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Maggy Thorsen Mystery #13
Flat White
Coffee and romance - the perfect way to warm a freezing winter at Uncommon Grounds! Until Maggy Thorsen's new barista's beau turns up on the doorstep, bringing a deadly chill with him...
Maggy Thorsen and her business partner Sarah Kingston have taken on a new barista at their Wisconsin coffee house, Uncommon Grounds, to fill Amy Caprese's boots while she takes a much-needed vacation. Unfortunately Christy Wrigley's barista skills are as underwhelming as her love life, but is her luck about to change with her new beau?
Christy gushes about her long distance, online relationship with Barry Margraves from Denver, leading Maggy to urge caution. When the new love of her life turns up unexpectedly on the coffee shop's doorstep on a snowy winter morning, Christy is shocked - but what follows next is even more staggering, and Maggy is soon drawn into a deadly blend of betrayal, deception and lies.
Maggy Thorsen and her business partner Sarah Kingston have taken on a new barista at their Wisconsin coffee house, Uncommon Grounds, to fill Amy Caprese's boots while she takes a much-needed vacation. Unfortunately Christy Wrigley's barista skills are as underwhelming as her love life, but is her luck about to change with her new beau?
Christy gushes about her long distance, online relationship with Barry Margraves from Denver, leading Maggy to urge caution. When the new love of her life turns up unexpectedly on the coffee shop's doorstep on a snowy winter morning, Christy is shocked - but what follows next is even more staggering, and Maggy is soon drawn into a deadly blend of betrayal, deception and lies.
- GenresMysteryCozy Mystery
208 pages, Hardcover
Published May 4, 2021
10 people are currently reading
78 people want to read
About the author
Sandra Balzo
31 books238 followersSandra Balzo is an award-winning author of crime fiction, including fourteen books in two mystery series--one set outside Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and the other in the High Country of North Carolina. MURDER a la Mocha, the eleventh Maggy Thorsen Wisconsin coffeehouse mystery, will be released in January, and the series has been optioned for development as a TV series/film.
Balzo's books have garnered starred reviews from Kirkus and Booklist, while being recommended to readers of Janet Evanovich, Charlaine Harris, Joan Hess and Margaret Maron.
In addition to Twitter and her website, Sandy also hangs out at https://www.facebook.com/SandraBalzoM... and http://pinterest.com/sandrabalzo/
Balzo's books have garnered starred reviews from Kirkus and Booklist, while being recommended to readers of Janet Evanovich, Charlaine Harris, Joan Hess and Margaret Maron.
In addition to Twitter and her website, Sandy also hangs out at https://www.facebook.com/SandraBalzoM... and http://pinterest.com/sandrabalzo/
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
October 23, 2022
Thirteen is not an unlucky number for author Sandra Balzo, as her 13th entry in her series proves just as good as the others. Christy Wrigley, piano teacher, fill-in barista and OCD-level cleaner, has found the love of her life on a dating app. The apparently rich fellow, one Barry Margraves of Denver, has even gifted Christy a diamond tennis bracelet! But when Margraves shows up in Brookhills, Wisconsin, his visit ends in tragedy.
Maggy Thorsen fans will welcome catching up with her and her curmudgeonly business partner Sarah Kingston, but newbies won’t be lost at all. Highly recommended.
Maggy Thorsen fans will welcome catching up with her and her curmudgeonly business partner Sarah Kingston, but newbies won’t be lost at all. Highly recommended.
June 9, 2021
Flat White is the thirteenth book in a series by Sandra Balzo featuring Maggy Thorsen. Set in Wisconsin, Maggy and her business partner Sarah Kingston run their coffee house, 'Uncommon Grounds' together. Their barista, Amy Caprese is on leave so Maggy and Sarah have hired Christy Wrigley to fill in for her. Christy is having a long-distance, online relationship with a chap from Denver, Barry Margraves and then he turns up one snowy morning at Uncommon Grounds, giving Christy a shock she hadn't bargained for.
An extremely enjoyable cosy mystery with a very likeable protagonist in intrepid Maggy, I was thoroughly engrossed in this story. The plot was engaging and it sported a colourful cast of supporting characters, including Maggy's love interest, Sheriff Jake Pavlik. This was my first leap into the series at book thirteen, and it was a good standalone read as I did not feel lost. A great tale that has left me keen to check out some of the other instalments.
I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from Severn House Publishers via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.
An extremely enjoyable cosy mystery with a very likeable protagonist in intrepid Maggy, I was thoroughly engrossed in this story. The plot was engaging and it sported a colourful cast of supporting characters, including Maggy's love interest, Sheriff Jake Pavlik. This was my first leap into the series at book thirteen, and it was a good standalone read as I did not feel lost. A great tale that has left me keen to check out some of the other instalments.
