Grounds for Murder: A Maggy Thorsen Mystery (Maggy Thorsen Mysteries) [Paperback]

Sandra Balzo (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2008 | Series: Maggy Thorsen Mysteries

A sharp and amusing mystery from a talented writer - Set in Milwaukee at a scaldingly competitive trade show for the coffee industry, events reach a head when coffeehouse-owner Maggy Thorsen discovers a body under a table at the conference centre. As the reluctant conference coordinator and a potential suspect Maggy must track the murderer, save her coffeehouse, and hopefully put some froth in her love life . . .

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

At the start of Balzo's lukewarm second Maggy Thorsen mystery (after 2004's Uncommon Grounds), Maggy, a 40-something divorcée who owns a coffee shop in suburban Brookhills, Wis., discovers the corpse of Marvin LaRoche, proprietor of the HotWired coffeehouse chain and Maggy's biggest competitor, under a banquet table at a coffee convention. Though Maggy was no great fan of LaRoche, she didn't kill him, and she wants to find out who did before she becomes a suspect. LaRoche's wife is a little too cheery for a new widow, and an angry activist who thought LaRoche exploited Third World coffee growers might have wanted to make a bloody statement. Some clumsy character development and awkwardly placed commentary on the art of coffeemaking will make fans of Uncommon Grounds, which was an Anthony Award finalist, hope for a return to form in Maggy's third cozy. (Dec.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

All the right ingredients...Balzo's keep-em-guessing plot and fresh, breezy prose are more than enough to ensure that this series will continue to delight. --Booklist Starred Review

Bright and breezy Maggy makes a charmingly down-to-earth sleuth. A bit of romance and coffee lore provide the froth on top. --Kirkus Reviews

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Product Details

• Paperback: 217 pages
• Publisher: Severn House Publishers (May 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1847510272
• ISBN-13: 978-1847510273
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,206,405 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I turned to mystery writing after twenty years in corporate public relations, event management, and publicity in Milwaukee.

My books are set in a gourmet coffee shop and feature Maggy Thorsen, a down-sized PR person. (Go figure.) In the first book, UNCOMMON GROUNDS, Maggy arrives at the store the morning of their grand opening only to find one of her partners dead in a pool of skim milk in front of the espresso machine. I'm told the books are funny. There are six more Maggy Thorsen mysteries out: GROUNDS FOR MURDER; BEAN THERE, DONE THAT; BREWED, CRUDE and TATTOOED; FROM THE GROUNDS UP; A CUP of JO; and TRIPLE SHOT.

RUNNING ON EMPTY, the first book in a second series (to alternate with the Maggy books), was released in April and is set in the popular vacation destination of North Carolina's High Country:

"It was the call every adult child dreads:
'AnnaLise? You should come home. Your mother Daisy went and drained all the blood out of poor Mrs Bradenham.'
Well, maybe not every adult child . . ."

The second book in the high country series, SOME ENDS ARE DEADER THAN OTHERS, will be out in 2012.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I like it!, November 27, 2009

By 

Cheryl A. Reynolds "Spuddie" (Minneapolis, MN, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Grounds for Murder: A Maggy Thorsen Mystery (Maggy Thorsen Mysteries) (Paperback)

#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.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Over Caffeinated, July 25, 2010

By 

Nancy "Stepfordmomto2" (CA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Grounds for Murder: A Maggy Thorsen Mystery (Maggy Thorsen Mysteries) (Paperback)

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.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Even better than the first book, May 11, 2011

By 

Su Co (Medford, MA, United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: GROUNDS FOR MURDER (A Maggy Thorsen Mystery) (Kindle Edition)

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.