Death by Espresso is the sixth book in Alex Erickson’s Bookstore Café Mysteries series. The writing flows smoothly at a steady pace, the characters are well developed, and the mystery is interesting. There are plenty of suspects and twists and turns to make it difficult to figure out who the killer is.
Krissy Hancock and her best friend, Vickie Patterson, are the owners of a combination coffee shop and bookstore, Death by Coffee, in the quaint town of Pine Hills, Ohio. Vickie is getting married to Mason Lawyer and, as her maid of honor, Krissy has been helping her with all the details. Krissy goes to the airport to greet wedding guests, including her dad, James Hancock, and Laura Dresden, the woman he’s dating and Vickie’s movie star parents, Gina and Frederick, and the guests they invited. Cathy Carr is also one of the arrivals and introduces herself as the world’s most important wedding planner and, as Gina and Frederick’s wedding gift, would be improving the wedding plans. When everyone meets at Death by Coffee, Vickie is overwhelmed and frustrated by the number of guests her parents brought and the wedding adjustments Gina and Cathy were planning. Vicki and Mason wanted a simple church wedding and to celebrate at the bookstore.
In an effort to try to keep the peace and give Vickie the wedding she wants, Krissy decides to talk to Gina and Frederick, who are staying at Vickie’s house along with Cathy while she stays with Mason. Only one rental car is there, but all the lights are on and when she knocks, the upstairs light goes out but no one answers the door. When she knocks again, the door pops open, she goes in, and when no one responds to her calls, she ends up in the kitchen where she finds Cathy on the floor. When Gina and Frederick return, they find Krissy holding a candlestick she’d picked up to use as a weapon. Officers Paul Dalton and John Buchannan respond to the call; Frederick accuses Krissy of murder and Officer Buchannan seems to agree. It’s determined that after being hit on the head, Cathy choked on one of the chocolate-covered espresso beans she was almost always chewing on. Vickie and Mason are talking about postponing their nuptials. Mason’s father, Raymond Lawyer, and his girlfriend, Regina Harper, would love for the wedding to be cancelled because they have a different bride-to-be in mind for Mason. Krissy wants the wedding to go forward as planned, but things don’t look promising when Mason is brought in for questioning in Cathy’s demise.
Rita Jablonski, the town’s resident gossip and James Hancock’s biggest fan is devastated when she learns he brought his girlfriend to town with him. Rita is more than smitten with the famous author, and entertained dreams of spending her life with him. Krissy’s boyfriend, Will Foster, a local physician, has accepted a job in Arizona.
I received an Advance Reader Copy of this book from NetGalley and voluntarily reviewed it.