Espresso Shot by Cleo Coyle, a Mysterious Review.

Review: New York coffeehouse owner Clare Cosi investigates a case of apparent mistaken identity, and a fatal one at that, in Espresso Shot, the seventh mystery in this series by Cleo Coyle.

Clare's ex-husband Matteo is getting married. The bride-to-be is beautiful, wealthy, opinionated, and, it probably goes without saying, feared by many and hated by even more. She is Breanne Summour, a senior editor for the powerful and influential Trend magazine. At a bachelor party for Matteo, a look-alike for Breanne shows up to spice things up, as it were, but is shot and killed by an unknown assailant after leaving the party. The police think the shooting may be random violence, but Clare and Matteo believe otherwise. Someone had tried to run Breanne down just a few days earlier and Matteo is convinced, and ultimately convinces Clare, that the two events are related. When someone in Breanne's office is poisoned, it seems certain that Breanne was the target all along. Breanne has a long list of enemies, but the questions facing Clare are, why here and why now?

Espresso Shot bucks a recent trend in theme-driven chick-lit-style cozies by actually developing an interesting murder mystery plot to accompany the inevitable, and usually irrelevant, banter about designer clothes and shoes, dishing of boyfriends and co-workers, and the like. True, Breanne's character opens the door to the potential of name dropping everything in sight, and subtle differences between boutique plantation coffee roasts hardly seem weighty enough material to carry any story, but both are cleverly woven into the extravagant wedding being planned that's at the heart of this story and are not only appropriate and relevant but play a significant role in solving the murders. The interesting plot twist towards the end is also a refreshing and pleasant surprise. Though about 50 pages too long, Espresso Shot is nonetheless a delightful and entertaining mystery. Coffee tips, coffee talk, and recipes follow at the end.

Holiday Grind
Berkley Prime Crime (Hardcover), November 2009
ISBN-13: 9780425230053; ISBN-10: 0425230058

Espresso Shot

A Clare Cosi Coffeehouse Mystery by Cleo Coyle