No Roast for the Weary - A Review & Giveaway

Review

NO ROAST FOR THE WEARY by Cleo Coyle
The Twenty-First Coffeehouse Mystery

Manager and master coffee roaster Clare Cosi is worried. With a troubling economy and many people working remotely the Village Blend has noticed a dramatic decrease in business. The truth is the coffeehouse is in financial trouble. In order to turn things around the baristas decide to restart the Writer's Block Lounge. The upstairs portion of the shop would transform into a place where writers could work, bounce ideas off each other, and hopefully buy lots of coffee and pastries! As the crew try to implement their plan one of their regulars is in a coma. Mr. Scrib came in daily for a coffee and to give Esther a poetry challenge. At least until he appeared to have a psychotic break. When he returned to look for his notebook, he was attacked in the alley. Could what's happened to Mr. Scrib be related to the murder of a member of the original Writer's Block Lounge? Will Clare be able to close a cold case, solve the current attack, and keep the Village Blend solvent?

I've loved Clare Cosi for years and this book made me love her even more. Dedicated to the Village Blend and her baristas, she's loyal, smart, and savvy. She also treats others with respect. This twenty-first Coffeehouse mystery touched on some serious topics and I appreciated that mental illness, drug addiction, and the people dealing with these issues were treated with respect.

The relationship between Esther and Mr. Scrib was heartwarming and I love Wacker! I also enjoy seeing Clare's relationship with Mike, and how it differs from her relationship with Matt. I wanted to smack Matt and loved how Clare ultimately handled the situation with Driftwood. I highly approve of Madame's new beau and the tips he shared with the writers were not only great, but eminently useful. I may just utilize some of the ideas myself!

The mystery was baffling and the last few chapters had me shocked. You'll be on the edge of your seat wondering what will go wrong...and who is behind all of the problems.

Temperamental artists, cut throat entrepreneurs, and a scramble to save a historic landmark that happens to be home make NO ROAST FOR THE WEARY a fast paced caffeinated mystery. Grab yourself a coffee and perhaps a Twinkie Tribute cupcake and prepare yourself for a fabulous read, just don't try a Kismet!

**************************************************************************

No Roast for the Weary (A Coffeehouse Mystery) by Cleo Coyle

About No Roast for the Weary

No Roast for the Weary (A Coffeehouse Mystery)
Cozy Mystery 21st in Series
Setting - New York
Publisher: ‎ Berkley (April 1, 2025)
Hardcover: ‎ 368 pages

When the Village Blend opens a Writer's Block Lounge, a cold case crime turns up the heat on Clare and her crew in this gripping new entry in the beloved Coffeehouse Mystery series from New York Times bestselling author Cleo Coyle.

As much as master roaster Clare Cosi adores coffee, the landmark shop she manages won't survive if she doesn't sell enough of it. So when the Village Blend's customer traffic grinds to a halt, she turns to her staff for creative ideas, and the Writer's Block Lounge is born.

Madame, the eccentric octogenarian owner of the shop, is upset by this news. Years ago, a group of accomplished writers used the shop's second-floor lounge to inspire each other, but the group disbanded when something dark occurred. Though that history is shrouded in mystery, Clare presses forward...

Soon the Village Blend tables are filled with aspiring novelists, playwrights, and poets, all happy to be coaxed, cajoled, and caffeinated by her coffeehouse crew. Clare admires the stamina of these scribes, many of them toiling at night jobs—driving taxis, tending bar, ushering for Broadway—while penning projects during the day.

Then one of their fictions turns fatal when a shocking secret leads to a deadly end. Unless Clare can untangle this mystery, uncover the truth, and stop a desperate killer, she fears more of these weary writers may be marked for eternal rest. ~ Includes a knockout menu of recipes.

About Cleo Coyle

CLEO COYLE is a pseudonym for Alice Alfonsi, writing in collaboration with her husband, Marc Cerasini. Both are New York Times bestselling authors of the long-running Coffeehouse Mysteries and Haunted Bookshop Mysteries, now celebrating more than 20 years in print. With more than one million books sold, their works have been translated into Spanish, Japanese, and Czech; received multiple Best of Year selection honors from reviewers; and have been recommended by Booklist as among the best culinary mysteries for core library mystery collections. Alice and Marc are also bestselling media tie-in writers who have penned properties for Lucasfilm, NBC, Fox, Disney, Imagine, Toho, and MGM. They live and work in New York City, where they write independently and together, wrangle their rescue cats, drink a lot of java, and cook like crazy. Connect with Cleo at CoffeehouseMystery.com

Author Links: 

Webpage: https://www.coffeehousemystery.com/  

Free Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/cleocoylerecipes/newsletter  

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CleoCoyle/  

Twitter: https://twitter.com/CleoCoyle  

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/cleo-coyle  

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/51488.Cleo_Coyle  

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cleocoyle_author/  

Purchase Links: Amazon Barnes & Noble Kobo Google Play Bookshop.org 

Pineapple Easter Egg - A Book Blast with An Excerpt & Giveaway

PINEAPPLE EASTER EGG

by Amy Vansant

April 10, 2025 Book Blast

Synopsis:

PINEAPPLE PORT MYSTERY SERIES

 

NOW OPTIONED FOR TELEVISION!