I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from Severn House Publishers via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.
February 28, 2021
***I received an ARC from Net Galley in exchange for my honest review
Maggy Thorsen and her business partner Sarah Kingston run the Uncommon Grounds coffee house. While their barista is on vacation, they hired Christy Wrigley, who has proceeded to drive them all crazy with her excessive cleaning, and her constant gushing over her new boyfriend. When Maggy finds out that Christy met Barry through an online dating site, she advised her to proceed with caution, especially when she discovers he has been sending her expensive presents even though they haven't even met in person yet. However, when Barry turns up at the coffee house unexpectedly and things take a downward turn, Christy is in for more than one bad surprise.
This is the 13th book in the series, but the first one that I have read, and I wasn't at all lost. The author did a very good job giving you enough backstory but making it so that it would be fine as a stand alone as well. This is perfect for anyone who is in the mood for a good mystery.
Maggy Thorsen and her business partner Sarah Kingston run the Uncommon Grounds coffee house. While their barista is on vacation, they hired Christy Wrigley, who has proceeded to drive them all crazy with her excessive cleaning, and her constant gushing over her new boyfriend. When Maggy finds out that Christy met Barry through an online dating site, she advised her to proceed with caution, especially when she discovers he has been sending her expensive presents even though they haven't even met in person yet. However, when Barry turns up at the coffee house unexpectedly and things take a downward turn, Christy is in for more than one bad surprise.
This is the 13th book in the series, but the first one that I have read, and I wasn't at all lost. The author did a very good job giving you enough backstory but making it so that it would be fine as a stand alone as well. This is perfect for anyone who is in the mood for a good mystery.
March 14, 2021
We are back in Wisconsin with Maggy and her partner Sarah at their coffee shop, Uncommon Grounds. Amy is taking a vacation so the ladies have asked their neighbor, Christy to fill in as barista. Between her cleaning obsession and her talking about her new beau, Barry, they could have probably done the job themselves.
Christy is an odd duck. Her last beau was in prison but this time she jumped into the online dating scene. And she believes her love life is about to improve vastly. The girls are skeptical at best until she lets them know that Barry is coming to town! To bring her a gift.
On the day he is due to show up, there is an awful snowstorm (remember this is Wisconsin) and while they may not have many customers, Harold has parked the snowplow at the top of the street and is in need of not coffee, but the bathroom. STAT!
Alas, the love
of Christy’s life is about to be as dead as a doorknob. As Barry crosses over to the coffee shop, the snowplow suddenly roars to life, or is that the storm? Before you can breathe, Barry is flat and white. And Christy is in shock.
As Maggy tries to help Christy, things just get worse. A wife, a lying friend, and secrets come out of the storm.
I love this series. Mainly because of Sarah! I tell you that woman has the smartest mouth, and I adore her! I went around telling everyone I knew about Flat White, just so I could tell them how the man died. Clever language and mysterious characters abound in this new mystery at Uncommon Grounds.
NetGalley/ May 4th, 2021 by Severn House Publishers
Christy is an odd duck. Her last beau was in prison but this time she jumped into the online dating scene. And she believes her love life is about to improve vastly. The girls are skeptical at best until she lets them know that Barry is coming to town! To bring her a gift.
On the day he is due to show up, there is an awful snowstorm (remember this is Wisconsin) and while they may not have many customers, Harold has parked the snowplow at the top of the street and is in need of not coffee, but the bathroom. STAT!
Alas, the love
of Christy’s life is about to be as dead as a doorknob. As Barry crosses over to the coffee shop, the snowplow suddenly roars to life, or is that the storm? Before you can breathe, Barry is flat and white. And Christy is in shock.
As Maggy tries to help Christy, things just get worse. A wife, a lying friend, and secrets come out of the storm.
I love this series. Mainly because of Sarah! I tell you that woman has the smartest mouth, and I adore her! I went around telling everyone I knew about Flat White, just so I could tell them how the man died. Clever language and mysterious characters abound in this new mystery at Uncommon Grounds.
NetGalley/ May 4th, 2021 by Severn House Publishers
February 5, 2021
While Amy is on vacation, Maggy and Sarah are getting help from Christy. Christy is bland. She is an OCD cleaner but everything else about her is lackluster. To their surprise, Christy has herself a new boyfriend and he sounds like a successful business man and he looks really attractive. Though having met on a dating site, they have yet to meet and the ladies have to wonder if Christy isn’t fooling herself a bit.
When Barry appears in town, Christy is excited to see him and he seems mortified to see her. Things aren’t what they seem and Maggy is guaranteed to get to the bottom of it, even if her fiancé the sheriff doesn’t want her involved.
