I didn't like this one, but it wasn't badly written or anything. Too many unnecessary details about things that didn't add to the story or provide good red herrings. I didn't warm to the main character. I was listening to the audio book and found some of the narrator's voices annoying/stereotypical. ( )

It's Fashion Week in New York City. Clare Cosi is hosting an insider's party at Village Blend. A well-known jewelry designer, Lottie Harmon, will be a special guest. Just as Clare starts to think the event will go off without a hitch, a customer drops dead from cyanide in his latte right in the middle of the party. Once again Village Blend is at the center of a murder investigation. Instead of ruining her business, Village Blend becomes the place to be once news of the murder gets out. The barista who served the deadly latte is arrested for murder. Clare knows her employee is not guilty, despite the fact he knew the dead man intimately. The latte was actually meant for Lottie Harmon, so Clare starts to investigate who might want the jewelry designer dead. When another associate of Harmon's jewelry company is killed, it becomes imperative to find the killer before anyone else dies.

Latte Trouble is the 3rd Coffeehouse Mystery. As usual the story is infused with lots of information about coffee and how to properly brew and serve it, as well as lots of interesting info about NYC. The mystery portion of the plot was well-developed, with plenty of suspects, twists and turns and a nice, unexpected flip at the end. I haven't been disappointed by this series yet!

There are 15 books in the Coffeehouse Mystery series. The newest book, Dead to the Last Drop, just released this week! Cleo Coyle is a pseudonym for husband and wife writing team, Alice Alfonsi and Mark Cerasini. ( )

Clare Cosi is the manager of the Village Blend, an upscale coffee house in Manhattan. She's hosting a party for Lottie Harmon, who's a loyal customer and also a fashion designer who has recently come out of retirement to launch a new line of jewelry - "Java Jewelry." On the evening of the party, the place is packed, and Clare and her employees are rushing to keep up. Unfortunately, her employee Tucker's ex-boyfriend Ricky shows up, and when Tucker is bringing a drink to Lottie, Ricky grabs it off the tray and drinks it, along with his new boyfriend. When both men fall to the floor, Clare calls 911. But it's too late for Ricky, who's already dead. When the police investigate, they arrest Tucker for murder, figuring the breakup gives him a good motive.

Clare refuses to believe Tucker is capable of murder, and decides to investigate on her own. With her friend Detective Mike Quinn out of town, she needs to enlist the reluctant help of her ex-husband, Matteo, who sometimes shares the apartment above the blend with her (long story), and also the help of her ex-mother-in-law, Madame, who treats it like a grand adventure. Clare's determined to find out who's framing Tucker, even if it puts her own life in danger...

This is the third book in the series, and it's not a bad one. What disappointed me is that more attention is given to the surrounding landmarks (if you're really interested in how Riker's Island got its name, you can probably find it on Google or Wikipedia); and not enough attention is given to fleshing out characters. Instead of Clare thinking about her or Matt's libidos (which we get, anyway), I'd rather see a little background - how and where Clare grew up, etc. From previous books we know how she met Matt, but very little about her upbringing, which makes people who they are. We do get plenty on why the two broke up, but we've known that from previous books. I also don't like the fact that Matt takes advantage of her (yes, he does), and she's worried about hurting his feelings? He cheated on you, woman. More than once. Get a grip.

I also find it sad that Clare's entire life is the coffee shop. She never goes anywhere, never even goes shopping or out to lunch with friends (if she has any), just takes care of the shop. It's very sad there's no outside life for her (unless she's investigating, and that's hardly relaxing).

Saying that, I enjoyed the mystery and trying to discover the identity of the killer. There were a few red herrings thrown about, which led in a couple of different directions. I did like the twist to the ending, and discovered who the murderer was a little bit before Clare did, but that's fine with me. I would have liked to have rated this higher, but Clare needs to completely (physically, emotionally) push Matt out of her life unless it's necessary to see him. I honestly enjoyed the ending of the book, and will continue to read this series. ( )

I enjoy this series Bc they are filled with coffee and mystery (which I usually figure out pretty early in the book) they'd a fun fast read. This the third installment didn't disappoint ( )

This is the third book in the Coffeehouse Mystery Series, but the first that I have read. I picked this book up because I needed a book with Latte in the title for a challenge I am in. I am not sure how I feel about this book. I liked it, but parts of it were not what I expected from a cozy. There was way too much information about how to make coffee and how beans are processed. The descriptions in the book were excellent and made you feel like you were there. Parts of the story were almost like a police procedural, a little dull, but part of the protaganists investigation. The series takes place in New York, hence the topic of Fashion Week.

It is fashion week, where the coffee shop is hosting an event for a designer of accessories. The accessory and clothing line that the murder revolves around are designed around coffee, the colour, the swirls etc. Clare is the protagonist and manager of the The Blend, where the first murder takes place. Clare's amusing and loyal barrista is the one who made and served the deadly latte, therefore he is arrested for the crime. Clare must do all she can to find out who the real culprit is. Her investigation is not easy. First she must determine who the actual target really was, who would want to kill him/her, what are the motives and how did they do it. The plot is intricately laid out with lots of twists, turns and some red herring thrown in.

Despite the clever mystery plotting, this one is only a 3 star for me. Clare is sometimes a bit too careless, but she's still an enjoyable heroine. I like the realistic situations she faces with her independent daughter Joy and the back-and-forth strange relationship with her ex husband, Matteo. There is also a police detective, Quinn, that is mentioned early but does not make an appearance until the end, that might be a romantic interest. Madame as the mother-in-law is fun and often surprises everyone throughout the story. The one thing that is not included in this book but is often in cozy mysteries is the help of local police. They do not really seem to be involved in the story at all which is very different.

The ending brings out a creative culprit and not someone I would have suspected, this was a definite well crafted twist to the story. The characters were not very complex with the exception of Clare and the immediate family. I wonder if there was more to them in previous books. Not sure if I will read another, there was just something I can't put my finger on. ( )