Every book can be read as a standalone mystery - hop in anywhere in the series!

USA Today, Amazon All-Star and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Amy Vansant has her Pineapple Port crew on an egg-cellent adventures near and far!

Easter eggs surround the body. One of them has a note. Charlotte teams up with Sheriff Frank to solve a cryptic murder in a do-or-dye situation...

Too bad she won't have help. Uncle Seamus and Bob accompany Declan to his charity swim in Tampa, Florida, only to find themselves in pursuit of a stolen life-sized Jimmy Buffett cutout. Darla and Mariska travel to the center of Florida to meet Mariska's newly found cousin at an art festival, where a man with a crush on Mariska bobs up in the lake and she's thrown in jail as a murder suspect. It's up to Darla and some very familiar locals to hatch a plan, solve the crime, and clear Mariska.

It's all very egg-citing!

A super fun and unique mystery full of hidden "Easter eggs" for you to spot! Famous actors anagram names, Jimmy Buffet song references - find them all!

Book Details:

Genre: Cozy Mystery, Classic Mystery
Publication Date: April 9, 2025
Number of Pages: 350
Series: Pineapple Port Mystery Series, 24
Book Links: Amazon | Goodreads

Read an excerpt:

Chapter One

Coby Karola stood over his sink, cleaning a dinner plate, when he heard something strike the window near his kitchen table. The noise was sharp. Loud. Too loud to be a bird.

“What the heck was that?” he said to no one, moving to the back door.

He cupped his hands around his face to peer out the window, but it was too dark to see.

He dried his hands on his pants and flipped the back porch light on. Nothing seemed amiss until his attention fell on the center of his unmowed lawn. Unnaturally bright specks of color scattered across an area about the size of a round picnic table—yellow, pink, purple…

Grumbling to himself, Coby opened the door. From the small landing, he saw the color blobs were equally round. Maybe a little oblong. Sort of like…

Eggs?

It was April...

Easter eggs?

Shaking his head, he walked out and bent to pick up one. It was plastic—the typical cheap, hollow plastic eggs people hid candy in this time of year.

Kids.

It was almost Easter. This stunt had to be kids thinking they were funny. This time of year, the residents’ grandkids visited Florida for spring break. Every spring was a nightmare of blaring speakers on golf carts wheeling around the neighborhood.

Coby shook the plastic egg and then cracked open a purple one. There was nothing inside. He picked up another to find it empty as well.

He snorted. If someone was going to take the time to scatter eggs around his yard, at least they could throw in a chocolate or two.

In the hopes of finding something, he kept at it, twisting one egg after the next. Distracted by curiosity, he never heard the stranger running up behind him.

The one with the hammer.

But then, that was the point.

Chapter Two

Charlotte padded into the kitchen to start the morning coffee, her oversized sleep shirt tapping her knees as she walked.

It was still a little strange to wake up in Declan’s house.

She’d given up thinking she’d ever live anywhere but Pineapple Port, the fifty-five-plus community where she’d grown up, but here she was—a whole three miles away in her husband’s house.

She didn’t mind.

Marriage was pretty cool.

Who knew?

She had a new pattern at Declan’s house, and it felt more and more like home every day.

Her soft-coated wheaten terrier, Abby, approached and sat, waiting to be taken for her morning walk. The dog had figured out her patterns faster than her mommy, but to be fair, all her patterns revolved around treats, so things were pretty straightforward for her.

Charlotte suspected Abby liked it better at Declan’s house. Declan had a pool and a fenced back yard, and the terrier could romp whenever she wanted—no waiting for official walks. Charlotte was pretty fond of that new aspect of their lives as well—

Hold on.

Charlotte stopped as something flashed in her peripheral vision. She glanced at the back slider doors in time to see a shadow pass the full-length shade.

Something outside was moving.

Something big.

It didn’t look like a stray cat passing by. It was bigger and more person-shaped. She knew Declan was in the bedroom, so that ruled him out.

