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276th out of 676 books
—
666 voters
Roast Mortem (Coffeehouse Mystery #9)
by
Cleo Coyle (Goodreads Author)
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 fire...more
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 fire...more
Hardcover, 368 pages
Published
August 3rd 2010
by Berkley Hardcover
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It may be time for me to give this series a break. I've really enjoyed it, but I began to feel as if the coffee accessories industry was sponsoring this book. A lecture on not using "cheap blade grinders"! And all the details on how a proper espresso pull happens and how machines need to be set up? I'm not THAT into coffee!
I'm finding myself less interested in the characters. There was a lot of good information about firefighting, but the author admits in the end that she made some of it up (of...more
I'm finding myself less interested in the characters. There was a lot of good information about firefighting, but the author admits in the end that she made some of it up (of...more
I do enjoy reading the Coffee House Mysteries. I find the characters well developed and the plots intriguing. Unlike some female sleuths, Clare Cosi has not fallen into, or as at least pulled herself away from, the whole "I'm going to do it because I was told not to" syndrome. While Clare ends up in situations that she promised her boyfriend Mike she would not get involved, she didn't get there intentionally. It's refreshing quite truthfully.
In this latest edition in the series, an arsonist is b...more
In this latest edition in the series, an arsonist is b...more
A 3.5.
This mystery was actually a little confusing and I didn't figure out who had done it until maybe 40 or so pages away from the end. I was more into the relationship between the Quinn's and the progression of the relationship between Clare and Mike.
Matt was a sweet guy in this book and I have to wonder why he's married to Breanne. I can't stand that woman!
I dig Sgt. Franco and hope to see him again, he would be give Matt a run for his money if Joy ever comes back ;)
Good use of memories and t...more
This mystery was actually a little confusing and I didn't figure out who had done it until maybe 40 or so pages away from the end. I was more into the relationship between the Quinn's and the progression of the relationship between Clare and Mike.
Matt was a sweet guy in this book and I have to wonder why he's married to Breanne. I can't stand that woman!
I dig Sgt. Franco and hope to see him again, he would be give Matt a run for his money if Joy ever comes back ;)
Good use of memories and t...more
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I have enjoyed every one of Coyle's Coffee House series but not this one. The main character, Clare Cosi (a master at coffee blending,managing an independent coffee house, gourmet cook,etc.) is dashing all over New York City finding an arsonist in one case for the Fire Dept., a murderer in two cases for the police, and oh, yes, solving a drug case for the DEA plus solving a major problem between her boyfriend and his long estranged cousin, getting her artist employer a major commission and recog...more
I picked this up in the library because I thought I'd enjoy a light-hearted mystery about New York City and coffee. I'm sure I read the first few pages when I looked at it, since that's my pattern, but I must have been in a caffeine fog. I found the first ten pages tedious and the typeface a bit too ornate for a relaxing read, and luckily I've learned that I'm allowed to abandon ship when I feel like it. Not planning to revisit this one but not giving it a star rating of any kind since I didn't...more
I always love books where I learn while I’m being entertained and Cleo Coyle’s coffeehouse mystery books balance the two perfectly. One fan referred to this series as Murder She Wrote meets Starbucks.
Cleo Coyle is a pen name for Alice Alfonsi and her husband, Marc Cerasini, who write this series, Coffeehouse Mysteries. Alice Alfonsi also writes another series, under the pen name of Alice Kimberly, the Haunted Bookshop Mysteries.
"Roast Mortem" is the ninth book in the coffeehouse series which be...more
Cleo Coyle is a pen name for Alice Alfonsi and her husband, Marc Cerasini, who write this series, Coffeehouse Mysteries. Alice Alfonsi also writes another series, under the pen name of Alice Kimberly, the Haunted Bookshop Mysteries.
