At the Village Blend, Clare Cosi's best baristas may refer to a decaffeinated espresso as a "why bother?" but Clare knows a good percentage of her customers prefer the neutered brew. So when an old friend of her ex-husband develops the world's first botanically decaffeinated coffee bean and smuggles it into the country, Clare believes it's a business opportunity she needs to investigate... at least until the first dead body shows up.
With casualties piling up and a complicated blend of old and new loves muddying the waters, it's up to Clare to find the murderer before one of her near and dears takes the fall. Otherwise, her latest addition to the menu will prove to be a real buzz killer….
©2007 The Berkley Publishing Group (P)2012 AudioGO Ltd.
"This is becoming a great cozy mystery series!"
I have to say that the author is really coming into her own. Still a few weird things that I couldn't understand why she did, but it didn't really interfere with my enjoyment of the book.. except I kept wanting it to be explained!
The mystery was excellent. I didn't figure it out until the author wanted me to do so. I enjoyed the characters much more and thoroughly laughed and smiled when Madame and Clare start investigating together.
You can tell the author is very proud of her New York areas. The descriptions get a little long winded, but doesn't really detract from the story.
The narrator makes this book!
This series is becoming really fun.
RETIRED & LOVING IT.
"DECAFFINATED WARS"
EXPRESSION, IN MY OPINON, IS WHAT CAN MAKE OR BREAK A BOOK. REBECCA HAD TO COVER QUITE A FEW VOICES, FROM THE VERY OLD, HAUTY, AND TEENAGE, MANY MENS VOICES AND SHE COVERED THEM ALL WITHOUT SKIPPING ABIT. THAT IS VERY HARD TO DO AS I TOOK EXPRESSION LESSONS WHILE GROWING UP AND HAD TO MEMORIZE WHOLE PLAYS, I WAS VERY NERVOUS BUT I LEARNED HOW TO USE YOUR VOICE AND LUNGS TO MAKE DIFFERENT CHARACTERS COME ALIVE. NO BIG BREATHS INBETWEEN THE CHANGE AS MANY NARRATORS DO. SO SHE IS A SURE 5 IN MY BOOK.
THE HALLOWEEN PARTY.
THE EXCELLENT WAY SHE MADE A STORY ABOUT COFFEE INTO A GREAT MYSTERY.
NEITHER, BUT IT KEEP ME UP TILL I HAD IT FINISHED. THERE ARE NOT MANY THAT CAN DO THAT OUT OF ALL OF AUDIBLE BOOKS. A MEMORABLE COZY BOOK.
WORTH THE CREDIT.
"Excellent Mix of Mystery, Coffee History, and Prep"
Recommended to anyone that likes or loves coffee. Love the mix of coffee history and coffee preparation methods and secrets.
Constantly wondering what was going to happen next. Many twists and turns and never quite clear how things might or even could end.
Excellent voices that helped identify characters and build suspense. Ms Gibel made you relate directly with the characters and I found myself wanting to talk out loud to the characters to warn them about what might happen next.
Yes, definitely! Very hard to pause for even a moment. Didn't even watch the news on TV until the book was finished.
Love the series and can't wait until the rest of the books in the series are recorded. Will be on the lookout for more from the author and also more from the narrator.