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54th out of 192 books
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Holiday Grind (Coffeehouse Mystery #8)
by
Cleo Coyle
The jolly latest in the nationally bestselling Coffeehouse mystery series, from the author of Espresso Shot
It's Christmastime-and when manager and head barista Clare Cosi finds a red- suited body in the snow, she adds solving Santa's slaying to her coffeehouse menu. Soon, a few clues convince her his death was something more than a mugging gone awry.
With Clare's NYPD D...more
It's Christmastime-and when manager and head barista Clare Cosi finds a red- suited body in the snow, she adds solving Santa's slaying to her coffeehouse menu. Soon, a few clues convince her his death was something more than a mugging gone awry.
With Clare's NYPD D...more
Hardcover, 384 pages
Published
November 3rd 2009
by Berkley Hardcover
(first published October 13th 2009)
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Clare Cosi manages The Village Blend coffeehouse in Greenwich Village NYC. As Christmas approaches, her baristas develop Fa-la-la-la Lattes (holiday flavors) to join in the holiday spirit, as suggested by her friend Alf, a street person and Traveling Santa. When Alf doesn't arrive to test the new drinks, Clare goes looking for him on the streets, and finds his body. She examines footprints in the fresh snow, and decides his death was premeditated and needs investigation. The police think it was ...more
I have read all of the Coffee House Mysteries to date and this one let me down a bit. Once the story got going it was good, but the slow beginning and the jumpy feel lacked that initial spark for me.
When traveling Santa Alfred Glockner fails to show at the Village Blend for Clare Cosi’s fa-la-la-la-la latte holiday party, Clare takes it upon herself to go out in the freezing snow to find him. Unfortunately, she finds him dead in a nearby alley from what appears to be a random mug...more
When traveling Santa Alfred Glockner fails to show at the Village Blend for Clare Cosi’s fa-la-la-la-la latte holiday party, Clare takes it upon herself to go out in the freezing snow to find him. Unfortunately, she finds him dead in a nearby alley from what appears to be a random mug...more
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Holiday Grind is brimming w/ Coyle's trademark humor & vibrant cast of characters. Coyle is definitely one of the juggernaut's in the cozy mystery genre.
Holiday Grind is the bubbling 8th installment in the addicting Coffeehouse Mystery series. Let me preface this review by stating Coyle is one of my absolute favorite writer's. She pens scrumptious cozy mysteries w/ dollops of red herrings heaped in, you never know which direction the über talented Coyle will lead you.
The ...more
Holiday Grind is the bubbling 8th installment in the addicting Coffeehouse Mystery series. Let me preface this review by stating Coyle is one of my absolute favorite writer's. She pens scrumptious cozy mysteries w/ dollops of red herrings heaped in, you never know which direction the über talented Coyle will lead you.
The ...more
Eight in the Coffeehouse Mystery series.
Christmas is on its way, and despite the Great Recession, Clare and the staff are in the mood. Well, most of them, anyway. Besides decorating The Village Blend, they’re busy dreaming up new, holiday-themed coffee drinks--partly in the spirit of the season and partly because of the coffee house’s bottom line, which needs all the help it can get from a rejuvenated menu in the tough economic times. But while they create their “fa-la-la-la la...more
I really like this series. Initially, I thought they were awfully dark at the beginning of each book, but now I'm either use to Coyle's style of writing or the books aren't as dark at the beginning. While this book was published in 2009, it is perfect for this time of year as evidenced by the title!
Clare Cosi, owner of the Village Blend in NYC, is busy trying to design new coffee drinks for the holiday season. New friends as well as old stop by the shop every day for a latte or coffee ...more
Clare Cosi, owner of the Village Blend in NYC, is busy trying to design new coffee drinks for the holiday season. New friends as well as old stop by the shop every day for a latte or coffee ...more
I enjoy these light murder mysteries featuring Clare Cosi who manages the Village Blend, a coffehouse in New York. The author does a good job of crafting a mystery and creating good relationships and interesting characters. In this case, Clare rushes out to find her friend, a Traveling Santa who collects donations for the homeless, who has promised to attend her Fa-la-la-la-la latte testing. He is the one who suggested coming up with some new holiday flavors to tempt the public (what flavors and...more
Front Page Headines:::
Ho-Ho- Homicide, Santa’s Final Sleigh Ride; Who Shot Santa Claus?
Clare Cosi, divorced, mother of a grown daughter , girlfriend of Mike Quinn, NYPD Detective and manager of Village Blend is getting ready for the Holiday Season. Getting ready to host her annual Latte Tasting party, invited guest began arriving, except for one person. Alfred Glockner who plays the part of a part time Santa during the Christmas season .He always stops in to war...more
Holiday Grind is number eight in this delicious cozy mystery series, A Coffeehouse Mystery. I have been hooked since the very beginning with On What Grounds. I even have to confess to reading Murder Most Frothy while in labor with my son, lol. Let me tell you, it helped pass the time and those pains! I even managed to finish the last word before my little man entered the world. Okay, too much information, lol. In any case, this is one of my very favorite cozy mystery series and this latest insta...more
As the temperatures get cooler, our thoughts turn toward fall and the upcoming holidays. With that in mind, be sure to give yourself an early present by pre-ordering a copy of Holiday Grind: A Coffeehouse Mystery scheduled to be released in November.
