Customer Reviews

On What Grounds (Coffeehouse Mysteries, No. 1) (Coffeehouse Mystery)

5 star:		(48)
4 star:		(38)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(13)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

Ten years ago, at the age of twenty-nine, Clare Cosi used to manage the historic Village Blend located in the heart of Greenwich Village, New York, when she left to pursue a life in suburbia where she could raise her daughter. Now, at the age of thirty-nine, she's decided that the slow pace of New Jersey is beginning to bore her, so when she gets a call from Madame (the owner of the Village Blend) to come back as manager, Clare jumps at the chance. However, as she and her cat Java make their way into the Blend, Clare is startled to find Anabelle, the Village Blend's assistant manager, sprawled on the floor, unconscious, surrounded by coffee grounds. When the police arrive, they feel that it was nothing more than an accident, as there is no sign of forced entry, or a struggle, but Clare feels differently. Now she's on the case to find out who had it in bad enough to hurt Anabelle, before the Blend is sued for everything they have.

First off, let me say, I am NOT a coffee drinker. In fact, I can't even stand the taste or smell of the stuff. However, I adored this mystery. It was interesting to read about all of the preparations that you have to go through to make a great cup of coffee, and Cleo Coyle informed us in ON WHAT GROUNDS in a very fun way. Clare is a fun character, who is spunky and nosy, and will capture the hearts of cozy mystery lovers everywhere. Her outlook on life that coffee makes any problem better is hilarious, as are the various quotes about coffee scattered throughout the book. The bottom line: Whether you're a coffee lover or not, you'll love this story. I can't wait for the next one, THROUGH THE GRINDER. Oh, and for those who do love coffee, there are various recipes in the back of the book for different coffees and desserts.

Erika Sorocco

Gotta say, I live in Greenwich Village and used to work at St. Vincent's Hospital (where the victim in the book is sent) and I l-o-v-e-d this book. I could really relate to the details, although I can't yet figure out if/where the coffee shop is modeled after here in NY. I don't even know if we have any such places anymore now the Starbucks is here, too.

Personally, I loved the coffee-trivia even though some other reviewers complained; I like cosies where you learn something.
The plot was good, many different possibilities as the killer and some good "relationship" issues going on.

The only problem is, I've been yearning for a GOOD cuppa since I finished the book (in a day -quick read)!!

I picked up this book because coffee and mystery seemed such a great combo as I love them both. I was not disappointed. Our main character Clare has found herself back managing The Village Blend, an historic coffeeshop in Manhattan. What she finds upon returning, however, is an attack on an employee; her ex husband living in her apartment; and a cute detective on the case. Since the police seem to be under the impression this attack was just a workplace accident, Clare is determined to solve the case herself.

I thought this was a great little mystery with a lot of good coffee tips as well. It flowed quite nicely, and was a quick read. I look forward to continuing with this series.

From the start of this book, the reader is cheering Clare on as she stumbles into a life that she left a decade before. She is intelligent and has the interesting situation of having to decide between two men- her exhusband Matt or Dect. Quinn.

Not only is this a mystery that keeps you guessing, it has profound passages and reflections about life, September 11th, and living in New York.

If you like coffee, make yourself a pot because this book will keep you up late reading.

(Note: If you don't like coffee, then give this four stars instead of five, because you'll learn a lot about coffee in this book. But don't let the series theme dissuade you from reading this first-rate cozy mystery. I know a tea drinker who loves Ms. Coyle as much as I do.)

My frequent trips to the coffeehouse (be it latte, coffee of the day, or blended drink) have been a part of my life for years. Some people enjoy a glass of wine, a mug of beer, a ciggy...I indulge too...in that premium cuppa o' coffeehouse coffee, so sue me for taking an hour every so often to sit and watch the world go by.

Because of my love of the joe, I was giddy to find a mystery series set in an urban coffeehouse (in this case Greenwich Village, New York). This is the first book in the series (my edition says the paperback hit the #1 best-selling position on the Independent Mystery Booksellers list)...and I can see why.

This is a not only a clever, well-constructed mystery, it is delightful reading as fiction, mainly because the characterizations are so well drawn. Clare and the people in her life are much less shallow and more deeply realized than a lot of the cozy mysteries out there.

The reading is quick (in one sitting, easily) but it's not insubstantial by any stretch. I missed the characters (major and minor, including Esther and Tucker) when the last page was turned and I thought, thank heaven there are other books in the series.

The basic plotline: Clare Cosi loved her time managing the Village Blend Coffee house but was weary of her husband cheating on her. She divorced him and moved with her daughter to the New Jersey suburbs.

Now Joy is over eighteen, enrolled in chef's school in New York City. It gives Clare the perfect excuse to leave New Jersey once more and move back into Manhattan.

Enter: The owner of the village Blend, who also happens to be Clare's ex-mother-in law, a grand elderly lady with French origins (Madame Dreyfus Allegro-Dubois).

Madame offers Clare the job of managing the coffeehouse once again for her. And this time she is offered a deal where she will eventually co-own the coffeehouse. Clare takes the deal...and on the day she moves into the duplex above the city coffeehouse, she finds the body of Anabelle, the assistant manager, unconscious at the bottom of the basement stairs.

