Holiday Buzz (A Coffeehouse Mystery)
Clare Cosi is busy with offsite holiday cookie functions while keeping her coffee shop running. After holiday helper Moirin goes missing from one party, Clare finds the woman’s dead body outside, near a carousel. Police see the crime as the latest in a series of holiday attacks (the “Christmas Stalkings”) and suspect one of Clare’s employees of being the guilty party. Clare responds by delving deeper into Moirin’s background, convinced that this murder of the young immigrant with musical aspirations is different. Clare’s boyfriend, Mike Quinn, commuting from D.C. on weekends, lends some advice while the couple struggles to keep their relationship going. Nearly every scene lends clues, and Coyle (pseudonym for a husband-wife writing team) ties up the pieces in clever style. Readers may get distracted a bit from the many-tentacled plot by the food and drink references and the delicious-sounding recipes. Fans of Julie Hyzy’s White House Chef series will enjoy the action and energy of the Coyle novels. --Amy Alessio