Death By Latte

by Linda Gerber (Goodreads author!)

Death By Latte

book data

32 ratings, 3.97 average rating, 12 reviews (more data...)

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published

September 18th 2008 by Puffin

binding

Paperback, 224 pages

setting

Unknown

isbn

0142411183 (isbn13: 9780142411186)

description

It was only a few weeks ago that Aphra Connolly's life changed completely. She had been living a quiet existence on her father's secluded island resor...more

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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 79)

All ratings | 5 stars (13) | 4 stars (8) | 3 stars (7) | 2 stars (3) | avg 3.97

all | this edition

Anna

Anna rated it:

12/27/08

bookshelves: fiction, youngadult

Read in December, 2008

I should have read the first book in the series first, but I caught on pretty well. It was a quick read, but fun and action-packed. Aphra is a teenager who at the beginning of the story had just arrived in Seattle on a plane in hopes of finding her Mom. She has been out of Aphra's life for 4 years now, and Aphra needs to see her again. So when she shows up at her mother's pottery stall at Pike Place Market, she is devastated to discover that her mother is not pleased she is there. But not for th...more

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Maelstrom

Maelstrom rated it:

10/26/08

bookshelves: charybdis

Read in October, 2008

recommended to Maelstrom by: ARC
recommends it for: people who liked the first one, Kiki Strike lovers

This review is copy-paste from the Charybdis. You can see it in it's natural habitat here:

I think some of you may know of my previous lurrrrve for this series, but if you don’t than I reviewed Death By Bikini in May. If you haven’t read the first book yet, than that might give you some background.

Aphra is back and she is still awesome, still funny, and still getting in...more This review is copy-paste from the Charybdis. You can see it in it's natural habitat here:

I think some of you may know of my previous lurrrrve for this series, but if you don’t than I reviewed Death By Bikini in May. If you haven’t read the first book yet, than that might give you some background.

Aphra is back and she is still awesome, still funny, and still getting into trouble. Determined to find her elusive mother, Natalie, she hops a plane to Seattle without permission. But when she discovers her mother she also realizes her timing couldn’t be worse. Something big is up and Natalie and her secretive fellow agents can hardly wait to get Aphra away from the trouble. But when Agent Watts appears out of nowhere and Seth Mulo steps rather rapidly… and urgently… back into her life, things get more complicated. And when one of Natalie’s close friends and partners is poisoned through basic morning routine, leaving only a garbled cryptic message in his wake, there is no turning back.

As I said before, I really really like the first book in this series. The SASS books of Linda Gerber are also really fun and quick reads. But I couldn’t help but feel that Death By Latte was just a tad bit too quick. Some events seemed kind of crushed together to make space for a large, fabulously dramatic scene. Nyah. All the same, I LOVE Aphra. She’s easy to relate to and consistently witty, although not to the point of being irritating. Also, there is Seth. Oh Seth. He is so difficult to read (haha..bad pun…) which makes him a more engaging beautiful boy character than in alot of books. Veddy nice. The dialogue makes me jealous. I can’t write dialogue to save my life, but Linda Gerber rattles out hilarious and taut conversations in turn, like it’s nothing.

Like it’s predecessor, Death By Latte is a great beach or AGH-I-must-finish-this-paper-but-must-read-something-in-between-so-that-my-head-doesn’t-explode-with-unnecessary-knowledge read (NOT like I’ve ever been there) and reminds me why I loved mystery books growing up. 6 out of 7 Poisoned Cups of Orange Mocha Frappucino (time for another round of naaaamee thaaaaat reference!!!)!

Does anyone have any good mystery novels to recommend for a lonely and Nancy-Drewless reader?

Waiting impatiently for Death by TK,

Aella...less

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Rachael

Rachael rated it:

08/15/08

Aphra Connolly is back in another danger-filled adventure. This time, she’s off to find her mom in Seattle, something she’s never been able to do until she met the Mulos, the family Aphra’s mother swore to protect. But the familial reunion isn’t as happy as Aphra thought it would be. Instead, her mother seems cold and disconnected while her partner Joe insists Aphra be send home immediately. Plus, Seth Mulo, the boy she fell in love with when he visited her father’s island resort, show...more Aphra Connolly is back in another danger-filled adventure. This time, she’s off to find her mom in Seattle, something she’s never been able to do until she met the Mulos, the family Aphra’s mother swore to protect. But the familial reunion isn’t as happy as Aphra thought it would be. Instead, her mother seems cold and disconnected while her partner Joe insists Aphra be send home immediately. Plus, Seth Mulo, the boy she fell in love with when he visited her father’s island resort, shows up again in Aphra’s life, this time to ask for something back. It turns out he needs the ring he gave to her back, but he won’t tell her why. And when Joe turns up dead at a coffee shop, what started out as an innocent trip turns into a deadly nightmare. Aphra, her mother, and Seth are now on the run from their enemies, with little supplies and knowledge of what they can do next. Their lives are on the line – especially because they don’t even know who they are running from.

In this sequel to the fantastic and fast-paced Death by Bikini, Linda Gerber brings readers back into a dangerous world of rogue CIA agents and sleeper cells. This novel is just filled with suspense and excitement, especially when Aphra is on the run. The fact that Aphra doesn’t even know who to trust only adds to this effect. I was immediately sucked into this story from the very first line and was hooked all the way until the end. The story does rely a lot on the plot, which isn’t an issue since the plot is so exciting, but Aphra’s character is also well-developed. I could really hear the gears in her head turning as she tried to figure out how to get out of various dangerous situations and felt her confusion over where several people’s loyalties lied. I admire her determination, especially in the face of death. Death by Latte, much like its prequel Death by Bikini, has much to look forward to: great characters, plot twists, and non-stop action and excitement.