After Anabelle Hart is rushed to the hospital, the police take a look around the premises and believe Anabelle had an accident. Clare thinks she met with foul play based on the fact that the garbage can is out of place and coffee grinds are on the floor.

Clare has a wonderful sleuthing soul and a stubborn nature and starts making inquiries of people close to Anabelle. By the end, Clare has grilled a number of intriguing suspects around New York City (and the settings are wonderfully described). Eventually, she gets so close to solving the crime, Clare herself find she's on the wrong end of a gun!

The writing is clever and witty yet not so light that the characters don't stay with you after the last page is turned. I couldn't wait to read another in this series.

Clare's mother-in-law playing matchmaker makes for some humorous moments too--she really wants Clare to get back together with her son, even if she has to trick them into sharing the same living space.

The two-ex-spouses (Clear and her ex-husband Matt) end up hooking up in the sleuthing and they make an entertaining team. Since they've got so much history and know each other so well, there's a lot of funny bickering. It really does makes for some hilarious moments. At the same time, there are many touching moments, the ending is a page-turner and I was truly shocked by the revelation of the real killer.

As another reviewer has already said...Cleo Coyle is a bright new light in the mystery horizon.

I wanted to like this book a lot. I am desperately seeking a good, cozy or not, mystery series. But this was not it. The plot sounds pretty good, a single emply nester moves back home again to live near and work for her ex-mother in law. Clare's is given the immense job of restoring the coffee shop back to its glory days. Previous management has left the coffeehouse failing. Unfortunately, Clare also has to deal with her ex-husband popping back up and wanting to play house, literally. Adding even more drama, Clare finds her favorite barista lying crumpled at the bottom of the stairwell. Clare is sure that it was attempted murderer but she needs to convince the police of that. Sounds pretty good, huh? Its in the actual detail of the story that "On What Grounds" becomes so dry its nearly unconsumable. The author gives far too much detail about what makes for perfect coffee, or expresso, or 500 different coffee variations. As she is doing so, she comes across as snooty instead of sincere. I am not a coffee drinker, but I don't think even the most faithful drinker of the stuff could possible want this much detail about the size and shape of beans or how the cup percolates. Even putting coffee aside, the author goes off on these long discriptive tangents about paintings, or siding, or watching grass grow, whatever. As I read, I kept wondering if this stuff would later come up to be important in solving the crime, but nope. I just don't understand why the huge deviances from the story line and why the editors allowed this. Part of me wants to know if and when the writing in this series becomes better stream-lined because then it may be worth trying to jump into the series again.

I can't tell you how much I enjoyed this book ! I loved the setting of Greenwich Village and the Village Blend Coffee House. The characters are much better developed than many "cozy" mysteries and the whole murder mystery much more believable than the usual. The coffee house actually plays a role in the mystery versus being just a setting where the character runs in and out of on the way to other places. It works really well as a backdrop to the action of the book. Being a lover of coffee, I found the coffee references fun as well as educational ... I wouldn't change that a bit (unlike other reviewers). I have read all three of the books in the series in the past couple of weeks and am eagerly awaiting book number four !

"On What Grounds" is an entertaining mystery set in a novel location: New York City's Village Blend, a hundred-year-old coffeehouse run by Clare Cosi.

One of Clare's employees is discovered unconscious at the bottom of a service staircase. The police are quick to write it off as an accident, but Clare's gut feeling is that someone pushed Anabelle, in part because of the mysterious location of one of the shop's trash cans. She digs deeper into possible suspects: Anabelle's fellow dancers at Studio 10, her money-grasping stepmother, and her socialite boyfriend Richard (nicknamed "The Dick" by Esther, Anabelle's snide roommate).

For those of you who are addicted to Starbucks, Second Cup, Beaners, or another chain of choice, "On What Grounds" practically reads like coffee porn, with its sensuous descriptions of brewing ("That way the espresso oozes out of the portafilter like warm honey," "next came the steamed milk, splashing into the dark liquid like a white tsunami"), bean choice ("The sensual, sweet, full-bodied aroma of the [Jamaican Blue Mountain] coffee flowed over me"), and all things coffee (choice of brewing methods, roasting, storage tips). In addition, there are several intriguing recipes, coffee and otherwise, including Cappuccino Walnut Cheesecake (made with espresso), raspberry-mocha bocci, and the wickedly decadent coffee cocktail Screaming Orgasm (Kahlua, Amaretto, vodka and heavy cream).

The book does suffer from stilted writing and unrealistic dialogue at times, but the steamy tension between Clare and ex-hubbie Matteo (son of the Village Blend's French owner) and Detective Quinn, along with several memorable escapades to charity auctions, dance studios and New York's gay district Christopher Street, makes this a unique, decadent read that coffee lovers will drain to the very last drop.

Okay, I got the bad pun out of the way. Seriously, this is a really good mystery and fun. I'll admit it was the coffee stuff that got me to buy the book, but it was the story and the characters that made me like it. Hopefully this series will take off like that one about the tea shop. Why should tea drinkers have all the fun?

ON WHAT GROUNDS By: Alice Alfonsi and Marc Cerasini writing as Cleo Coyle is just wonderful. Alice and Marc have such a wonderful style writing together that it is almost a shame they aren't really one person. I found the writing style and story both smooth and quickly readable. it is a very fast paced and enjoyable read, with the authors being able to lead you off to the side and not right to the villian.