This is the 13th book in the series, but the first I have read. While there are some references to exes and others, there is nothing that leaves a gap, so it reads perfect fine as a stand alone. It was rather good, but I find Sarah annoying and she may be enough to keep me from reading more if she is as prominent and annoying in other books. We’ll see, as I think Maggy is quite a spit fire and enjoyable.
When Barry appears in town, Christy is excited to see him and he seems mortified to see her. Things aren’t what they seem and Maggy is guaranteed to get to the bottom of it, even if her fiancé the sheriff doesn’t want her involved.
This is the 13th book in the series, but the first I have read. While there are some references to exes and others, there is nothing that leaves a gap, so it reads perfect fine as a stand alone. It was rather good, but I find Sarah annoying and she may be enough to keep me from reading more if she is as prominent and annoying in other books. We’ll see, as I think Maggy is quite a spit fire and enjoyable.
November 3, 2021
Sandra Balzo is a successful author with this series, however, I have a few concerns.
This is a mystery with a lot of misdirection, but it is basically a good story with a decent plot. I have read other books by this author and find that I have some of the same complaints with each of them. Reading this author is a bit like attending a tennis match - the reader swivels from one conversation to the next because the characters never stop talking. Introspection is not described for the main character, a coffee cafe owner, or her main guy, a police officer. The scenic description seems mainly to concern the weather and the snowy roads or behavior attributed to her pet dogs, but for me, the narration is too sparse. This was a mystery where the culprit was not easy to discern as the author kept me guessing. I do wish she had embellished her story more.
This is the 13th in the series and references to previous characters sometimes confuse the plots.
Just as hearing constant chatter can make one weary, reading it can also.
This is a mystery with a lot of misdirection, but it is basically a good story with a decent plot. I have read other books by this author and find that I have some of the same complaints with each of them. Reading this author is a bit like attending a tennis match - the reader swivels from one conversation to the next because the characters never stop talking. Introspection is not described for the main character, a coffee cafe owner, or her main guy, a police officer. The scenic description seems mainly to concern the weather and the snowy roads or behavior attributed to her pet dogs, but for me, the narration is too sparse. This was a mystery where the culprit was not easy to discern as the author kept me guessing. I do wish she had embellished her story more.
This is the 13th in the series and references to previous characters sometimes confuse the plots.
Just as hearing constant chatter can make one weary, reading it can also.
May 31, 2021
This book is one of a series that features the owner of the Uncommon Grounds coffee shop outside of Milwaukee. Maggy hired Christy to fill in for her regular barista Amy. Christy claimed to have found her match on an online dating site, but there is something fishy about the situation. When a murder by snowplow kills Barry, the online match, Maggy and friends try to solve the mystery. I liked it and look forward to the next installment. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.
August 9, 2021
The plot and the wonderful conversations (both internal and external with Maggy) remain top notch. However, Sarah remains a caricature, which brings it down some. Then Christy moves from that to cartoonish and drags it further.
In this one, Christy has been talking online with a man she met on a dating site. He shows up and is instantly killed. From there, it gets complicated. It'd get a higher rating with better written secondary characters.
In this one, Christy has been talking online with a man she met on a dating site. He shows up and is instantly killed. From there, it gets complicated. It'd get a higher rating with better written secondary characters.
August 29, 2022
A short book that centers around the death of a man killed by a snow plow. The story is set in Wisconsin in a suburb of Milwaukee at a train station that houses a coffee shop. One of the owners loves to help the police including her boyfriend solve murders which seem to happen around her. This case seems to have a little bit of everything - identity theft, fraud and much more. It is a short book only just over 200 pages so a very quick easy read.
May 2, 2021
This is a nice series and this book is an entertaining addition.
I enjoyed it and found it engrossing.
It was good to catch up with the characters and the solid mystery, full of twists and turns, kept me guessing.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine
I enjoyed it and found it engrossing.
It was good to catch up with the characters and the solid mystery, full of twists and turns, kept me guessing.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine
May 16, 2021
The latest in this series was good. I enjoyed all the sarcasm and humor. I’m hoping the author writes another.
September 7, 2021
This would be a 3.5 stars. It’s light cozy with a believable plot.
April 13, 2023
light-hearted mystery
If you are looking for a quick read mystery that doesn’t take itself too seriously, this is a good one for you.
If you are looking for a quick read mystery that doesn’t take itself too seriously, this is a good one for you.
June 10, 2021
Silly plot and confusing at times.
March 29, 2021
It was a fast read and kept me interested.
March 18, 2024
Flat......flat, flat, flat.
Tries way to hard to be cute.
Tries way to hard to be cute.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews