Grounds for Murder

This marks the second Sandra Balzo that I’ve devoured. Both mystery novels have been delectable light cozies that are perfect when you really need to escape.

Maggy Thorsen, the not-so-gay divorcée and co-owner of the coffee shop Uncommon Grounds, returns in Grounds for Murder. She and her new best pal Sarah Kingston work together on a convention for specialty coffee shop owners, which is called Java Ho. Naturally, the pair literally stumble onto a dead body, that of the loathsome Marvin LaRoach. LaRoach, owner of nearly two dozen coffee shops called Hot Wired, had alienated nearly everyone around him: his wife, his head barista, his milk supplier, the Fair Trade representative and other coffee shop owners, including Maggy. With no show more shortage of suspects, Maggy begins to look into the murder herself — which doesn’t sit well with Brookhills County Sheriff Jake Pavlik, Maggy’s sort-of boyfriend.

The perpetrator came as a complete surprise, as did some bits of the story. Readers will find Grounds for Murder a breezy read and quite humorous, although not as funny or quirky as the first in the series, Uncommon Grounds. Even so, I’ve become so addicted to these caffeine-laced cozies that I ordered Bean There, Done That for Audible as soon as I finished listening to Grounds for Murder!

Merged review:

This marks the second Sandra Balzo that I’ve devoured. Both mystery novels have been delectable light cozies that are perfect when you really need to escape.

Maggy Thorsen, the not-so-gay divorcée and co-owner of the coffee shop Uncommon Grounds, returns in Grounds for Murder. She and her new best pal Sarah Kingston work together on a convention for specialty coffee shop owners, which is called Java Ho. Naturally, the pair literally stumble onto a dead body, that of the loathsome Marvin LaRoach. LaRoach, owner of nearly two dozen coffee shops called Hot Wired, had alienated nearly everyone around him: his wife, his head barista, his milk supplier, the Fair Trade representative and other coffee shop owners, including Maggy. With no shortage of suspects, Maggy begins to look into the murder herself — which doesn’t sit well with Brookhills County Sheriff Jake Pavlik, Maggy’s sort-of boyfriend.

The perpetrator came as a complete surprise, as did some bits of the story. Readers will find Grounds for Murder a breezy read and quite humorous, although not as funny or quirky as the first in the series, Uncommon Grounds. Even so, I’ve become so addicted to these caffeine-laced cozies that I ordered Bean There, Done That for Audible as soon as I finished listening to Grounds for Murder! show less

This was good but it took a very long time to set up. Maggie gets talked into hosting the barrista challenge and the local coffee shop baron winds up dead. Because all her friends are involved Maggie selectively tells Pavlic information causing a problem between them. Love Maggie's snarky attitude on being green over convenience in diapering.

I've been waiting for the second book to come out in this series for a while and I was not disappointed in the results. Maggy is a fun, small business owner (coffee shop) who is trying to get her love life on track, enjoys her wine, and has landed right in the middle of a murder investigation again. This was such an easy and enjoyable read. Hopefully it doesn't take as long for the third book to come out.

Grounds for Murder is an interesting tale of murder that takes placed at a coffee convention. Providing an interesting case, it is not until the end that the true killer is revealed creating a hard to put down story.

I am really enjoying this series so far. I like the story lines and the characters are very well written and vivid. This book was excellent, in my opinion and I'm really looking forward to reading the next one in the series.