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S'està carregant… Death Before Decaf: A Java Jive Mystery (edició 2015)de Caroline Fardig
Informació de l'obraDeath Before Decaf de Caroline Fardig
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Apunta't a LibraryThing per saber si aquest llibre et pot agradar. No hi ha cap discussió a Converses sobre aquesta obra. Free copy received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Overall, I felt that this was an "okay" cozy mystery. While I did not particularly enjoy the romantic aspect because I felt that it was a little cliched and clunky, the mystery itself was interesting and novel. In the book, Juliet Langley has returned to her college town to work for her old crush and former co-worker, the now-owner of local coffee shop Java Jive. Juliet has returned because her life and career have crashed and spectacularly burned after a horrible relationship with an apparently horrible person has ended. Given Juliet's experience both at Java Jive and in the food industry, her old crush and one of her best friends Pete makes her manager. Juliet, however, does not appear to remotely be a people-person and immediately pisses off pretty much everyone in her employ. This is only made worse when the chef turns up dead. Juliet is, of course, a prime suspect. In order to try to clear her name, she delves into amateur sleuthing. With the help of a local college professor who seems perhaps much more sinister than at first glance and, of course, Pete, Juliet slowly works through a list of culprits as more people end up dead and Juliet begins to get death threats herself. So that's the set up and it's a good one. I generally liked the characters and I especially liked Seth (the professor). I did not particularly like that, rather than tale responsibility for her anger issues, Juliet simply called her temper the Red Headed She Devil (Juliet is a red-head)... it was too cutesy and lame as an excuse for her poor people skills. And I did not particularly like the cliched and, somehow, also clunky romantic triangle between Juliet, Pete, and Seth that is rather unsatisfying in the end (though this is a series, so surely there is more to come). But as I say, the mystery itself was fun and it was a good, quick read for a cold night. I would recommend to "cozy mystery" fans, especially if someone were looking for a softly-steamy romantic one with a fiery protagonist. Overall, THREE of five stars. This was a fun little mystery story. The characters were interesting, and the mystery was a solid one. There were many suspects, and people who were not what they immediately seem to be. There were some humorous moments, especially the funeral scene. Funerals are not usually funny, but this one was hilarious. The love triangle between Juliet, Pete and Ryder was a little frustrating. Juliet and Pete obviously love each other, but never say it. I am starting to lose patience with that type of relationship. So much trouble could be saved by just communicating. Ryder and Juliet have chemistry, but too many secrets between them. Ugh! I received a free ARC from NetGalley I had read the third book in this series some time ago and decided to go back to the beginning. I am glad I did. It introduced us to the characters and gave us some information about their past relationships. This was told using flashbacks and it filled in the details nicely. Juliet Langley, has returned to Nashville after losing her cafe. She is going to manage Java Jive owned by her best friend Pete. Gertie, Pete's grandmother who raised him, is a lot of the comic relief in this story, I absolutely loved her character. Seth, is a regular at the cafe that seems to have fallen for Juliet, although he picked up quickly on the fact that she has deeper feelings for Pete than just friendship. The story is a cozy murder mystery, where Juliet is one of the suspects. As in any cozy, she decides that in order to clear her name, she needs to investigate on her own. What she does, and what she finds will make you laugh one minute, then worry about her the next. She seems to be alienating much of the staff at the cafe while investigating, although she is not doing it intentionally. There are many laugh out loud moments in this story, including the funeral of the murder victim. The plot is well developed and includes intrigue, suspicion and especially danger. The twist at the end was great, and I was not expecting it at all. This book has something for everyone, a mystery, humour, some romance, food and drink as well as human dynamics. I am now going to continue to read this series and see what else Juliet gets herself into. Juliet Langley has come back to Nashville after losing her fiancé and business partner, her best waitress, and ultimately her café when the fiancé skips town with the waitress and every penny in the company's accounts. Now, days short of her thirtieth birthday, she's starting over, taking over as the manager of Java Jive, a café owned by old friend Pete Bennett. The existing staff isn't thrilled to meet her, especially Dave Hill, the head cook. Dave's been acting manager in the café Pete inherited from his father George a few months ago. Pete's been dividing his time between Java Jive and the recording studio where he's a sound engineer. Juliet's appalled to see how standards have slipped since George's death, and she has two arguments with Dave that first day. She takes a break after the second one, and returns to find Dave has left at the end of his shift. That night, at closing time, she's doing the last of the clean-up by herself, and finds Dave's body in the dumpster. Police Detective Cromwell suggests those two arguments make Juliet a great suspect. Hunky stranger Scott Davis is asking lots of questions, and what he says about his background doesn't add up. Pete's girlfriend Cecilia dislikes her, and the feeling is mutual. Pete's grandmother Gertie is a bright spot, but the adolescent angst of much of the mostly college-age staff is not. Sleazy reporter Don Wolfe wants a juicy interview, and is willing to use his lurid imagination when Juliet doesn't cooperate. Convinced she's going to get charged with murder if she doesn't find the killer herself, or at least come up with good alternate suspects, Juliet starts asking questions of her own. A new picture begins to emerge of the seemingly hostile and indifferent Dave, and Juliet meets some interesting--and scary--new people. It becomes clearer and clearer that hunky Scott isn't who he says he is, but he also acts like he really cares about her increasingly dubious safety. Meanwhile, Pete is also too interested in her safety and welfare for girlfriend Cecilia's taste. But even after some really scary experiences, Juliet keeps going, and gets into a situation where only her brains and her guts will keep her alive long enough to matter. This book is funny, without making fun of the really dangerous stuff that's going on around Java Jive. Pete is a keeper, Gertie is a treasure, and "Scott" may not be gone for good. These are likable characters trying to do the right thing, and being very entertaining while they do it. A great light read. Recommended. I received a free electronic galley of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. Sense ressenyes | afegeix-hi una ressenya
Pertany a aquestes sèries
After her music career crashes and burns, Juliet Langley is forced to turn to the only other business she knows: food service. Unfortunately, bad luck strikes yet again when her fiance robs her blind and runs off with her best waitress. Flushing what's left of her beloved cafe down the toilet with her failed engagement, Juliet moves back to her college stomping grounds in Nashville to manage an old friend's coffeehouse. At first glance, it seems as though nothing's changed at Java Jive. What could possibly go wrong? Only that the place is hemorrhaging money, the staff is in open revolt, and Juliet finds one unlucky employee dead in the dumpster out back before her first day is even over. The corpse just so happens to belong to the cook who'd locked horns with Juliet over the finer points of the health code. Unimpressed with her management style, the other disgruntled employees are only too eager to spill the beans about her fiery temper to the detective on the case. Add to the mix a hunky stranger who's asking way too many questions, and suddenly Juliet finds herself in some very hot water. If she can't simmer down and sleuth her way to the real killer, she's going to get burned. No s'han trobat descripcions de biblioteca. |
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Google Books — S'està carregant… GèneresClassificació Decimal de Dewey (DDC)813.6Literature English (North America) American fiction 21st CenturyLCC (Clas. Bibl. Congrés EUA)ValoracióMitjana:
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There are some rough patches. Every so often, a sentence would make me go 'huh?'. But it did not stop the story and I moved on. I also thought a few more clues needed to be dropped about actual murderer. They were a bit of a surprise.
Overall, I was pleasantly surprised and I can easily recommend this book to anyone in it's intended audience.
Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book for review. ( )