Book 57, 2021

On What Grounds by Cleo Coyle

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Thursday night I completed the book On What Grounds by Cleo Coyle. It's the first in the "Coffeehouse" mystery series. The main character is Clare Cosi, manager of the Village Blend coffehouse in NY.

Clare is lured back to manage Village Blend when the owner (her former mother-in-law), begs for Clare's help and offers free living in the apartment above the coffeehouse, a stake in the ownership, and the promise that Clare will barely see her ex-husband, Matteo.

Not long after she agrees to the deal, Clare returns to the coffeehouse to find her assistant manager in a heap at the bottom of the stairs. The police can find no evidence of foul play and chalk it up to an unfortunate accident. Clare isn't buying it. Annabelle was a dancer, light and graceful on her feet, and Clare can't believe the young woman would have simply taken a misstep and fallen down the stairs. As if stressing over Annabelle's accident isn't enough, Clare now finds herself dealing with Matteo, who was promised the apartment over the coffeehouse by his mother. It seems someone is intent on getting the two of them back together. While Clare digs deeper into Annabelle's life to see who may have had cause to harm her, she must also keep the coffeehouse running smoothly, keep Matteo at arm's length, deal with her attraction to a handsome (married) detective, and play hostess when her daughter, Joy, brings a surprise guest to dinner.

I would have enjoyed this story more were it not for the underhanded scheming of Madame. And why the hell Clare continually referred to her (former) mother-in-law as "Madame" was weird. I did not find Matteo charming; I thought he was an arrogant, egotistical ass, and if Clare ends up getting back together with him later in the series, I will surely vomit. Not only is he a liar and a cheat, but he's also a former drug user. Oh, but he's still so haaaaandsome! Pardon me while I bitch-slap some sense into Clare. Afterward, I'm going to bitch-slap Madame for her meddling. Maybe it's just me and the fact that I'm stubborn, but if someone did me as dirty as Madame did Clare, I'd tell her to shove it and leave her and her precious coffeehouse high and dry. What gall!

Griping aside, the characters were portrayed well. Clare's tenacity in regards to investigating Annabelle's accident seemed a bit far-fetched. She'd only known the girl a month! The plot progressed at a steady pace, but I can't say as that it proceeded smoothly. It was almost more of a series of scenes. The author devoted too much of the narrative to describing how various coffees are made, in my opinion. Perhaps if I were a coffee aficionado I would have appreciated that more.

Favorite line: "We women all owe ourselves. And we forget to pay."

The book was well written, but I read for entertainment and this left me feeling far more annoyed than entertained. I have one more in the series, and if it doesn't improve I won't be reading any more. Three stars.