About
Reviews
Search
Submit
Home

Mystery Books for Sale

[ Home ]
[ About | Reviews | Search | Submit ]


  

DECAFFEINATED CORPSE
by Cleo Coyle
Berkley Prime Crime, July 2007
273 pages
$6.99
ISBN: 0425216381


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

True coffee fanatics scorn the lowly decaf. Clare Cosi, her ex-husband Matteo Allegro, and his pal Ric Gostwick have a plan to change that. Ric has bred a naturally decaffeinated coffee plant, and the taste of the coffee made from the beans is wonderful. So what’s the problem?

Well, somebody seems to want to kill Ric. Or perhaps Matt, since they bear a striking resemblance to each other. At the party to celebrate and announce the new bean, one of Ric’s countrymen is killed. Matt has just threatened the man’s life. Ric has political problems with this man. Then Ric’s mistress is found dead in a hotel room rented to Matt.

Are the deaths motivated by personal, political, or professional issues?

Clare wants to find out. Her business is on the line. So she follows people all over New York, sometimes accompanied by Matt’s mother and sometimes not. She gets into a fight with her daughter over Joy’s new boyfriend, who also happens to be old enough to be her father and is her boss. She crosses swords (again) with Detective Mike Quinn, who is in the process of ending his marriage. Sparks fly, both verbally and physically.

Coyle has definitely got the formula down. This is a well-done cozy, with good characters, some good plot twists, and a recipe or two at the end of the book that look wonderful. The downside? Every once in a while, there’s that Tom Clancy feeling: way more information about coffee, how to brew it, where it comes from, etc. than this reader really cares about. And it’s not just coffee - architecture, botanical gardens, enclaves within the city - mini data dumps every once in a while. It is nice to see Clare growing and her relationships with Matt and Mike changing. What parent can‘t empathize with the realistic portrayal of a daughter growing up and behaving in ways a parent can see aren’t wise? This is the fifth in a series; if you liked previous entries, you won’t be disappointed.

Reviewed by P.J. Coldren, January 2008

[ Top ]


QUICK SEARCH:

 

Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


[ About | Reviews | Search | Submit ]
[ Home ]