Customer Reviews

Uncommon Grounds (Five Star Mystery Series)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

When former PR executive and new espresso shop owner Maggy Thorsen investigates the death of one of her partners--electrocuted by the espresso machine on opening morning--she also turns up the seamy underside of her leafy suburb. Brookhills, Wisconsin, boasts tennis Moms driving expensive SUVs, subdivisions full of mansion-like houses, and snooty residents to match. Recently divorced Maggy tootles around town trying to uncover the murderer in order to clear her own name. The cast of characters includes Kate McNamara, the annoying newspaper reporter, Gary Donovan, chief of police and former head of security for the local bank, and a distractingly handsome yet irritating new sheriff, Jake Pavlik. Maggy finds a sidekick in Sarah Kingston, a blunt-talking, chain-smoking real estate agent with a secret soft spot for children, and between the two of them they manage to take the murderer down. Amateur sleuth Maggy is good company, with her snappy phrases, funny one-liners, and wry observations. Describing the police chief, for instance, she says: "Gary had been an Eagle Scout, for God's sake. Or still was. I think that's like being an alcoholic, you never completely recover." Details of operating a gourmet coffee business give this mystery a contemporary and unique spin and make the reader long for a smooth creamy latte.

On its surface UNCOMMON GROUNDS contains all the elements required for the traditional cozy --- small town, mysterious death, amateur sleuth --- while keeping the level of requisite suspension of disbelief to a minimum. The small town in this case is Brookhills, Wisconsin, where the grand opening of Uncommon Grounds, a gourmet coffee store, will be celebrated. A pall is cast upon the event, however, when Patricia Harper, one of three partners in the new business, is found face up and stone cold dead in front of the espresso machine on the morning of the grand opening. It appears that Harper electrocuted herself while brewing her daily, eye-opening latte. But we then learn that the newly installed espresso machine had been tampered with, resulting in Harper's sudden demise.

The immediate suspects are Caron Egan and Maggy Thorsen (who is the book's narrator), the remaining partners in the coffee shop venture, as well as Harper's husband David. The police scrutiny places Thorsen in contact with newly-minted county sheriff Jacob Pavlik, which of course causes sparks of all sorts to fly, especially when Thorsen, dissatisfied with the investigation into her friend's death, starts kicking over investigative rocks on her own, much to Pavlik's consternation. Thorsen finds that her investigation is uncovering more suspects than she can eliminate. She also discovers, to her dismay, that her deceased friend and business partner had a secret that she never shared with Thorsen and that might have resulted in her death. Thorsen, already dealing with the pressures of opening a new business and a pending divorce, soon finds that she is placing herself in danger as well, until salvation --- and more --- come from some unexpected sources.

UNCOMMON GROUNDS is a fun, addicting read, with Balzo striking a nice balance between the everyday and (occasionally) extraordinary. Her narration and plotting is extremely strong and confident throughout. She is careful not to fall into some of the traps that novels of this genre can create. As a result, Thorsen's dog is cute, but not too much so; Pavlik is a ready, but imperfect, love interest; and Thorsen's soon-to-be ex, a despicable cad who has left her for a twentysomething dental hygienist, never even makes an appearance.

Sandra Balzo's first short story, "The Grass Is Always Greener," won the Robert L. Fish Award and was nominated for a Macavity Award. UNCOMMON GROUNDS, won nominations in the "Best First Novel" category from a number of organizations.

It is evident from UNCOMMON GROUNDS that Balzo's talent runs strong and deep. We will see more manifestations of it, and soon.

--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub

UNCOMMON GROUNDS opens as newly single Maggy Thorsen opens the door to a new business. Uncommon Grounds is going to be a place for people in the town of Brookhills to get a break from the McDonald's coffee down the road. A fresh start for Maggy and her two partners. Unfortunately, partner Patricia has been grounded. That's right, folks, she's gotten a jolt from the Espresso machine like none before and lies in a pool of spilt milk.

The laughter will continue as you read this cozy "nouveau". The character of Maggy is a suburban ex with a Mike Hammer attitude. Balzo's other talents give the book a refreshing substance. The plotting is fast and well done. Small town coincidences don't seem forced. Motive, means and opportunity will keep you turning the pages. Best of all, when you're done, you'll want a second visit with the town and its people. Balzo knows the place she's writing. And, from the local preacher to the moving guy, she has the skill to give all her characters life.