The slow economy has touched Village Blend, the coffeehouse operated by Clare Cosi. She tries to find new coffee drinks to entice the shoppers inside, but instead finds her staff with less than a “Merry Christmas” spirit. Hoping to lift ...more
The slow economy has touched Village Blend, the coffeehouse operated by Clare Cosi. She tries to find new coffee drinks to entice the shoppers inside, but instead finds her staff with less than a “Merry Christmas” spirit. Hoping to lift ...more
Holiday Grind is the 8th book in a cosy series featuring Clare Cosi, manager of one of New York’s oldest coffee houses, the Village Blend. At the start of this installment the staff of the Blend are feeling the effects of the financial recession which has hit the city hard and slowed business down. One of their strategies to deal with this problem is to devise a series of flavoured coffees that remind people of the tastes of Christmas. Regulars and friends are invited to a tasting of the new dri...more
Wasn't disappointed with this book. Nice festive read. Reminded me alot of a book I read last year 'Six Geese A-Slaying' by Donna Andrews. Clare was alot like Meg. A murder mystery that doesn't take itself to seriously. I loved all the charcters even her ex husband Matt had good points. Even tho I didn't read the extra bit at the back about coffee (mainly becuase I just have supermarket instant), I think it's cool when authors take the time to put extra bits in. The recipes sounded really nice b...more
The coffeehouse mysteries are actually mysteries. This sets them apart from all the faux-mysteries written by people who want to sell books to readers who share their love for a particular hobby. Yes, you do get in-depth coffee knowledge (hello, Cokeaholic here)and some really great sounding recipes in the back but these are not cozies--not even this one which could be excused because it takes place during the holidays. This isn't the strongest of the series but it's mandatory reading if you lo...more
This story didn't come together for me in part because I'm distracted by holiday doings. Loved the repartee between Clare and Detective Franco. The book needed more of their verbal sparring. Clare's relationship with Mike is developing, But what's with married Matteo?
The mystery itself was pretty good. But Clare's refusal to accept a customer/friend's involvement in a blackmailing scheme seemed implausible;she'd known for barely a month. I enjoyed the main plot and how the pieces connecte...more
The mystery itself was pretty good. But Clare's refusal to accept a customer/friend's involvement in a blackmailing scheme seemed implausible;she'd known for barely a month. I enjoyed the main plot and how the pieces connecte...more
Coffee house manager Clare Cosi decides to look for a missing guest at her small holiday party, but she finds Alf, a charity Santa Claus, dead instead. The police in charge disregard Clare's insistence that the facts argue against a street mugging. When the dead man's daughter asks Clare to investigate, she can't resist, although she is juggling her duties to the shop, her ex-husband (who is finding his beautiful new wife hard going) and her current love, a police detective who is hiding somet...more
OH NO.... Santa's been murdered in an alley of NY city and his donation box robbed. AND.... he just happens to be a friend of Claire Cossi! Here she is embroiled in yet another murder investigation!!!!!
To make matters more complicated...is her ex husband having second thoughts about them or is he just a crazy kinda flirt????? No worries there... the only thoughts of romance for Claire are for Mike Quinnnnnn... her gorgeous cop OR is she having second thoughts???
GREAT...more
To make matters more complicated...is her ex husband having second thoughts about them or is he just a crazy kinda flirt????? No worries there... the only thoughts of romance for Claire are for Mike Quinnnnnn... her gorgeous cop OR is she having second thoughts???
GREAT...more
I'm always a bit suspicious of mystery books, especially ones geared toward women. They always seem a bit dull. This was was pretty good. It was a little predictable at times, but really picked up half way through the book. I loved all the coffeehouse references, having worked in the industry myself. At times, it made me feel like I was right back in there again making drinks. I do really like that the book also had a few of the recipes mentioned in the book. Always fun to have if reading ...more
This one of my top favorite cozy series. I was pleased that I won this from Cleo Coyle's site, CoffeeHouseMystery and it's a signed copy! This is chock-full of a superb story and loaded with foo-foo coffee info like Tips For Being Your Own Barista, Coffehouse Terms, Guide to Roasting Terms, and (my favorite) Coffee Drink Recipes, Coffee Syrups, Caffe Latte Recipes (including the Fa-L-La Lattes in the book). And there are Holiday Recipes for the food depicted in the book too. YUM!
