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Comics and Coffee Case Files #2
Lattes and Lies
The perfect poison… Kirby Jackson is excited when Memaw’s book club plays host to his favorite mystery author. But the night ends on a sour note with the death of Memaw’s friend, Barb. The only secrets Barb Simone ever kept were those about herself. No one knew she had cancer. No one knew she had a boyfriend. And no one knew she was the basis for a character in a bestselling mystery series. But it wasn’t cancer that killed Barb. Kirby suspects foul play. Can the sleuth and his dog solve another case? Find out today! Comics and Coffee Case Files are short mysteries of 35k words. The bite-sized chapters are perfect for commutes and other short stints away from the real world.
152 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 29, 2018
694 people are currently reading
358 people want to read
About the author
Christine Zane Thomas
56 books184 followersChristine Zane Thomas is the pen name of a husband and wife team whose love of mystery and sleuths spurred the creation of their own mysterious writer alter-ego.
While not writing, they can be found in northwest Florida with their two children and schnauzer, Tinker Bell.
Their love of food takes them all around the South. Sometimes they sprinkle in the occasional trip to Disney World. Food and Wine is their favorite season.
While not writing, they can be found in northwest Florida with their two children and schnauzer, Tinker Bell.
Their love of food takes them all around the South. Sometimes they sprinkle in the occasional trip to Disney World. Food and Wine is their favorite season.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 71 reviews
September 29, 2019
Cute enough, especially since it was free.
Kirby Jackson owns a comic book/coffee shop. His Memaw invites him to a book club meeting with one of his favorite childhood authors. During the book club meeting, he encounters Avett, Memaw's friend Barb's niece, with whom Kirby previously had one date. They decide to go out for pizza after the meeting and when he takes her home, they find her aunt dead.
Since Barb had cancer and told very few people, Kirby, Avett and everyone else assume the cancer was the cause. But, it turns out that she was poisoned. Kirby's best friend, Felicia, is a detective for the local police department and gives him some information about the case, but gets angry and refuses to talk with him when he confronts a suspect.
The plot twist was good and I liked how it was handled. Don't let my 3-star rating sway you; I've discovered that I'm not really a fan of "cozy mysteries." If I were a fan of the genre, I probably would have give this 4+ stars.
Kirby Jackson owns a comic book/coffee shop. His Memaw invites him to a book club meeting with one of his favorite childhood authors. During the book club meeting, he encounters Avett, Memaw's friend Barb's niece, with whom Kirby previously had one date. They decide to go out for pizza after the meeting and when he takes her home, they find her aunt dead.
Since Barb had cancer and told very few people, Kirby, Avett and everyone else assume the cancer was the cause. But, it turns out that she was poisoned. Kirby's best friend, Felicia, is a detective for the local police department and gives him some information about the case, but gets angry and refuses to talk with him when he confronts a suspect.
The plot twist was good and I liked how it was handled. Don't let my 3-star rating sway you; I've discovered that I'm not really a fan of "cozy mysteries." If I were a fan of the genre, I probably would have give this 4+ stars.
July 8, 2019
Very enjoyable story about an owner of a cafe/comic book story and his adventures. Along with Gambit, his adopted dachshund, they tackle this latest mystery, namely, the death of his girlfriend’s aunt.
Very easy read, with relatable characters and a believable plot. This series is definitely worth checking out. And yes, I will be looking into the next installment!
Great job, guys!
Very easy read, with relatable characters and a believable plot. This series is definitely worth checking out. And yes, I will be looking into the next installment!
Great job, guys!
February 8, 2020
kindle unlimited, did not like it as well as book 1 ditto 3, rating it 3 here but 4 zon, because they have 3's as negative, js, and writing review after finished 3
Comics and Coffee Case Files
Marvels, Mochas, and Murder 1
Lattes and Lies (Comics and Coffee Case Files 2
A Foodie Files Mystery
The Salty Taste of Murder 1
A Choice Cocktail of Death 2
Comics and Coffee Case Files
Marvels, Mochas, and Murder 1
Lattes and Lies (Comics and Coffee Case Files 2
A Foodie Files Mystery
The Salty Taste of Murder 1
A Choice Cocktail of Death 2
June 11, 2019
Lattes and Lies
I really enjoyed reading this book. It took me the first chapter to really get interested in the storyline but each following chapter kept getting better. Great ending!
I really enjoyed reading this book. It took me the first chapter to really get interested in the storyline but each following chapter kept getting better. Great ending!
January 5, 2019
A fun cozy. I loved the chance to get back into the adventures of Kirby, Meewaw and Gambit.
February 21, 2019
Enjoyed reading about Kirby and Gambit’s adventures. The author knows how to bring the reader into the story and keep us guessing until the end. Excited to read the next book in the series.