She heard splashing and cocked her head.

Someone’s in Declan’s pool?

The splashing made her feel better. Thieves and killers didn’t usually take a quick swim before breaking into a house.

Goofball kids stealing a swim?

Probably. It was that time of year when grandkids came to Florida. People on vacation sometimes acted like vacation spots didn’t carry the same rules or consequences as back home. That’s when they ended up with kids in the pool and golf carts planted in mailbox posts.

Abby heard the intruder splashing and offered her opinion in the form of a deep-chested boof—that pre-full-bark noise all dogs made before completely losing their minds. The dog jogged to the door and entered the lowered shade from the side to peek outside.

Abby’s bark alone would probably scare away the kids—but she didn’t bark. Instead, her little nub of tail wagged.

Charlotte stood behind her failing guard dog but couldn’t see anyone from her angle. Whoever was in the pool had stopped at the far end, out of sight, but she heard someone say, “Whoo! Cold!”

She left Abby and hustled to the bedroom to wake up her husband.

“Declan,” she hissed, shaking him.

He cracked one eye open.

“Hm?”

“There’s someone in the pool.”

“What?”

Declan sat up, alarmed but clearly still half asleep. It didn’t look like his mind would be joining them for another minute or so. The man slept like the dead.

Must be nice.

“There’s someone in our pool,” she repeated.

“In the pool? The cleaning guy?”

“It’s Friday. It’s not the cleaning guy. He was yesterday,” she said, slipping into her robe.

Declan checked his watch and grunted. He stood and stretched. His eyes focused on her. It looked like his brain had caught up to the rest of him.

“There you are,” she said, giving him a quick kiss.

Abby barked twice, and Declan strode toward the living room in the sweat shorts he usually wore to bed without bothering to get dressed. Now, he was all business. Whoever was out there was lucky the man hadn’t had his coffee yet.

Charlotte followed. Declan grabbed a controller from the sofa table, opened the automatic curtains, and watched in stunned silence as someone stroked their way to the edge of his pool.

“Why would someone steal a swim at four in the morning?” asked Charlotte.

Declan switched on the back porch light as the swimmer grabbed the side and bobbed up for air. Noticing the lights and open blinds, he pulled the goggles over his bushy gray eyebrows and squinted at them from the water.

He waved.

“Is that Bob?” asked Declan.

“I think it is,” said Charlotte. “I should probably call Mariska and tell her her husband’s loose.”

Declan glanced over his shoulder at her.

“This is what I was afraid of. Your crazy has followed you from Pineapple Port.”

She smirked and smacked his arm.

“You knew what you were signing up for. No takebacks.”

Declan had experienced plenty of Pineapple Port insanity during their dating years. She, on the other hand, had never known anything else. She was young when she moved into the retirement community to live with her grandmother after her mother died. When her grandmother also passed, the community let her stay, though she was far from the minimum fifty-five years old.

By the time she met Declan, she’d gotten so used to the crazy that she’d stopped noticing it—until she saw it through his eyes. Turns out, life was strange growing up as a retirement community’s young mascot.

Mariska and Bob the Morning Swimmer had served as her foster parents and lived across the street from her in Pineapple Port— though, apparently, now Bob lived in their pool.

Declan opened the slider, and Abby shot out, tail-wagging hello to the familiar man in the pool.

“Whatcha doin’, Bob?” asked Declan.

“I’m getting a quick swim in before we go,” said Bob, patting Abby while she licked the water off his arm.

Declan scowled. “Before we go?”

Charlotte put her knuckles against her lips.

Oh no.

She saw where this was heading.

I think I messed up.

“I’m coming with you to the charity swim in Tampa,” said Bob.

Charlotte nodded.

Yep, I messed up.

Declan turned to look at her. The whites of his eyes flashed, signaling either annoyance or panic. Probably both.

“Hey sweetheart, did you tell Bob I was going to a charity swim in Tampa today?” he asked in a sing-song voice.

His frozen smile answered her question.

Annoyed. Definitely annoyed.

She winced. “I might have mentioned it to Mariska.”

Her husband let out a slow, steady breath. She’d seen him do that move a few times before. One or more of the Pineapple Portians were usually nearby when it happened. Or, Declan’s Uncle Seamus—but a Seamus Sigh came with extra teeth gritting. He was the only thing crazier than the residents of Pineapple Port.

“I’m guessing you’d like to carpool there with me?” he asked Bob.

He’d given in fast. Like her, he’d figured out it was always easier to just accept the crazy was happening.

“That be great,” said Bob. “We should grab some breakfast here first.”

