Laying Down the Latte

Bakeshop Mystery #21

by Ellie Alexander

Another delicious installment in the Bakeshop Series set in Ashland, OR!

Baker Jules Capshaw, along with her husband, Carlos, and Torte’s resident barista, Andy, are packing their bags and preparing for the ultimate coffee excursion in Costa Rica. A fortuitous invitation from one of Carlos’s former colleagues, Valentina, has them venturing to the coffee capital of the world for a tasting tour and an immersive weekend at her family's organic coffee farm.

They soak in the tropical breezes, the vibrant colors, the sounds of morning birdsong, and the sweeping views of the historic coffee farm. Valentina is the ultimate host, offering them traditional meals and thrilled to have their input as she’s preparing to open a coffee counter and bakery on the farm.

The getaway is just what Jules needed. A chance to relax and unwind, curl up with a book and iced latte by the pool, and tinker in Valentina’s kitchen, dreaming up new recipes to bring home. Except her tranquil weekend quickly turns into a nightmare when one of Valentina’s employees is found dead in the pulping machine. Now, Jules will have to put her vacation on hold to try and uncover the murderer before one of Torte's beloved workers becomes the next body thrown into the mix.

Genres: Cozy Mystery, Mystery, Fiction, Cozy, Food, Adult, Crime

304 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published August 26, 2025

About the author

Ellie is a voracious storyteller and a lover of words and all things bookish. She believes that stories have the ability to transport and transform us. With over forty published novels and counting, her goal is to tell stories that provide points of connection, escape, and understanding.

She loves inhabiting someone else’s skin through the pages of a book and is passionate about helping writers find their unique storytelling lens. As a writing teacher and coach, she guides writers in crafting the story they’ve always wanted to tell while navigating the path to publication that’s right for them.

Find out more about Ellie and her books by visiting her website at: http://www.elliealexander.co/ or following her on social media—
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Reviews

[beachbum bookworm]

Love this series! Feels like coming home
To old friends!

[Judy]

Having previous good experiences with several of Ellie Alexander's books, I was happy to grab another. She writes adorable cozy mysteries and I enjoy them.

Description:
Baker Jules Capshaw, along with her husband, Carlos, and Torte’s resident barista, Andy, are packing their bags and preparing for the ultimate coffee excursion in Costa Rica. A fortuitous invitation from one of Carlos’s former colleagues, Valentina, has them venturing to the coffee capital of the world for a tasting tour and an immersive weekend at her family's organic coffee farm.

They soak in the tropical breezes, the vibrant colors, the sounds of morning birdsong, and the sweeping views of the historic coffee farm. Valentina is the ultimate host, offering them traditional meals and thrilled to have their input as she’s preparing to open a coffee counter and bakery on the farm.

The getaway is just what Jules needed. A chance to relax and unwind, curl up with a book and iced latte by the pool, and tinker in Valentina’s kitchen, dreaming up new recipes to bring home. Except her tranquil weekend quickly turns into a nightmare when one of Valentina’s employees is found dead in the pulping machine. Now, Jules will have to put her vacation on hold to try and uncover the murderer before one of Torte's beloved workers becomes the next body thrown into the mix.

My Thoughts:
I found the description misleading saying that employee was found not - it wasn't exactly an employee though. So this story took place almost entirely in Costa Rica with Jules and her husband planning to relax and enjoy the tasing and their student, Any the barista learning everything he can about coffee production. With the murder things turn to investigating to find out who the perpetrator was and also to try to save the coffee farm from corporate takeover. This was a complex investigation for a cozy mystery; however, it was interesting and I feel like I learned some things about coffee while reading. I think mystery lovers will enjoy this one.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Books through Netgalley for an advance copy.

[Linden]

Jules and Carlos take Torte’s coffee aficionado Andy to Costa Rica where their old friend Valentina has a coffee farm. An unexpected death mars the visit because the circumstances are suspicious—one of the farm owners wanted to sell out to a corporation for a large sum of money. Since Andy was recording so much of the visit on his phone, could his life be in danger? Recipes are included! Thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for the ARC.

[Grandma Susan]

Another great addition to the Bakeshop Mystery series. Jules and her husband, Carlos as well as Andy, an employee head to Costa Rica. I enjoyed the setting and the coffee details. The book was interesting and entertaining. Also, I didn’t guess who the murder was. Looking forward to the next in the series. Highly recommend anything by Ellie Alexander.

I was blessed with an ARC. The opinions expressed are my own and unbiased.

[Melissa P.]

