To Catch a Latte

by Jenn McKinlay

To Catch a Latte by NYT Bestselling author Jenn McKinlay is a mystery romantic comedy mashup full of laughs, heart, and suspense.
Stop that espresso!
Annie Talbot's coffeepot has been turned upside down when her cafe is declared a front for a money laundering scheme and the FBI suspects she is the mastermind. So now her sexy new tenant, Special Agent Fisher McCoy, is sifting through her coffee grounds looking for the real culprit while trying to keep his hands off the delightful Annie. Marriage-phobic Annie is doing her best to ignore FBI hottie Fisher, but he is so distracting, her lattes are steaming over and she's thinking crazy thoughts like marriage and happily ever after.

Genres: Romance, Cozy Mystery, Mystery, Ebooks

225 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 1, 2002

About the author

Jenn is the New York Times, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly bestselling author of several mystery and romance series. She is also the winner of the RT Reviewers’ Choice Award for romantic comedy and the Fresh Fiction award for best cozy mystery. A TEDx speaker, she is always happy to talk books, writing, reading, and the creative process to anyone who cares to listen. She lives in sunny Arizona in a house that is overrun with books, pets, and her husband’s guitars.

Reviews

[Shelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’ve read a ton of Jenn McKinlay’s books (about 28) and they’ve been 3-5 stars for me. This book seemed like it’s a formerly self published starter novel (early writings ) or somehow unedited. Besides the errors (typos etc) the characters are not well developed (what kind of young person constantly exclaims oh dear!) and the plot is sillier than usual. That being said, I will continue to read her work, and assume this was a fluke.

[Molane · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, it was an early work.
I appreciate, that she improved so much as a writer.
This was a lot of "Oh my dear", boring character, boring conversations,
dragged story, where did she want to go with that?
A very soft version of "Fifty Shades of Grey", (not sure if that was published before or after),
a mystery story, a romance???
I will still continue to read her books...

[Mariahmmm · Rating 2 out of 5]

Gut rating: ⭐⭐
Spice: 🌶️🌶️
Originally published as a short story in 2002, To Catch a Latte has been re-released as an audiobook on November 4th 2025.

Tropes:
- instalust
- forbidden FBI and suspect romance
- possessive MMC
- grumpy sunshine romance
- "good girl"
- dual POV
- marriage of convenience

Quote: Marriage must be a disease. Once a person has suffered the disorder, they aren't happy until everyone else has it too.

Synopsis: When fiery cafe owner Annie Talbot needs a wedding date to prove to her ex she can't be tied down in a marriage, Annie is delighted when her ruggedly handsome tenant Fisher McCoy readily agrees. Unbeknownst to Annie, Fisher is an undercover FBI agent tasked with infiltrating Annie's life to investigate a money laundering ring run through her cafe. As the situation (and sparks) intensify, Fisher questions if he can keep his heart out of the job, and Annie wonders what she ever had against marriage after all.

Book review: Despite the new modern cover and audiobook narration, this book should have been left in 2002. The story is heavily misogynistic, with Fisher spending most of the plot trying to convince Annie that marriage is a vital part of love. The writing and plot were rough, with so many jarring elements as well as unlikely situations and decisions such as bringing a pet bird into a sting operation that added no depth or interest to the story.

Instalust featured heavily with no real substance to the relationship. Fisher was immediately and unnecessarily possessive of Annie, plus everything the FMC and MMC did was constantly sexualised. Despite the lust, the spicy scenes were dry and written like a Mills and Boons book.

Narrator review:
The narrator wasn't the right choice for this book, as she read like it was a bedtime story, plus she didn't change her pitch or tone for the different characters so it was difficult to follow conversations.

[Steff Fox · Rating 2 out of 5]

In all fairness, when I requested Jenn McKinlay’s dual book from NetGalley, my reasoning for doing so was because Thick as Thieves sounded right up my alley, not because I had any real or genuine interest in To Catch a Latte. And it seems, unfortunately, that the book itself was not good enough to really engage me in caring about any of the characters in this book. Honestly, it was pretty dull from the start and it just sort of got worse as it went along.

The characters felt flat, I didn’t buy the love for a second, and then there’s the absolute unrealistic nature not only to the investigation itself, but to how they resolved the whole mystery of who was using her cafe as a front for a money laundering scheme. And oh my fucking word, if I have to ever hear the “endearment” of “Annie-girl” and how much Annie reminds him of a child one more damn time, I will quite literally vomit.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

You'll like this a latte

The first published book by Jenn McKinley, author of the Library Lovers series, the Cupcake Bakery series, and the Hat Shoppe Mysteries .

