Murder On The Orient Espresso (2013) - Plot & Excerpts
Sandra Balzo knows the cozy mystery genre well - she has written several books in the Maggie Thorsen series, in addition to recently starting a new series, and she just gets better with each book. The main characters are people you'd want to hang out with, the storylines are engaging and move at a brisk clip, and there's plent of humor throughout to keep readers entertained.For anyone unfamiliar with the series, Maggie is the owner of a gourmet coffee bar. She met her current squeeze, one Sheriff Jake Pavlik, when she was a murder suspect in an earlier story. In this outing, she's accompanying Jake on a mystery writers' conference aboard a train (hence the Orient Express theme)through the Florida Everglades. Jake is there as a guest speaker on one of the panels, and they hope to grab some time alone together for a mini-vacation.No chance of that...not long after the train leaves the station, one of the attendees is murdered, and as usual, Maggie is up to her eyeballs in it. Given the confines of their situation, Jake needs Maggie's assistance to help him not only solve the murder, but to try to keep the other attendees alive in the process. One reason this story is especially appealing is the setting - aboard a train, which is a terrific backdrop for a mystery. And the author gives a wink and a nod to the original book and film, which is a nice touch. Placing Maggie and Jake in a figurative (and sometimes literal) fish-out-of-water scenario is a refreshing change, and offers new insights to their personalities and relationship.Not to worry though, there's a good deal of screwball comedy provided amidst some bizarre situations, so just suspend your disbelief, laugh often as I did, and enjoy the ride. Maggie and her boyfriend Jake Pavlik, Pavlik as Maggie likes to call him were off to Florida for a mystery writers conference. Maggie had visions of a passion filled weekend. That was until the busty Zoe showed up and had plans of her own for Jake. Zoe was not thrilled that Maggie and Jake were sharing more than a room together, but Zoe needed to get ready for the nights fun. Murder on the orient espresso, a Agatha Christie based murder train ride. On the bus ride to the train Maggie learned a lot about all the other guests. A lot of the guests seems to dislike one another and some even appeared to be old flames. Including Zoe and her boyfriend Jake. The guests were ready to enjoy a murder mystery when one of the guests went missing. Little did this group of readers, writers and reviewers know they were actually in a murder mystery themselves.I truly enjoyed this book. I loved the characters and the detail about Laurence the book reviewer that is not always nice to authors made me laugh. The characters in the book truly are that. The book reminded me of the movie clue with all the outragous personalities. I got a kick out of the fact they see a story and opportunity where ever they look, even if it is a dead body. A great read, can be read in a day, and once you open this book you won’t want to put it down.Rating: 4.5Heat Rating: SweetReviewed: By RaeCourtesy Of My Book Addiction And More
What do You think about Murder On The Orient Espresso (2013)?
I have not read it yet, but I read the other six books. Didn't disappoint ,loved them all.
—domv
I really liked this book. Not what I expected and I was pleasantly surprised by it.
—sonali
Great book. I solved the murder before I was halfway through the book.
—Joelene