This one i...more
This one i...more
Clare's grown fond of local charity Santa Al Glockner whose good will means he not only raises money for charity, but also takes his Santa stand-up routine into local homeless shelters to spread festive cheer. But when he fails to show for Clare's tasting party for her fa-la-la-la-la lattes, she goes to look for him and finds him gunned down in a nearby alley. When the police decide his death was the result of a random tragic mugging, Clare decides to investigate and soon finds Santa had a few s...more
In Coffee House Mystery #8, Clare Cosi is back along with some of the characters from her earlier series mysteries. Clare is a single mom, girlfriend to a NYPD detective, and coffee house manager of the Village Blend in New York City. When Clare's friend Alf, a traveling, charity Santa is missing at the Holiday Latte tasting party, Clare becomes concerned and decides to go and look for him. She finds him dead in an alley. Murder or mugging gone wrong? Clare is convinced it is murder, but the p...more
Always liking a good holiday mystery I picked this up for the 2010 festivities.
Unfortunately I wasn't up to crack it open until January. The character stories was a bit better than the
last two or so in this series. There's a little bit of the deus ex machina in the ending - but then
all mysteries are about red herrings, bait and switch, and a little roly-poly. I guess That's just like politics...
Roast Mortem next? Perhaps I'll go decaf on my mystery list for a while.
Unfortunately I wasn't up to crack it open until January. The character stories was a bit better than the
last two or so in this series. There's a little bit of the deus ex machina in the ending - but then
all mysteries are about red herrings, bait and switch, and a little roly-poly. I guess That's just like politics...
Roast Mortem next? Perhaps I'll go decaf on my mystery list for a while.
Cleo Coyle's Coffeehouse Mystery series is one of my favorites, and my timing in reading *Holiday Grind* couldn't be any better. This time Clare Cosi is out to solve the murder of a Village Blend customer who works as a Santa Claus. As usual, the storyline is compelling, but I was particularly impressed with the coffee info/recipe section at the end of the book. Being a big latte fan, I was especially thrilled to see so many recipes for syrups and lattes. :-)
I enjoyed this entry in the Coffeehouse Mystery series. I was guessing until the end which kept the book interesting. However, I did have a hard time believing the scene where Clare survives being tossed off the ferry. I also think I would like to have had her do more of her detective work from the coffee shop as it seemed she left her business to run itself despite numerous references to the economic downturn and the busyness of the holidays.
This was a Coffee House Mystery in which Clare Cosi tries to find out who murdered one of her customers, a travelling Santa. She is not satisfied with the police's idea that it was a random mugging. There are several suspects and as she checks them out she is nearly killed herself. The ending was a surprise. The book held my interest to the end. Then came the recipes at the end of the book. Quite detailed and interesting.
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Clare is at it again... A friend has been murdered and the detectives in charge of the case aren't willing to look further than the obvious. Clare knows her friend and she is going to find some answers. The murderer isn't the one that she's been focused on, but she finds that she can do anything when her daughter is threatened. This series is great even for the non-coffee lovers to read.
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Clare Cosi is back and she is better than before. She has a better understanding of detective work even if she does fumble and falter around the finer points but that only makes the character more real as she is a coffee shop owner.
In this installment of the Coffeehouse Mystery, Clare's new friend Alf - who is a traveling Santa Claus - ends up dead. She finds the body, some interesting clues and a new detective who may or may not be corrupt.
This holiday season she is on t...more
In this installment of the Coffeehouse Mystery, Clare's new friend Alf - who is a traveling Santa Claus - ends up dead. She finds the body, some interesting clues and a new detective who may or may not be corrupt.
This holiday season she is on t...more
I really enjoyed this one. The plot put me in the mood for Christmas. The characters were like old friends. One of the things i didn't like about earlier Cleo coyle books in this series were the references to coffee making, history and lore which were sprinkled throughout the chapters and often distracted from the plot. This time she has a reference guide in back before her recipes and make the coffee tips more enjoyable to read when they are not intermingled with the story.
5 stars! First, I simply adore the Coffeehouse Mysteries. I kept putting off reading Holiday Grind because I knew I'd have to wait for the next one! Second, the mini-cookbook in the back is fantastic. I also enjoy this series because it is a real, good, old-fashioned mystery. No crazy, psycho-killer who creeps into my dreams and gives me nightmares. Keep it up, Cleo Coyle, can't wait for the next one!
This latest installment of the Coffee house series left to e desired. There was too much snobbery in regards to the coffee housesuch that it took away from the plot. In fact, I couldn't finish this book. I have always enjoyed the series until now but this is the last installment that I will attempt to read.
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Marc Cerasini and Alice Alfonsi, a popular husband-and-wife writing team, were born and raised in Pittsburgh, met in New York City, and married in Las Vegas. Together they've authored a number of bestselling books.
As Cleo Coyle, they write The Coffeehouse Mysteries, including the number-one and number-two Independent Mystery Booksellers Association bestsellers On What Grounds and Throu...more
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As Cleo Coyle, they write The Coffeehouse Mysteries, including the number-one and number-two Independent Mystery Booksellers Association bestsellers On What Grounds and Throu...more
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