Read
October 20, 2019Short but OK
Could have been longer and more developed
Could have been longer and more developed
September 10, 2023
Cute, cozy mystery nice characters and kept you guessing. Want to go back and read the 1st one now.
June 9, 2020
I liked it!
Note: I read this in June 2019 and in June 2020 downloaded a box set of the first 4 in this mystery series (so I can see if I like #1, 3, & 4 as much as #2).
Note: I read this in June 2019 and in June 2020 downloaded a box set of the first 4 in this mystery series (so I can see if I like #1, 3, & 4 as much as #2).
July 2, 2019
More Editing,
I like the alliteration in the title and the coffee shop name. The story idea is cute. This book would have benefited from either more editing and proofreading or from professional editing and proofreading. I realize that the downside of self publishing is precisely that editors won't edit a book they don't plan to publish. I wonder if the process of self publishing online causes problems like this? The characters have potential, but are not memorable. They remind me of stock characters played by bad actors. Please forgive me for putting it that way! While I won't recommend the book in its current stage, I encourage the writers to keep on! Good writing is difficult at best, especially light hearted cozy mysteries. Don't let the breezy style of good cozy mysteries fool you into thinking they are any easier to write than any other type of good fiction. Write about what you love in a way that is really you. You will improve immensely.
I like the alliteration in the title and the coffee shop name. The story idea is cute. This book would have benefited from either more editing and proofreading or from professional editing and proofreading. I realize that the downside of self publishing is precisely that editors won't edit a book they don't plan to publish. I wonder if the process of self publishing online causes problems like this? The characters have potential, but are not memorable. They remind me of stock characters played by bad actors. Please forgive me for putting it that way! While I won't recommend the book in its current stage, I encourage the writers to keep on! Good writing is difficult at best, especially light hearted cozy mysteries. Don't let the breezy style of good cozy mysteries fool you into thinking they are any easier to write than any other type of good fiction. Write about what you love in a way that is really you. You will improve immensely.
April 25, 2022
KAPOW Coffee + Cozy Mystery= Fun Read
This really was a fun read. It has a bit of a Big Bang Theory vibe to it but with it's own characters. And what a business concept, comic book store and coffee shop in one! Who needs Starbucks. I love Kirby and watching him run his shop and date girls... It's very encouraging for a mom of two teenage boys who are both D&D nerds too. The story stays clean and the mystery keeps you engaged with enough twists to keep it from being too easy to solve. Overall it's a fun clean cozy mystery that will have a broader reader appeal.
Parents- PG - middle school and up readers
Language- mild
Violence- PG - very little to none- not a bloody murder scene
Sexual Content- PG - just some kissing and hand holding, nothing to warn of
Narrator did a great job. I preferred 1.25x listening speed.
—I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
This really was a fun read. It has a bit of a Big Bang Theory vibe to it but with it's own characters. And what a business concept, comic book store and coffee shop in one! Who needs Starbucks. I love Kirby and watching him run his shop and date girls... It's very encouraging for a mom of two teenage boys who are both D&D nerds too. The story stays clean and the mystery keeps you engaged with enough twists to keep it from being too easy to solve. Overall it's a fun clean cozy mystery that will have a broader reader appeal.
Parents- PG - middle school and up readers
Language- mild
Violence- PG - very little to none- not a bloody murder scene
Sexual Content- PG - just some kissing and hand holding, nothing to warn of
Narrator did a great job. I preferred 1.25x listening speed.
—I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
April 29, 2021
Not bad, but I wish I'd read the first book because the bits and pieces dropped into this book make it sound like a great story. However, you can absolutely read this one first.
The solution was reasonably clear by a bit past the halfway mark, but it was still nicely done. There were a few details that were a little confusing even after the denouement, but that's okay. The author explained the most important details.
One thing that threw me is the protagonist is male but I had to keep reminding myself of that. He came across as female in the first chapters. I'm not sure if that was deliberate or just me picking up on inadvertent clues from an author who doesn't write male characters well but I kind of liked it. It didn't take me out of the story at all and the ambiguity was both realistic and appealing.
The solution was reasonably clear by a bit past the halfway mark, but it was still nicely done. There were a few details that were a little confusing even after the denouement, but that's okay. The author explained the most important details.
One thing that threw me is the protagonist is male but I had to keep reminding myself of that. He came across as female in the first chapters. I'm not sure if that was deliberate or just me picking up on inadvertent clues from an author who doesn't write male characters well but I kind of liked it. It didn't take me out of the story at all and the ambiguity was both realistic and appealing.
