Book Review No.6

I finished this book while on the plane flying back from Shanghai (ie a couple of weeks ago) but I thought it would be a bit much to do so many book reviews so close together, so I've been holding this one back. But not any more, hold on to your hats here comes book review number 6:

Decaffeinated Corpse by Cleo Coyle.

This is the fifth in the Coffeehouse Mystery series. For me this is the ultimate in cozy: a combination of crime and coffee, set in New York - what's not to love?! Coffee info and tips are dotted throughout the book and there are recipes at the end, so if you love your coffee as much as I do you may find these books interesting just for that.

A short summary: Clare Cosi and her estranged husband Matteo (because an uncomplicated relationship would be too easy, right?) run a coffee shop in New York's West Village. One of Matteo's old friends (Ric) develops the world's first naturally decaffeinated coffee bean and smuggles it into the USA from South America. The business possibilities of a natural decaf as opposed to a chemical decaf lead to all sorts of interest in the plant and the first few pages of the book see Ric being mugged. However, the first murder doesn't occur until about 65 pages from the end (and two more follow in fairly quick succession), giving plenty of time for the background story and the 'detective-ing' to be developed (although, having said that, I was wondering at what point the book would actually become a crime book, rather than just a cozy.)

I enjoy this series (for the most part); as I said before, it's set in a coffeeshop in New York and its a cozy, so for me it's the trifecta of brilliantness. Obviously it won't be to everyone's taste but if you're interested in reading a cozy crime series that isn't too cozy, perhaps this one's for you.

And on a different note entirely, I won my first ever blogland giveaway! The very kind Jay over at My Family and Other Cricketers had a couple of books up for grabs, and her daughter very wisely picked my name from the hat! Thank you very much Jay and Little Miss.