Through the Grinder (Coffeehouse Mysteries, No. 2)
by Cleo Coyle
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Book Summary Information
Author: Cleo CoyleEdition: Mass Market Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2004-10-05
ISBN: 042519714X
Number of pages: 288
Publisher: Berkley
Book Reviews of Through the Grinder (Coffeehouse Mysteries, No. 2)
Book Review: Ride the Tracks, Click-it-y Clack. Dining Online and Pushing Time Into Sensual Pauses.
Summary: 5 Stars
Even some of my favorite novels require me to push through certain paragraphs and pages. Not that they aren't interesting, but somehow I seem to have to apply effort to move forward through syntax. THROUGH THE GRINDER pulled me through. I felt as if I were making no effort. What a treat for a person who reads for regeneration.
Strangely, the normal-typed segments centering around Clare Cosi gave more of a flowing reading pull than the italicized segments narrating the murderer's thoughts and actions. Of course the italicized passages were chilling and engrossing, but the cold contrast between the murder's perspective and warm characters made me want to grit through the italics, then hurry back to Cosi's scenes. The alternation of the chilling/warming segments was very effective and the length/brevity of each segment was perfect.
I was caught within the intrigue of the repeated references of a few characters calling themselves "geniuses," since that was the "pseudonym" for the murderer, The Genius.
The online dating games (brought into the coffeehouse's "McMeet" evenings offering similar grounds for "bumping and grinding") were definitely an entertaining draw, especially the way the plot and characters (including murderer and victims) rotated around that recent cultural obsession. Loved the way Clare took part in that action, at first as a protective effort toward her daughter, who, of course, didn't appreciate that type of footstep following from her Mom.
The scenes with Clare and Mike-the-detective hunk dancing around each other, were definitely mesmerizing in this second installment in the coffee house series. The reading-pull picked up potently during the "first date" scene with these two. Then, Clare's ex-husband and a new love interest entered the menagerie and nicely spiced up the subtle sexual nuances. Coyle was a master here at slipping crisp, canny realism into various types of relationship machinations, especially around romance (bright and dark), but also between Mom and daughter.
The use of murders appearing as suicides, and the genius concept zoomed my antannae up, as I wondered what "statement" Coyle might be making about those phenomena and how they might be connected. She was making a statement, which she wove well throughout the story, and brought into the denouement with grace and guts.
The read intensity continued to build through the plot in a rich, steady, full-bodied way, emulating the increasingly balsamic hits on the exquisite art of coffee, from beans to baristas. I had no clue that so much luscious detail could be attributed to this multi-faceted, liquid brew.
In the recent past, my morning coffee routine had been a make-do with the cheapest Wal Mart brand of tin can packed, 3 pounds of pre-ground beans, though I did immediately pour the result into a sparkling clean, pre-heated, white carafe. At present, with my energy levels plummeted due to a chronic liver ailment sourcing from a childhood step into, then out of death's gateway, I've temporarily quit brewing any coffee at all for myself, which made the vicarious hits in GRINDER all the more vicariously regenerating. They sometimes say a person is "hanging on every word." I've renewed my respect for that concept.
Coyle stretched here beyond her coffee culinary jewels into other types of gourmet galleries, in her cooking for and sharing exquisite take-out with her new love interest, Bruce Bowman. She even prepared drool inducing, coffee-marinated T-Bones and he brought a couple-hundred-dollar bottle of palate-pleasing wine, with residual whiffs of violets, smoky oak ... and ... coffee. Be warned that a napkin was required for the guaranteed saliva surges.
Enjoyed Clare and her ex, Mateo, sleuthing together, which brought out the best connections from their history, to be available in present bantering. It was brilliantly ironic that they were working in tandem to clear Bruce as the prime murder suspect.
In a not to be discounted bonus added to all the luxurious plot and relationship intensity, Coyle interjected several vividly painted scenes of NYC streets and boroughs, in various lovely (and not so) weather-induced ambiances. This author lady knows and loves NYC (and coffee, of course!), and I relished the sensual tour guide slipped into a poignantly-sweet relationship-expose, slipped into a classic mystery.
At the culmination of the denouement, Mateo stepped into the scene, and delivered the perfect line. The final several paragraphs were a perfect blend of melancholy mystery and literary classic.
A temporary state of exhaustion may force me to diminish my number of daily morning ablutions for a while, but I can still turn the pages of a good book (and I can write). The pages in this novel flipped over at a rate at least three times my norm, almost on their own. I'm thrilled that Clare Cosi will likely have a long and expansive shelf life in bookstores around the globe and online. My readiness for the next in series is immediate.
Linda G. Shelnutt
Summary of Through the Grinder (Coffeehouse Mysteries, No. 2)
Business is booming at Clare Cosi's Village Blend, until her female customers start to die. Lieutenant Quinn is convinced that someone has an axe to grind, and, unfortunately, his prime suspect is the new man in Clare's life.
Now Clare will risk her heart--and her life--to follow the killer's trail to the bitter end.
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