Through the Grinder (Coffeehouse Mysteries, No. 2) [Mass Market Paperback]

Cleo Coyle (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 5, 2004

Business is booming at Clare Cosi's Village Blend, until her female customers start to die. Lieutenant Quinn is convinced that someone has an axe to grind, and, unfortunately, his prime suspect is the new man in Clare's life.

Now Clare will risk her heart--and her life--to follow the killer's trail to the bitter end.

Editorial Reviews

Review

A fascinating mystery...a brave, quirky heroine. -- Books 'n' Bytes

There were ample red herrings...I did not guess the outcome until I had finished the book...This is a great mystery... -- Roundtable Reviews

About the Author

Cleo Coyle is the pen name for a multi-published author who collaborates with her husband to write the national bestselling series of Coffeehouse Mysteries. They also write the bestselling Haunted Bookshop Mysteries under the pen name Alice Kimberly. They live in Queens, New York.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Berkley (October 5, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 042519714X
• ISBN-13: 978-0425197141
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (56 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #30,400 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #70 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Mystery & Thrillers > Mystery > Women Sleuths

More About the Author

Visit Cleo Coyle at her *virtual* coffeehouse: www.CoffeehouseMystery.com where she posts coffee picks, bonus recipes, and maintains a message board.

CLEO COYLE grew up in a small town on the outskirts of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. After earning scholarships to study writing at Carnegie Mellon and American Universities, she began her career as a cub reporter for The New York Times. Now an author of popular fiction as well as a New York Times bestselling media tie-in writer, Cleo lives and works in New York City, where she collaborates with her husband (also a bestselling author) to pen the Coffeehouse Mysteries. Together they also write the Haunted Bookshop Mysteries under the name Alice Kimberly. In their spare time they cook like crazy, rescue stray cats, drink a lot of java, and hunt ghosts. You can learn more about Cleo, her husband, and the books they write by visiting www.CoffeehouseMystery.com. Scroll down the left column of the site's Home Page and you will see links to a number of online interviews that Cleo has given.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars fascinating mystery, October 5, 2004

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Through the Grinder (Coffeehouse Mysteries, No. 2) (Mass Market Paperback)

After divorcing her husband Matteo, Clare took their daughter to New Jersey where they went suburban for a decade until Joy accepts a school in Manhattan. Clare eagerly agrees to a job offer by her former mother- in-law in the family owned business The Village Blend so that she can be near Joy. She relocates to a duplex above the store while her daughter and her former mother-in-law hope that is the first step in binging Clare and her ex-husband Matt together.

Clare is more interested in monitoring Joy's men rather than meeting any males for herself. During a social gala hosted above the Village Blend, Clare meets and falls in love with Bruce Bowman; he reciprocates her feelings. Clare's friend Detective Mike Quinn warns her to avoid Bruce because he is the prime suspect in the murders of three women that he knew whose deaths were disguised as suicides. Clare refuses to believe Bruce is capable of homicide and with the help of Matt sets out to affirm her belief.

THROUGH THE GRINDER is a fascinating mystery mostly because readers see the killer's point of view as he strikes at the victims. Though the logic why Bruce is a lead suspect seems thin, Quinn's jealousy forces him to rationalize his opinion. Though the tale takes a little time to introduce the cast once Clare takes Manhattan, readers gain an engrossing amateur sleuth serial killer that stars a brave, quirky heroine.

Harriet Klausner

45 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A darker roast than the previous book, November 12, 2004

By 

Esther Schindler (Scottsdale, AZ USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Through the Grinder (Coffeehouse Mysteries, No. 2) (Mass Market Paperback)

It may not be possible to read this book without a cup of coffee at hand. But make it a dark roast, as this book is slightly darker -- or at least deeper -- than the previous book. It still has moments of laughter, and this is inherently a fun mystery story; don't imagine that you need to be in a "serious" mood to enjoy it. For enjoy it you will: fun and believable characters, compelling recipes, and my guessing for "whodunnit" was wrong at least twice.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best so far. I've been hitting Greenwich Village for coffee ever since "On What Grounds"!, May 13, 2006

By 

Geri T. Miller "divalicious813" (the great state of NJ, the northern part) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Through the Grinder (Coffeehouse Mysteries, No. 2) (Mass Market Paperback)

A lot of reviews I've read complained about the darkness of this book compared to the others. I really enjoyed this one, more than the last ones! I appreciate the darker tone Claire's life had taken. Of course, given that the woman gets to see more murder than most, one would think that the sinister edge in this book would have her screaming for NJ's 'burbs and the less exciting(read: boring)times(and I'm from Jersey and still live here proudly, so no whining from people who think I'm just bashing my great state).

I really loved the twists and turns this book took with the plots. Just when I thought I knew who was "The Genius", I was slapped down. Maybe that's what I loved about "Through the Grinder"; not only was Claire taken throught it(the grinder) with dating and worrying about Joy's safety with online dating, the picking off of her customers one by one, Claire's own taking a chance on love and hitting the dating scene, but the reader with the red herrings and plot twists Ms. Cosi threw out for her fans too. That's not even mentioning the obvious..all that delicious coffee grinding daily at the Village Blend!

My only gripe: NO recipe for that delicious dessert Claire made for Bruce for their first date! Lucky for me I'm a professionally trained pastry chef, so I can experiment to my heart's content. I already use the coffee trick with beef, except I use it to braise tough cuts of meats(like pot roast), but the other tips and recipes were wonderful and definitely worth making. I'm eagerly awaiting the next Claire Cosi mystery, but AUGUST? What am I going to read til then? I'm already reading Latte Trouble!!