Murder a la Mocha

Murder a la Mocha PDF Author: Sandra Balzo
Publisher: Severn House Publishers Ltd
ISBN: 1448301688
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 199

Book Description
Coffee, a canine and a corpse: a bad feeling leads to an even worse discovery when Maggy tries to return a Chihuahua to its owners in the new coffeehouse mystery. Maggy Thorsen’s evening with her fiancé Sheriff Jake Pavlik and his parents in Chicago takes a dramatic turn when Jake’s mother falls ill, then a Chihuahua jumps in front of Maggy’s car on her drive back to Uncommon Grounds, her Wisconsin coffeehouse. Attempting to return Mocha to her owners, George and Marian Satterwite, the following day, Maggy comes face-to-face with Arial, their dog-sitter and her business partner Sarah’s niece. But something doesn’t feel right . . . Returning to the property, Maggy and Marian make a shocking discovery. And where are George and Arial? With Jake still in Chicago and Sarah desperate to find her niece, Maggy is soon drawn into another deadly puzzle.

Grounds For Murder

Grounds For Murder PDF Author: Sandra Balzo
Publisher: NYLA
ISBN: 1625170505
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 223

Book Description
Exactly how hot is the competition at the annual coffee trade industry conference in Milwaukee? Scaldingly hot.What's not hot? Finding Marvin LaRoche, owner of the HotWired coffeehouse chain store stone-cold dead under a banquet table in the middle of the convention.And everybody knows that Maggy was no great fan of Mr. LaRoche, nor of his overly competitive business practices - so it's up to Maggy's own amateur sleuthing skills to get herself out of the hotseat!Mrs. LaRoche, newly widowed, certainly seems a bit too cheery. But then there's the angry activist who denounced LaRoche's practice of exploiting Third World coffee growers.As the conference coordinator and the number one suspect, Maggy is on a countdown to find the murderer, save her coffeehouse and maybe, just maybe heat up her love life...Thank goodness for caffeine!!

Death of a Bean Counter

Death of a Bean Counter PDF Author: Sandra Balzo
Publisher: Severn House Publishers Ltd
ISBN: 1448303699
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 195

Book Description
Trouble is brewing for coffeehouse owner Maggy Thorsen when her barista's wealthy beau is murdered. Maggy Thorsen's head is spinning thanks to partner Sarah Kingston's latest idea – selling luxe espresso machines in their Wisconsin coffeehouse, Uncommon Grounds. But Maggy soon faces a far bigger problem when her fiancé, sheriff Jake Pavlik, makes an official call on the coffeehouse’s star barista, Amy Caprese. Amy’s wealthy new beau, investment adviser Kip Fargo, has been shot dead in his bed – and Amy is the last known person to see him alive. Kip had just proposed to Amy, but she turned him down, triggering a terrible argument and making Amy the prime suspect. Determined to prove her barista’s innocence, Maggy soon makes a number of disturbing discoveries. Can she untangle lies, jealousy and Kip’s shady dealings in time to avert the disaster that’s brewing?

Any Pot in a Storm

Any Pot in a Storm PDF Author: Sandra Balzo
Publisher: Severn House Publishers Ltd
ISBN: 1448306795
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 197

Book Description
Trouble is brewing for coffeehouse owner Maggy Thorsen when she's caught up in a storm - and murder - at a writers' retreat. Coffeehouse owner Maggy Thorsen has reluctantly travelled north with her business partner, Sarah Kingston, to cater for a weekend writers' retreat at Payne Lodge log cabin. The remote location deep in the Wisconsin forest is the perfect setting for mystery writing workshops . . . and murder. Maggy's no fan of the outdoors, but forest bugs are the least of her worries when lightning strikes the lodge during a storm and she and Sarah discover the body of the retreat's organiser, editor of the local newspaper and president of the Brookhills Writers' Club, Kate McNamara. It seems that Kate had annoyed many of the retreat's attendees, but who hated her enough to plot her murder?

Uncommon Grounds

Uncommon Grounds PDF Author: Sandra Balzo
Publisher: NYLA
ISBN: 1617508616
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 248

Book Description
In her delightful debut, Balzo puts a 21st-century spin on the traditional cozy, replacing tea with coffee as the comfort beverage of choice. Maggy Thorsen, a divorcée whose husband left her for his 24-year-old dental hygienist, and two women friends are eager to open a coffee shop, Uncommon Grounds, in the small Wisconsin town of Brookhills, whose inhabitants include such recognizable types as the local gossip and tennis moms. In a world where Starbuck's and other chains are ubiquitous, Maggy and her friends have their work cut out for them. The challenge becomes even greater when Maggy discovers the body of one of her partners, Patricia Harper, on the floor of their coffee shop. Determined to find out who killed Patricia and why, Maggy delves into the mystery with a sense of humor that would make Miss Marple smile. In her search for the truth, she works with, and sometimes against, the new and unpredictable county sheriff, Jake Pavlik—and uncovers at considerable personal risk the secrets of some of the town's most prominent citizens. Readers will want to curl up with this winner with a cappuccino or maybe even a Viennese cinnamon latte. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. "...as wonderfully rich and sharply written as anything going. What moves Balzo's book high above other writers is a sharp and often amusing skill that convinces us that this is real life and that it matters." –Chicago Tribune

Brewed, Crude and Tattooed

Brewed, Crude and Tattooed PDF Author: Sandra Balzo
Publisher: NYLA
ISBN: 1617508632
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 210

