Decaffeinated Corpse

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.

Fifth in the Coffeehouse Mystery series.

Back in New York at the Village Blend, Clare is contemplating the incontemplatible--decaffeinated coffee at the Blend. Her research has unearthed the fact that nearly 20% of customers for coffee drinks want decaf, a segment of the market Clare has lost because of the poor quality of beans processed according to standard methods. Thus, her horrified baristas, assembled for a taste test, are certain of disaster. Instead--an excellent cup of coffee ensues. How? Not from beans subjected to processing but those from a plant that naturally produces a decaffeinated bean. This is a horticultural breakthrough from a friend of Matt’s, Ric Gostwick, who after years of research has come up with the plant. show more The Blend is to have exclusive rights to the beans during its introductory phase.

But coffee is a competitive market, and when Clare discovers Ric unconscious outside the back door of the Blend, she immediately assumes that Ric’s assault was motivated by business rivalry. Matters go from complicated to worse, a murder results, and Clare goes into full-blown private eye mode.

As usual, the story is enriched by snippets of New York history and items of interest; in this book, Brooklyn is the star borough. Featured are the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens (yes, Botanic, not Botanical), the Brooklyn Art Museum, Gowanus, Red Hook and other neighborhoods.

The strong supporting cast of characters is back. Esther the Snark Girl has an eyebrow-raising boyfriend. Joy continues to drive her mother crazy. And Madame Dubois once again serves as Clare’s Assistant Amateur Sleuth, resulting in a hilarious chase scene through the streets of Brooklyn.

Good, solid plotting, snappy writing that has an attractive urban edge, wonderful dialogue:

Tucker: Omigawd, Esther! There’s something you don’t know!
Esther: Put a designer sock in it, Tuck
Tucker: Don’t get snarky, goth girl

and authenticity in ambience characterize this installment in a delightful series.

Highly recommended. show less

This cozy mystery series centered around a much loved NYC coffee shop has been one of my favorites for years! In fact, the first book in this series was one of the first cozy mysteries I ever read. I have read many more since then by so many different authors...but I always return to this series! As part of my ongoing quest to revisit favorite books and ones that have been languising on my TBR for years, I'm re-reading this series. Loving it!

Decaffeinated Corpse is the 5th book in the Coffeehouse Mystery series. An old friend of Coffeehouse Manager Clare Cozi's ex-husband has discovered a naturally decaffeinated coffee bean. What seems to be a wonderful opportunity for Village Blend turns into a nightmare as dead bodies start stacking show more up. When someone close to Clare seems to be the number one suspect, she's on the case to find a killer.

I had to laugh at the references to decaf espresso as a "Why bother?'' Ha ha! :) Made me smile every time.

I listened to the audio book version of this story. The audio, narrated by Rebecca Gibel, is just under 7.5 hours long. Gibel reads at a nice pace and gives a great acting performance as usual. The mystery progressed at a nice pace and there was a good bit of character development. Clare's almost-relationship could move just a bit faster. Each time I think they are finally going to figure it out....they don't. Not that I was surprised....I've read these books before, even though it's been several years. I still found myself thinking "Oh will you just kiss her already and figure your S out, for God's sake!'' :) But....despite the slowwwwwwww road to "taking it slow,'' I still loved the story!

There are 17 books in this series, with a new one (Brewed Awakening) coming out in December 2019! show less

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.

I jumped right into this series on book 5, skipping the preliminaries and the first four in this cozy mystery series. That being said I didn't feel like I missed out on anything. Most cozies read fairly well as stand alone novels. This series takes place in a quaint coffee shop in New York. One of the co-owners has a knack for solving mysteries but her ex-husband (the other co-owner) never seems to appreciate her efforts. Business at the coffee shop is about to grow as they get exclusive rights to the world first decaffeinated coffee bean. Customers can't even tell the difference it's so good. Things take a weird turn though when her ex-husband's old friend and the creator of the new strain of coffee is found mugged right outside their show more coffee shop. The characters are pretty fun, it's a neat setting, and all the coffee talk made me extremely thirsty. It was alright, but not the fastest paced cozy I've ever read. show less

I love the New York settings. This time, there's a visit to the Brooklyn Botanical Garden, a chase through Brooklyn, and a scene at the Greenwich Village Halloween parade. It takes place over an improbably short time period, but that's a quibble. Lots of coffee-making detail, which I could skip, but the mystery is really about the coffee industry.

Decaffeinated Corpse was fabulous. In this installment of the series main character Clare Cosi's ex husband and business partner, Matt Allegro, is negotiating a deal with a childhood friend Federico (Ric) Gostwick, to be the exclusive distributor of Ric's natural decaffeinated coffee. Ric has engineered a coffee plant that has no caffeine. The taste of the product is superior to the usual decaf products that are altered in order to remove the caffeine. Matt needs the deal in order to bail out his failing coffee kiosks. With the percentage of coffee drinkers wanting decaf rising to 20%, the kiosks are not making money.

The new decaf plant will be taste tested at the annual International Coffee Growers Exhibition with Clare's baristas show more doing the serving. The day before the taste testing both Ric and Clare are knocked unconscious by an unknown assailant. Ric refuses to file a police report which makes Clare suspicious that Matt and Ric are not being truthful about the new plant. On the day of the taste testing Ric's business associate and lover Ellie Lassiter is found murdered. Ellie was going to be a key speaker at the convention. The question is did her husband find out about her infidelity or is there a coffee professional trying to sabotage the new decaf plant. Clare's new love interest Detective Mike Quinn is assigned by the NYPD to investigate Ellie's homicide and he admonishes Clare to stay out of the investigation. Of course, she can't do that. She is the amateur sleuth of the series.

In the previous books in the series, coffee lore has only been a side story. In Decaffeinated Corpse the plot deals with the coffee itself, ie, who buys, control and develops it, as well as when it can be marketed to the public. With this information Coyle allows the reader to see how coffee sales can be seen as a deadly enterprise.

Decaffeinated Corpse is a must read. If you are only going to read 1 book of the series, pick this one. You won't be disappointed. show less