The book was pretty good. I do happen to like the books better when the story takes place in Ashland, Oregon (the main characters' home town). Jules, Carlos and Andy go to Costa Rica in this one. The feel of the story just isn't the same when they're not at home. The mystery was ok. A lot of the people were new characters because they're in a new place. I really liked how the story was centered around coffee (one of my favorite things). The next Bakeshop Mystery book comes out next year. Looking forward to keeping up with the series! Happy reading! 😍☕️

[Natalia R]

4.5 stars

[Meghan]

I’d rather read a dictionary.

[LORI CASWELL]

Dollycas’s Thoughts

Torte’s star barista, Andy, is heading off on an adventure with his boss, Jules Capshaw, and her husband, Carlos, to visit their friend Valentina at her coffee farm in Costa Rica. The plan is for a very immersive experience and a tasting tour because they have big plans for expansion when they return to Ashland. Jules was hoping for a tropical vacation full of inspiration and relaxation. But the holiday away takes a deadly turn when one of Valentina’s top employees is tragically killed. Was it an accident? Or was it murder? Soon things get up close and personal, giving Jules no choice but to get involved, but she has to remember it’s no longer just her life that could be in jeopardy.

Ms. Alexander takes both her readers and her characters on an extraordinary adventure to Costa Rica, with its coffee culture and passion for high-quality brews. From the open-air markets and local cafés to the pros and cons of running a coffee farm and the pressure exerted by huge companies wanting to take over farms that have been in family ownership for generations. I enjoyed the detailed descriptions of the homes, the fields, and the production areas, high in the mountains where the best beans are grown. The farm, Finca las Nubes, translates to The Cloud Farm, and the virtual visit was a wonderful experience.

It was great to see Jules and Carlos in a different setting. Just because they were away from home didn’t mean they stayed out of the kitchen. Baking helps Jules center herself and think things through. Carlos is always ready to show love through his cooking, and both made themselves right at home in Valentina’s kitchen. Andy’s joy in all he took in was palpable. Andy tried his best to document every moment. They did keep in touch with the people in Ashland, but Torte was running like a well-oiled machine.

A murder in a foreign land surrounded Jules with people she didn’t know, so it was hard to know who to trust. She made the best of every situation to ask questions and understand every person’s position on the farm and beyond. Environmental issues facing coffee farms were woven into the tapestry of Finca las Nubes, and it gave Jules a different focus. Ms. Alexander plotted this story with precision, which introduced each person/suspect while dropping clues to move the mystery along at a perfect pace. I enjoyed and could feel Lance’s anguish at not being able to sleuth alongside Jules, but she and Carlos were rock stars.

Laying Down the Latte is another marvelous addition to this long-running series. It’s always entertaining when our favorite characters travel to interesting locales without their normal co-horts to help them solve the mysteries. I am excited for fall in Ashland. The Whisking Hour is set to be released on February 24, 2026. Who knows what Jules and her friends and family will get into next? Will it be a Perfect Crime?

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. Thank you to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.

[Tina]

Laying down the Latte is perfect if you are a coffee lover. I personally don’t love coffee, but that did not deter me from enjoying it. Carlos, lovable barista, Andy, and Jules, the owner of Torte bakeshop, were at a scenic Costa Rican coffee farm. Lance, my favourite character, was back at Torte any only chatted with Jules over text but was still his genuine, flamboyant self, helping encourage Jules to solve this crime of an employee of the coffee farm. It was a bit of a disappointment he was not there in person.

My gratitude to Netgalley and Minotaur Books for the advance copy. This was an honest review.

[Jean Brownell]

How delightful!!

This was a very poorly written book but I’ve been so eagerly anticipating it as Ava’s constant pick for book club, that I was all about it.

The mystery was decently done, and mysterious for most of the book, so that def brings up the rating. What brings it down is the general unhingedness of the plot, the way that everything is so “sigh, I guess someone died in a pretty grotesque way, anyways, what’s for dinner?,” the multiple spellings of a fairly main characters name throughout, and the fact that not a single piece of dialogue was written the way humans speak.

