Customer Reviews

Grounds for Murder (Maggy Thorsen Mysteries)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

#2 Maggy Thorsen mystery. Maggy is co-owner of Uncommon Grounds, a coffee shop in Brookhills, a suburb of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She and her business partner Caron are struggling to keep things going, what with the death of their other partner in the last book, and trying to stay ahead of the chain coffee stores springing up. Maggy, planning to attend Java Ho, a coffee convention being held locally, agrees reluctantly to host the Barista Competition, hoping for some good publicity for Uncommon Grounds. But things turn messy when Marvin LaRoche, owner of the HotWired coffee chain and the convention's organizer, is bashed on the head with the trophy--and Maggy finds his body.

Being a power-hungry self-centered man and having delivered a very controversial speech at the opening ceremonies of the convention, there is no shortage of suspects with a motive to clobber LaRoche. Maggy is even added to the list as she had a rather loud argument with him just hours before his death. So she has a reason to investigate, and doesn't share all she knows with her love interest, Sheriff Jake Pavlick, which gets her into even more trouble.

I had a gut feeling about the baddie in this book, but didn't really know why or how the murder was done until close to the end. Enjoyable read, this series seems to be what I'd call a "semi-cozy." There are definitely some adult themes and a little mild cussing, but it's not terribly edgy. I like the author's writing style and down-to-earth characters and am looking forward to the next one in the series--which is something I don't often say about a cozy-ish series.

Grounds for Murder definitely hits the ground running, unfortunately it begins on a manic pace and by mid book, with it's snippy comments from the main character, the reader feels overwhelmed by what is being thrown at them with no real feel for the end goal of proving who killed LaRoche and why. This book came across more along the vein of throw it on the wall to sees what sticks, then the usual slow meandering pace that most cozies take.

Maggy Thorsen is coordinating the annual JaveHo coffeehouse competition, in Milwaukee, WI, matching local baristas in a head-to-head challenge to see who the best of the best is when it comes to espresso creativity.

Marvin LaRoche, the much-despised proprietor of the HotWired coffeehouse chain is found murdered and stuffed under the awards table, having been bashed in the head by the first place trophy. Before Maggy can be charged with the crime, she sets of to find who actually had the real motivation to kill this horrible man.

With too many likely suspects, Maggie must start matching up stories and convince her love interest and town Sheriff Jake Pavlik, who must have done it and why. That is when she is not trying to round up the Amy, the reining JaveHo barista for her own shop. A shop that Marvin has been trying to put out of business.

Though bland and boring in parts and manic and snarky in others, the reader is definitely on a race to the finish with this book. Not so you can see who-done-it, but to get the book over with so they could read something that is a bit richer and smoother to the palate.

This second book introduces all the characters early on, gives pertinent detail and doesn't hold back hints. There is nothing so good as a mystery written by an author that plays fair with the readers. I got to guess `who done it' and `why it was done' to my hearts content. I can't wait to start the next one.

This is the second in the Maggy Thorsen mystery series; cozies with a coffee shop theme. Fortunately, I read two others before this one ('From the Grounds Up' and 'Bean There, Done That'), because if I had read this one first, I probably would not have picked up another. I was expecting a fun, light-weight, chic-oriented mystery, but this one was REALLY light-weight, rather clumsy, and just not up to the standards I expect from this author. Don't get me wrong, it is still a fun read, but don't expect great writing or character development. In this story, the coffee shop is very young, as is Maggy's relationship with sheriff Pavlik. Maggy is concerned that a chain of coffeeshops, run by the ruthless businessman, Marvin LaRoche, will put her out of business. I don't want to give the story away, so suffice it to say, there is a murder and Maggy figures out who the killer is.

I REALLY LIKE THE MAGGIE THORSEN BOOKS. THE CHARACTERS ARE VERY REAL AND LIKEABLE. LOOK FORWARD TO READING MORE OF THESE BOOKS. THE FACT THAT THEY TAKE PLACE IN A SMALL TOWN WITH A COFFEE SHOP IS UNIQUE, TOO. MOST OF THE COFFEE SHOP BOOKS ARE SET IN LARGE TOWNS WITH INTERESTING FOLKS, TOO.