Decaffeinated Corpse

I liked it, but it left a little to be desired. I wish that there had been less about coffee and more about the murders, etc. The book is supposed to be a murder/mystery, but those details seemed like an afterthought. ( )

This is the 5th book in the coffeehouse mystery series and fits squarely in the cosy category. In this outing Clare Cosi and the crew at the Village Blend coffee shop are doing the unthinkable: becoming major players in the decaf coffee business. An old friend has developed the world's first botanically decaffeinated bean and, if they can all stay alive and out of prison, it should set the coffee-drinking world on fire.

I have all sorts of motivations for choosing particular books and my reasons for reading this series include the fact I love New York and I'm also a bit of a coffee addict and I enjoy all the 'inside-baseball' coffee facts the series offers. This book did have the usual amount of coffee trivia and featured a couple of 'only in New York' moments but, even so, it wasn't as enjoyable as the others in the series. It seemed to have a long and fairly pointless build up (the first murder doesn't occur until half way through the book) and then a very rushed, barely comprehensible resolution. To me it felt like this book fell victim to the 'writing by formula' disease that, unfortunately, some series fall into. The great characters, like Clare's ex mother-in-law Madame Dubois, weren't given room to shine and the plot was just pedestrian.

I admit that with work being frantic and seasonal madness I'm not at my reading best right now but that's the time I usually love to escape with a good cosy and this one just didn't grab me.

( )

a sanger mystery book club selection; gave to group 1/2013

This fifth book in the Coffee House Mystery series is a bit different. The actual murders happen quite late in the book. Clare spends most of her time trying to unravel an attempted murder attempt and possible illegal activities surrounding a business venture that her ex and business partner, Matt has entered into for naturally decaffeinated coffee plants. Clare uncovers some information that eventually helps the police when the first murder occurs and witnesses two other murders. A decaffe might be just the ticket.

I am still enjoying this series. I love the setting and the coffee information. I like Clare and her family and the staff at The Village Blend. I am looking forward to the next book in the series. ( )

Clare Cosi's husband Matt puts them in partnership with an old friend who has come up with a new process of producing a decaffeinated plant with outstanding results. There's quite a bit of build-up of the story before the actual murder takes place although there is some action early in the novel which triggers Clare's suspicious nature. I love the way the relationship between Clare and Mike, the policeman, is developing. There's a lot of information packed into this volume about coffee growing that I found interesting. Coffee is actually the star of this book more than the investigation itself which is rather short-lived. ( )