Roast Mortem (Coffeehouse Mystery Series #9)

an excellent read

Smokin'! This is the best Coffeehouse/Clare Cosi yet! Most times a series will start to head south with nine on the shelves, but not this one. Each book is better than the last. The mixture of the coffeehouses being torched brings Clare into the picture with credibility, which not all cozies can do with any sense of veracity. My favorites are the ones that do it in aces, and this one does it nicely roasted spades. Okay, enough of the playing card euphemisms... I liked seeing plenty of Clare and Mike's growing relationship as much as I liked seeing how well Clare gets along with Matt, her ex-husband and still business partner..and friend. They help each other out and the tension seems to have dissipated that was always near the surface in past books. Probably helped that Breanna, Matt's current fashionista wife, wasn't in the book except as honorable mention. Don't like her...there..it's said... Learning more of Mike's past was enlightening. There is a rivalry between Mike Quinn the cop and his cousin Michael Quinn the firefighter, a rivalry in all things, including the attentions of Clare. Defnitely plenty of twists and turns through the story and the 'Whaaaa..?!' moments were priceless and believable. I was honored to have an email from Cleo Coyle not long ago asking if I'd like an advanced copy of ROAST MORTEM before it comes out on 3 Aug 2010. I emailed right back with a very composed, "Yes,yes,yes,yes...please!!" Okay, I was a wee bit giddy....sigh...there it is... Five the girl is giddy and the book is smokin' fab beans and five diamonds to go with....

Although she is love with NYPD Detective Mike Quinn and long divorced from Matt Allegro, Clare Cosi remains manager and barista of the historic Village Blend Coffeehouse. When the owner, her former mother-in-law, dies, she and Matt will inherit half shares of the cafe. Claire and Madame (her former mother-in-law) visit her friend Enzo Testa at his Queens Caffe Lucia. Claire leaves Madame and Enzo in the basement to let her barrister Dante Silva inro the closed café.. An explosion in front of the café sends the building into an inferno. Clare manages to get Dante out of the blaze. Ladder Company 199 rescues Madame and Enzo who were trapped inside by a fire door. When two more coffeehouses are torched and the Village Blend threatened, Clare investigates with the unofficial approval of the Fire Marshal. She considers several suspects, but while sleuthing meets Fire Captain Mike Quinn, cousin to her Mike Quinn who are bitter enemies. She tries to avoid him because he keeps telling lies about her love and keeps mailing passes at her. In an ironic twist, he is her best source for information. This high octane amateur sleuth is an explosive whodunit. Clare is a dedicated loyal person whose inquiry places her in deadly scenarios. Besides the strong arsonist investigation, there is also a romantic subplot, but Cleo Coyle serves her latest specialty blend (see Holiday Grind) around the mystery. Harriet Klausner

While visiting a friend Queen's coffeehouse, an explosion erupts and luckily Clare and friends survived the ordeal. When Clare learns of another same-day explosion at a Brooklyn coffeehouse, Clare is convinced that both were an act of arson and nothing is going to stop her until she finds the arsonist. Something is amiss between Mike and his firefighter cousin and soon Clare is caught in a familial tug of war. Hearing rumors of murder and defective equipment, Clare wonders if all these incidents are linked. This suspenseful story had me riveted to the pages with my guesses and every time I thought I knew who the culprit was those twists and turns the author spun told me, not just yet. The locale, witty conversation, the baristas, Madame and the relationship between Clare, Mike and Matt creates a place where a cup of mocha is indeed a welcomed sip.

I love the fast pace and easy reading of this series. I'm always intrigued by the recipes at the end and love coffee. They are fun vacation reading books for me.

Good boom

Clare Cosi of the NY Village Blend coffeehouse is back into detecting murder.  This time she, her famed mother-in-law, and another of her employees are caught in a fire bomb at another coffeehouse.  Their good friend and artist ends up in a coma and the fire investigator is not convinced that a firebomb started the fire.  But when one of the firefighters looses his life in a second coffeehouse fire, the search begins for this serial arsonist. This series is always exciting and informative.  This book is dedicated to firefighters and their families everywhere, but especially to all those men and women who fought the blazes after the 9/11 tragedy.  The authors do a great job humanizing these firefighters--one of which is the fictional brazen cousin of Clare's policeman boyfriend.  These cousins' relationship has been less than friendly in the past.  We learn about their history in this mystery. I highly recommend this series.  It's also filled with delicious recepies.  I've been listening to the audio version of these books, and have found the reader adds a great deal to my enjoyment.  

This series keeps me up at night! I'm buying them 2 at a time and finish them in a couple of days. If you're a coffee fanatic like I am, the tips and recipes at the end are a real plus. Enjoy!

Got the first few as a gift, bought the rest myself. Will now buy them again for my nook. Love the recipes in the back.

Highly recommended

Cleo Coyle writes excellent mysteries that really hold your attention. You can almost compare some of her books to a good movie because you get so absorbed in the story that it holds your interest all the way to the end. It's hard to put her books down. She also writes Haunted Book Store mysteries under the name of Alice Kimberly.