July 14, 2019
A Deadly Reunion
I 've found myself another favorite writer or should I say writers some times it takes a group effort and this group dose it in a fabulous way. The caracters , the plots the mysterys. Kirby runs a coffee/comic book shop and we all know what happens in coffee a shops gossiping cops coming for coffee. Tonight Kirby is going to a book club meeting to meet one of his favorite mystery authors hear her read maby get an autograph,run into the woman he had a date with two months ago rekindle the spark. Every thing is going great until tha dead body. Start reading yourself to find what unfolds next you won't want to miss out "Lattes and Lies "🙄😮🤔😏 Kat
I 've found myself another favorite writer or should I say writers some times it takes a group effort and this group dose it in a fabulous way. The caracters , the plots the mysterys. Kirby runs a coffee/comic book shop and we all know what happens in coffee a shops gossiping cops coming for coffee. Tonight Kirby is going to a book club meeting to meet one of his favorite mystery authors hear her read maby get an autograph,run into the woman he had a date with two months ago rekindle the spark. Every thing is going great until tha dead body. Start reading yourself to find what unfolds next you won't want to miss out "Lattes and Lies "🙄😮🤔😏 Kat
November 20, 2022
I took well over a month to read this because, while it was good, it didn’t hold my attention more than sleep did as I always read before going to bed. It was an intriguing enough mystery mixed with a little relationship, but I felt confused because it lead me to believe another relationship was brewing when it really wasn’t. It also had a random plot line of the main guy breeding his dachshund so some characters could get puppies…🙄 The only redemption to that part is when he didn’t want a puppy himself but preferred rescuing a dog or cat.
To be fair, I didn’t guess who dunnit, and the explanation of the culprit was actually kind of genius. Overall, it still sort of felt like a waste of my time, but unless they’re awful I don’t like giving up on books so I kept trusting forward slowly.
To be fair, I didn’t guess who dunnit, and the explanation of the culprit was actually kind of genius. Overall, it still sort of felt like a waste of my time, but unless they’re awful I don’t like giving up on books so I kept trusting forward slowly.
July 13, 2019
Likeable characters, decent plot
This is the first book in this series that I have read, and I liked it enough to read more. I read a lot of cozies and it's rare to have a male protagonist. Kirby is a likeable guy with a rescue Daschund dog. The writing is competent and well edited. The mystery is decent, and the story is complete. There are a few references to the first book in the series, enough to give you some background into Kirby's relationships with Felicia and Avett, the two main female characters. This is a quick read, and a clean one with no sex or foul language.
This is the first book in this series that I have read, and I liked it enough to read more. I read a lot of cozies and it's rare to have a male protagonist. Kirby is a likeable guy with a rescue Daschund dog. The writing is competent and well edited. The mystery is decent, and the story is complete. There are a few references to the first book in the series, enough to give you some background into Kirby's relationships with Felicia and Avett, the two main female characters. This is a quick read, and a clean one with no sex or foul language.
June 14, 2020
A nice follow up to the first one. The crime-solving aspect is a little subdued here, but the overall experience of a leisurely encounter with some interesting characters pretty good. Mee-Maw getting into more hijinks was just what the series needed. Did not expect the story to go the "meta" way so early in the series - but when a writer of cozy mysteries comes into town to visit a friend and a crime takes place, we are given the opportunity to reflect how the genre works as a whole. Overall, a fun read!
January 4, 2019
I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily providing my honest review.
You gotta love these books about a coffee/comic book store owner and his dachshund. This was a page turner, just like the first one in the series. A favorite author of Kirby's comes to town and that just starts the ball rolling. I can't wait for the next one to see how Rogue and Gambit manage to live together and also how Kirby and Avett progress. I really enjoyed this book and recommend it.
You gotta love these books about a coffee/comic book store owner and his dachshund. This was a page turner, just like the first one in the series. A favorite author of Kirby's comes to town and that just starts the ball rolling. I can't wait for the next one to see how Rogue and Gambit manage to live together and also how Kirby and Avett progress. I really enjoyed this book and recommend it.
January 20, 2019
Kirby is all excited that Memaw's book club is having his favorite mystery author! But the night ends with Barb, Memaw's friend is dead. Kirby didn't know she had cancer, or a boyfriend, and she was the basis character of a bestselling mystery series! Kirby is pretty sure someone killed her before she told her secrets. But who? I know this sound tragic, but this story is written with great humor. It is a refreshing change for your usual murder mysteries.
August 19, 2019
Young adult book?
This book was ok, I did want to finish it after all. I thought it started out well, but got confusing and weak as the story went on. The last few chapters and especially the ending made it feel more like a middle school read. Actually, the whole bit with the dog seemed to be thrown in there, and the cutesy ending didn't seem right at all. I think this would be a good 5th/6th grade read.