“Sure, the pool always comes with a complimentary breakfast.” Declan turned. “Maybe you could start on that, darling?”

She stuck her tongue out at him and moved to the kitchen to scoop extra coffee into the machine.

It was official—she’d been swept into the nuttery. She should have run away the second she saw it was Bob and not a killer taking a quick dip, pre-murder spree.

She turned on the stove and found a pan.

“Ask Bob what he wants—”

“Eggs!” called Bob, lowering his goggles back over his eyes. “And bacon. And toast. And orange juice!”

Declan nodded and left Abby outside to run around the pool, chasing Bob back and forth as he swam. He’d almost shut the door when Bob popped up again.

“Coffee!” he yelped.

Declan signaled he’d heard and turned to Charlotte.

“What have you done?” he asked.

She laughed. “I’m sorry. It never occurred to me he’d want to go with you. He hasn’t been into swimming for years.”

“I suspect it has more to do with the beach bunnies in Tampa than the swimming,” said Declan.

She snorted a laugh. “You said beach bunnies—you’ve been hanging out with the oldies too long.”

He smirked. “Well, whose fault is that? I’m just glad it wasn’t Seamus—”

“Top o’ the mornin’ to ye,” said Seamus as he burst through the front door.

***

Excerpt from Pineapple Easter Egg by Amy Vansant. Copyright 2025 by Amy Vansant. Reproduced with permission from Amy Vansant. All rights reserved.

 

 

Author Bio:

USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Amy Vansant has written over 40 books, including the fun, thrilling Shee McQueen series, the rollicking, twisty Pineapple Port Mysteries, and the action-packed Kilty urban fantasies. Throw in a couple of romances and a YA fantasy for her nieces...

Amy specializes in fun, exciting reads with plenty of laughs and action -- she tried to write serious books, but they always ended up full of jokes, so she gave up.

Amy lives in Jupiter, Florida, with her muse/husband and a goony Bordoodle named Archer.

 

Catch Up With Amy Vansant:

AmyVansant.com
Amazon Author Profile
Goodreads - @AmyVansant
BookBub - @AmyVansant
Instagram - @TheAmyVansant
Threads - @TheAmyVansant
X - @AmyVansant
Facebook - @TheAmyVansant
BlueSky - @amyvansant.bsky.social
YouTube - @AmyVansant

 

 

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Currently Reading...

I'm currently reading No Roast for the Weary by Cleo Coyle. This book is the twenty-first in the Coffeehouse Mystery series and was released last week.

Manager and master coffee roaster Clare Cosi is worried. With a troubling economy and many people working remotely the Village Blend has noticed a dramatic decrease in business. The truth is the coffeehouse is in financial trouble. In order to turn things around the baristas decide to restart the Writer's Block Lounge. The upstairs portion of the shop would transform into a place where writers could work, bounce ideas off each other, and hopefully buy lots of coffee and pastries! As the crew try to implement their plan one of their regulars is in a coma. Mr. Scrib came in daily for a coffee and to give Esther a poetry challenge. At least until he appeared to have a psychotic break. When he returned to look for his notebook, he was attacked in the alley. Could what's happened to Mr. Scrib be related to the murder of a member of the original Writer's Block Lounge? Will Clare be able to close a cold case, solve the current attack, and keep the Village Blend solvent?

Corsets and Casualties - A Review

 Review

CORSETS AND CASUALTIES by Gayle Leeson
The Sixth Ghostly Fashionista Mystery 

 

Amanda Tucker is having fun designing retro inspired clothes and costumes for the upcoming Halloween holiday. When Ford shows her an old bible he bought at an estate sale Amanda is surprised to see familiar names, relatives of her ghostly friend, Max. One name, however, isn't familiar to the flapper. It turns out there was an aunt she never knew about. When Max's nephew and Amanda's grandfather go to the auction house to see if they can find other family items they're met with a police barricade-the owner has been shot! Amanda will have to piece together old family secrets and modern day family angst in order to discover more about Max's relatives. Will she find answers or will her curiosity get her killed?

 

Relationships are the bedrock of the Ghostly Fashionista Mystery series. Whether it's the loving familial relationships between Amanda and Grandpa as well as Dwight, Zoe, and Max or the romantic relationship between Amanda and Jason, or even the friendship between everyone at the Shops on Main, the care they have for each other makes for a brighter world and a more fulfilling read. 

 

I truly love this series and find it heartwarming as well as funny. I'd like to hang out with these characters and I seriously want Amanda to design me an outfit! I know I'd be the elephant's eyebrows. The mystery, well, mysteries, were compelling and the subplots emotional. Red herrings lead readers to a variety of possible conclusions with various characters assisting with their suspicious behavior.

