Book Review: "On What Grounds" by Cleo Coyle
Summer weather is officially here, friends, so you know what that means? I spend as much of my free time out in the sun with a book. I have a great line up for the next few weeks, and I decided to kick it off with a new (to me) cozy mystery series.
On What Grounds by Cleo Coyle is the first in the Coffeehouse Mysteries which take place in, you guessed it, a coffeehouse. From the moment I opened this book, all I wanted was an amazing cup of coffee. Coyle's descriptions show the author's expertise in the subject matter. So often in cozies, the heroine's job gets put on the back burner during her investigation, and you tend to forget what her niche role in the world is. Not Clare Cosi, no. While the mystery does take up her time, her coffee shop, the Village Blend, is always foremost in her mind. Which makes this book a lot of fun because it makes Clare seem more real. In this day and age (although, to be fair, this book was published in 2003) people tend to care about their career above all, and everything comes second. Clare walks this line between business owner and concerned employer really well, making the reader connect with her quickly.
The mystery itself is very different than most books I read in this genre. For starters, it doesn't begin with a murder, but with one of Clare's employees found unconscious at the bottom of the Village Blend basement stairs. Usually, debut cozies hook you with a gruesome murder, but Cleo Coyle opts for a more convert style of intrigue, and I really liked it. It was new and refreshing. Clare's relationship with her ex-husband and mother-in-law are engaging and full of twists and turns. I know as a reader there is a lot more to explore with the chemistry between Clare and Matteo, but I'm also not opposed to her setting her sights elsewhere. The romantic complications in tandem with the mystery keep this book moving along at a fun and fast pace.
The main reason why I enjoy cozies so much is because they paint pictures of regular people stumbling into mysteries, which has always been a dream of mine. However, a series can lose me if the character comes across as too fake or too unrealistic. I give On What Grounds 6 out of 7 crowns because Cleo Coyle does a fabulous job of creating a likable heroine who doesn't go overboard trying to solve her first case and has a completely believable adventure. I already had the sequel Through the Grinder ordered before Clare's first mystery came to a close. I look forward to reading more of this series.