Roast Mortem (Coffee House Mystery)

"The pseudonymous Coyle's strong 11th coffeehouse mystery (after 2009's Holiday Grind) pays tribute to New York City firefighters. Clare Cosi, the head barista at Village Blend; Blend owner Madame Dreyfus Allegro Dubois (who's Clare's ex-mother-in-law); and Blend employee Dante Silva narrowly escape death in the bomb-activated blaze that destroys Enzo Testa's Caffe Lucia in Queens and seriously injures Enzo. Clare informs the irritating, overly flirtatious FDNY captain, Michael Quinn, a cousin of her NYPD detective boyfriend, Mike Quinn, that she suspects arson. As fire marshal Stuart Rossi swings into action, Clare is eager to help catch the firebug (aka the Coffee Shop Arsonist), but Rossi is less than enthusiastic about her getting involved. Later, the arsonist torches a Long Island coffeehouse, killing a firefighter, as a warning. While the media worry that a terrorist is loose, new, even more horrible crimes surface. Coyle (the wife-husband writing team of Alice Alfonsi and Marc Cerasini) provides an appendix of useful tips and tempting recipes. (Aug.) Restaurateur and wine connoisseur Lewis brings his insider's expertise to this well-crafted debut, which introduces Babe Stern, one-time sommelier and current bar owner in California's Napa Valley. When Babe's former brother-in-law, vituperative wine critic Richard Wilson, goes missing, Babe's ex-wife, Janie, asks him to find Richard. Still carrying a torch, Babe hopes to earn back Janie's respect by locating Richard quickly. The task doesn't prove too difficult, since Wilson turns up dead the next morning at a nearby winery. Armed with a keen sense of taste and smell as well as a handful of contacts within the wine industry, Babe sets out on a transcontinental trek to solve what soon turns into a series of gruesome murders. Vignerons and casual imbibers alike will enjoy the ride as Babe sifts through the wreckage of several family trees, including his own. (Aug.)" Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) (Copyright PWyxz LLC)

After local firefighters pull Clare out of a blazing caf, she happily teaches them the finer points of operating their newly donated espresso machine. But matters really heat up when firefighters begin to die in suspicious ways.

Cleo Coyle is the pen name for a multipublished author and her husband, who collaborates with her on the Coffeehouse mysteries. They also co-author the Haunted Bookshop mysteries written under the pen name Alice Kimberly. They live in Queens, New York.