Latte Trouble

Coffeehouse Mystery #3

by Cleo Coyle

Greenwich Village coffee shop manager and amateur sleuth Clare Cosi is faced with her most perilous mystery yet in Latte Trouble, the third Coffeehouse Mystery by Cleo Coyle (On What Grounds and Through the Grinder).


It's Fashion Week in New York City -- and Clare's shop, the historic Village Blend, is the location of a prestigious insider's party for loyal customer and iconic designer Lottie Harmon, who is about to launch a collection of coffee-inspired accessories aptly named Java Jewelry. But the event, which is attended by the city's most zealous fashionistas, goes terribly wrong when a customer is poisoned and dies from cyanide in his latte. A barista, who coincidentally was recently dumped by the victim, is arrested and charged with murder. But Clare knows in her heart that her employee is innocent and begins to investigate the people surrounding the enigmatic Lottie Harmon. When Clare uncovers a scheme to blackmail one of Lottie's business partners and then that partner suddenly turns up dead, she knows that there is trouble brewing.

Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Fiction, Cozy, Audiobook, New York, Mystery Thriller

243 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published August 1, 2005

About the author

Don't miss the newest title in Cleo's long-running Coffeehouse Mystery series (with more to come), NO ROAST FOR THE WEARY, a National Mystery Bestseller and triple #1 Amazon Category Bestseller. Join Cleo's Coffee Club for bonus recipes and giveaways: Click Here to Subscribe to Cleo’s Free Newsletter

CLEO COYLE is the New York Times and Publishers Weekly bestselling pseudonym for Alice Alfonsi, writing in collaboration with her husband, Marc Cerasini. With more than 1 million books sold, they have gained an enthusiastic following. Cleo's "relenlessly entertaining" (Criminal Element) novels have been translated into Spanish, Japanese, and Czech. Their books have earned starred reviews from Library Journal and Kirkus, Best of Year selection honors from multiple reviewers, and have been recommended by Booklist as among the best culinary mysteries for core library mystery collections.

When not haunting coffeehouses, hunting ghosts, or wrangling their rescued stray cats, Alice and Marc are New York Times bestselling media tie-in writers who have penned properties for Lucasfilm, NBC, Fox, Disney, Imagine, Toho, and MGM. One of those projects (ghostwritten by Alice Alfonsi) was named by Entertainment Weekly as the best media tie-in book written that year.

CONNECT WITH CLEO at CleoCoyle.com and CoffeehouseMystery.com

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CLEO'S TWO BESTSELLING SERIES:

Cleo’s Coffeehouse Mystery series, celebrated for pioneering both the “urban cozy" and “coffee cozy” mystery genres, follows the adventures of amateur sleuth Clare Cosi, a single mom with a complicated love life who manages a Greenwich Village coffeehouse and a crew of quirky baristas who helps her solve perplexing crimes.

Cleo’s Haunted Bookshop Mystery series, hailed as a highly original and "utterly charming" (Mystery Scene) blend of cozy and hardboiled genres, features an earnest young New England widow who catches criminals with the help of a gumshoe ghost, the irrepressible spirit of a tough private detective who’d been gunned down in her bookshop decades before.

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LATEST BOOK NEWS:

The newest title in Cleo's long-running Coffeehouse Mystery series is NO ROAST FOR THE WEARY, on sale April 1st and already a national mystery bestseller and triple #1 Amazon category bestseller. Cleo's previous release, BULLETPROOF BARISTA, was a "wildly entertaining" (Criminal Elment) national mystery bestseller; a #1 category best seller for Amazon; and honored with 2 Best of Year list selections by reviewers. It is now availalbe in a new paperback reprint edition along with the previous bestselling book in the series, HONEY ROASTED, "A honey of a tale" (Kirkus Reviews).

Cleo's latest Haunted Bookshop Mystery releases include THE GHOST AND THE STOLEN TEARS, praised by Kirkus as "a gem of a story." And THE GHOST GOES TO THE DOGS, a #1 category best seller for Amazon, which Fresh Fiction called "amazing and unique." Cleo is now writing the next Haunted Bookshop Mystery. Subscribe to Cleo’s Free Newsletter for updates on the pub date!

Reviews

[Darinda · Rating 3 out of 5]

The 3rd book in the Coffeehouse mystery series by Cleo Coyle. Clare manages Vintage Blend coffeehouse and sometimes uses her amateur sleuthing skills to solve crimes. The latest mystery is a death by poison at the coffeehouse. One of Clare's employees is accused of the crime, but Clare believes him to be innocent.

