Friday, May 16, 2008

Through the Grinder by Cleo Coyle

This is the second book in the coffee house mystery series. I enjoyed it. It was a nice light read. But I didn't love it. As I mentioned with the first book, this series tends towards chick lit. This book was very much a product of that genre.
As with typical chick lit there was a terribly handsome man. He was perfect. He was attainable. But, for the long term the main character could not end up with Mr. Right. Something had to be wrong - of course. The book is set up to make you wonder if Mr. Right is in fact the killer. But that would clearly be way too obvious.
The outcome of the book reads like a movie we've all seen (although I can't remember right now what movie that is. Nor would I want to give away the ending). It's just a bit too cliche.
If you love coffee it is still a fun read. If you want something light, you like series where you can follow the life of a character, and you want to learn esoteric facts about coffee then definitely read this book. However, after reading this one, I don't feel any need to pick up any more Cleo Coyle coffee house books. There's better stuff out there.
Oh, and Cleo Coyle is in fact a pen name for this couple. One author ( or group of authors) writing more than one series of mystery books seems to be a growing theme. It's probably good for business, but let some other people have a chance. Maybe getting some new authors on the shelves would open up some novel ideas that are less pat and over done.

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