Are you a fan of Stephanie? Do you enjoy Joan Hess? Balzo adds another voice to the argument that cozies aren't just for teacups anymore.

Fans of the light, romantic, humorous mystery have become spoiled in the past ten years, largely due to the successful continuing series penned by Janet Evanovich, starring Stephanie Plum, bounty hunter. To fill the gap until the next Plum book arrives, try an armchair trip to Wisconsin, to a small town with a newly-opened coffee shop, to an amateur detective with spunk and wit. Uncommon Grounds, by Sandra Balzo, has all the usual components of a formulaic modern-day whodunit-the divorced, slightly bitter heroine, the cop with an attitude, the stable of kooky and diverse characters, one or more of whom is the killer of the, you guessed it, one or more murder victims. But somehow, with more twists and turns than you would think possible in a novel of roughly 250 pages, Balzo manages to insert perceptive observations, at the same time infusing humor into her story ("Teenagers seemed to have found in coffee something that not only made them feel like adults, but also was legal and couldn't get them pregnant."). She provides a believable yet complicated plot that is all too real by today's codes of behavior and beliefs. By the end of the book, I was rooting for the good guys, was happy the bad guys got their due, and I was looking forward to another episode with Maggy Thorsen and Jake Pavlik. A much better-than-average mystery.

Four years ago, I wrote a review of Uncommon Grounds for what I believe at the time was the only on-line mystery book review site (the same place H.K. got her on-line review start years prior). I loved the book and am beyond excited to learn that Sandra Balzo is back - and that two new Maggy Thorsen mysteries will be released this year (and yes, I have already pre-ordered them)! In honor of Ms. Balzo's new releases, I'm posting a copy of my original review of Uncommon Grounds from four years ago. It's as follows:

I'm not exactly fond of cozies, but Sandra Balzo really hits the mark with Uncommon Grounds. Maggy Thorsen, recently divorced public relations expert about to turn entrepreneur, embarks on the chance of a lifetime - opening, along with two friends, her own gourmet coffee shop. Opening day doesn't go exactly the way the trio has planned; when Maggy arrives at the shop she finds Patricia Harper, one of the three co-owners, lying on the floor in a pool of milk with Caron, Maggy's long-time friend and other co-owner, standing over her. From this point on, NOTHING is as it seems. I especially like Ms. Balzo's use of an unconventional murder weapon - an espresso machine! It turns out that Patricia has been electrocuted, and not unintentionally.

As with many small communities, just about everyone in Brookhills has skeletons in their closets, and in her search for the truth Maggy learns much more about her friends and neighbors than she bargains for.

I especially enjoyed the characters in this book, and the action and suspense are high caliber. This is definitely not your common cozy! The plot is very complex and will keep the reader off balance throughout. This is one EXCELLENT mystery novel, and I will certainly be on the lookout for more titles by Ms. Balzo!

(P.S. A small aside - while four years ago I wasn't especially fond of cozies, I find myself now reading them, by choice, more often than not, LOL. Go figure).

Carol Ann Hopkins 5/11/2008

I had read a couple of Cleo Coyle's coffehouse books and got bored after the second one. I thought twice about buying uncommon grounds, but for $2.99 I figured I couldn't go wrong. I must say that I am happy that I did. The characters were interesting and well-developed. The mystery kept me guessing. It was a fun read. I love Maggie. She was entertaining and I laughed out loud at her observations. Her friends were also well-written. The love interest sounded very hot and I was rooting for them to get together. I promptly bought the other two books available on kindle and read them right away. Each one was better than the previous one. I now am waiting for Ms. Balzo to put the last three on kindle. I also just bought Heaven's Fire and will probably read that next. So, all I can ask is that the author put the remaining books in the series on kindle. I say, DO IT NOW!

Welcome to Uncommon Grounds, come on thru sit a spell or just walk by and take a smell. Come on in check out the menu, at Uncommon Grounds we're new its true but don't worry because we've got something just for you!

On Opening day of Uncommon Grounds, instead of serving up coffee, they were served with Murder! Patricia Harper, one of the trio of owners is DEAD found laying on the floor seemingly electrocuted while making her favorite latte!