"Roast Mortem" is the ninth book in the coffeehouse series which be...more
Feb 25, 2013
Jan
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Shelves:
coffee-fiction,
nyc-setting,
nypd,
arson-fiction,
greenwich-village-setting,
mystery,
cozies
In this 9th book in the series, Clare becomes involved in an arson investigation when she and her aging employer are visiting a friend's coffee house when it bursts into flame. From the beginning, Clare is convinced that it is arson and is determined to prove it is not their friend, because the owner is always the first suspect according to Clare. Before long some of the firemen who answered the call are dead and Clare realizes there is more to this than some crazy guy who hates caffiene.
I just...more
I just...more
Bad enough, on multiple levels, that I am ending my reading of the series.
Sample of problems, in no particular order--
Dear Lord, it is ONLY coffee! Don't be such a frickin' snob.
Derivative plot (if I tell you what it is derivative of, you would immediately know all there is to know about the book--or at least what is worth knowing).
Groping, mauling, attempted rape--it is not "okay" if he is your boyfriend's cousin and "was drunk" when it happened. I all but screamed during that and then when the...more
Sample of problems, in no particular order--
Dear Lord, it is ONLY coffee! Don't be such a frickin' snob.
Derivative plot (if I tell you what it is derivative of, you would immediately know all there is to know about the book--or at least what is worth knowing).
Groping, mauling, attempted rape--it is not "okay" if he is your boyfriend's cousin and "was drunk" when it happened. I all but screamed during that and then when the...more
Listening to Cleo Coyle makes me hungry! Seriously!! The way that Coyle describes aromas, tastes, and textures has me – quite literally – salivating! This lady should write a cookbook!! I take as much pleasure in listening to her describe different foods and coffee blends as I do in her mysteries.
I read my first Coyle book back in January, which was Holiday Grind, the eighth book in the series. I was so excited to see the next audiobook available for review that I jumped at the chance!
Roast Mor...more
I read my first Coyle book back in January, which was Holiday Grind, the eighth book in the series. I was so excited to see the next audiobook available for review that I jumped at the chance!
Roast Mor...more
I haven't read any of the other books but it wasn't hard to jump right in. The main character of this book probably gets compared to Nancy Drew a lot but even though that occurred to me I disagreed with the idea. Sure, she's a female, civilian sleuth but that's where the comparison ends.
I really enjoyed the character's love and knowledge of cooking. I'm not really a cook myself but I'm learning. Maybe I'll try some of the recipes in this book! (I don't mind that they're incomplete in my copy) I...more
I really enjoyed the character's love and knowledge of cooking. I'm not really a cook myself but I'm learning. Maybe I'll try some of the recipes in this book! (I don't mind that they're incomplete in my copy) I...more
Every time I read a Coffeehouse Mystery, I ask myself if I am reading a cozy mystery or a textbook on Coffee 101. With the many ways that an espresso can be prepared to the beans and the roasting, to coffee history and coffee grinding, I am beginning to wonder what the true point to these books are.
Clare is the manager of the Village Blend, she and her ex-husband Mateo have been left the day in and day out running of the business by Madam, her ex-mother-in-law and dear friend. One afternoon they...more
Clare is the manager of the Village Blend, she and her ex-husband Mateo have been left the day in and day out running of the business by Madam, her ex-mother-in-law and dear friend. One afternoon they...more
Roast Mortem is the 9th book of the Coffeehouse mystery series set in modern-day NYC. Claire Cosi is co-owner of The Village Blend coffeehouse with her ex-husband Matteo Allegro. He travels the world buying the best coffee beans, while she and her crew of baristas at Village Blend roast coffee beans and prepare exquisite espressos and lattes and bakery goods. Claire and her mother-in-law Madame narrowly escape a fire in a coffeehouse owned by Madame's old friend Enzo, and Claire resolves to catc...more
Cleo Coyle pays tribute to the FDNY in this latest book in her best-selling Coffee House Mystery series. Roast Mortem takes Clare Cosi from Greenwich Village to Queens and Brooklyn in search of an arsonist who is torching coffee houses, and The Village Blend could be next if she doesn't find the culprit. Clare doesn't believe the theory held by law enforcement that the arsonist is an eco-terrorist making a statement against coffee production, instead, she thinks that the culprit lives closer to...more
Every installment in the Coffee House series is great and Roast Mortem is no exception. The by now familiar and well-loved characters are up to their usual shenanigans with Clare investigating arson as well as murder, Mike giving her his usual support, Matt assisting her almost against his will and Madame putting her cent in. This whodunit is not an easy solve for Clare and readers are kept guessing along with Clare. It doesn't help that Clare is slightly distracted by the conflict between Mike...more
This turns out to be one of the best in this series.
