Through the Grinder

A 4.5 rating.

I liked book two in the coffeehouse mysteries almost as much as the first book. Almost. Clare drove the momentum with her clever usage of humor to temper the ghastly murders in this installment. Visuals painted in the prose from sights and sounds on The Village’s streets and its architecture were breathtaking! As I read, I told myself, “No question; a native New Yorker wrote this.”

The author used a different method to bring in the villain here. This is where I think the book fell short and I dropped the rating a tad. When sections reverted to the villain’s point of view, the text moved to italics so the reader could tell quickly that another entity entered the scene. This was fine, but the entire exercise felt too much the “mustache-twirling bad guy” in spots. However, I did like the references brought out regarding “The Genius.” A nice way to drop bread crumbs.

I won’t give away the ending, but I had hoped things turned out differently for Clare and Mr. Bowman. My heart stopped a couple of beats from the shock. The author had guts to do that. Sigh. All in all, an entertaining, fast read! I’m off to start the third book, Latte Trouble!

Have not read this series for a while, but getting back to it reminded me of how much I miss NYC and where I lived for so long in this part of town. Was good to reconnect with the stories and experience the fun and challenges of transitions that Clare and Marco endure. So ironic to learn as much about coffee and how to brew/ add recipe’s (just had some highlighted in my local newspaper this week). But really, who is the demented genius that we meet in this book? Does Clare have a new amore, is he legit, will it last, is there a connection to the murders happening in the neighborhood? So much going on in this #2 entry in the series, but it has me hooked and remembering my younger years and love affair living in this part of town. It may keep you guessing throughout but it was worth it. And I have now moved on to Latte Trouble, the next installment. So glad I have much to catch up on, thank you Cleo and Mark for adding to my love and knowledge about coffee and reconnecting to Greenwich Village, and wondering why did I ever leave in the first place?

Usually I read hard-core mysteries, but every once in a very, very great while I’ll find a cozy series I like. This is one of them, an intelligent heroine approaching middle-age who possesses common sense as well. And the coffee education is amazing!

I absolutely cannot stand those mysteries where the woman deliberately keeps clues from the police with the idea of “oh, they need facts; I’ll wait until I can prove what I say and THEN I’ll tell that tall handsome sexy detective.” Look, that doesn’t prove how smart you are – especially since it’s always a cliched lead-in to the heroine in danger from the villain(s) in a melodramatic denouement.

What it really shows is that the heroine is a smart-aleck, know-it-all, egotistical idiot!

There’s none of that nonsense in Ms. Coyle’s series, and thank goodness for that. I liked the first one a little better, but enjoyed this second book enough that I’m going to continue with the series. Bravo, Ms. Coyle – keep up the good work!

I read Through the Grinder after having gone ahead and read later mysteries in this series, but I was still totally charmed by Clare’s protectiveness over her coffeeshop and her daughter, Joy, as well as her feeling out the singles scene. As always, Coyle paints a vivid portrait of New York City and works in historical tidbits about neighborhoods like Greenwich Village and SoHo. But the heart of this mystery is the deaths that might be suicides, but Clare and her new friend, policeman Mike Quinn, aren’t so sure. Where they differ is that Mike suspects a man Clare has become attracted to. The explosive jealousy by Clare’s ex-husband adds an extra spark. The mystery has Clare investigating the art world, online and offline dating, and even becoming a bit of a cyber snoop. The plot is very personal, and Clare is a bit less objective than she might otherwise be. This is another action-packed, page-turning, coffee-drink-filled mystery, which even features what sounds like a very delicious coffee-marinated steak (the recipe is here, along with the accompanying gravy, garlic mashed potatoes and several coffee beverages). One of the best parts of this series is that it’s always personal in some way, but this one was even more so. The only thing missing was Clare’s former mother-in-law, the entertaining, elegant, elderly Madame Dreyfus Allegro Dubois. Keep reading the series for more on her (but this one definitely stands alone and doesn’t require having read the first book in the series, On What Grounds).

I loved Through the Grinder just as much as I loved the first book On What Grounds.

Clare finds herself in the middle of another murder mystery. This time it starts out with Clare and her daughter Joy joining a speed dating service that has its monthly meetings at the Village Blend. Actually Clare joined to keep an eye out on who Joy would be interested in dating. Instead Clare meets and falls for Bruce Bowman who is a really sweet man. However, Detective Mike Quinn warns Clare that Bruce Bowman is a suspect in the murder of three women.

Both Detective Quinn (who appears to be just a little bit jealous) and her ex-husband Matt have expressed their concerns about Clare being in a relationship with Bruce Bowman.

Clare sets out to find out who is behind the murders because she just can’t believe that her new love has anything to do with them.

The ending is sad but surprising.

I think that you will really enjoy this book as much as I did. I have already ordered books 3, 4 and 5.