A Brew to a Kill

June 11, 2012
The pseudonymous Coyle (the wife-husband writing team of Alice Alfonsi and Marc Cerasini) lavishly details an ethnically diverse New York City in her lively 11th coffeehouse mystery featuring Clare Cosi (after 2011’s Murder by Mocha). When a hit-and-run driver grievously injures Lilly Beth Tanga, Clare’s Filipina business associate, in front of Clare’s coffeehouse, the Village Blend, Clare figures the perp must be their arch-rival Kaylie Crimini, the abrasive and pugnacious owner of a competing food truck. But as quick-acting accident investigation squad member “Mad Max” Buckman cogently reasons, the intended victim was most likely Clare herself. As Clare utilizes her multitalented group of friends—baristas, politicians, cyclists—to find out who wants her dead, she slowly uncovers a fiendish plot involving some Brazilian drug lords. Compensating for the occasional lapses in logic is an addendum of tempting recipes mentioned in the story, including one for homemade Nutella. Agent: John Talbot, Talbot Fortune Agency.

August 1, 2012
A rivalry between food trucks becomes a deadly affair. Clare Cosi (Murder By Mocha, 2011, etc.) has invested a lot of money in the Village Blend's Muffin Muse coffee truck. So she's not happy to be harassed by a rival whose Kupcake Kart truck parks in front of Clare's coffeehouse. Although the rival is run off, the night turns deadly when Clare's friend Lilly Beth is run down by a van in front of the store. The police call it attempted murder, but although Clare does all she can to solve the crime, it may be the least of her troubles. A recent trip to Brazil has netted her ex-husband Matt, her partner and coffee buyer for the Village Blend, not only some superb new coffee beans, but the enmity of a crack dealer who made Matt an offer he did refuse. Clare and Matt's visit to the warehouse for more beans leads to the discovery of crack hidden in the shipment and their arrest by DEA agents. Luckily, Clare's main squeeze, NYPD drug specialist Mike Quinn, has the connections to set them free. Clare gets a full-time bodyguard posing as a waiter, but now she and the police must decide if she was the real target of the hit-and-run, which may have been part of a series. Politics, business rivalries, drugs--with so many possibilities, it won't be easy to solve this case. A foodie's delight, packed with information on coffee and desserts, along with appended recipes and a satisfyingly rich mystery.

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August 1, 2012

Clare Cosi's new food truck (the Muffin Muse) is motoring along through New York City, but the good times grind to a halt when her friend Lilly Beth Tanga is critically injured in a hit-and-run accident just on the other side of the truck. Second bombshell: Clare's business partner (and ex-husband), Matt Allegro, informs her that she was probably the target because of his involvement in a shady coffee-cum-drugs import deal from Brazil. Clare's no fool; partnering with the DEA, she runs a sting. VERDICT Coyle is not sitting back with the 11th entry (after Murder by Mocha) in her popular series. She has taken the coffeehouse on the road, cleverly incorporating the food truck fad into her plot and introducing fresh characters. Newcomers to the series can easily pick up the storyline. A collection of astonishingly varied and drool-inducing recipes is included.

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