Triple Shot (Maggy Thorsen) [Hardcover]

Sandra Balzo (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 2011 | Series: Maggy Thorsen

The new Maggy Thorsen coffeehouse mystery - There’s a chill in the Wisconsin air, and it's a shot in the arm – a triple espresso shot – to Uncommon Grounds, the Brookhills coffeehouse owned by Maggy Thorsen and real estate maven Sarah Kingston. Their new autumn drink is a huge success. But two estate agents have died lately, and Sarah herself is under investigation for irregularities at her job. Then a stench begins to percolate through the coffeehouse, and soon it’s clear that corpses – like other bad things – do indeed come in threes . . .

Editorial Reviews

Review

Publishers Weekly: "Maggy Thorsen, the proprietor of Uncommon Grounds, finds that rebuilding her coffee shop in the "Old Brookhills" section of Brookhills, Wis., can be murder in Balzo's witty, smoothly plotted fifth caffeine cozy...sassy, lighthearted whodunit..."

Booklist:  Missing Mafia money and murdered female real-estate agents mix in the seventh in Balzo's Maggy Thorsen series...Maggy is on-site to put the pieces together, becoming an instant Internet sensation. Multiple bodies notwithstanding, this is appealing, lighthearted fare.

Missing Mafia money and murdered female real-estate agents mix in the seventh in Balzo's Maggy Thorsen series. As always, the intrepid Maggy, co-owner of Uncommon Grounds coffee shop in Brookhills, Wisconsin, lands in the midst of the action. When a dreadful odor leads to the discovery of Brigid Ferndale's body near the coffee shop, Maggy's business partner, Sarah Kingston, finds herself under suspicion, since Brigid (the third real-estate agent killed in a week) was an apprentice with a company that had just filed a complaint against Sarah. As Sheriff Jake Pavlik, Maggy's lover, investigates the killings, a past-his-prime Chicago newsman turns up in town, looking for money presumed hidden after the 1974 Brookhills Massacre, a shootout between the FBI and the Milwaukee Mafia that left three dead on each side and millions in cash apparently gone. Despite irritating Pavlik with her probing, Maggy is on-site to put the pieces together, becoming an instant Internet sensation. Multiple bodies notwithstanding, this is appealing, lighthearted fare. --Booklist, November 1, 2011

About the Author

Sandra Balzo is an award-winning author of crime fiction, including eight books in two different mystery series--one set outside Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and the other in the High Country of North Carolina. Balzo's books have garnered starred reviews from Kirkus and Booklist, while being recommended to readers of Janet Evanovich, Charlaine Harris, Harlan Coben, Joan Hess and Margaret Maron. A former member of the National Board of Directors for the Mystery Writers of America, Sandy and her fiancé, fellow crimewriter Jeremiah Healy, split their time between South Florida and North Carolina.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Severn House Publishers (December 1, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0727880799
• ISBN-13: 978-0727880796
• Product Dimensions: 5.6 x 1 x 8.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #976,374 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Sandra Balzo is an award-winning author of crime fiction, including nine books in two different mystery series from Severn House--the Wisconsin-based Maggy Thorsen Mysteries and Main Street Murders, set in the High Country of North Carolina and featuring journalist AnnaLise Griggs.

Balzo's books have garnered starred reviews from Kirkus and Booklist, while being recommended to readers of Janet Evanovich, Charlaine Harris, Harlan Coben, Joan Hess and Margaret Maron. A Wisconsin native, Sandy now splits her time between South Florida and North Carolina but continues to root for the Packers.

Find Sandy online at www.SandraBalzo.com, Pinterest (http://pinterest.com/sandrabalzo), Facebook (Sandra Balzo Mysteries) and Twitter (@SandraBalzo).

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars I Liked It! November 6, 2011

By Shirley Priscilla Johnson TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

Maggy Thorsen is just trying to get ahead and have a life. She co-owns the Brookhills coffe house in Wisconsin with her friend, Sarah Kingston. As the story begins the ladies seem to be doing pretty good, after all everyone loves their autumn drink, a "Triple Shot, Fully-leaded Espresso." But things were about to heat up as Ward Chitown, a television personality whose name is quickly being forgotten, comes to town stirring up the town's dark past. After all, who wants to be known as the town where the Mafia thrived, where murders were committed, and money stashed and never found.
If that wasn't enough real estate agents begin to be murdered, and since Sarah owns her own real estate establishment that was not good. Blackness settles as Sarah's worker is killed, her body discovered in a room no one knew existed, and Sarah may well be one on the list of 'interesting people' in the case. Maggy, who seems to always be where dead bodies are, is thrown into the middle. Her boyfriend is none other than the Sheriff and now her partner and friend is a possible suspect in the murders. What a tangled weave is webbed!