Inspired by real life tragic deaths' of firemen. The characters are many and most have opportunity to have caused the death of a friend of the fire department. Arson and bombs are present from the beginning to the end. Greed, jealousy, hate, and secrets abound.
Mike and Clare seem to make progress in their romance. Mateo (Matt) are great sleuthing partners. This is one where you actually fear Clare has been too nosy for her own good.
Clues: A cl...more
Inspired by real life tragic deaths' of firemen. The characters are many and most have opportunity to have caused the death of a friend of the fire department. Arson and bombs are present from the beginning to the end. Greed, jealousy, hate, and secrets abound.
Mike and Clare seem to make progress in their romance. Mateo (Matt) are great sleuthing partners. This is one where you actually fear Clare has been too nosy for her own good.
Clues: A cl...more
Title: Roast Mortem (Coffeehouse Mystery #9)
Author: Cleo Coyle
Pages: 316
Publisher: Penguin Group
ISBN: 9780425234594
Synopsis (from Goodreads.com): 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 inves...more
Author: Cleo Coyle
Pages: 316
Publisher: Penguin Group
ISBN: 9780425234594
Synopsis (from Goodreads.com): 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 inves...more
"Roast Mortem" is Cleo Coyle's ninth Coffeehouse Mystery featuring Clare Cosi, manager of the Village Blend coffeehouse in Greenwich Village.
Clare and Madame, her former mother-in-law and owner of the Village Blend, drive to Queens to meet Enzo Testa, a longtime friend of Madame's who has an old coffee blender and photos he wants to return to Madame. While the two women are at Enzo's cafe, a fire fills the building, and New York's bravest must rescue Madame and Enzo.
Clare believes a bomb was se...more
Clare and Madame, her former mother-in-law and owner of the Village Blend, drive to Queens to meet Enzo Testa, a longtime friend of Madame's who has an old coffee blender and photos he wants to return to Madame. While the two women are at Enzo's cafe, a fire fills the building, and New York's bravest must rescue Madame and Enzo.
Clare believes a bomb was se...more
Claire Cosi is back in the ninth Coffeehouse Mystery. Having promised to take her ex-mother-in-law (affectionately known as "Madame") to visit an old friend. Enzo Testa, himself the proprietor of a cafe, has offered the Village Blend an antique coffee roaster. While in the basement checking out the roaster, Claire gets a call from one of her baristas and runs upstairs to let him in. As she closes the door behind Dante, she inadvertently sets off a bomb.
Luckily, there's a fire station just down t...more
Luckily, there's a fire station just down t...more
Smokin'! This is the best Coffeehouse/Clare Cosi yet! Most times a series will start to head south with nine on the shelves, but not this one. Each book is better than the last.
The mixture of the coffeehouses being torched brings Clare into the picture with credibility, which not all cozies can do with any sense of veracity. My favorites are the ones that do it in aces, and this one does it nicely roasted spades.
Okay, enough of the playing card euphemisms...
I liked seeing plenty of Clare and Mi...more
The mixture of the coffeehouses being torched brings Clare into the picture with credibility, which not all cozies can do with any sense of veracity. My favorites are the ones that do it in aces, and this one does it nicely roasted spades.
Okay, enough of the playing card euphemisms...
I liked seeing plenty of Clare and Mi...more
The latest book in the Coffeehouse Mystery series by Cleo Coyle did not let this reader down! This is a sharply written and well researched book that captured my attention from the opening paragraph. As all the books do Roast Mortem begins with the thoughts of the killer and quickly jumps into the story. Once again we follow the adventures and misadventures of Clare Cosi, the manager of the Village Blend coffee shop located in NYC. Clare, Madame, the owner of the Village Blend (and Clare's ex-mo...more
With shades of the movie, backdraft, the village blend co-owner, takes on arsonist with a vengeance for coffee houses. December is the perfect time for mysteries, and what better way then with a series that adds a love of coffee and food into the mix? These series educates the reader on the ins and outs of coffee, good foods (and a recipe section as an appendix) while a divorced MILF dons a figurative deerstalker a la Monsieur Holmes to solve the latest series of murders in the Big City.