Book Description
A torrential spring snowstorm leaves Maggy and her friendly (and not so friendly) neighboring tenants stuck in the strip mall where her coffeehouse, Uncommon Grounds, leases space in Brookhills, Wisconsin.Shut up in her coffeehouse with little light and no heat, Maggy looks for help from her neighbors in the plaza...but while crossing the snow-filled parking lot, Maggy nearly trips over the mall's landlord, Way Benson, who has a hatchet in his back and looks very, very dead.Since Way's plan was to evict all the tenants and sell the space to a superstore chain, the list of enemies and suspects is hardly meager. Figuring out who had the means to do it...that was going to be the tricky part.But when Way's ex-wife is also killed, the clear and obvious motive goes out the window. Then when there's another death, Maggy is scrambling to pick up the pace and solve the murder...before she's next...

A Cup of Jo

A Cup of Jo PDF Author: Sandra Balzo
Publisher: NYLA
ISBN: 1617508659
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 238

Book Description
Maggy Thorsen, cynic extraordinaire, has a few things to feel optimistic about lately. After her original coffeehouse, Uncommon Grounds, was destroyed in a freak May blizzard, Maggy and her best friend, Sarah Kingston, have found the perfect spot to relocate – right next to the new commuter train in Milwaukee.After successfully securing the spot, Maggy and Sarah plan to piggyback the city’s celebrations for the train and re-open Uncommon Grounds on the same day. In fact, Maggy’s feeling so positive, she even digs deep in her budget and hires a giant inflatable coffee cup to attract more notice to her grand reopening.All seems to be running right according to plan...until Maggy’s event manager is found dead – and now Maggy must find the killer before the killer finds her!!

From The Grounds Up

From The Grounds Up PDF Author: Sandra Balzo
Publisher: NYLA
ISBN: 1617508640
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 262

Book Description
When a freak spring snowstorm destroys her beloved coffeehouse, Uncommon Grounds, Maggy Thorsen resolves to reopen. With her best friend, Sarah, as an ally, they find the perfect spot right near the train station – and lucky for Maggy that she’s just in time for the opening of a new commuter route. Seems things are finally looking up for the amateur sleuth and barista extraordinaire!But then Sarah’s uncle dies under suspicious circumstances...and Maggy’s instinct tells her that his death was no accident. And when there are more suspicious “accidents,” Maggy must uncover the link between the deaths...or she may just never be able to reopen Uncommon Grounds!

Culinary Criminality

Culinary Criminality PDF Author: Sandra Balzo
Publisher: NYLA
ISBN: 1641971355
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 735

Book Description
UNCOMMON GROUNDS A 21st-century spin on the traditional cozy— Maggy Thorsen, a divorcée whose husband left her for a 24 year old, is eager to open a coffee shop, Uncommon Grounds, in the small Wisconsin town of Brookhills. In a world where Starbuck's and other chains are ubiquitous, Maggy is up for the challenge, which becomes even greater when Maggy discovers the body of one of her partners, Patricia Harper, on the floor of their coffee shop. Determined to find out who killed Patricia, Maggy delves into the mystery with a sense of humor that would make Miss Marple smile. FLAMINGO FATALE From the New York Times bestselling author of A Cat in the Stacks mystery series, a novel about a single mom, wits and grits, double shifts...and murder! When Wanda Nell Cullpepper’s returns home from a long day of waitressing at the Kountry Kitchen diner and a night shift at the Budget Mart, the last person she wants to see is her no-account ex-husband, Bobby Ray, talking big and flashing cash. Just when she thinks things can’t get worse, Wanda Nell wakes up to find Bobby Ray dead—killed with her favorite pink flamingo yard ornament! Now the sheriff is eyeing Wanda Nell as the primary suspect. Kountry Kitchen Southern cooking recipes included! TOO MANY CROOKS SPOIL THE BROTH Readers will delight in this laugh-out-loud cozy mystery debut - and relish the country cooking recipes included. This debut mystery introduces Magdalena Yoder, prim, proper, and persnickety proprietor of the PennDutch Inn, where guests enjoy the true “Amish experience.” When one of her more reclusive guests takes a tumble down the PennDutch's picturesquely steep staircase, the timing couldn't be worse. What at first seems to be a horrible accident turns out to be a more sinister event. Magdalena is certain there is a killer at her inn—and it's up to her to catch the culprit!

Bean There, Done That

Bean There, Done That PDF Author: Sandra Balzo
Publisher: NYLA
ISBN: 1617508624
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 218

Book Description
Here's a tip: if your ex-husband's mistress-cum-missus asks for your help in proving that he cheated on her while he was married to you, just say no.And you most certainly should not invite this new missus, Mrs. Rachel Thorsen, in for a cup of coffee. But big-hearted Maggy can't seem to help her own hospitality.Unfortunately, most unfortunately, this mistress-cum-missus disappears shortly after her coffeehouse confab with Maggy and is later found murdered...making Maggy's ex, Ted, the chief suspect.Now it's up to Maggy to discover the truth...even if it upsets her on-again, off-again relationship with the handsome Sheriff Jake Pavlik...Despite the tempting satisfaction of seeing her ex go down, Maggy knows Ted is innocent. Cheater? Most definitely. Murderer? Most definitely not. So Maggy reluctantly agrees to help him. Rachel's wealthy family, however, disagrees and spares no expense in trying to put Ted behind bars.