[Kimberly Charron]

Andy should have died

[Deborah Almada]

This is a long-running series that I usually enjoy. With any long-running series, you are going to have hits and misses. This was a big hit for me, again off site adventures in a favorite series can sometimes be hard, but I really loved this one. Jules and Carlos take Andy to a coffee farm in Costa Rica, owned by a former colleague of theirs from their cruising days. The idea is for Andy to learn more as they are going to surprise him with an offer to expand the coffee roasting operations at Torte. This is a wonderful and natural trip for this series! I loved all the coffee talk and the beauty of Costa Rica, and I have to admit, Andy is definitely one of my favorite characters in this series. Of course, there needs to be a mystery, and it was a good one with plenty of suspects that fit well into the setting and story. The fact that we get to visit with all our favorite Torte people for a little while at the beginning and end of our story is icing on the cake! Special thanks to #Netgally, #MinotaurBooks, and the author for the chance at a caffeine hit! #LayingDowntheLatte #BakeshopMysteries
#EllieAlexander #bookreview #bookideas #retiredreader

[Carla]

Laying Down the Latte is the 21st book in the Bakeshop Mystery Series starring Jules Capshaw. In this book, Jules, her husband, Carlos and their head barista, Andy, are all heading off to Costa Rica for an ultimate Coffee excursion to the coffee capital of the world. A former colleague of Carlos' has returned to her family's coffee plantation, to work with her cousin. When they arrive, things are tense. Valentina and her cousin are at odds, with him wanting to sell his half of the business to a large coffee company, one that doesn't have the best reputation. With Valentina trying to convince him not to sell, he ends up dead, killed in a pulping machine. Was it a murder or an accident? Who would have wanted to kill him? Of course, Valentina is the major suspect, but Jules and Carlos don't believe she could have done it. When Andy is attacked, the up their investigation, because someone else gets hurt.

Jules is known as a great investigator with excellent observation and intuition. The setting in Costa Rica is different from all the other books set in or near Ashland, Oregon. Jules doesn't have her sidekick, Lance, nor The Professor to help with this case. Although Lance wasn't there, he was still in the story. He is getting married to Arlo, the love of his life. He is constantly messaging Jules about the even, and he is always hilarious. He does give her some advice about the case as well. As the story went on, I had a few suspects in mind, but most were knocked off the list. I did guess the culprit before the reveal, but just. I was worried about Andy in this book. He is such a sweet, naive guy, that when he disappeared, I wasn't sure if we would find a body of would he still be alive. This was another fun addition to the series, but I do like when they are closer to home. This is book 21, but the series is still enjoyable. Emily Durante has narrated the series and I enjoy her performance. Her voices and tone are perfect, and she has the voices down pat for me. I enjoy listening to these books.

[Christine]

Laying Down the Latte is the 21st book in the Bakeshop Mystery series. In this book, the main character Juliet "Jules" Capshaw and her husband, Carlos, travel from their home in Ashland, Oregon to Costa Rica. Their friend Valentina has invited them to visit her family's coffee farm for a tour and to advise her on a few issues regarding her business. Andy, the barista at Jules' bakery also goes to learn more about coffee, a subject he's passionate about. Everyone is impressed by the beauty of Costa Rica and the farm, but the pleasant trip takes a turn when Andy witnesses the tragic death of Valentina's cousin and business partner. Jules is determined to find out who the killer is and help Valentina save her farm which is in danger of being bought by a large coffee corporation.

I've been reading this series for a long time. I love Jules and Carlos and the premise of them traveling to Costa Rica was an interesting change. I enjoyed learning about the coffee farms, but I missed seeing Jules and the employees of her family bakery Torte working together. One of my favorite characters in the series is Jules' best friend, Lance. Although he checks in with her via text advising her on the investigation, it wasn't the same as having him playing an active role in the investigation with Jules. Also, with the exception of Valentina, I didn't warm to the other characters in Costa Rica.

There are some tense moments as Jules questions farm employees to try to get to the bottom of what really happened. The ultimate resolution of the case had some surprises, but also some things that didn't add up for me. Overall, the book was entertaining, but I will be glad to see Jules, Carlos, and Andy back in Ashland for the next book. As always there were some delicious-sounding recipes at the end of the book.

I received an advance copy of the ebook from Minotaur Books and NetGalley for review consideration, but my review is voluntary and unbiased.

