Synopses & Reviews
"Coyle's Coffeehouse books are superb" (
Library Journal), and now the national bestselling author of
Murder by Mocha serves up a hot new Coffeehouse Mystery with
A Brew to a Kill.
Coffee. It can get a girl killed.
A shocking hit-and-run in front of her Village Blend coffeehouse spurs Clare Cosi into action. A divorced, single mom in her forties, Clare is also a dedicated sleuth, and she's determined to track down this ruthless driver who ran down an innocent friend and customer. In the meantime, her ex-husband Matt, the shop's globetrotting coffee buyer, sources some amazing new beans from Brazil. But he soon discovers that he's importing more than coffee, and Clare may have been the real target of that deadly driver. Can ex-husband and wife work together to solve this mystery? Or will their newest brew lead to murder? Includes recipes.
Review
“Coyle’s Coffeehouse books are superb.” --Library Journal (starred review)
Review
"Clare and company are some of the most vibrant characters I've ever read." --Mystery Scene Magazine
Review
"What a pleasure to read a book by this author." --Portland Book Review
Review
"The pseudonymous Coyle's strong 9th 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."
-Publishers Weekly
Review
"Coyle is not sitting back with the 11th entry (after
Murder by Mocha) in her popular series. She has taken the coffeehouse on the road, cleverly incorporating the food truck fad and introducing fresh new characters. Newcomers to the series can easily pick up the storyline. A collection of astonishingly varied and drool-inducing recipes is included." --
Library Journal
"A foodie’s delight, packed with information on coffee and desserts, along with appended recipes and a satisfyingly rich mystery."—Kirkus Reviews
"Fans of the Coffee House series will savor another serving of Clare’s pluck as she deals with her ex-husband, her imperious ex-mother-in-law, and her current beau, a police officer." --Booklist
"Coyle... lavishly details an ethnically diverse New York City in her lively 11th coffeehouse mystery featuring Clare Cosi."—Publishers Weekly
Synopsis
Greenwich Village coffeehouse manager Clare Cosi is rolling with a popular new trend, until someone close to her is driven to kill
The Village Blends Muffin Muse coffee truck is all the rage. But a fatal hit-and-run and a shocking death at a food truckcatered wedding give Clare a clue that something bitter is brewing.
Then she opens a bag of imported coffee beans and finds ten pounds of rocksthe kind that will earn you a twenty-year jail sentence. Is her ex-husband and business partner smuggling Brazilian crack? Is her staff now in danger?
To clear up this murky brew, Clare must sweet-talk two federal agents, dupe a drug kingpin, stake out a Dragon Boat festival, and teach a cocky young undercover cop how to pull the perfect espressoall while keeping herself and her baristas out of hot water.
Coffee. It can get a girl killed.
Synopsis
Coffeehouse manager Clare Cosi has been hired to create a gourmet coffee and dessert bar for her ex-husband?s wedding. But her main problem is bridezilla Breanne Summour. When people close to Breanne begin to suffer fatal accidents, it?s Clare who may get burned.
Synopsis
Murder takes the plunge in the sixth book in the Coffeehouse mystery series. Clare Cosi's daughter, Joy, is interning--and falling--for a top New York chef when his kitchen turns cutthroat, and Joy becomes a murder suspect. Clare knows she must catch the real killer--even if it lands her in the hottest water of her life.
Synopsis
When one of her baristas unwittingly serves a poisonous latte to a prominent figure on the fashion scene, Clare Cosi must uncover some jolting secrets to save her shop.
Synopsis
Introducing a delightful new series featuring Clare Cosi, manager of the historic Village Blend, where coffee and crime are always brewing...
Synopsis
Business is booming at Clare Cosi's Village Blend, until her female customers start to die. Lieutenant Quinn is convinced that someone has an axe to grind, and, unfortunately, his prime suspect is the new man in Clare's life.
Now Clare will risk her heart--and her life--to follow the killer's trail to the bitter end.
Synopsis
When Village Blend manager Clare Cosi finds a red-suited body in the snow, she adds solving Santa's slaying to her coffeehouse menu, only to discover the jolly old soul had a list that he was checking twice-and the folks on it were not very nice.
Synopsis
The national bestselling author brews up another mystery-and this time, it's New York's Bravest that get burned After local firefighters pull Clare out of a blazing café, she happily comes to their rescue by teaching them the finer points of operating their newly donated espresso machine. But matters really heat up when somebody is torching cafes around the city and firefighters begin to die in suspicious ways...
Believing the two events are related, Clare investigates, staking out a five-borough bake sale and sniffing out clues in the pizza ovens of Brooklyn. When her detective boyfriend, Mike Quinn, is pulled into the fire of a false accusation, Clare is desperate to put out the flames. But will she be able to come to Mike's rescue before someone tries to extinguish her?
Synopsis
When an old friend of her ex-husband develops the world's first botanically decaffeinated coffee bean and smuggles it into the country, Clare Cosi, manager of Village Blend, believes it's a business opportunity she needs to investigate...at least until the first dead body shows up.
Synopsis
Clare Cosi, manager and head barista of the landmark Village Blend coffeehouse, has perfected the art of steaming hot espresso. But now she needs to keep New York's bravest from being burned. As someone torches cafes around the city and firefighters begin to die in suspicious ways, Clare investigates. Will she be able to solve the crime before someone tries to extinguish her?
Synopsis
Clare Cosis new friend, millionaire David Mintzer, has an offer no New York barista could turn down: an all-expenses-paid summer away from the sticky city. At his Hamptons mansion, shell relax, soak up the sun, and, oh yes, train the staff of his new restaurant. So Clare packs up her daughter, her former mother-in-law, and her special recipe for iced coffeefor what she hopes will be one de-latte-ful summer
Soon, Clare tends the coffee bar at her first Hamptons gala. But the festivities come to a bitter end when an employee turns up dead in Davids bathrooma botched attempt on the millionaires life. Thanks to the Fourth of July fireworks no one heard any gunshots, and the police are stuck in holiday traffic. Concerned for everyones safety, Clare begins to investigate. What she finds will keep her up at nightand its not the java jitters....
Synopsis
Business is booming at Clare Cosi's Village Blend, until her female customers start to die. Lieutenant Quinn is convinced that someone has an axe to grind, and, unfortunately, his prime suspect is the new man in Clare's life.
Now Clare will risk her heart--and her life--to follow the killer's trail to the bitter end.
Synopsis
More information to be announced soon on this forthcoming title from Penguin USA.
About the Author
Cleo Coyle is the pen name for a multipublished author who collaborates with her husband to write the nationally bestselling Coffeehouse Mysteries. Although they did not meet until adulthood, Cleo and her husband had very similar upbringings. Both were children of food-loving Italian immigrants, and both grew up in working-class neighborhoods outside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, before moving to the Big Apple to begin their postcollege careers: Cleo as a journalist and children’s book and media tie-in author; and her husband as a magazine editor and writer. After finally meeting and falling in love, they married at the Little Church of the West in Las Vegas. Now they live and work in New York City, where they each write books independently and together, cook like crazy, haunt local coffeehouses, and drink a lot of joe. Among their many coauthored projects are the Haunted Bookshop Mysteries, written under the pen name Alice Kimberly.
Cleo enjoys hearing from readers. Visit her virtual Village Blend coffeehouse, where she also posts recipes and coffee industry news: www.coffeehousemystery.com.