Publishers Weekly
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The opening of the pseudonymous Coyle's sprightly 12th coffeehouse mystery starring Manhattan coffeehouse manager Clare Cosi (after A Brew to a Kill) is replete with foreshadowing: "I didn't plan on interrogating a reality show diva; hoodwinking a New York hockey player; or butting heads with a conniving Cajun cook. And I certainly wasn't expecting to trump one of the biggest forensic freaks in the NYPD." Those events follow Clare's discovery of the bludgeoned corpse of Moirin Fagan, a baker's assistant who was helping Clare prepare Christmas cookies. The investigation culminates in, unsurprisingly, an angry Clare choosing to put herself in danger, as well as a dramatic section whose punch is undermined by more foreshadowing and some familiar genre conventions. The lead doesn't always use common sense, but her pluckiness and overall good spirit make her engaging company. Coyle is the husband-wife writing team of Marc Cerasini and Alice Alfonsi. Agent: John Talbot, Talbot Fortune Agency. (Dec.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Jingle bells, beautiful displays, scrumptious treats: Holiday season in New York City has it all, including murder. Clare Cosi, part owner of the Village Blend coffeehouse, is enjoying the season even though her lover, NYPD detective Mike Quinn, is spending most of his time in Washington, D.C., on a job he can't talk about. Claire's happy to be doing the coffee service for the Great New York Cookie Swap, a huge charity event taking place in Central Park, until she finds the battered body of Moirin, an Irish immigrant and baker's assistant Claire had been sharing with her friend Janelle, a pastry chef, during the busy holiday season. The cop who catches the case is utterly dependent on DNA evidence and has no use for fancy theories, forcing Clare to do some investigating of her own. Moirin, generally known as M, led a very private life, and it's hard to track down her boyfriend, the mysterious Dave. Clare enlists her uber-chic business partner to dress down and visit a Brooklyn nursing home, where Madame finds that Dave is a 60ish former rocker who was M's landlord and her inspiration in the music business. Now, Clare has to decide if M's death was one in a series of murders of young women and whether the motive for her murder has to do with her past in Ireland or her present in New York. Coyle's coffeehouse series (A Brew to a Kill, 2012, etc.) captures the New York experience, from high-society parties to gritty back-street deals. The fine mystery is followed by some holiday recipes that will even pack the pounds on readers who are only browsing them.]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Book list
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.

Clare Cosi is busy with offsite holiday cookie functions while keeping her coffee shop running. After holiday helper Moirin goes missing from one party, Clare finds the woman's dead body outside, near a carousel. Police see the crime as the latest in a series of holiday attacks (the Christmas Stalkings ) and suspect one of Clare's employees of being the guilty party. Clare responds by delving deeper into Moirin's background, convinced that this murder of the young immigrant with musical aspirations is different. Clare's boyfriend, Mike Quinn, commuting from D.C. on weekends, lends some advice while the couple struggles to keep their relationship going. Nearly every scene lends clues, and Coyle (pseudonym for a husband-wife writing team) ties up the pieces in clever style. Readers may get distracted a bit from the many-tentacled plot by the food and drink references and the delicious-sounding recipes. Fans of Julie Hyzy's White House Chef series will enjoy the action and energy of the Coyle novels.--Alessio, Amy Copyright 2010 Booklist