[Debbi]

What a treat to join Juliet, Carlos and Andy on a vacation/ coffee research trip to Costa Rica. As always the characters are wonderful. The trip was meant to enhance Andy's coffee expertise and take him to the next level in his career at the Torte bakeshop in Ashland OR.. It was also supposed to provide a little relaxation for Juliet and Carlos. Of course nothing goes as planed. In the 21st installment Alexander does a great job keeping the series exciting. Adding the exotic location and coffee lore was brilliant. The regular Torte crew were woven in to the story so they never felt forgotten. I love this series. Highly Recommended for cozy mystery fans.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy to read and review

[Heather]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was my first time stepping into Ellie Alexander’s long-running Bakeshop Mystery series, and it was such a treat. The atmosphere is everything you’d want from a cozy mystery warm, inviting, and sprinkled with just enough intrigue to keep you turning pages. Even though I jumped in mid-series, it was easy to follow and felt like joining a circle of friends at the coffee shop. The setting, the food descriptions, and the community charm made it cute, cozy, and full of good vibes. Definitely one I’ll keep coming back to when I need a comfort read with a dash of murder. #St.MartinPress/Minotaur #EllieAlexander #NetGalley

[Spencer]

Always fun when the crew takes a trip, though the Ashland ones will always be my fave. I like how the characters back home were still incorporated even though Jules was away.

Proud of our boy Andy — big things in store for him!

[Cozy Reader Lady]

"Laying Down the Latte (Bakeshop Mystery #21)" by Ellie Alexander has Jules, Carlos and Andy traveling to Columbia to help expand their coffee knowledge. All while Jules is pregnant with twins. Honestly, I'm a bit surprised she wanted to do this trip while pregnant, especially with twins. It has to be pretty close to the events of the last book or she'd be fairly far into her pregnancy and I would think it would be a higher risk pregnancy too. There is at least a bit of realism put back into the trip when it's mentioned her doctor okayed the trip with notes to not over extended herself.

While in Columbia they get pulled into a problem their friend is having with her family's coffee farm. The friend's cousin/co-owner is trying to sell part of the farm to a soulless corporate coffee company. So, lots of people mad at the cousin. So one guess what happens next. Yup, he out of the picture completely. I do have to say I had the culprit figured out pretty quickly once a certain clue was mentioned. That in conjunction with an already known clue sealed it for me.

[Jessica Bellemore]

Who knew that good coffee could be so dangerous?

As we meet up with Jules and Carlos, they're preparing to take our favourite coffee roaster Andy to a coffee farm in Costa Rica. As the coffee farm struggles with a corporation wanting to take over, Jules finds herself in the midst of a murder that has plenty of layers to complicate the situation even further.

The newest instalment in the beloved Bakeshop Mysteries isn't afraid to delve into the environmental issues facing coffee farmers, and farmers in general, today. I loved the behind the scenes look into coffee, making me want to book a trip to a coffee farm myself. It also gave me a deeper appreciation for what goes into the growth and production of a coffee, something we often just see as a way to wake ourselves up.

I loved how Andy got to take part in the spotlight too, with his love for life embracing Costa Rica's pura vida culture. As always, Ellie Alexander has built a world with characters that the reader genuinely cares for and leaves us wanting more (especially with the teaser chapter for the next book).

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press I Minotaur Books for the opportunity to read this book for free in exchange for my honest review.

[Shelley Lawrence]

Laying Down the Latte is the 21st book in the Bakeshop Mystery cozy mystery series by Ellie Alexander. This is a fun mystery as we get Jules, owner of Torte, her husband Carlos, and Andy, local barista extraordinaire, heading to Costa Rica for a coffee touring/training expedition. Carlos and Claire decide to visit a friend from their cruise ship days on her family’s coffee plantation, and decide to treat Andy to a surprise trip to enhance his experience and expand his responsibilities. Almost immediately the trip is marred by a threat to the family business when a large chain wants to take-over and modernize them, causing them to lose their cultural way of doing things and their generational family traditions. I enjoyed focusing on just a few characters from our Ashland, Oregon crew. It’s fun to see Jules during her pregnancy, and glimpse descriptions of the food from this region. The story is interesting, entertaining, and quick-reading. I am enjoying the progression of this series and hope it continues!

[Jenn]

Number 21 in the Bakeshop Mystery series and I will never grow tired of them. Please don't stop Ellie Alexander! 🙏 This time, Jules, Carlos, and Andy are headed to Costa Rica to visit a friend of Jules' from her cruise ship days as the friend plans to expand her family's coffee farm. But murder is never far away with this crew and before they know it, they're on another case!

My only note is the text messages. They were added like dialogue with quotation marks and it was a tad confusing. If you don't want to separate them so they look like actual text messages, then they should at least be italicized for clarity.

[Jenna (readinginjennaland)]

Juliet and Carlos are going to Costa Rica to see their former shipmate and friend's coffee plantation. They also bring Andy, the coffee expert in Torte. Valentina shows them around the plantation but she seems distraught. Juliet coaxes the information out and she tells them her cousin who owns 50 percent of the coffee farm wants to sell out. Later when her cousin is mysteriously killed. Juliet decides to find the killer.

