by Lorie Lewis Ham
With the weather cooling off it seemed a perfect time to enjoy some great mysteries along with some great coffee! Check out this review of Murder By Mocha by Cleo Coyle, enter for a chance to win a copy of this book, and check out our special article on coffee and mysteries where you can enter to win some coffee to go along with your mystery. And if you’d like to add some more chocolate to that–check out our review of the Chocolate Castle Clue & enter to win a copy of that book too! Win for yourself, or as great Christmas gifts!
Mystery and coffee—what a perfect combination, and Murder By Mocha has both. This series is set in a coffeehouse and treats the reader not only to a fun mystery but coffee info and recipes as well! As I read this book, I could almost smell the heavenly scent of coffee lifting off the pages and filling the room. 
This is the tenth book in this series, but my first foray into the world of Clare Cosi who is the manager and head barista at Village Blend, a landmark coffeehouse in Greenwich Village owned by her ex mother in law Madame Blanche Dreyfus Allegro Dubois. I can tell you right now it won’t be my last one—I can’t wait to have time to go back and read the rest of the series!
In this book Clare is preparing for a big event that involves Madame’s latest business deal Mocha Magic Coffee, an herbal aphrodisiac that’s about to be released at a trade fair by a secretive businesswoman known as Aphrodite. Mocha Magic combines Village Blend’s coffee beans, chocolate from a local chocolatier, and some mysterious herbs. How could anything go wrong when you combine coffee and chocolate? Well of course it does. When one of Aphrodite’s assistants is found dead at the launch party and another assistant is a suspect, it’s just the beginning of trouble. Clare is not only worried about the murder, but about Madame and the future of the Village Blend because something not quite right seems to be in the Mocha Magic Coffee. With the help of her connections at NYPD, Clare sets out to find out what’s really going on.
To add to the fun there are a lot of interesting characters that come into the coffeehouse, including some actors in costume who are auditioning for the Wizard of Oz. Clare is also dealing with her boyfriend NYPD detective Mike Quinn, the motherly pains of her daughter growing up, a mysterious stranger who has been coming into the shop, and a lot of surprises along the way. All this comes together in a delightful book full of humor, mystery, a wonderful setting, and some great chocolate recipes at the end of the book. Who could ask for more. This is the perfect book to sit down and read with a great cup of your favorite coffee!
To enter to win a copy of Murder By Mocha, simply email KRL at life@kingsriverlife.com with the subject line “Mocha”, or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen November 26, 2011. U.S. residents only.
Click here to buy this book & support indie bookstores & KRL
If you love mysteries, why not check out Left Coast Crime:
Mystery Conference in Sacramento, March 29-April 1, 2012.Registration through 12/31/2011 is only $210 (it goes up to $225 after that). Registration information can be found at the conventionwebsite, or by sending an email to rb@robinburcell.com or cindy@cindysamplebooks.com.
We have picked a winner! Thanks for entering & we hope you keep coming back for more mystery fun!
Lorie Ham, KRL Publisher