Chefs are an arrogant and insufferable bunch. But do they deserve to die?

In a nutshell:

Short synopsis:

Clare’s daughter is the main suspect in a couple of murder cases and now she has all hands full to find the real killer.

Language I read the book in: English

Did I like it? Yes

For people who: like cozy mysteries, feisty heroines, the restaurant scene.

My thoughts: 

So far I liked this one best, I think. Birgit did say that the series gets better and she is definitely right. I start to really like Clare even though she is a terrible busybody who thinks everybody and everything is her business.

Her daughter, however, is a different matter.
The first time you stumble on a corpse and then get to be the main suspect it is a tragedy, if it happens again it becomes a farce. How stupid can you get, for Christ’s sake? Her boss and lover humiliates her in front of the whole staff and dumps her like an old rag, so she flees from the scene. And what does she do next? Goes back to retrieve her knives at midnight when she can be certain the guy will be there and most probably alone! Isn’t humiliation enough? Well, she paid for her idiocy.

This story takes place in the restaurant scene and chefs and cooks play a huge part. As I have experience with cooks myself I can vouch for the realism in most of the book. Even though I find it totally unbelievable that a four star restaurant – no matter how avantgarde or extraordinary – does not have a coffee machine and the maitre d’ allows the waiters to serve clients staff coffee from some dirty old coffee maker. This is unheard of.

S P O I L E R !

Clare’s assumption that the man she suspects to be the killer has knife skills is ridiculous. He is not a butcher, he is the SON of a butcher. Why would the son of a butcher have knife skills? That would be the same as saying the son of an accountant is an excellent bookkeeper.

On another note I am glad to say that no artists made an appearance in this story and so Jackson Pollock can rest in peace today.

In spite of all these little things that bothered me I very much enjoyed reading this cozy and am looking forward to the next one already. I particularly like how every book puts a spotlight on a certain “scene”, the high society in the Hamptons, the fashion people, the coffee business and now the top restaurants. Highly entertaining!

Location: Greenwich Village, New York City, NY, USA

Images from wikipedia

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Have you read this book? What did you think of it? I would love to hear other opinions.

Decaf is not for the faint of heart.

In a nutshell:

Short synopsis:

An old friend of Matt and Clare comes up with a decaf coffee plant. Are others after it and stick at nothing to get it?

Language I read the book in: English

Did I like it? Yes

For people who: like cosy mysteries, a down to earth heroine, a slowly developing love affair.

My thoughts: 

Birgit was right when she said the books get better, as opposed to a lot of other cosy mystery series. I am slowly coming to like Matt, Clare’s ex husband, as well as her ex-mother in law who plays quote a bit part in this story again. I particularly liked her drug deal and how cool-headed she is.

Clare is the typical busybody amateur sleuth. Always suspecting something, always sniffing around in people’s lives and asking indiscrete questions. I don’t know how people put up with that. Also she is so persistent when questioning people (with no right to do so, mind) she doesn’t seem to have any sense of shame or embarrassment inside her.

The obsession with coffee in this series is still slightly over the top. OK, people work in a coffee shop but that doesn’t necessarily mean they HAVE to be fanatical coffee aficionados who place a well made coffee above everything else. Sometimes I get the feeling that, as long as the coffee is perfect, life is as well. If it was just that easy.

All in all, another nice, cosy read. I still have one book to go from Birgit’s batch, after that, I will have to look around for some more.

Location: Mostly Greenwich Village, NYC, NY, USA. Around Halloween

Images from wikipedia. Image links go to source.  

Product info and buy link :

If you click on the buy link above you will be taken to The Book Depository.co.uk. If you buy the book through this link I will earn a small commission. You can find my general affiliate links to The Book Depository, Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com here.

Have you read this book? What did you think of it? I would love to hear other opinions.

Java Jewelry, Lattes and Murder in the fashion world

In a nutshell:

Short synopsis:

When Clare suspects a murder victim was not the intended one she starts to investigate during New York Fashion Week.

Language I read the book in: English

Did I like it? Yes, quite. It’s an easy and quick read.

For people who: like cosy mysteries, coffee, fashion labels, first person POV

My thoughts: 

Right at the start I realized that the book I read before this one “Murder most frothy” is actually the one after “Latte Trouble”. Ah, I hate reading out of order, but that couldn’t be helped now.

Clare Cosi is a rather likeable character and in this book we get to know her a bit better as far as her relationship with her ex-husband is concerned. Matteo is in this book for most of the time, so there is a lot of interaction between them. Somehow it seems he always turns up at the right time and always in the company of an influential, rich, trendsetter he can make use of. Not a bad connection to have for Clare, even though her feelings about these relationships are ambivalent.

The murder story is rather uneventful and even a kidnapping and visit to a hellhole of a club turns out to be not as bad as anticipated. Does anybody else find it remarkable that Clare knows off the top of her head that the fourth circle of hell is the circle of the greedy (she calls the hoarders)? Wow, this woman is literate, indeed! On the other hand she has no clue that the artist is called Jackson Pollock, not Pollack, for Christ’s sake! (see my review of Murder most frothy)

The solution to the mystery was –I wouldn’t call it far-fetched, but rather unexpected. The murderer turned out to be someone totally unrelated until then, something I am not a big fan of.

Brand labels play a big part in the book, not as hints to the mystery solution but rather as continuous name dropping. Bloody Hell, ok, it is fashion week, but I couldn’t care less whether witnesses wore a Prada dress, a Chanel costume or whatever. Got on my nerves, that.

All in all:

The whole plot is rather straightforward and easy to follow. A comfort read without much brain engagement involved.

Location: New York, New York, USA, during fashion week

Images from wikipedia users mangostar and mandiberg.

Product info and buy link :

If you click on the buy link above you will be taken to The Book Depository.co.uk. If you buy the book through this link I will earn a small commission. You can find my general affiliate links to The Book Depository, Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com here.

Have you read this book? What did you think of it? I would love to hear other opinions.