(Series) Review: Coffeehouse Mystery #1 to #4 by Cleo Coyle

Series Name: The Coffeehouse Mystery Series
Author: Cleo Coyle
Publisher: Penguin Random House
Publication Date (1st Book): September 2, 2003
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Average Rating (so far at 4 books): ☕☕☕☕(4.4/5) (see below for rating per book)
Content Warnings: *highlight to view* {murder, death, drugs}

My recent audiobook streak has given yet another cozy mystery series to obsess about! I was coasting through Tita Rosie’s Mystery Kitchen Series when Ate Pao of The Serial Doodler recommended Cleo Coyle’s Coffeehouse Mystery Series to me. It took a while before I got to actually read some of it, but I absolutely loved it when I did!

BLURB

ON WHAT GROUNDS, #1

Clare arrives at work to discover the assistant manager dead in the back of the store, coffee grounds strewn everywhere. Two detectives investigate. But when they find no sign of forced entry or foul play, they deem it an accident. Still, Clare is not convinced. And after the police leave, Clare can’t help wondering…If this was an act of murder, is she in danger? (via Goodreads)

THROUGH THE GRINDER, #2

Business is booming at Clare Cosi’s Village Blend, until her female customers start to die. Lieutenant Quinn is convinced that someone has an axe to grind, and, unfortunately, his prime suspect is the new man in Clare’s life. Now Clare will risk her heart–and her life–to follow the killer’s trail to the bitter end. (via Goodreads)

LATTE TROUBLE, #3

It’s Fashion Week in New York City — and Clare’s shop, the historic Village Blend, is the location of a prestigious insider’s party for loyal customer and iconic designer Lottie Harmon, who is about to launch a collection of coffee-inspired accessories aptly named Java Jewelry. But the event, which is attended by the city’s most zealous fashionistas, goes terribly wrong when a customer is poisoned and dies from cyanide in his latte. A barista, who coincidentally was recently dumped by the victim, is arrested and charged with murder. But Clare knows in her heart that her employee is innocent and begins to investigate the people surrounding the enigmatic Lottie Harmon. When Clare uncovers a scheme to blackmail one of Lottie’s business partners and then that partner suddenly turns up dead, she knows that there is trouble brewing. (via Goodreads)

MURDER MOST FROTHY, #4

Clare Cosi’s new friend, millionaire David Mintzer, has an offer no New York barista could turn down: an all-expenses-paid summer away from the sticky city. At his Hamptons mansion, she’ll relax, soak up the sun, and, oh yes, train the staff of his new restaurant. So Clare packs up her daughter, her former mother-in-law, and her special recipe for iced coffee—for what she hopes will be one de-latte-ful summer…Soon, Clare tends the coffee bar at her first Hamptons gala. But the festivities come to a bitter end when an employee turns up dead in David’s bathroom—a botched attempt on the millionaire’s life. Thanks to the Fourth of July fireworks no one heard any gunshots, and the police are stuck in holiday traffic. Concerned for everyone’s safety, Clare begins to investigate. What she finds will keep her up at night—and it’s not the java jitters…. (via Goodreads)

THOUGHTS

Cleo Coyle’s Coffeehouse Mystery series revolves around Claire Cosi, the manager of the famous Village Blend coffee house in Greenwich Village, New York City. In On What Grounds, Claire recently returned to managing the coffee house when one of her employee was found dead. This kicked off Claire’s habit of investigating and sticking her nose where it doesn’t necessarily belong (sorry 😂) as crime, murder, and mystery seem to always happen around her.

“Coffee makes a sad man cheerful, a languorous man active, a cold man warm, a warm man glowing. It awakens mental powers thought to be dead, and when left in a sick room, it fills the room with a fragrance…. The very smell of coffee terrorizes death.”
― Cleo Coyle, On What Grounds

Honestly, as mundane as general plot seem to sound, it is the perfect recipe for a series that is both comforting, enjoyable, and actually has potential for longevity. Cleo Coyle could write a lot of mysteries happening around Claire and she can keep solving them, and I’ll happily read away. (I wish they make a TV series out of this, a la Murder, She Wrote. I’ll definitely watch that!)

There’s a lot of things that I am glad about this: The main protagonist is a divorced, 30-something career mom, which is not the usual character type I read from this kind of whodunnit novels these days. This facet also allowed it’s story to veer towards more adult themes, which I absolutely liked. It also has a colorful set of recurring characters that are as interesting and charming as Claire. There’s Matteo Allegro, Claire’s thrill-seeking and globe-trotting ex-husband; Joy Allegro, Claire and Matt’s daughter; Esther and Tucker, the Village Blend Baristas who are definitely a hoot!; Mike Quinn, the NYPD Detective who frequently helps Claire during her amateur sleuthing; and, of course, Madame Dreyfus Allegro Dubois, (usually shorthanded as just “Madame”, which I really like the sound of all the time), Claire’s ex-mother in law and the Village Blend’s former sole owner before sharing the ownership with Matt and Claire. Madame is my favorite character so far , as even at the age of 79 (and counting), she keeps that youthful and charming spirit. She’s a fan of art and fashion and is well-connected with the high society of New York due to her stint as the owner of the century-old Village Blend. Later in the series, she joined Claire in her investigations – a plot point that I really liked because it made it more interesting and, sometimes, funnier. You don’t realize it much but people do give a lot of passes to the elderly, and this really helped Claire multiple times especially if there’s a need to hide in plain sight, gain access to something, or get information from people. There is also a side of romance in this series as Claire deals with her relationship with Matt and the fact that they are, occasionally, sharing a duplex (which Madame cleverly engineered in hopes of them getting back together). And also because Mike Quinn is being set up as Claire’s potential love interest. Though this is not my favorite aspect of these books, I do think this is executed more tastefully here than, say, Denise Swanson’s Chef-to-Go Mystery Series (which I thought was too in-your-face).