A light and entertaining mystery. There is a lot of coffee talk in this book, but I enjoyed that part of the story. Clare's ex-husband needs to take a hike, but otherwise it's a good read.

[Erin *Proud Book Hoarder* · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm really digging the Coffeehouse mystery series. Once I got past the almost textbook feel of the first with coffee instructions, the snuck bit of coffee lore keeps me entertained in between awkward situations for the heroine Clare.

This time it involves fashion week, where the most implausible part of the story isn't the murder, but a coffee-lined accessory and clothing trend becoming famous. Clare's amusing and loyal barrista has the finger unreasonably pointed at him by annoying new police detectives, so of course Clare must do all she can to find out who the real culprit is. That isn't that easy since the author put down a layered and tricky foundation. There's some turns and things to keep you on your toes, with or without the added caffeine.

Despite the clever mystery plotting, this one is only a 3 star of the series. Clare is sometimes a bit too careless, but she's still an enjoyable heroine. I like the realistic situations she faces with her independent daughter Joy and the back-and-forth strange relationship with her ex husband, Matteo. Madame as the mother-in-law is fun as always, if not a little stereotypical.

Quinn...I had him pegged for a strong and intense love interest eventually but really he's rather boring now. He almost comes across a little emo and I just don't sense strong enough interest. Maybe it's because I'm rarely in the mood for the soon-to-be divorced drama or the child custody angst. Not every relationship has to be fun and light, but I don't want depressing downers like that every time the two characters talk.

The ending brings out a creative culprit and not someone I would have suspected. They kind of pop up as a possibility later but it was a twist. A well done mystery that's lackings oem of the personal fun and charm of the previous two.

[Book Concierge · Rating 3 out of 5]

From the book jacket To Clare Cosi’s surprise, this fall’s hottest fashion trend is anything caffeinated – because designer Lottie Harmon, a loyal coffeehouse customer, has just created an ingenious collection of coffee- inspired fashion accessories. So naturally, Lottie chooses the Village Blend as the perfect backdrop for fall Fashion Week insiders to view her new line of “Java Jewelry.” When barista Tucker unwittingly serves a poisonous latte to a prominent figure on the fashion scene, Clare suspects that the real target may have been Lottie. Now she much protect her business from negative publicity, Lottie from further danger, and Tucker from murder charges.

My reactions
Book three in the Coffee House series is fast, entertaining, and enjoyable. I figured out the culprit way before Clare (or the police), but it was still fun watching them work through the clues. As always, Coyle includes some interesting tidbits about coffee, which I liked (even though these segues detracted from the plot).

What I didn’t like so much was the on-again-off-again relationship with Clare’s ex, Matteo. I’m sure Coyle included it to add some sexual tension, but I thought it was totally unnecessary.

Still, on the whole this is a quick, fun, cozy mystery.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

The third book in the Coffeehouse Mystery series.

I don't know what it is about these books. I avoid reading them. I like them while I am reading them - but once I finish it I have this aversion to them again. It's really weird. Maybe it's the New York attitude in the books that I find so off puting - I don't know. All I can tell you is that I enjoy them when I read them - but when I go to pick up the next book I seem to put a bunch of other books in front of it and I feel like I am "breaking down and reading" rather than "oooh - I get to read this next!" Weird.

[Amber · Rating 2 out of 5]

Okay, these books are seriously not good. So many loose ends and horrible character development. The author(s) definitely ignore the writing pro-tip against using stereotypes and for the last time I do not care about Clare's ample bosom. Why do I read these?

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoy this series, but a caution....YOU WILL DRINK LOTS OF COFFEE.

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh.

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just really love this series. There’s something so soothing about them. This one had a fun fashion week theme and a great whodunit twist.

[Jonna Rubin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This series is so awful, but I just keep going.

[Carla · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the third book in the Coffeehouse Mystery Series, but the first that I have read. I picked this book up because I needed a book with Latte in the title for a challenge I am in. I am not sure how I feel about this book. I liked it, but parts of it were not what I expected from a cozy. There was way too much information about how to make coffee and how beans are processed. The descriptions in the book were excellent and made you feel like you were there. Parts of the story were almost like a police procedural, a little dull, but part of the protaganists investigation. The series takes place in New York, hence the topic of Fashion Week.

