[Poll Tally] On What Grounds by Cleo Coyle - 3.5 stars

[Theresa]

I intensely dislike coffee. Always have. The taste, the smell, the appearance, everything including mocha, kahlua, and tiramisu. So what was a cozy mystery set in a Greenwich Village coffeehouse doing in my TBR Towers? Who knows...perhaps I bought it back in 2003 not fully realizing it would have endless descriptions of brewing coffee in it. And recipes for those coffees and coffee flavored goodies.

And yet....I rather enjoyed this cozy mystery. Clare Cosi arrives at the Village Blend early one morning to find her assistant manager unconscious at the foot of the cellar stairs, coffee grounds scattered everywhere from one of the garbage cans. Only Clare believes she did not slip and fall, and with the blessing of the attractive Detective Quinn, who reminded me a bit of Columbo (I think it was the untidy trenchcoat), she sets out to prove it was deliberate. It was fun, a decent mystery, very NYC, a little heavy handed on the coffee lore for my taste, with a lot of likable characters, especially Clare and Quinn. There is also a cat named Java (of course), an ex-husband who is a bit of a cartoon, and at least one inept bad guy with an absolutely ridiculous name.

First in a long series, I give it 3.5 stars.