This book was ok, I did want to finish it after all. I thought it started out well, but got confusing and weak as the story went on. The last few chapters and especially the ending made it feel more like a middle school read. Actually, the whole bit with the dog seemed to be thrown in there, and the cutesy ending didn't seem right at all. I think this would be a good 5th/6th grade read.
November 10, 2022
Kirby is back and full running Kapow Koffee. He's also grown to like dashound Gambit, and has a new girlfriend, a local nurse his Memaw knows, there going to meet mytery author Pamela Isley at his Memaws book club. Also in attendance is Barb Simone, his Memaws freimd and also the aunt of the woman he's seeing, as detective Felicia Strong, his old flame, wants to be friends. Barb dies and Pam is the prime suspect. It's a great way to continue the story.
January 12, 2019
Pretty good cozy mystery!
I like that the main protagonist only has a great head on his shoulders but also takes into account the opinions of people he trusts when confronted with a mystery that needs solving. Even when it involves friends and family. Also he has a cute dog. That always helps. 😁
I like that the main protagonist only has a great head on his shoulders but also takes into account the opinions of people he trusts when confronted with a mystery that needs solving. Even when it involves friends and family. Also he has a cute dog. That always helps. 😁
June 17, 2019
Interesting and entertaining
This book kept my interest throughout the entire book. Usually, I figure out the ending pretty early on and I lose interest shortly thereafter. It took longer than usual for me to figure this one out and I wanted to keep reading even afterwards because the storyline was entertaining. Great cozy mystery.
This book kept my interest throughout the entire book. Usually, I figure out the ending pretty early on and I lose interest shortly thereafter. It took longer than usual for me to figure this one out and I wanted to keep reading even afterwards because the storyline was entertaining. Great cozy mystery.
June 29, 2019
This is the second in the series and the first time reading this author. The main character has a coffee shop with a corner for comics. He trips over a body at the end of a date and the murder victim is a friend of his Memaw's. It takes a while for him to figure things out. I enjoyed this book.
July 29, 2019
A Coffee Shop and a Comic Book Store
This is the first book by this author I have read and I really enjoyed it. The ladies of the book club invite an author for a reading. That night one of those members dies. The grandson of one of the deceased's friends is dating her niece and so the investigation begins.
This is the first book by this author I have read and I really enjoyed it. The ladies of the book club invite an author for a reading. That night one of those members dies. The grandson of one of the deceased's friends is dating her niece and so the investigation begins.
August 16, 2019
A dachshund detective !
This is the second book in the Comics and Coffee series, and a new author for me. But now I’m going to have to go back and read the first book as well as the others! I always enjoy cozy’s with animals including in this book, Gambit, the dachshund. Great characters and a fun read. Even better I didn’t figure out “who done it” beforehand.
This is the second book in the Comics and Coffee series, and a new author for me. But now I’m going to have to go back and read the first book as well as the others! I always enjoy cozy’s with animals including in this book, Gambit, the dachshund. Great characters and a fun read. Even better I didn’t figure out “who done it” beforehand.
October 10, 2019
Not a regular member of Memaw's book club, Kirby Jackson is excited to attend this evening's meeting. In Lattes and Lies by Christine Zane Thomas, Kirby's favorite author Pam Isley is the guest of honor. But when someone close to them is murdered, Kirby and Avett become the detectives. Clever, cute mystery.
January 14, 2020
Great time waster
Just like dogs, this books is a great time waster, it is definitely an easy read and offers light entertainment.
I would have loved more of Gambit can imagine him to be quite a character.
The conclusion wasn't brilliant but overall, it kept me reading till the end.
I would definitely recommend for a rainy afternoon reading.
Just like dogs, this books is a great time waster, it is definitely an easy read and offers light entertainment.
I would have loved more of Gambit can imagine him to be quite a character.
The conclusion wasn't brilliant but overall, it kept me reading till the end.
I would definitely recommend for a rainy afternoon reading.
June 9, 2019
This is the only book that I've read in the series. I enjoyed the book. The plot is good; the characters interesting. The additional plot lines create a richer environment. This is a very good cozy mystery.
June 11, 2019
When your favorite writer move to town
Everyone’s favorite YA writer has moved to town. And the friend’s aunt turns out to have grown up with her. Then the deaths start. Does authorship play a role?
Everyone’s favorite YA writer has moved to town. And the friend’s aunt turns out to have grown up with her. Then the deaths start. Does authorship play a role?
June 20, 2019
Cute pallet cleanser
I’ve been reading some pretty long and heavier books and needed something cozy and light in between. This fit the bill. Fun, fast and didn’t have to do too much thinking.
I’ve been reading some pretty long and heavier books and needed something cozy and light in between. This fit the bill. Fun, fast and didn’t have to do too much thinking.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 71 reviews