It is fashion week, where the coffee shop is hosting an event for a designer of accessories. The accessory and clothing line that the murder revolves around are designed around coffee, the colour, the swirls etc. Clare is the protagonist and manager of the The Blend, where the first murder takes place. Clare's amusing and loyal barrista is the one who made and served the deadly latte, therefore he is arrested for the crime. Clare must do all she can to find out who the real culprit is. Her investigation is not easy. First she must determine who the actual target really was, who would want to kill him/her, what are the motives and how did they do it. The plot is intricately laid out with lots of twists, turns and some red herring thrown in.

Despite the clever mystery plotting, this one is only a 3 star for me. Clare is sometimes a bit too careless, but she's still an enjoyable heroine. I like the realistic situations she faces with her independent daughter Joy and the back-and-forth strange relationship with her ex husband, Matteo. There is also a police detective, Quinn, that is mentioned early but does not make an appearance until the end, that might be a romantic interest. Madame as the mother-in-law is fun and often surprises everyone throughout the story. The one thing that is not included in this book but is often in cozy mysteries is the help of local police. They do not really seem to be involved in the story at all which is very different.

The ending brings out a creative culprit and not someone I would have suspected, this was a definite well crafted twist to the story. The characters were not very complex with the exception of Clare and the immediate family. I wonder if there was more to them in previous books. Not sure if I will read another, there was just something I can't put my finger on.

[Kelcy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really loved Clare in this series so far but her character seemed inconsistent in this one compared to the other two. She seemed to be headstrong and seemed to know herself well, but in this one she was back and forth with her ex husband. The first 2 she knew her boundaries with hin.... in this one she just kept "going back" to him on a more intimate level despite her knowing she didnt want that and repeatedly expressing it
Also, when she catches Joy doing drugs she kind of reacts but not even to the level I wouldve thought considering how protective shes been.
She even jumps to random conclusions throughout about the mystery portion...so her sleuthing went from being really good to unorganized.
The cops were also pointless to be in here? They were present in the begining then not really there at all.

Idk, overall I still enjoyed the writing but Clare's chatacter seemed all over the place in this one.

[Karin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Clare's coffee house is hosting a fashion event, when someone dies of of cyanide poisoning and one of her staff is arrested on the spot (obviously not guilty since it's far too early in the book for the real murderer to be known) because he both made and served the drink (but then, the drink was meant for someone else, but to know more about all of that you have to read the book). Suffice to say that Clare starts working on figuring out who the real murderer is posthaste. It might be that there is more than one mystery afoot...

[Lori Herbst · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoy the setting and the characters in the Coffeehouse Mystery series. This one I listened to on audiobook, and I thought the narrator was fantastic, too. The only problem I had was that portions of the book felt entirely too academic. Way too much description of various coffee bean processes. I enjoy learning a little about the coffee business, but parts of this just seemed to go on too long. But that's a small gripe; overall, the book flowed well and the plot played out in an intriguing manner.

[Sarah Sammis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I figured it out about 3/4 through but that's okay. Still a fun read.

http://pussreboots.com/blog/2018/comm...

[Mr Francy Reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

GOOD BOOK, NOT AS GOOD AS THE FIRST TWO - BUT GOOD ENOUGH TO WANT TO KEEP GOING.

PREMISE: Claire and Mateo's cafe are hosting fashionista's. When their coffeeboy takes a cup of coffee over to a woman, a man takes the cup from him, drinks it and dies. But why?!? And is the coffee boy the one responsible for the murder?

THOUGHTS: Honestly, this one was up and down for me. Enjoyed the first quarter, was bored for the 2nd quarter, loved the 3rd quarter, 4th quarter was ok. I wish there was more "antogonist perspective" stuff then there was (we had only one moment with that in this book, at the beginning). Also wish there was more coffee stuff in this book. Loved Madame so much more in this book! Loved the climax (or pre-climax involving the hotel scene - won't say more just trying to make it identifiable to those who know). Was an average read for me.

3 Stars.
xoxo.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was available on audiobook from my library so I decided I'd be skipping book 2 and going straight to book 3. I'm still teetering back and forth on this series. I did manage to guess the culprit but the fact it was a stab in the dark from me makes me very forgiving in that respect, and the reveal which tied it all together was satisfying enough, even if it did feel a bit like the lead just stumbled into it at the last minute.

This is also the second book in the series where the character had a dramatic confrontation in a sex club and whilst that's neither a positive or a negative, I did think it was funny and thus worth noting.

I'll be checking out another of these. The mystery in this one was a lot more complex than the first book which I'm taking as a sign that the books just get better from here. Watch this space, I suppose.