This is a good read for me, taking you into the world of firefighting, post-911. The beginning is reminiscent of Madame's first husband (Clare's mother in law, ex), through a reunion with a dear old friend. We delve into the issues surrounding the Quinn family and uncover Detective Mike's family quarrel through encounters with the firefighting cousin. In this book, the mystery (or mysteries) unravel and through being in the situation Clare is able to solve 2 different cases. The Mirage clubs are...more
This was a very comfortable read. The characters were nicely drawn and the mystery was just complex enough that the reader is not bored with the story. I personally am a fan of the specialty mysteries such as Ellen Crosby's Virginia wine country mysteries. The writers give enough technical details that you feel like you may be learning something about the business of the main characters, but the mysteries are all based on the dark side of human nature. Very nice book.
After reading all the previous books, I thought I would get tired of the characters. Instead, I find I'm enjoying getting to know them. The mysteries are fun and more intricate as the series goes on. Plus, in spite of being a coffee aficionado most of my life, I find that I'm learning quite a bit about the coffee industry and its history. I have to ask: will there be a bound recipe collection at the end of this series?
I tired never to read the stories of Clare and her coffee house and her friends.Is true can be unsafe be her friends because you can be murdered or charged for to have made it but then Mrs Cosi discover ever the culprit. As ever the plot is interesting and original and rich of suspance. Protagonists of Roast murder are the firefighters and so the story is more poignant and intense.
This was not that good. I've been reading the coffeehouse mysteries in order. Most of them are really entertaining except this book and one other ("Decaffeinated Corpse"). I just couldn't get into the book. The mystery itself was a little confusing. There was an influx of many new characters, and it was a bit hard to keep some of them straight. Lastly, there was a lot of extraneous coffee information. I understand that coffee needs to be woven throughout the story. However, like another reviewer...more
Ok, so I'm on a roll (and have a long weekend off!) This one deals with an arsonist setting fire to local coffee houses. Clare was at visiting the coffeehouse where the first fire occurred and therefore her determination to solve the mystery. Another great read, and I'm ready to start on the next one! (I'd saved a bunch for just such an occasion!)
Roast Mortem I have to say, is my favorite book by Cleo so far. This book hit close to home for me as my dad is a retired Fire Chief after 40 + years of service and I could totally relate to what was happening through out the book. Clare out does herself this time. It was nice to see more of Mike's Cousin Michael Quinn and the big secrets between the two. I also enjoyed Clare coming to Mike's rescue for a change. Clare does her best work when she is at the firehouse trying to teach a few of the...more
Another in the Coffeehouse Mystery series, this book deals with firefighters and arson in New York City. Coffeehouses are being set on fire around town, and when Clare and her ex-mother-in-law almost perish in one of the fires, Clare decides to investigate with the help of her boyfriend cop and her ex-husband.
Good entry in the series. I really liked the firemen angle. In the series I just really don't like Clare and Mike together, I just think they have no chemistry. Clare and Matt are soo much better together, they work well together and he would do anything for her. I know he's kinda sleezy but what can I say, I love his character. Madame did't make many appearances either because she was sorta injured in the beginning of the book, but I missed her feisty attitude. It was mostly Clare solving this...more
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Cleo Coyle is the pseudonym for Alice Alfonsi, writing in collaboration with her husband, Marc Cerasini. Under the name Cleo Coyle, they've written 12 bestselling Coffeehouse Mystery titles. The first in their 12-book series is now in its 17th printing. Their newest release, HOLIDAY BUZZ, was a Top-10 New York Times bestseller. Their previous release from Penguin, A BREW TO A KILL, was chosen as a...more
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