I enjoyed this book. I liked the characters and felt the author did an excellent job at giving you enough insight on each to bring them to life. The local was very well described. I could see the town, the buildings, the coffee house clearly in my minds eye, making the story more real. Of course I especially liked Maggy, she was definitely a frisky woman, one who had overcome battles in her life yet charged forward. The mystery was well laid out, giving you hints along the way, but I have to tell you I really was not sure who done it! The ending had a few twists that surprised me. All in all it was a really good read and I'm pleased to recommend it.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Latest Maggy Thorsen Cozy Mystery Has Taste of Chick Lit! October 24, 2011

By Glenda A Bixler VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

I hadn't had the chance to read Balzo since the beginning of her Maggy Thorsen Mystery series, so I was pleasantly surprised that her latest, Triple Shot, had taken on the maturity of a seasoned, well-grounded series that both feels comfortable to sink into, but had been updated enough to bring readers new enthusiasm and enjoyment. I don't profess to be a reader of Chick Lit, but I could not help but notice the inclusion of new terms that you might hear on reality television or entertainment programs that spotlight on the dress, activities and life of the rich and famous (or wannabees)...especially when discussions by or about the "Barbie table"--a group of the social elite who came to spend time at Uncommon Grounds after their tennis, to gossip and enjoy their free time while Maggy and her staff served them. Of course, once in a while, one of the customers would even share with Maggy:

"Poor Elaine was an absolute wreck. She lost fifteen pounds and didn't have them to lose. When it first happened, I insisted she stay with me for a while and, after a week or so, I thought she'd turned the corner. Then she went home and the other Choo dropped.
"As in Jimmy Choo, the shoe designer. [Maggy thought] All I could do these days was visit the high-end shoes at Saks Fifth Avenue, like I was touring a museum. Once a salesperson even let me touch one. "The 'other Choo' being?"

Aside from that, however, Balzo continues to bring us fun whodunit mysteries that quickly pull you in and guessing, trying, if you're like me, to solve the puzzle before the author shares it...especially when Maggy Thorsen takes personal interest and decides that she needs to solve the case, even though her "boy-toy" and sheriff, Jack Pavlik is "officially" on the case!

Maggy and Sarah Kingston are partners in Uncommon Grounds which is located next to a commuter rail line to Milwaukee. The shop had been recently relocated into a building in the older part of Brookhills, Wisconsin, that had been inherited by Sarah. In fact, Sarah had become even more involved with the new shop--to the detriment to her realty office. So much so that her staff had dwindled down to one new agent, who was not yet really able to act on her own and had filed a legal suit against Sarah for the lack of leadership and training she had expected to receive.

But Brigid Ferndale was found murdered not too long after that... Found because a certain strange smell had invaded the coffee shop above!

Her death followed two other agents and the other women had all been involved in showing a listing when they were found. But Brigid had been found in a secret underground room that was located under Uncommon Grounds! Interestingly though, neither Sarah nor Maggy had known the room was there... But, there was no question that Sarah would be suspected so Maggy really had no choice but to try to help her friend and business partner, right?

The underground room actually had been the location where members of the mob would privately wait for the train. It was historically significant as part of a group of buildings that had been involved in a deadly shootout during which many of the mob, the FBI and a local restaurant owner had been killed. Part of the story was that a million dollars had been onsite and had never been discovered.

So, while a real estate agent mystery is being investigated, there is also a television celebrity who has come to town to shoot live from the area, making the claim that he knows where the money is hidden and will reveal all during his televised documentary which would include a tour of the restaurant where the incident had occurred as well as revealing a secret tunnel to a next-door slaughterhouse where it was rumored that more than cattle met their death and where the money was supposed to have been stashed.

Being asked to cater the activities surrounding this program placed Maggy right where she wanted to be--and where she was likely to be most in danger!

In case you didn't know it, in a cozy mystery, the "civilian" nearly always solves the case...LOL And that's exactly why readers enjoy them. Of course, cozies also many times come in a series and we begin to look forward to reading more about the wonderful characters that we come to love! Try Sandra Balzo's Maggy Thorsen mystery series if you haven't already! Be prepared and relax with a...Triple Shot of your favorite beverage! Highly recommended!

Book Received Via
Bostick Communications

GABixlerReviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars High verbal energy keeps the "action" going October 18, 2011

By Charles Ashbacher HALL OF FAMETOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

Maggy Thorsen is once again doing that which she does best, being in the proximity of the recently murdered. Once a murder is discovered, she is incapable of setting it aside; Maggy has an overpowering need to snoop around the crime in an attempt to uncover the culprits. To some, most specifically her Sheriff boyfriend, this is a character flaw that could easily lead to Maggy being one of the victims. Yet, despite her protestations of being a complete coward, Maggy once again does not hesitate to walk into the danger room in pursuit of the answers.
After a divorce, Maggy is co-owner of a coffee shop in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It is a bit upscale, so some of their regular customers are those that she refers to as "Barbies", wealthy and pampered women with a lot of time and money to spend. Two real estate brokers have recently been murdered and the coffee house discussion centers around the circumstances, not only because it is local news but the coffee house co-owner is a real estate maven named Sarah Kingston.
Sarah is an acquired taste, an extreme character with an attitude and an active mouth. Maggy never seems to be sure if she likes her or not, an opinion shared by nearly all of the other characters. The murder story begins with a foul stench in the coffee shop, after investigation they discover an apartment under the coffee house that they did not know about. Decades earlier it had been a hangout for the local Mafia figures, but now it is the residence of the decaying body of a real estate agent.
The dead agent was supposedly working under the tutelage of Sarah but had largely been ignored. Therefore, the dead agent had filed a complaint of non-compliance with a real estate board, an action that was creating problems for Sarah.
The search for the killer involves the decades-earlier actions of the local Mafia, including a shootout between the Mafia and the FBI that left 6 of the 8 participants dead and the loss of a reputed $1 million in Mafia funds. The engaging characteristic of Balzo's books is not the action, very subdued and nothing in the way of dynamic, but the dialog. Puns, entendres, asides and an occasional well-placed curse word keep the action going as Maggy tries to determine the identity of the killer(s) while keeping the Barbies and Sarah content and functional. A great deal of the dialog is in Maggy's head, which is a good thing, for if it were to be verbally expressed, the coffee house business would be really bad.