Death by Café Mocha
Paperback, 304 pages
Expected publication: August 27th 2019 by Kensington Publishing Corporation
Goodreads synopsis:
Krissy Hancock and her pals are taking a coffee break--leaving their bookstore-caf in Pine Hills, Ohio, and heading to a convention. But this road trip will be more dangerous than they expected ...
Coffee lovers are gathering from far and wide at the hotel, and Krissy, Rita, and Vicki are excited. But some of the attendees may need to switch to decaf, as a public argument breaks out soon after they check in and then a flavor competition leads to bitter feelings.
When the winner of the contest is beaned with a carafe full of caf mocha, suspicions swirl--along with accusations of bribery. Was the dead man offering perks to the judges--or was something sinister going on in his personal life? This case is going to keep Krissy up all night long .
***
5 Stars
This is the seventh book in the Bookstore Cafe Mystery by Alex Erickson. I would personally call this the Death by Coffee series. I mean, Krissy’s father’s popular book and her cafe/bookstore are named that. Might as well give that the series name too. IMHO.
I am a little biased when it comes to this series, truthfully. It was one of the first I ever reviewed on NetGalley back in 2015. Death by Coffee was the first book I had reviewed by this author. And I loved it. I have been exposed to a plethora of series since then but this one is particularly close to my heart. So every time a new book comes out I get a little zing in my chest and a yay on my lips.
I had only initially picked book one up since I had recently read a book called MURDER BY MOCHA by Cleo Coyle. I am glad the universe was in alignment with me that day. I had stumbled across the Alex Erickson book by chance on NetGalley and requested it immediately after spying it.
Basic premise: Krissy Hancock isn’t in her local hometown of Pine Hills in this book, she, her store owner co-hort Vicki and Rita are attending JavaCon in order to take seminars, buy new coffee blends and learn as much as they can coffee related in the few days of the ‘Con. Then someone goes and gets themselves murdered after winning a coffee competition where there are whispers of cheating. Krissy goes into sleuth mode to solve the mystery. Is she a murder magnet or what?
There were ten coffee vendors vying for the coveted award and many of them become suspects including Thomas whom Krissy has a run in with and becomes sweet on. After the murder Thomas Cole is found with a coffee stain on his shirt plus he had been in the ballroom shortly before Charles was found dead. Charles was not the most favorite person at the JavaCon. In fact, he was probably the most hated of the bunch and I am surprised how many people were touched by his greed for winning the trophy.
There was another standout besides Thomas in this book. I wouldn’t mind seeing Detective Kimball show up in the next book to give Paul a run for his money for Krissy’s affections since Will is out of the picture right now. And if Thomas and Tara showed up in Pine Hills, it wouldn’t hurt my feelings. Krissy needs all the friends she can get.
I love following Krissy around on her investigations. And that is why I am giving this high praise. Can’t wait for book eight.
I received this as an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) in return for an honest review. I thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to read this title.
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