On What Grounds by Cleo Coyle

Clare Cosi es la encargada de la histó rica cafeterí a Village Blend de Nueva York. Vive feliz junto a su gata Cafelito en un apartamento justo encima de la cafeterí a. Pero todo da un giro inesperado cuando descubre en la trastienda el cuerpo de la subencargada del negocio rodeado de posos de café . Al no encontrar indicios de violencia, la policí a concluye que se trata de un accidente, pero Clare no opina igual. Ella piensa que algo se cuece. Si quiere llegar al fondo del asunto deberá investigar por su cuenta y rá pido... antes de que alguien má s corra la misma suerte. Porque un buen crimen, como el buen café, siempre debe estar a punto.

2.5 stars

Recently, I've been getting strangely into cozy mysteries. This series looked interesting to me, so I picked up the first book.

Unfortunately, I found it to be a pretty boring mystery. And the non-mystery storylines were just not my cup of tea. There are a couple later books in this series that I may try, but I was disappointed with this one.

Content warning: there is some language (uh, quite a bit, actually) and some sexual innuendo, although nothing graphic. There were also a couple of references to Buddhism.

2.5 stars — This is one of my first forays into the world of cozy mysteries. Coffee and murder. Somewhat ironic, as I'm more of a tea drinker than coffee myself. But there's something so cozy about a coffeeshop. And this book is filled with long descriptions of wonderful coffee-making.

But the actual plot and characters were bland. Our main sleuth Clare Cosi felt underdeveloped and uninteresting. There's a stereotypical gay, a gruff cop, and a creepy ex-husband (who I think the readers are meant to swoon for but I just found him creepy!)

Despite this, the book is easy-to-read and exactly what I wanted at the time. This was a guilt enjoyment, not something I would recommend, unless you're a cozy mystery fan and addicted to coffee.