How could this happen, the machine brand new and each partner fully trained on its usage. So what or who is behind this caffeinated tragedy? Let's take a look

Caron Egan, Maggy Thorsen, and Patricia Harper are equal partners of Uncommon Grounds. Patricia and Caron are both married, and seemingly financially stable, but Maggy is dealing with divorce. Who would want to hurt any part of this trio?

Patricia has thrown her hat into the political arena, she's decided to run against the undefeated Mayor? Could someone from the oppositions camp be behind her demise?
Or could it have been Maggy's ex, and the death of Patricia was an accident and meant for her? Or maybe it was the secret affair of two of the partners, and one found out they were dealing with the same man?

Maggy has decided to search uncommon grounds, to find who or what is behind the death of her friend and business partner!
Will this put her life in danger? Does she need to watch her remaining partner? Or will it turn out to be more than she bargained for?

Uncommon Grounds is a blast, infusing murder with a bit of comedy brewed into a steaming cup of mystery. I really enjoy this title, and so will you. So pour yourself a cup of joe and let this story unfold, you'll find it keeping you awake and fiening for more. I look forward to reading any title by this author.

Melody Vernor-Bartel
Reader's Paradise
5 Bookmarks

This is a coffeehouse mystery. Maggie and friends co-own a coffee shop called "Uncommon Grounds". This is a murder mystery; therefore, someone is murdered (I won't say who, where, why, as to not ruin it for those who haven't read it).

During the solving of the murder, I found this book boring. All the political talk about the town elections, and also the concern about the coffee shop running and making a profit in order to pay the mortgage and other bills, I found to be really tedious. I just couldn't get into this book, and it took me a long time to read it because I didn't find it interesting.

I didn't find it cozy, either. A coffeeHouse mystery, you would think, couldn't go wrong. But reading this book did not make me crave even one cappuccino, not even a cup of regular coffee.

And I got tired of hearing about that nasty, sweaty, smelly dog. The book would have been a little better if the dog had not of been in it.

I felt the purpose of Uncommon Grounds was not to create a cozy, comfortable coffee shop in Brookhills, but to strictly make a living for Maggie and friends.

Oh, there were clues. But not interesting clues. Boring, tedious clues.

I really feel bad about giving this book only 2 stars, but I think people would rather me be honest.

Recommended: No.

In Brookville, Wisconsin, Caron Egan, Patricia Harper, and Maggie Thorsen open up a gourmet coffee shop, UNCOMMON GROUNDS. However, on the day they are to open for business, Patricia dies in what seems like an electrocution accident caused by a faulty wired latte maker. However, Sheriff Pavlik quickly finds evidence that someone tinkered with the wiring killing the woman.

Pavlik quickly learns that the married Caron and the also married victim had affairs with the same person. He also sees possible motives involving the fact that Patricia ran for town chair in a disputed election. Meanwhile Maggie, who is about to be divorced from unfaithful Ted, unites with Patricia's campaign manager Sarah to uncover the truth so that she can move on, but will soon wonder who to trust as corruption surfaces from every corner of her town

The story line is an engaging tale that starts off as a wonderful police procedural, but soon adds a solid parallel amateur sleuth subplot. Magnificent Maggie makes the plot percolate as she wonders if she is a suspect, how to avoid pushy reporters and finally how to clear her name. The support cast enhances either the investigation, offers insight into the victim, or a better understanding of Maggie. Though the killer comes out of nowhere and seems stretched, mystery readers will take delight sipping this caffeine cozy caper.

Harriet Klausner

This book has got everything but heart. I like the coffeehouse gimmick. I like the small town setting. The main character is an appealing divorcee with a self-deprecating sense of humor. The plot is sufficiently complicated. There's a whiff of romance.

What's missing is any reason for the reader to care who killed the first victim or whether the second corpse was a suicide, an improbable accident or a second murder.

First, the author spends more time justifying the speedy reopening of the coffee shop after one of the partners is killed than she does exploring how the main character or anyone else felt about the death.

Nor does our amateur sleuth have any apparent reason to be involved in the investigation.

If we aren't given any reason to care about the victim or any explanation of why the solution of the murder matters to anyone, then why should we care about any of the action that follows?

There is one point where the main character accidentally sends an email that could put her in jeopardy. At that point my interest spiked. Finally a reason for her to feel something, to do something. But by then the book was practically done. Too bad.