First in the Coffeehouse Mystery series set inside an historic coffeehouse in Greenwich Village in New York City. My Take Clare is obsessed with telling us all about coffee. Now, I don't like drinking coffee unless I've added so much milk, sugar, and/or flavorings that there is not much coffee left, but I do adore the smell of it! And the history and culture behind it is fascinating.What I did not enjoy was Clare's clumsy detecting nor Coyle's clumsy writing; she's got more finesse in writing the creation of an espresso than in moving through a scene. That said, I did actually enjoy the story as a whole. The tension between Clare and her ex- is too obvious but I am curious as to where Coyle is taking it. Especially with Det. Quinn's reticence and seemingly taken state. The Story Madame has convinced Clare to come back to her old job as the manager for the family coffeehouse, Village Blend, in Greenwich Village. Part of the incentive is a 15% ownership in the coffeehouse and free housing—the top two floors of the townhouse above the coffeeshop. Only, Clare quickly discovers that Madame has made the same offer to Matteo, Madame's son. Clare's ex. Seems Madame is up to her old tricks trying to reunite Clare and Matt.Of course, she finds this out after she discovers Anabelle, her day manager, barely breathing at the foot of the basement stairs. An incident the police label as an accident when Clare knows it isn't. Anabelle is just too graceful to take a header like that! The Characters Clare Cosi is Matteo's ex-wife and she's going back to work for his mother, Madame, at Village Blend, the family's historic coffeehouse in Greenwich Village. Matteo Allegro is the coffee buyer for Village Blend and rarely in town. He's also a hunk and into anyone's bed; the reason for their divorce. Joy is their 19-year-old student-chef daughter who brings her new boyfriend, Mario Forte (also a chef), to dinner with her parents where he proceeds to alienate both of them. Tucker Burton is their gay night barista; Anabelle is the new day manager with some unexpected issues with her boyfriend---everyone else refers to him as The Dick. Her venal stepmother, Darla Branch Hart, is in town and threatening Village Blend's obviously poor employee safety situation. Eduardo Lebreux used to work for Madame's deceased husband and recommended Moffat Flaste, the last, extremely incompetent manager of VB with secret instructions for him to run Village Blend into the ground; he has some evil plans. The police called in to investigate Anabelle's accident includes Detective Mike Quinn seems to be unwillingly attracted to Clare—and doesn't that just piss Matteo off!—and Officers Langley and Demetrios who gain an immediate appreciation for a good Greek coffee. The Cover The cover is rather fun with its lighthearted depiction of a cozy sitting area, Java the cat posed on all fours in the middle of the floor. A floor covered in the names of coffee beans. In the foreground, is a huge, copper espresso machine all focusing on an espresso cup on its side in a saucer. Steam from the espresso machine twines up towards the signboard displaying the title.I do like the title as it suggests so many things. On What Grounds could refer to Clare and Matteo's relationship or whether Annabelle's death is an accident or homicide or simply a reference to this first novel in the Coffeehouse Mystery series.
This was fun! I enjoyed all the coffee information...the setting is a prestigious coffee house in Greenwich Village and the narrator a skilled barista, manager, and part owner. The attempted murder of an employee sets up the mystery which Clare must solve to save her business, and this is nicely developed. Other characters include her hunky bad-boy ex-husband who's a coffee buyer, a handsome cop, her ex-mother-in-law (who is the main owner of the coffee house and who is determined to get Clare and her son back together), and, of course, an interesting variety of possible suspects and motives. The real appeal for me was the coffee angle. There was a LOT of information about the various types of coffee drinks and the various techniques for brewing/ making them all, much about beans and roasting, even a fair amount of coffee history. I saw that a lot of readers were turned off by this and thought it overdone...I loved it and found it fascinating. The only bad news for me, a coffee lover, is that after reading this, I'm thinking that I've probably never really had an expertly brewed cup of coffee. I don't think Starbucks Gingerbread lattes (even though I love them) would measure up to Clare and Madame's standards.
What do You think about On What Grounds (2003)?
When coffee shop employee Annabelle falls down a flight of stairs at work one night and becomes comatose, the police think that it was probably an accident. But shop manager Clare thinks that Annabelle was pushed and begins looking for suspects. Annabelle knew quite a few people who would gain from her death- jealous rivals and a wealthy boyfriend who may not want a poor girlfriend anymore.I expected this to be a fluff mystery, but though the crime takes place on the first pages, it doesn't become the focus of the story until nearly 100 pages in. Instead, so much is about Clare's problems with her ex-husband and her adoration of Madame, owner of the coffee shop. And yes, lots of coffee talk: how to make different coffee drinks, how to mess up coffee, how to store it, etc. Not a surprise in a book that is set in a coffee shop, but it really is non-stop preparation and consumption of coffee.My other problem was why a coffee shop manager would investigate what turns out to be a very serious crime. The police are there and Clare has no experience in law, yet from the very beginning she is interviewing suspects.Someone else may find this book charming, but I found it too out there to continue with this series.
—jennifer
On What Grounds ist der erste der Coffehouse-Mysteries. Man erfährt einiges über die richtige Zubereitung von Kaffee und das ist nicht nur etwas für Kaffeejunkies. Den Kaffee kann man fast riechen und schmecken. Als Bonus gibt es noch ein paar Rezepte für Kaffee und Cocktails, natürlich mit Kahlua.Clare Cosi findet eines Morgens die Angestellte Anabelle bewusstlos im Village Blend. Es gibt keine Anzeichen dafür, dass bei dem Sturz noch jemand seine Finger im Spiel hatte, so dass dieser Fall für die Polizei ein tragischer Unfall ist. Doch Anaballe ist eine Tänzerin und Clare Cosi nicht so einfach zu überzeugen, so dass sie sich selbst in die Ermittlungen stürzt.Das Coffehouse Village Blend in New York steht im Mittelpunkt und entsteht als gemütlicher Ort, an dem man gern seine Zeit verbringen würde. Der Charakter von Clare Cosi ist ebenso sehr gut herausgearbeitet, solide und lebensnah - eine ganz normale 39-jährige, geschiedene Frau. Auch die Dreiecksbeziehung zwischen ihr, ihrem Ex-Mann Matt und dem Polizisten Quinn wirkt nicht aufgesetzt. Die Teamarbeit zwischen Clare und Matt und die Annäherung zwischen ihr und Quinn wirken sympathisch und passen gut in die Handlung. Einige Szenen sind dagegen nicht so gut integriert und scheinen nur dazu da zu sein, das gesamte Privatleben von Clare auszuleuchten.Die Schwächen sind aber nur minimal und stören nicht das erfreuliche Gesamtbild von diesem Kaffee-Cozy und die nächsten beiden Bücher liegen schon hier.
—Esme
★★★★☆ I really enjoyed this one by a “new-2-me-author.” It was well written, fast-paced, and held my attention through-out. It conveyed the ambiance of a Greenwich Village coffee house. And I learned a few things about coffee. ☺ There is the obligatory “love interest” triangle, but it wasn’t over the top and even that had a nice twist. I’ll definitely continue the series.P.S. It also satisfied several challenges, namely CaroB’s frustrating “double-decker” – since the author’s first and last name starts with “C” – a challenge which has to be read in alphabetical order!
—Lisa Kay
