Review

For fans of:  Diane Mott Davidson

When Village Blend coffeehouse manager Clare Cosi comes to the rescue of an injured customer after a car bomb explodes out front, she has no idea that her quick thinking will change her life – and may ultimately put it at risk. It turns out the man she saved is a billionaire named Eric Thorner, and the car bomb was intended for him. Thorner shows his gratitude by helping the Blend get back on its feet in record time (and cutting Clare in on some pretty lucrative business deals, to boot), but Clare can’t help but wonder who wanted Thorner dead and why – and whether his would-be killer will try again. Clare’s track record as an amateur sleuth is pretty stellar, but nobody’s perfect; can she help the NYPD put the bomber behind bars, or will her nosiness just get her burned?

Billionaire Blend is the thirteenth of Cleo Coyle’s Coffeehouse Mysteries, and if you’re a fan of the series, you’ll likely enjoy this latest installment. As usual, Coyle’s central mystery is complex and intelligently crafted, sure to suck you in and keep you guessing.  Her descriptions are vivid and her prose is lush. And her story affords great respect to the members of the NYPD, from the bomb squad on down to the beat cops. (It’s always nice to see a cop cast as something other than an antagonist or a love interest, and Coyle takes care to do that with each and every one of her Coffeehouse Mysteries.)

The New York and Paris she paints (and for that matter, the Uganda and the Thailand, too) are a bit more fairytale than the real thing, but since most cozy readers are looking for charm and escapism, I suppose that’s actually a plus. And seeing as Billionaire Blend is all about richness and excess – not just monetary, but of food, drink, and personality, as well – a backdrop shot through that same hazy, golden filter as Cybill Shepherd in Moonlighting makes a certain sort of sense.  

That said, I think Coyle takes a bit too much advantage of Clare’s relationship with the titular billionaire here, and the book feels bloated as a result. Clare spends half the story jetting off to exotic locales with Thorner, and while Coyle uses this travel to work in some very interesting information about coffee, the scenes do little if anything to forward the plot and only serve to drag down the pace. This, coupled with an ending so absurd and convoluted it’s actually more comedy than drama, makes me wish Coyle’s latest had gone through another round of edits, but even in its present state, Billionaire Blend is worth a read. Just make sure you stock up on coffee before you crack the cover – nobody can inspire a caffeine craving like Cleo Coyle.