PS: Shoutout to the narrator as well. It can be jarring to jump from reading a physical novel to listening to someone else narrating it, but she did a splendid job.

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a well written cozy mystery. Clare, the protagonist, was likable and I was invested in her investigation. The mystery was well thought out and I didn't guess the murderer until the very end. This is a series I could continue reading.

[JoAnne McMaster (Any Good Book) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Clare Cosi is the manager of the Village Blend, an upscale coffee house in Manhattan. She's hosting a party for Lottie Harmon, who's a loyal customer and also a fashion designer who has recently come out of retirement to launch a new line of jewelry - "Java Jewelry." On the evening of the party, the place is packed, and Clare and her employees are rushing to keep up. Unfortunately, her employee Tucker's ex-boyfriend Ricky shows up, and when Tucker is bringing a drink to Lottie, Ricky grabs it off the tray and drinks it, along with his new boyfriend. When both men fall to the floor, Clare calls 911. But it's too late for Ricky, who's already dead. When the police investigate, they arrest Tucker for murder, figuring the breakup gives him a good motive.

Clare refuses to believe Tucker is capable of murder, and decides to investigate on her own. With her friend Detective Mike Quinn out of town, she needs to enlist the reluctant help of her ex-husband, Matteo, who sometimes shares the apartment above the blend with her (long story), and also the help of her ex-mother-in-law, Madame, who treats it like a grand adventure. Clare's determined to find out who's framing Tucker, even if it puts her own life in danger...

This is the third book in the series, and it's not a bad one. What disappointed me is that more attention is given to the surrounding landmarks (if you're really interested in how Riker's Island got its name, you can probably find it on Google or Wikipedia); and not enough attention is given to fleshing out characters. Instead of Clare thinking about her or Matt's libidos (which we get, anyway), I'd rather see a little background - how and where Clare grew up, etc. From previous books we know how she met Matt, but very little about her upbringing, which makes people who they are. We do get plenty on why the two broke up, but we've known that from previous books. I also don't like the fact that Matt takes advantage of her (yes, he does), and she's worried about hurting his feelings? He cheated on you, woman. More than once. Get a grip.

I also find it sad that Clare's entire life is the coffee shop. She never goes anywhere, never even goes shopping or out to lunch with friends (if she has any), just takes care of the shop. It's very sad there's no outside life for her (unless she's investigating, and that's hardly relaxing).

Saying that, I enjoyed the mystery and trying to discover the identity of the killer. There were a few red herrings thrown about, which led in a couple of different directions. I did like the twist to the ending, and discovered who the murderer was a little bit before Clare did, but that's fine with me. I would have liked to have rated this higher, but Clare needs to completely (physically, emotionally) push Matt out of her life unless it's necessary to see him. I honestly enjoyed the ending of the book, and will continue to read this series.

https://joannesbooks.blogspot.com/202...

[rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the 3rd book in the Coffeehouse Mystery series and, I think, significantly better than the first two. The first volume was trying too hard to be a mystery/romance and the romance bits were slightly over the top and awkward. It felt a bit like it had been composed by committee, so it wasn't much of a surprise to learn that "Cleo Coyle" is the pen name for a husband and wife writing duo. Unlike Clare Cosi, the romantically confused, but endearing main character in the series, the couple who write the books seem to have worked out some of their (writing)relationship issues and the 3rd book in the series has better dialogue and a more interesting plot. Plus, although there's still lots of coffee-talk and digressions into the merits of various beans and roasts and recipes, but it's more organic, interesting, and feels less like schtick.

I probably wouldn't have read past the 1st book in the series, had I not picked up the 2nd volume at the same time. The 2nd volume was enough of an improvement that I picked up the 3rd, although I wasn't in a rush to get to it. Perhaps the coffeehouse mysteries have hit their stride, I'm now actually looking forward to reading the next one to find out.

[TriciaDea_Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not gonna lie... Cleo Coyle is growing on me. The first story in this series left me sort of questioning whether I would like the series or not... but I decided to give book 2 a shot. Yeah... I liked it. Let's go for book 3. Book three has me hooked. I'm looking forward to picking up the next book in the series.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an OK entry in the series. I like learning new things when I read but I felt it was rather blatant in this book (the section on the history of Rikers Island, all the information regarding coffee brewing, etc.) and it was a bit off-putting. The twist at the wasn’t quite expected. I don’t know if I will reread it but I’ve read a few others in the series and they were enjoyable.

