Cannonball Read 13

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Search This Site

| Log in
  1. Follow us on Facebook
  2. Follow us on Twitter
  3. Follow us on Instagram
  4. Follow us on Goodreads
  5. RSS Feeds

  • Home
  • About
    • About CBR
    • Getting Started
    • Cannon Book Club
    • Diversions
    • Fan Mail
    • Holiday Book Exchange
    • Book Bingo Reading Challenge
    • Participation Badges
    • AlabamaPink
  • Our Team
    • Leaderboard
    • The CBR Team
    • Recent Comments
    • CBR Interviews
    • Our Volunteers
    • Meet MsWas
  • Categories
    • Review Genres
    • Tags
  • Fight Cancer
    • How We Fight Cancer
    • How You Can Donate
    • Book Sale
    • CBR Merchandise
    • Supporters and Friends of CBR
  • FAQ
  • Contact
    • Contact Form
    • Newsletter Sign Up
    • Newsletter Archive
    • Follow Us

Open Registration for CBR13 ends Jan. 31! Sign Up Today!

> FAQ Home
> Genre: Mystery > A cozy mystery for coffee geeks

A cozy mystery for coffee geeks

On What Grounds by Cleo Coyle

December 25, 2020 by teresaelectro Leave a Comment

I decided for a change of pace with On What Grounds by Cleo Coyle, the first Coffeehouse mystery. I like coffee, but I really like humorous pun book titles even more. I also LOVE me some cozy mysteries. I’m patiently waiting for the Christmas romances to disappear and the return of Hallmark mystery marathons. They are a balm to the soul whether on screen or the page. I like how the mystery tends to be solved swiftly and how easily I can devour the pages.

In this series, our amateur sleuth is Clare Cosi. She moves back to Manhattan to manage the historic Village Blend coffee shop. She used to work there for the owner, simply called Madame. She even fell in love with her son, the roguish Matteo. But they divorced and she moved to Jersey to raise their daughter. Said daughter has grown up and talking culinary classes in the city. When Clare is offered the opportunity to return to the coffee shop and live rent-free above it, she decides to give NYC another chance. The only problem is she stumbles upon one of her employees unconscious in the basement. It looks like an accident, which could spell trouble for the shop when she never wakes up at the hospital. The detective on the case needs evidence of foul play, otherwise, it looks like her death was caused by bad working conditions. Without a witness, Clare only has her gut and gumption to rely on to solve the mystery.


This was a nice distraction from election coverage last month. A coffee shop manager was an interesting protagonist for a mystery. Coyle gives her a healthy back story with the shop, its owner, and of course her ex-husband. He conveniently appears back in her life right when the murder goes down. Madame by far was my favorite character as she was quite the feisty socialite. My only complaint was the overly detailed descriptions of the coffee from Clare. I actually can’t drink too much caffeine, so I’m not as obsessed with bean quality and the roasting process. She also tasks offense with decaf drinkers like me, which I’ve heard before. I didn’t hold that against her character. I liked the pace of the mystery and the ending brought just enough action to make it suspenseful. There some light humor from the interpersonal relationships, especially when Clare and the detective trade barbs.

I’m game to read more since I’m curious to see if the chemistry between the detective and Clare goes anywhere. If you’re a coffee junkie and cozy mystery lover, this book was written for you! Aurora Teagarden and Agatha Raisin fans come for the mystery. Gilmore Girls fans should check it out for the mom/daughter relationship and eccentric coffee shop setting. More of my writing can be found on my blog.  

Filed Under: Mystery Tagged With: amateur detective, Cleo Coyle, coffee, cozy mystery, mystery, mystery series, new york, New York City, On What Grounds

teresaelectro's CBR12 Review No:31 · Genres: Mystery · Tags: amateur detective, Cleo Coyle, coffee, cozy mystery, mystery, mystery series, new york, New York City, On What Grounds ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

About teresaelectro

CBR13 participantCBR13 CommentsCBR12 participantCBR11 participantCBR10 participantCBR  9CBR 8CBR 7CBR 6CBR 5CBR 4

Writer. Social video expert. Travel lover. Book club enthusiast. Music junkie. Stalker of puppies View teresaelectro's reviews»

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.



Recent Comments

  • Ellesfena on “Charlie was always preaching love. Charlie had no idea what love was. Charlie was so far from love it wasn’t even funny. Death is Charlie’s trip.”The first time I read this book, I couldn’t put it down (the second time, it gave me nightmares and I had to stop). Have...
  • wicherwill on Stop thinking and start creating!I'm one of those constant "I wish I knew how to draw" type people--I had this giant plan the summer after high school to wander...
  • wicherwill on When a Bot has feelingsThis also sounds like a sweet version of the Murderbot books I fell in love with last year! Put on hold :)
  • wicherwill on A fresh take on Beauty and the BeastHave you read the Robin McKinley Beauty and the Beast retellings? I assume so, I don't know how large that universe is but hers are...
  • wicherwill on Gideon Nav packed her sword, her shoes, and her dirty magazines, and she escaped from the House of the Ninth.I totally agree that this book was so very difficult to follow along with, somehow. Like I'm still not entirely sure I could lay out...
See More Recent Comments »

Want to Help Out?

CBR has a great crew of volunteers, and we're always looking for more people to help out. If you have a specialty or are willing to learn, drop MsWas a line.

  • How You Can Donate
  • FAQ
  • Shop
  • Volunteers
  • Leaderboard
  • AlabamaPink
  • Contact

Help Our Mission

You can donate to CBR via:

  1. PayPal
  2. Venmo
  3. Google Pay
© 2021 Cannonball Read | Log in