• Uncommon Grounds

  • By: Sandra Balzo
  • Narrated by: Karen Savage
  • Length: 5 hrs and 55 mins
  • 3.8 out of 5 stars (173 ratings)

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Uncommon Grounds  By  cover art

Uncommon Grounds

By: Sandra Balzo
Narrated by: Karen Savage
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Publisher's summary

A body in a pool of skim milk.

An unsavory discovery at any time, but especially inconvenient when the milk puddle is in front of the espresso machine the very morning you're scheduled to open your chic suburban coffee house, Uncommon Grounds.

AND the body is one of your partners, leaving you and your other partner - the one who's still alive - as suspects.

Which would all be bad enough, even if your husband HADN'T dumped you for his dental assistant, Little Miss Tooth de Lay, leading you to jettison your old life and invest what little you have left in Uncommon Grounds, which now appears - like your marriage - to be circling the drain.

©2004 Sandra Balzo (P)2012 Sandra Balzo

What listeners say about Uncommon Grounds

Average customer ratings
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  • 4 out of 5 stars
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

I'll have another cup please

This is one of the most entertaining new series I have read in a while. I was hooked after the first page. In a small town in Wisconsin, Caron Egan, Patricia Harper, and Maggie Thorsen open up a gourmet coffee shop, UNCOMMON GROUNDS. On the day they open for business, Patricia dies in what seems like an electrocution accident. But the sheriff sees things differently. Sheriff Pavlik thinks someone tampered with the latte maker to intentionally kill Patricia. He begins to look at the business partners first.

The characters are realistic, likeable, interesting and well-developed. There are many plot twist to keep you guessing. Other than Maggie my favorite character is Sarah. Her blunt sarcastic comments are funny and keep the story rolling at a fast pace.

I wish the entire 7 book series was available through audiobooks. I bought the rest of the series for my Kindle. If you are a fan of light mysteries you will love this book.

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13 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

I'll have another cup please

This is one of the most entertaining new series I have read in a while. I was hooked after the first page. In a small town in Wisconsin, Caron Egan, Patricia Harper, and Maggie Thorsen open up a gourmet coffee shop, UNCOMMON GROUNDS. On the day they open for business, Patricia dies in what seems like an electrocution accident. But the sheriff sees things differently. Sheriff Pavlik thinks someone tampered with the latte maker to intentionally kill Patricia. He begins to look at the business partners first.

The characters are realistic, likeable, interesting and well-developed. There are many plot twist to keep you guessing. Other than Maggie my favorite character is Sarah. Her blunt sarcastic comments are funny and keep the story rolling at a fast pace.

I wish the entire 7 book series was available through audiobooks. I bought the rest of the series for my Kindle. If you are a fan of light mysteries you will love this book.

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10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Karen Savage as Maggy Thorsen is TERRIFIC!!

I have a bit of a bias here (okay, a HUGE bias), since I wrote the book. But . . . .well, this is the first of my nine books (seven in this series and two in another) and the first available as an audio book.

I auditioned a number of narrators and Karen Savage had me, to paraphrase, at "Chapter One." She IS the voice I hear in my head when I write my books.

Maggy Thorsen, my protagonist, is not your usual amateur sleuth so she's a little tricky to voice. Maggy's got a bit of a chip on her shoulder--she's funny, cynical and all too human. As narrator, Karen Savage does a wonderful job of portraying a woman you may not always love, but you will unswervingly root for.

I'm very pleased to have Karen as the voice of Maggy in this first book and, by the end of the year, another three Maggys!

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Karen Savage's narration an excellent fit

She kept me listening to an otherwise "O.K. but not great" mystery. One suggestion though: slow it down - your protagonist isn't a Federal Express person!

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Terrible Narrator

I couldn't get past the first 20 minutes of the book. The narrator has a flat, almost monotone voice and leaden pacing. Story may have been interesting--too bad I couldn't finish it!

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Read it in print instead

This was a very enjoyable cozy with good characters and a good mystery however avoid the audiobook. The reader sounds way too young, in my opinion, and she doesn't do a good job with different voices, especially the men. Also, the quality of the audio is poor. There is a noise in the background, a little like static but not quite. Definitely not the quality I am used to from Audible. I enjoyed this book much more reading it in print. However, a word of warning for the kindle edition-- the formatting isn't very good. There are strange breaks in paragraphs (like extra returns) and occasionally words run together into one giant word. It's readable, but could definitely be cleaner.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Entertaining and Refreshing

Sometimes those 3 for 2 sales do work out...

Three friends become partners in a coffee shop. On opening day, one friend is found dead and the other two girls become suspects.

The story moves quickly. Great snarky dialogue and fun relatable characters. The ending is a bit abrupt, but it doesn't leave you hanging.

The narration was good.

Not sure I would have tried these books on my own, but I will keep going with this enjoyable series.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Absolutely a fun story!

Would you listen to Uncommon Grounds again? Why?

Yes, I would. I loved the fun and funny way it was written and performed and because it was a good mystery. I was surprised by "who dune it"

Who was your favorite character and why?

Maggie, the lead character. Karen Savage, the narrator, really made her come alive.

Which scene was your favorite?

I don't know of a favorite scene but I loved the way the character had little "aside" thoughts, comments and conversations with herself through out the entire story.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Yes, I laughed a lot. Maggie is really funny.

Any additional comments?

I recommend this book as a very well executed, fun, light, enjoyable listen. I hope Sandra Balzo develops this character in future books. And she should keep Karen Savage as the narrator, she is a perfect voice for Maggie. Thanks Sandra and Karen for a fun time!

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Not just for coffee lovers!

Good listen, could smell the coffee.
Surprised me with the killer. Could have so little more character development, enjoyed the cast and hope to see them again seeking caffeine and answers.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Slow down!

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Well I could've been doing housework, but I wasn't. :-)

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

Seemed a little contrived.

How could the performance have been better?

The narrator needs to slow down. I tried listening at 75% speed I was so frustrated with how fast she went--then it just sounded weird. I was getting more used to it by the end of the book,and it wasn't so frustrating that I couldn't finish.

Did Uncommon Grounds inspire you to do anything?

Nope.

Any additional comments?

I am a non smoker, and highly anti smoking and the character who smoked really annoyed me, and the way the author kept referring to her smoking really annoyed me too. Just a personal grievance though.

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