Flat White Fatality

by Emmeline Duncan

Overview

With its hipster-run Portland food truck pod and focus on real-world social issues like homelessness, gentrification, school affordability, and bicycle commuting, this third Ground Rules Mystery is a fresh, modern cozy featuring coffee barista Sage Caplin. She’s ready to take a shot at a new side hustle – her boyfriend’s gaming company – until a programmer’s pranks get him burned…

To top off her coffee business, Sage is now helping out with her boyfriend Bax’s gaming company. Conveniently for Sage, it’s located next door to her Ground Rules Roastery. That makes it easy for her to pitch in with Bax’s employee team-building event. The plan is to boost morale with a scavenger hunt. And it seems to be going well—until Robbie, a programmer known for being a prankster, turns up dead in Sage’s roastery . . .

There are two suspects so far: Sage, who has no idea how the victim ended up in her space; and Bax, who was allegedly spotted arguing with Robbie the day before. But could it be a disgruntled employee? After all, Robbie’s sense of humor was known to have rubbed some coworkers the wrong way. Now, it’s up to Sage to find the culprit—before another life grinds to a halt.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781496733436
Publisher:	Kensington
Publication date:	05/23/2023
Series:	A Ground Rules Mystery , #3
Pages:	256
Sales rank:	282,027
Product dimensions:	5.45(w) x 8.22(h) x 0.66(d)

About the Author

Emmeline Duncan is the Portland, Oregon-based author of the Ground Rules Mystery Series, as well as YA novels written under the name Kelly Garrett. She is a 2020 Oregon Literary Fellow, a board member of the Northwest Chapter of the Mystery Writers of America, and co-organizer of the Friends of Mystery's Bloody Thursday lecture series. She's also a member of Sisters-In-Crime, Willamette Writers, and SCBWI. Visit her online at EmmelineDuncan.com, on Instagram and Facebook as @writeremmelineduncan, and on twitter as @duncanemmeline.

Editorial Reviews

Praise for the Ground Rules Mystery series by Emmeline Duncan:
 
“Portland’s beloved food carts provide a tantalizing backdrop for a new cozy mystery by Portland author Emmeline Duncan…A creative way to address both the quirkiness and the more dismaying aspects of life in contemporary Portland.” —The Sunday Oregonian on Fresh Brewed Murder
 
“Duncan’s strong debut and series launch…Lively characters help propel the intricate plot. Cozy fans will hope to see a lot more of Sage and friends.” —Publishers Weekly on Fresh Brewed Murder
 
“Coffee-lovers, this book is for you…Sage Caplin is wise beyond her years thanks to her troubled early childhood. Her deep love and knowledge of Portland, as well as her motley crew of relatives and friends—encompassing bar owners, lawyers, street-wise social workers, and a grifter mother—will undoubtedly populate future storylines.” —Criminal Element on Fresh Brewed Murder

“[A] clever sophomore installment…embraces coffee and music culture in an entirely wholesome way, even as Sage has to puzzle her way through a murder mystery that is light on clues and heavy on suspects. Bonus points, too, for the introduction of an adorable orange cat who adopts Ground Rules for its own.” —Criminal Element on Double Shot Death
 
“A clever sleuth, music trivia, and plenty of West Coast vibes add up to an enjoyable read.” —Kirkus Reviews for Double Shot Death
 
“Solid prose, a well-crafted plot, and plenty of coffee lore draw the reader in.” —Publishers Weekly on Double Shot Death
 
“Great characters, fun setting and coffee–lots and lots of coffee.” —Lisa Joyce, Portland Public Library (Portland, ME)
 
“All of the delicious coffee talk you could want without it ever becoming overwhelming to the story…Perfect for fans of Cleo Coyle, Abby Collette, or Tara Lush.” —Laura Eckert, Clermont County Public Library (Milford, OH)

From the Publisher

2023-03-28
An Oregon coffee maven’s life is going well until it isn’t.

Sage Caplin and Harley Yamazaki, the owners of Ground Rules, have rented space to store supplies for their coffee carts while their new store is being built in a java-friendly area of Portland. The rented space houses a number of quirky neighbors, including the video game developer Grumpy Sasquatch Studio, whose co-owner Lukas Evans “Bax” Baxter is Sage’s boyfriend, who's hired her to do some part-time motion-capture work for a new game. Sage is friendly with the mixed bunch of Sasquatches, though she finds some of them difficult to deal with, especially Australian Robbie Kayle, whose pranks are consistently mean-spirited. At a Sasquatch team-building event, the participants are dressed as ducks—or, in Robbie's case, a goose—and then divided into teams that will search for clues in a scavenger hunt. Toward the end of the game, Sage’s team notices the door to her roastery standing ajar, and they find Harley standing over Robbie’s body. Det. William E. Will’s previous experience with Sage makes him less than thrilled to see her or her brother, an attorney who’s advising them. When Robbie’s sister arrives on the scene, all sorts of odd facts emerge, including the news that Robbie wasn’t really Australian. The biggest thorn in Sage’s side is her former boss Mark Jeffries, a rival coffee shop owner, who wants to buy Ground Rules from her and Harley while posting nasty comments about them on social media. Despite her problems, however, there’s no way Sage will ignore a murder that puts Bax, her friends, and herself in such danger.

Tips on coffee and a touch of romance combine in a mystery with a strong West Coast vibe.

Kirkus Reviews