[Jenene · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another mystery solved by Clare Cosi! Love this series!

[Millie Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not gonna lie - I had this one figured out right from the beginning. That's not to say that it wasn't a fun read - it was - it just seemed more predictable than the previous two books. The story - someone was poisoned at the Village Blend during a big event - had promise. Sadly, most of the book was spent with Clare going on and on about Lottie and how she (Clare) REALLY thinks that she knows who did it when, as usual, she was off base. As much as I like her, she reminds me a bit of Daphne from Scooby Doo in that she always seems to get into trouble. There were also a few parts of the story that were brought up and then seemingly forgotten. There was a bit with Clare's daughter, Joy, that seemed like it was going to have a bigger part and then was just "meh - I'll get to it later" and not mentioned again. Sigh. At least Detective Quinn showed up. He's always a fun character, as is Madame.

In spite of the flaws, I did enjoy the book and I'm looking forward to the next one. I can only hope that they get better. (I also hope that the editor got a kick in the butt. Holy hell.)

[Amberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is SO WEIRD coming into a new mystery series without knowing who the recurring characters are - there’s no way to know which ones are minor and/or new enough to be the bad guy, so EVERYONE is a suspect. (Is this what it’s like to be an actual detective?)

It was a little tricky at first, because I’m so used to Gamache and Nero Wolfe, but not knowing what to expect actually ended up being lovely. And kind of appropriate for a mystery.

There are some interesting writing quirks - for instance, she referred to Matt as “my ex” multiple times each chapter - that made me wonder if she was reinforcing a point I didn’t get since I jumped in mid-series. But, while I got a little distracted by that, the fact that I guessed the ending 100% wrong more than made up for it. It wasn’t the wrap-up I was expecting, but it was believable and handled really well.

[Chelle_Rydz · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this third book in the series the most so far.

Clare is a pretty solid MC who isn’t too reckless for a #cozy heroine. It’s a good mystery to puzzle out. I figured out the killer early on, but was off on some of the details. It’s a very enjoyable #cozymystery and could be read as a stand alone book.

The love triangle (there’s ALWAYS ONE ) is pretty low key so not TOO annoying. The side characters are not very fleshed out but, again, at least not the usual annoying overblown types you see in a lot of these books. (I’m never going to like the Stephanie Plum books. Sorry. Not sorry. Ugh)

I loved all the coffee details and I’m definitely making the chocolate caramel sauce from the back of the book. ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️ 1/2

[The Caffeinated Sleuth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I jumped right into book #3 of the Coffeehouse Mystery series after finishing up the second book… I think this is currently my favorite series!

While I loved this read, it wasn’t my favorite out of the three I’ve read so far. It did have me guessing all the way till the last two chapters, which was a big plus, but the storyline wasn’t as interesting to me since I’m personally not into fashion and such. The book centers around fashion week in New York and while I did enjoy the mystery, it just didn’t grab in like the others. I will say, this book did help me get to know some of the barista’s that work for Clare and I’m loving Tucker.

I highly recommend this book! If you really like fashion, then I think you would really enjoy this book to the fullest!

[Monday · Rating 3 out of 5]

I chose this book for my reading challenge, and it was my first time reading this series or anything by this author. Overall, I enjoyed the mystery surrounding the story, when it actually focused on it. There were many times that the mystery hooked me back just to hit a wall with "Relationship Drama" written all over it. Even though the last couple of chapters were captivating, and I learned a bit about coffee, I don't think I'll be revisiting this series.

[Castor Akers · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5!

I did like this one more than the last one and I found the storyline pretty interesting for this one, but idkkkk i just wasn't vibing super well with the characters. Like in my knitting mystery series i'm reading, I love those characters and I really enjoy the vibes of that book. This one though, I just not feeling the same. Maybe it's because the setting is just so different and not exactly what I'm into i guess? Idk i'm gonna keep reading them for now.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once again the Village Blend delivers up amazing coffee, murder and mystery. This one was set against fashion week in NYC and definitely kept me on my toes and there were some surprises at the end. I get the murderer a page or two before Clare but I think I was just as baffled as she was before. I really like the characters in this series, it's fun learning about the coffee especially since I'm finally starting to drink some. Looking forward to getting another cup with them soon.

[muhammedallia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was quaintly dated with the references to a google search with only 1 return. I thought one of the mysterious parts of it was a little bit beyond verisimilitude, and there is a love branch I don't care for but it was still a fun read. Easy, enjoyable setting.