Billionaire Blend (Coffeehouse Mystery Series #13)

by Cleo Coyle

Overview

Landmark coffeehouse manager Clare Cosi has served her share of New York’s rich and famous, but even she is surprised by her explosive introduction to a mysterious Internet billionaire… 
When a car bomb nearly kills tech whiz Eric Thorner, Clare comes to his aid and receives a priceless thank you. Not only does the billionaire buy her a barista’s dream espresso machine, he hires her to create the world’s most expensive coffee blend.
 
As Eric jets Clare around the globe on a head-spinning search for the world’s best coffee, she gets to know his world—a mesmerizing circle of money with rivalries that could easily have turned deadly. But is this charming young CEO truly marked for termination? Or is he the one making a killing?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780425255513
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	08/05/2014
Series:	Coffeehouse Mystery Series , #13
Pages:	400
Sales rank:	203,406
Product dimensions:	4.20(w) x 6.60(h) x 1.20(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

CLEO COYLE is a pseudonym for Alice Alfonsi, writing in collaboration with her husband, Marc Cerasini. Both are New York Times bestselling authors of The Coffeehouse Mysteries, now celebrating over ten years in print. Alice and Marc are also bestselling media tie-in writers who have penned properties for Lucasfilm, NBC, Fox, Disney, Imagine, and MGM. They live and work in New York City, where they write independently and together, including the nationally bestselling Haunted Bookshop Mysteries.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“A highly satisfying mystery.”—Publishers Weekly

"This is one of her best."—Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review)

Praise for the Coffeehouse Mysteries

“Highly recommended for all mystery collections.”—Library Journal (starred review)

“Sprightly…and engaging.”—Publisher’s Weekly

“Coyle’s coffeehouse series captures the New York experience, from high society parties to gritty backstreet deals…[A] foodie’s delight…and a satisfyingly rich mystery.”—Kirkus Reviews

“Some of the most vibrant characters I’ve ever read.”—Mystery Scene Magazine

“What a pleasure to read a book by this author.”—Portland Book Review

“A delicious mystery!”—Woman’s World

“Clare Cosi is one of my favorite amateur sleuths…An excellent series…If you are not reading the Coffeehouse Mysteries yet, you are seriously missing out.”—Cozy Mystery Book Reviews

Editorial Reviews

A highly satisfying mystery.”—Publishers Weekly

“This is one of her best.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Praise for the New York Times bestselling Coffeehouse Mysteries
 
“[A] terrifically written, can’t-put-it-down series.”—AnnArbor.com
 
“Cleo Coyle’s Coffeehouse mystery series is among the best of the foodie/cozy mystery genre.”—Fresh Fiction

From the Publisher

10/28/2013
The repeated visits from a customer dubbed “Quiz Master,” who requests obscure coffee drinks, piques the interest of Claire Cosi, co-owner of Village Blend, a cafe in Manhattan, in Coyle’s appealing 13th coffeehouse mystery (after 2012’s Holiday Buzz). Before Claire can find out who the man is or what he wants, an explosion from a car bomb rocks the shop. The Quiz Master, who’s injured in the blast, turns out to be Internet billionaire Eric Thorner. Thorner has big plans that include enticing Clare and her co-owner, ex-husband Matt Allegro, with a business proposition, as well as wooing Clare. Unfortunately, Thorner may also be a target of a killer, and may be a killer himself, and Clare needs to sort out the truth about her unusual customer in order to survive. Coyle (the husband-and-wife team of Marc Cerasini and Alice Alfonsi) combines fascinating coffee lore, sumptuous culinary events, extravagant lifestyles, and romantic possibilities for a highly satisfying mystery. Agent: John Talbot, Talbot Fortune Agency. (Dec.)

Publishers Weekly

★ 2013-11-03
A coffeehouse manager's opportunity to expand her business starts with a bang. A mysterious stranger has been plying Clare Cosi's baristas with questions. Just as she gets to talk to him herself, a car bomb almost kills them and does serious damage to the Village Blend. It turns out that the inquisitive pest is billionaire tech-genius Eric Thorner, who offers Clare and her ex-husband, Matt, a globe-trotting coffee hunter, the chance to create a blend so special that only billionaires can afford it. Eric not only provides the money for quick repairs, but also buys the shop a top-of-the-line espresso maker. Neither Matt nor Clare's boyfriend, NYPD detective Mike Quinn, is pleased, since Eric, who has a bad reputation with women, obviously has more than coffee in mind. But the business is so short on cash that Clare takes the plunge despite reservations of her own. Eric's chauffeur, who was killed in the blast, had been working undercover for the family of a former girlfriend they suspect Eric of killing. But when the bomb squad talks to Eric, he accuses his business rival, an Aussie billionaire who wants to cash in on the app business that's made Eric rich. Eric, Matt and Clare travel the world looking for that special coffee while the fatalities related to Eric's company pile up back in New York. With Mike working for a special task force in D.C., Clare's on her own against a dangerous adversary. Coyle's long string of coffeehouse mysteries (Holiday Buzz, 2012, etc.) are always good value for the coffee lore and appended recipes. This is one of her best.

Kirkus Reviews