.
—Holly
The fourth in the Cleo Coyle Coffeehouse Mystery series, Murder Most Frothy, finds New York coffee shop manager Clare Cosi headed for the Hamptons for the summer. Clare's new friend, millionaire David Mintzer, offers Clare an all-expenses paid summer at his Hampton's mansion to relax in the sun, in exchange for training the staff of his new restaurant.Before long Clare is tending the coffee bar at a big party at the mansion, but the fun party has a dramatic turn of events: an employee turns up dead in David’s bathroom, and it becomes obvious that the real target was David. The two men were of similar features and build, and wearing the same colors. Unfortunately because of the Fourth of July fireworks no one heard any shots. Clare begins to investigate, while everyone waits for the police to arrive.This short cozy mystery was a quick fun read. For me, the best part of this series is the coffee and dessert recipes This one featured one I recipe that I plan to try: Claire's Chocolate Walnut Espresso Brownies.
—Diane
When coffee shop proprietor Claire Cosi agrees to spend the summer in the Hamptons, managing coffee service at a swanky new restaurant and living in her employer's mansion, she doesn't expect to be solving murders. But on the night of July 4th, a young man is shot at party in the mansion, and Claire is certain--even if the police aren't--that the bullet was meant for her employer, the wealthy David Mintzer. She sets about trying to find the killer herself, despite David, the police, and members of Claire's family telling her not to.This is a pretty standard mystery in the cozy genre, though it tries to rough itself up by adding in drugs and contract killers. It was a perfectly fine mystery, well-written and with interesting characters, most of whom were gorgeous (including Claire, I assume, as men were always falling at her feet). I think it would be of most interest to coffee connoisseurs, as it describes coffee drinks in great detail (I don't drink coffee, so that was lost on me). I did think that there were a couple of unbelievable moments, like Claire party-crashing while sopping wet; there didn't seem to be any reason for her to do that other than to meet various other characters. I also get a little tired of the snappy, terrier-like heroines who barge into mysteries with a self-righteous sense of entitlement to snoop and start arguments and get themselves in trouble. I prefer the Maisie Dobbs types, who use diplomacy, charm, and good manners to achieve their goals.
—Rebecca
