Uncommon Grounds

By: Sandra Balzo

Narrated by: Karen Savage

Length: 5 hrs and 55 mins

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

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.

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.

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!

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.

Set in a Cafe but not around one

Where does Uncommon Grounds rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Its a cozy mystery, so somewhere in the land of how long is this ride again?

What was one of the most memorable moments of Uncommon Grounds?

the book has a few good moments, one being the late night spying gone wonky

Have you listened to any of Karen Savage’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Yes I have, but this one is the first one that she has stood out to me

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Its not that kind of book, crazy snarky lightly bitchy, yes. but moving not really

Any additional comments?

The only thing that made the book kinda a let down was the ending, to much to soon. the mystery is well written and the romance is just a bitter pill

Yeah another mystery series with great characters!

Good mystery with characters I want to hear about again. Getting the second book in the series now.

Surprisingly good

I've had this book in my library for a very long time. Kept passing it by, I'm glad I finally gave it a chance. Sandra Balzo did a nice job of writing a cozy mystery. If you like this genre, you don't want to miss this one.

Meh

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

No. I gave up mid way. I don't know if it was the main character or the narrator that irritated me.

Would you be willing to try another book from Sandra Balzo? Why or why not?

Maybe. If different narrator.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Karen Savage?

Xe Sand or the one that read "A world without end"

Could you see Uncommon Grounds being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

Not sure, I didn't finish.

Annoying narrator, bland story

I stopped and started this novel four times and completed it today. The narrator reads a gazillion miles a minute and is breathless the entire time. The story was just too facile and the jokes interjected and sprinkled throughout very weak. I kept wondering if it would have been better as a hard copy. The ending is totally rushed and the characters weakly formed. You care about no one in the entire story.

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!