One of the main reasons why I feel like I’ve been reading through this series relatively faster than my usual pace was because it is just so easy to read! It usually starts with a prologue chapter in the POV of the murderer where the crime happens, which I think is a charming intro as it piques the reader’s interest right at the beginning. Even if the topics are usually heavy, the coziness is still maintained due to the setting (the lovely coffee house, which I wish I have near as well) and clear love of coffee that absolutely shines through in the writing. Really, I feel like this can also be classified as a very informative book because it is brimming with coffee facts, trivia, recipes, and dishes/cocktails based in coffee. I always write down stuff that I discover here in hopes or ordering or making them someday (hello, Screaming Org*sm 😂). It’s amazing!

I did fail to write down some quotes because I’ve exclusively read these books through audio (which is a downside of audiobooks because I love highlighting quotes with a passion) but I honestly recommend listening to the audiobooks narrated by Rebecca Gibel. She was so good in narrating, that even if this production is not fully cast, I did not have a hard time distinguishing the cast even if she is the only reading. I think I got the first 3 books with credits from Audible but the rest of the series is available in the Audible Plus catalogue, which is a plus for me as I won’t need to keep looking for them.

I also did like the retro-ish feel of these book covers. I feel like there has been a trend of how book covers look like these days, and I am guilty of favoring and buying these too, I know. Granted these books started publishing on 2003 (can you believe it’s been 20 years and I am only discovering it now?!), there is a quite comfort in these ‘old’ design and styles. I also do like how each of the book in this series has been named, paying true homage to the center of it all: coffee and the love of it.

“Maybe you don’t get over the bad stuff but there is usually something good to focus on instead.”
― Cleo Coyle, Latte Trouble

Out of the books in this series that I’ve read so far, I think I loved Latte Trouble the most. I just like how creatively it was setup and each clue presented. I know people are complaining about how there are a lot of red herrings in this book but I do think they are tastefully placed. I mean this is a whodunnit, so that’s the point of it all – it is aimed to keep the reader engaged and guessing till the very end. The killer was someone I didn’t exactly suspect and when everything was starting to fall into place, I was freaking out listening to it while I was crossing the street. LOL (I mean the amount of time I was always muttering to myself whenever I am walking because of this book is countless. 😂) I also like Through the Grinder but mostly because it held a more personal significance to Claire. I didn’t like discovering who the killer was because it was so random but I do feel like this is the most emotional and high stakes ending of all, so far. On What Grounds is my introduction to everything so I was intrigued and I enjoyed almost every aspect of it. Murder Most Frothy was me starting to realize that Claire is actually being a little bit more meddlesome than necessary but I still enjoyed it. I’m pretty sure I was always rating these books on Goodreads not lesser than 4 stars all the time, because I really like how they made me feel after I read each of them – and I am definitely guilty of being an emotional rater. 😅

I am quickly burning through this series: it’s been my constant companion during my errand walks around the city (I am racking up steps and audiobook minutes at the same time, pretty efficient!) and I am currently making way to Decaffeinated Corpse (book #5)! Each book presents a new mystery to be solved and were all tied nicely at the end. Though the author provides some context most of the time whenever Claire is referring to something that happened in previous books, I think this series needs to be read in order as part of the fun are the callbacks as well as recurring characters popping up all the time. Honestly, if you are into Cozy Mysteries, you are absolutely missing out if you haven’t read any of the books in Cleo Coyle’s The Coffeehouse Mystery Series. Definitely recommended with all my coffee-loving heart! ⋆｡°✩

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The Coffeehouse Mystery Books, RATED AND Ranked*:

1. Latte Trouble (#3) – ☕☕☕☕☕ (5/5)
2. Through the Grinder (#2) – ☕☕☕☕☕︎ (4.5/5)
3. On What Grounds (#1) – ☕☕☕☕ (4/5)
4. Murder Most Frothy (#4) – ☕☕☕☕ (4/5)

* This will be a running list obviously and will be updated as I go through the series. The series has 20 books so far in which 19 were published and the latest one, Bulletproof Barista (#20), coming this November 2023.

GET THE BOOK >> Audible (can’t link individual books here as they are a lot but here’s the link to the audiobook series in Audible)

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About The Author

CLEO COYLE is the New York Times and Publishers Weekly bestselling pseudonym for Alice Alfonsi, writing in collaboration with her husband, Marc Cerasini. With more than 1 million books sold, they have gained an enthusiastic following. Cleo’s “relentlessly entertaining” (Criminal Element) novels have earned starred reviews from Library Journal and Kirkus, Best of Year selection honors from multiple reviewers, and have been recommended by Booklist and Library Journal as among the best cozy mysteries for core library mystery collections.

When not haunting coffeehouses, hunting ghosts, or wrangling their rescue cats, Alice and Marc are New York Times bestselling media tie-in writers who have penned properties for Lucasfilm, NBC, Fox, Disney, Imagine, Toho, and MGM. One of those projects (ghostwritten by Alice Alfonsi) was named by Entertainment Weekly as the best media tie-in book written that year. (via Goodreads)

Author Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Coffeehouse Mystery Official Website

* Note that I was also pleasantly surprised that Cleo Coyle was actually two persons! A husband and wife duo that also have a lot of writing credits to each their name. Alice Alfonsi has written a loooot of Disney novels and W.I.T.C.H. (!!!) issues. And then Marc Cerasini wrote a couple of Star Wars novels and has ghost written for Tom Clancy as well. They are such prolific writers! And To think that that produced this magic when they collaborated, how to be you?!

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