Annie has left the world of high class baking to open her coffee shop where she bakes what she wants and does the occasional wedding cake. She bass decided to help offset experiences by renting out the apartment upstairs. Fisher likes what he sees of Annie but he's here to do a job. Fisher is an FBI agent and Annie's business had been flagged as a money laundering operation. But the more he gets to know her the more he begins to think they have the wrong suspect. Fun, flirty and funny it's a great addition to her body of work and shows the beginnings of her cozy style and romantic romps.

[meghann · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the author's first published book that has now been re-released as an e-book. I have all of her other books but had not heard of this one. This was a lighthearted and quick mystery set right here in my home state of Arizona. I really liked Annie and identified with her quite a bit. We're both part of the Marriage Isn't for Me club. The speed at which Annie and Fisher's relationship moved gave me a bit of anxiety. This is a standalone book, but still.

All in all this was a cute and fun read, and I would love to see a this be made into a series with these characters.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've read all of Jenn McKinlay's mystery series, so when I saw that her very first published novel was re-released, I had to read it too. Her mystery series all have a bit of romance. This book is a romance with a bit of mystery. There isn't much to the story or character development, but it is a happy, feel-good read.

[Kathy Bryson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute story. Not as robust as McKinlay's Cupcake mysteries, but a nice little romance, a not-so accidental meet with a slightly implausible soulmates-at-first-glance love story. Does pick up some texture when the soulmates develop different values and conflict with comic twist of convenient marriage.

[Libby]

(E) This wasn't available at the library (!), so I bought it with my digital credits from Amazon. After reading it, I'm wondering if it's not at the library since it's kind of amateurish. Is this a first book for McKinlay, whose books I typically love? I didn't hate this book, but it just seems a bit crude. One thing I did hate, was the "Annie-Girl" moniker. I wonder why that made my skin crawl every time Fisher said it.

[Jenndian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read!

McKinlay has written a great romantic suspense story! Funny, heart-warming and a great wondering of whodunit! Just what I needed to read right now! Needed something not too serious, and this was perfect!

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good first story

This novella has all the hallmarks of a Jenn McKinley story: good characters, interesting mystery, and great dialogue. The pace felt a little too rushed and I would have liked to see more development of the characters, but I still enjoyed this tale.

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn't want this book to end. All of the characters who I thought were guilty did
not turn out to be the guilty party.
This book had me go awwww at the end......this had a lot of love!! It held me so that
I could not put it down....light reading and fun!!!

[Judy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rom mystery

The book didn’t have very much of a plot. Girl meets FBI agent. Girl falls for FBI,agent and vice versa. Someone is using her business to launder money . Oh my. A frivolous plot with surprise surprise a happy endings,

[Deborah Lind · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a cute romance story!

I like the two main characters. I think the plot was engaging.

The writing was good, but not great.
I am a huge Jenn McKinlay fan, so I am used to being blown away by her books.

This one just missed the mark, for me.

[booksy.tx.ana · Rating 4 out of 5]

To catch the unexpected.
Annie is a hardworking woman who knows what she wants or doesn’t want to be, exactly. That’s to get married. Fisher drops into her life on a case, and Annie is the suspect. This brings a mixture of cozy mystery and romance. It was done so well and so easily to enjoy.

[chalinann · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a fun, if predictable, read.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very cute. Fun read.

[Deb · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun and easy read. Light hearted, but lacked the same connections between characters that her later books have.

[Jasi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oooh so good! What a cute little story. 😊 I really had no idea who the “bad guy” was until it was revealed. Loved the fun banter between Annie and Fisher. 🥰

[Jan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice fun story. Annie's coffee house is a front for money laundering. Special Agent Fisher McCoy investigates.

[Michele Costigan · Rating 3 out of 5]

HATED the narrator of the audiobook. First time I wish I read a book instead of listened to it but I did like the story. it kept be guessing

[Jeanie Jackson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun read

Not quite up to her series but a fun book with characters that anyone would want to get to know. Fisher is undercover to keep an eye on Annie. What he discovers is that she is loveable. Dealing with that complication might be the toughest job of his career.