Book Description

The first three titles in the Maggy Thorsen Coffeehouse Mystery Series UNCOMMON GROUNDS In her delightful debut, Balzo puts a 21st-century spin on the traditional cozy, replacing tea with coffee as the comfort beverage of choice. Maggy Thorsen, a divorcée whose husband left her for his 24-year-old dental hygienist, and two women friends are eager to open a coffee shop, Uncommon Grounds, in the small Wisconsin town of Brookhills, whose inhabitants include such recognizable types as the local gossip and tennis moms. The challenge becomes even greater when Maggy discovers the body of one of her partners, Patricia Harper, on the floor of their coffee shop. Determined to find out who killed Patricia and why, Maggy delves into the mystery with a sense of humor that would make Miss Marple smile. In her search for the truth, she works with, and sometimes against, the new and unpredictable county sheriff, Jake Pavlik—and uncovers at considerable personal risk the secrets of some of the town's most prominent citizens. GROUNDS FOR MURDER Exactly how hot is the competition at the annual coffee trade industry conference in Milwaukee? Scalding What's not hot? Finding Marvin LaRoche, owner of the HotWired coffeehouse chain store stone-cold dead under a banquet table in the middle of the convention. And everybody knows that Maggy was no great fan of Mr. LaRoche, nor of his overly competitive business practices - so it's up to Maggy's own amateur sleuthing skills to get herself out of the hotseat! BEAN THERE, DONE THAT Here's a tip: if your ex-husband's mistress-cum-missus asks for your help in proving that he cheated on her while he was married to you, just say no. And you most certainly should not invite this new missus, Mrs. Rachel Thorsen, in for a cup of coffee. But big-hearted Maggy can't seem to help her own hospitality. Unfortunately, most unfortunately, this mistress-cum-missus disappears shortly after her coffeehouse confab with Maggy and is later found murdered...making Maggy's ex, Ted, the chief suspect. Despite the tempting satisfaction of seeing her ex go down, Maggy knows Ted is innocent. Cheater? Yes. Murderer? Definitely not. So Maggy reluctantly agrees to help him. Now it's up to Maggy to discover the truth...even if it upsets her on-again, off-again relationship with the handsome Sheriff Jake Pavlik...