New family drama as well as old combine in CORSETS AND CASUALTIES, eventually bringing friends and family closer together in this charming mystery.

The Chow Maniac - A Review

 Review

THE CHOW MANIAC by Vivien Chien
The Eleventh Noodle Shop Mystery 

As manager of the Ho-Lee Noodle House Lana Lane has an in with Cleveland's Asian community. She also has a knack for solving mysteries. So when PI Lydia Shepard finds herself with an Asian client with claims of a secret society and multiple murders, she brings Lana in as a consultant. Lana soon learns she has more ties to this society that she knows. Surely Mr. Zhang isn't a criminal mastermind?! Will Lana be able to get to the truth before another member is killed?

I've long loved Mr. Zhang and wished, not only that he had a bigger role in the Noodle Shop Mysteries, but to learn more about him. My wishes were granted in this, the eleventh book in the series. Was it possible that Mr. Zhang was the leader of a secret organization and was killing off members who opposed him? Say it isn't so! 

I love when mysteries add historical detail and little known facts to the plot. THE CHOW MANIAC is centered around a story from Chinese mythology, the Eight Immortals. I enjoyed learning about this legend and details about the Chinese in early twentieth century Ohio. While the secret society in this book may be fictional, the truths surrounding it are fascinating.

The mystery here was unique in that three of the murders happened before the start of the book and Lana is working semi professionally to solve it, though it soon turns out she does have a vested interest in solving the case! I love how Lana sticks to her guns and does what she's good at!

Infused with humor and Chinese legends THE CHOW MANIAC is a delectable entry to a fantastic series. I'm already craving the next one!

Murder on the Steel Pier - A Review

 Review

MURDER ON THE STEEL PIER by Rosie Genova
The First Tess Mancini Time Travel Mystery 

In celebration of her March 31st birthday Tess Mancini headed to Atlantic City to celebrate. But after too much tequila she wakes up with a hangover and the biggest April Fool's Day surprise of all. Instead of her hotel room Tess finds herself in what appears to be an old-fashioned B&B. Without her phone! Somehow she knows where things are and soon discovers when. Tess Mancini has stepped into the life of her Great Aunt Theresa in 1955. If that weren't enough, her hot-headed brother (well, Theresa's brother, her grandfather) is accused of murdering one of the guests at their boarding house. With some innate knowledge and the words of Theresa in her head Tess will have to figure out what happened to her aunt, how to get home, and clear her grandfather of a murder charge so that she can be born! 

I love a good time travel story and MURDER ON THE STEEL PIER certainly qualifies! With WWII in the recent past and the Civil Rights movement in the near future I loved how the book incorporated aspects of both in this 1950s setting. I also love how Tess encountered two very important real people and while not explicitly giving their names I knew exactly who they were! I also liked how Tess was able to appreciate some things of this time, such as the fashion and the quiet, while glad certain other aspects of the past remain there.

The first Tess Mancini Time Travel Mystery isn't a complete fish out of water story. Tess struggles with a lot of the differences in 1955, but she has an in with Theresa. While Tess doesn't know how to drive a stick, Theresa does and thus Tess can. Theresa also provides a knowledge of who's who and how to properly handle certain situations. Tess may be up a creek, but she has a paddle! I appreciate how Tess is able to give some spunk and sass, surprising people who see a more quiet "good girl". 

The mystery itself was well plotted with plenty of red herrings, twists and turns, and more than one surprise. I really enjoyed the varied characters and how they interacted with each other with Tess pushing the boundaries of Theresa's time, with a little help from her great aunt.

Wonderful characters, loads of period detail, and an intricate mystery combine to make MURDER ON THE STEEL PIER a delightfully unique start to a new series.

Currently Reading...

I'm currently reading Murder on the Steel Pier by Rosie Genova. This book is the first in the Tess Mancini Time Travel Mystery series and was released Monday!

In celebration of her March 31st birthday Tess Mancini headed to Atlantic City to celebrate. But after too much tequila she wakes up with a hangover and the biggest April Fool's Day surprise of all. Instead of her hotel room Tess finds herself in what appears to be an old fashioned B&B. Without her phone! Somehow she knows where things are and soon discovers when. Tess Mancini  has stepped into the life of her Great Aunt Theresa in 1955. If that weren't enough, her hot headed brother (well, Theresa's brother her grandfather) is accused of murdering one of the guests at their boarding house. With some innate knowledge and the words of Theresa in her head Tess will have to figure out what happened to her aunt, how to get home, and clear her grandfather of a murder charge so that she can be born!