Synopses & Reviews
When coffeehouse manager turned amateur sleuth Clare Cosi roasts magic” beans for Fairy Tale Week, she brews up a vision that leads to a sleeping beauty in Central Park; a big, bad wolf of Wall Street; and an East Side enclave with storybook secrets... Fairy tale fever has descended on New York City. Broadway fans are flocking to Red Riding Hood: The Musical; museums are exhibiting art inspired by the Brothers Grimm; and Clare Cosi gives her coffee truck a Jack and the Beanstalk” makeover for a Central Park festival.
Clares coffee hunter ex-husband contributes a bag of African beans with alleged magical properties. His octogenarian mother entertains customers with readings of the grinds, but Clare remains skepticaluntil she receives a vision that helps her find a young models body in the parks woods.
The police dismiss sleeping beauty” as the victim of a drug overdose. Then Clare uncovers evidence that points to a roster of suspects, from a wolf of Wall Street to a New York Giant and a wicked witch of the West Side.
Now Clare is really in the woodswith a dangerous predator on her heels and an investigation that leads from a secret Prince Charming club right back to her own NYPD detective boyfriend. If she doesnt solve this mystery, those magic beans predict an unhappy ending.
Includes wicked good recipes!
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'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
Praise for Once Upon a Grind: "There's magic in the Ethiopian coffee beans that Matt Allegro, Clare Cosi's ex-husband, brings to her New York coffeehouse at the start of Coyle's 14th amusing combination of caffeine and chaos." --Publishers Weekly
"This series continues to mix clever and intricate plots with a regular cast of characters who become more enjoyable with every episode. Many recipes finish off another successful coffee hour (or two) with Clare." --Booklist
Praise for the Coffeehouse Mysteries
“Coyles long string of coffeehouse mysteries are always good value for the coffee lore and appended recipes. This is one of her best.”—Kirkus Reviews on Billionaire Blend (Starred Review)
“Highly recommended for all mystery collections.”—Library Journal (starred review)
“Sprightly…and engaging.”—Publishers Weekly
“Some of the most vibrant characters Ive ever read.”—Mystery Scene Magazine
“What a pleasure to read a book by this author.”—Portland Book Review
“A delicious mystery!”—Womans World
“Clare Cosi is one of my favorite amateur sleuths…An excellent series…If you are not reading the Coffeehouse Mysteries yet, you are seriously missing out.”—Cozy Mystery Book Reviews
Review
“A highly satisfying mystery.”—
Publishers Weekly “This is one of her best.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
Praise for the New York Times bestselling Coffeehouse Mysteries
“[A] terrifically written, cant-put-it-down series.”—AnnArbor.com
“Cleo Coyles Coffeehouse mystery series is among the best of the foodie/cozy mystery genre.”—Fresh Fiction
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
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
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 Cosi, manager and head barista of the landmark Village Blend coffeehouse, can brew a beverage to die for. But can she stir up some evidence against a bitter killer whos gone loco for mocha? Clares Village Blend beans are being used to create a new java love potion: a Mocha Magic Coffee” billed as an aphrodisiac. Clare may even try some on her boyfriend, NYPD detective Mike Quinnwhen hes off duty, of course
The product, expected to rake in millions, will be sold exclusively on Aphrodites Village, one of the Webs most popular online communities for women. But the launch party ends on a sour note when one of the Websites editors is found dead.
When more of the Websites Sisters of Aphrodite start to die, Clare is convinced someone wants the coffees secret formulaand is willing to kill to get it. Clare isnt about to spill the beans, but will she be next on the hit list? Includes recipes and coffee-making tips!
Synopsis
More information to be announced soon on this forthcoming title from Penguin USA.
Synopsis
Landmark coffeehouse manager Clare Cosi has served her share of New Yorks rich and famous, but even she is surprised by her explosive introduction to a mysterious Internet billionaire
When a car bomb nearly kills tech whiz Eric Thorner, Clare comes to his aid and receives a priceless thank you. Not only does the billionaire buy her a baristas dream espresso machine, he hires her to create the worlds most expensive coffee blend.
As Eric jets Clare around the globe on a head-spinning search for the worlds best coffee, she gets to know his worlda mesmerizing circle of money with rivalries that could easily have turned deadly. But is this charming young CEO truly marked for termination? Or is he the one making a killing?
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…