11) Through the Grinder by Cleo Coyle

The Blurb :

Business is booming at Clare Cosi's Village Blend, until her female customers start to die. Lieutenant Quinn is convinced that someone has an axe to grind, and, unfortunately, his prime suspect is the new man in Clare's life.

Now Clare will risk her heart--and her life--to follow the killer's trail to the bitter end.

My Thoughts :

I started this series sometime last year and never got around to the second part.  The Coffeehouse series is a very well established series with already fifteen books under the name.  So I need to play catch up and that fits in with my Series Challenge for this year and also the fact that this one is a great listen via Audio book.

Now there is so much I like about this series.  The location is a huge pull for me.  I love New York and can't wait to visit the city again so the talk about all the districts and the history is wonderful.  I could listen to it all day.  Then there is the mystery plots.  So far they have been well thought out and interesting.  Keeping me guessing and not going too over the top.  The characters are also a nice bunch.  I am sure there is more to learn about all of them and I am looking forward to the many books ahead full of their stories.

However there are a few things about this series that have me wondering if I want to continue but are so far only a slight annoyance.  For instance, Claire is a coffee snob of the highest order.  Now I love coffee and it is interesting to hear some of the stories but her constant ramblings are quiet unnecessary.  The other element of the series so far is that the author doesn't seem to like her main character.  Claire has had to go through some really horrible things already.  With this second book really being quiet nasty.  Maybe it was part of a bigger plan but I was pretty shocked.

I look forward to listening to the next books in the series.  Maybe at some point things will turn around and I will totally love this series or decide to give up on it.  Only time will tell but until then this is a nice cozy series that has a lot going for it and must have something special because it has been going for over 10 years.