Death by Latte appeals to readers who enjoy spy and action novels, although I think pretty much any girl can get into this short but fun read. If you haven’t already read Death by Bikini, I recommend you do so and then pick up Death by Bikini to read too. I definitely look forward to the continuation of this great series.

reposted from http://thebookmuncher.blogspot... ...less

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Steph

Steph rated it:

11/10/08

bookshelves: blog-read

Read in August, 2008

Ah, zeroing in once again on the Death By series. The first installment, Death By Bikini, didn’t impress me in any way, be it positive or negative. My mixed feelings were because, while the story was cute and competently written, the events were all crammed together making the pace in which I moved through the story feel fit for a race designed to render me breathless—and not in a good way. I mean, there’s tight writing and then there’s size-2-spandex-to-your-size-6-body writing.

Anyw...more Ah, zeroing in once again on the Death By series. The first installment, Death By Bikini, didn’t impress me in any way, be it positive or negative. My mixed feelings were because, while the story was cute and competently written, the events were all crammed together making the pace in which I moved through the story feel fit for a race designed to render me breathless—and not in a good way. I mean, there’s tight writing and then there’s size-2-spandex-to-your-size-6-body writing.

Anyway, what can be deduced from that paragraph is that Death By Bikini earned neither frowns nor smiles from me. But now, moving on to this book.

I liked it. Great improvement.

There was a defined pause here that allowed for character growth, something I missed in the first novel. Characters, in my opinion, make any book: their feelings, dreams, hopes, etc. are what shape plots and create motivators. So I ask you, how does a mysterious affair form (in order for a novel to be categorized as a mystery) if there aren’t substantial characters? I get that these are supposed to be a light books, but still. Like I said, there was allowed room for character growth and I felt like Aphra was more rounded, as were the backup characters. Probably cos the setup’s already there from the first novel.

Some details of the mystery were a bit iffy for me because they were either based on stretches or coincidences. But looking at the overall picture, it was another great improvement. The buildup was quite good and the mystery itself, when you got up to it, was adorably knotting. (Yes, such a thing is possible. You know, beachy-baffling?) And while like I said before some details were sketchy, others were immaculate and clever; Ms Gerber clearly saw all the opportune moments in which to include clues and twists in.

But still, my favoritest (dumb neologism *grin*) part was the fact the pacing was just right—not too fast, not too slow.

If you’re looking for a light read, knock yourself out. You can read this without reading the first and not miss much, so...yeah. Have fun, kids.

Blog review link: http://reviewerx.blogspot.com/......less

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thestorysiren

thestorysiren rated it:

10/26/08

Read in September, 2008

Now that Aphra knows where to find her mom, it seems inevitable that she would go seek her out. And so she tells her father that she will be visiting a friend in South Carolina, but instead Aphra boards a plane to Seattle.

The reunion, is far from what Aphra expected. No sooner does she finally find her mother, and she informs her to board another plane back to the island. Even though Aphra’s mom stopped working for the CIA it seems that the drama hasn’t stopped. When her mother’s partn...more

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mari

mari rated it:

12/22/08

bookshelves: mystery, young-adult

Read in December, 2008

Another fun installment of the series. This book continues where Death By Bikini left off but instead of on a beach resort the action takes place on the streets of Seattle and the mountains of the Pacific Northwest.

I read a lot of mysteries so it is hard to keep me guessing. I was able to figure out who was who pretty early on. However, this did not have any effect on my enjoyment of the book.

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Kate

Kate rated it:

09/30/08

Read in September, 2008

Death by Latte is by a good writing friend of mine, Linda Gerber. It's a sequel to Death by Bikini, a teen murder-mystery and espionage story set on a remote tropical island. The new book finds our heroine, Aphra Connolly, in Seattle tracking down her mother, who's been gone for four years. This book includes a lot of chase scenes that should be satisfying to action film aficionados; it also offers some touching character development after neither Aphra's mother nor her supposed boyfriend seem h...more

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Luke

Luke marked it as to-read

12/31/08

bookshelves: to-read

The third book in this series "Death by Denim" was HIGHLY recommended by a Flamingnet reviewer.

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Julia

Julia rated it:

11/14/08

Read in November, 2008

A very quick read, this teen suspense novel has lots of action in a short span of time. Taking place shortly after Gerber's first novel Death by Bikini, we find Aphra bound for Seattle to find her mother. However, her mother is still working on the sly to find a mole within the CIA and isn't as happy to see Aphra. Their plans to return by nightfall for the first plane back to Hawaii fall short when her mom's partner is murdered. On the run together, Aphra begins to understand some of ...more

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Lazygal

Lazygal rated it:

12/31/08

bookshelves: old-reads

Very underwhelmed by this one. For a series book, there were far too many moments when the author basically said, "you really, really, really need to buy my previous book" - a no no, IMVHO. I also didn't believe in the characters, so their contributions to what could have been a good plot didn't make me want to read.

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Alexa

Alexa rated it:

09/08/08

bookshelves: lightreading, teenbooks

Read in August, 2008

Cute teen mystery, lots of fluff but not badly written.

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Kristin

Kristin marked it as to-read

11/04/08

bookshelves: to-read

I have not read this yet

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Alice

Alice rated it:

01/07/09

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01/07/09

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Noel

Noel marked it as to-read

01/05/09

bookshelves: to-read

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Christy

Christy marked it as to-read

01/04/09

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olu marked it as to-read

01/03/09

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Kara

Kara is currently reading it

01/07/09

bookshelves: currently-reading

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Mitzy

Mitzy marked it as to-read

12/27/08

bookshelves: to-read

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Liviania

Liviania rated it:

12/24/08

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