by Cleo Coyle
Part of Coffeehouse Mystery
First published 2005
Fashion Week has come to New York City, and Clare Cosi is hosting a party at the Village Blend for one of her most loyal customers, designer Lottie Harmon. The occasion is the launch of Lottie's coffee-inspired accessories line, Java Jewelry, and the guest list is full of the city's most dedicated fashionistas. Then a man dies. Cyanide in his latte. Police arrest the barista who served him, a young woman who had recently been dumped by the victim. The timing looks bad for her. Clare does not believe it. She knows her employee and starts digging into the world surrounding the elusive Lottie Harmon. What she finds is uglier than bad coffee. Someone is blackmailing one of Lottie's business partners. Then that partner turns up dead. Clare is now caught between a killer who has already struck twice and a case that keeps pulling her deeper in. This is the third Coffeehouse Mystery from Cleo Coyle, following On What Grounds and Through the Grinder.
Genres: mystery, crime, contemporary, adult-fiction
Vibes: atmospheric, engaging, fast-paced, suspenseful
Tropes: amateur-detective, serial-killer, wrongly-accused
Setting: New York City, Village Blend
Period: contemporary
243 pages · Mass Market Paperback · Berkley Prime Crime
Content warnings: death, murder