This book made me so hungry. Now I need to try empanadas. I loved following the clues and trying to figure out who the killer was with Juliet. I'm a big fan of this series and I'm excited to see what happens next.

[Tari]

It was fun reading about Jules, Carlos and Andy being in Costa Rica and even cooler when I read Ellie Alexander’s newsletter the same day telling how she’d gone there last year. I figured she must’ve been there at some point since the coffee facts and everything was described like someone who’d actually seen all this firsthand. Obviously except for the murder, lol.

Jules found herself investigating a murder even while on vacation and getting a little help/encouragement from back home from her mom and Lance. Lance was a hoot without even being there while he was energetically searching for a wedding venue for him and Arlo, and bouncing ideas off Jules probably the same way he was bouncing on caffeine.

My final guess for the killer was right (after a couple fails and my suspects didn’t pan out), and it was awesome what Jules did to said killer. The ending was filled with food and fellowship as everyone was now at home celebrated Andy’s trip to Costa Rica with Jules and Carlos and their safe return. Can’t wait to see what happens next!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book provided by St. Martin/Minotaur Books via NetGalley, and my opinions are my own.

[Danielle B]

I should have had an IV of coffee while reading this book….orrrrr maybe not for my families sake. 🥴

What a fun installment -a Costa Rican setting was such a blast! The more Andy’s character develops, the more fond of him I become. He’s such a staple to the Torte family.

I definitely missed Lance and his wit in this one but totally understand the balance of secondary characters. Same with Thomas and Kerry -they are always enjoyable characters. We FINALLY got some clarification on one thing too so I’m happy about that!

[Lori Leaf]

With this cold weather we’re currently having it’s been so nice to escape to Costa Rica and a tropical vacation with this book! I adore this series and loved travelling along with Jules, Carlos and Andy as they visited Costa Rica. The excitement Andy had learning more about coffee was so interesting and I can’t wait to see what he roasts next! There was of course a murder that occurred and it was interesting to see how Jules sleuthed around in a new environment.

[Linda Smatzny]

The story is set in Costa Rica as Jules and Carlos visit a friend of theirs from the time they worked on a cruise ship. Also along for the visit is Andy because of his intense interest in coffee. Of course, a murder happens and Jules tries to figure out the killer is. The book was an easy read.

[Susan Johnston]

There are some series where with each book the reader feels like they have been invited to share in the lives and personal and professional developments of the characters. It has been a great journey with Jules and Carlos from the rocky days of their reunions to their various collaborations. We have also had the pleasure of watching the side characters grow as well and perhaps no one has done so more than Andy. He is now an expert coffee roaster and Jules and Carlos have plans for him to spread his wings within the Torte family. Let me tell you, if all bosses were like these two no one would ever want to leave.

Included in their plans is a trip to Costa Rica to visit a friend from the ship whose family owns a coffee plantation. Andy comes along so he can soak up all sorts of knowledge. He did not expect to see a murder on his first day but then no one did. Explanations of what happened are scarce and no one, except the killer, knows for sure. There had been a lot of tension under the surface as Valentina’s cousin is negotiating to sell his half of the business to an international conglomerate. No one is in favour so the fact that Martin is the deceased comes as no surprise. I had pegged the killer very early on but I love it when the red herrings are so well done that I questioned my choice many times. I rather enjoy it when a story makes me wonder.

Be warned though, reading this book may have you heading to the nearest airport for the next flight to Costa Rica. Five purrs and two paws up.

[Katy Cannon]

Coasta Rica adventure. Her cousin dies when trying to sell his share of the coffee farm to a corporation.

Andy is getting his own coffee roasterie with Torte!

[Lance Lumley]

Taking place not long after her last book Killing Me Soufflé the main character and murder solver Jules Capshaw and her husband Carlos take their barista Andy with them on a trip to Costa Rica to visit Carlos' former colleague Valentina to visit her family's coffee farm. Jules, being pregnant and expecting twins, isn't going to have a vacation that lasts when one of Valentina's employees is found dead in the pulping machine, and the mystery starts on who and why the employee was killed.
The overall read will keep fans of the series entertained, along with the respect for the knowledge of her topic, along with informing the reader of the culture away from the Oregon setting.
For an in-depth review, visit my page at: https://lancewrites.wordpress.com/202...

[Paul Dymond]

Fan of this series, fan of Costa Rica. Boxes ticked here.