Death of a Bean Counter (A Maggy Thorsen Mystery, #12)

by Sandra Balzo

Trouble is brewing for coffeehouse owner Maggy Thorsen when her barista's wealthy beau is murdered.

Maggy Thorsen's head is spinning thanks to partner Sarah Kingston's latest idea - selling luxe espresso machines in their Wisconsin coffeehouse, Uncommon Grounds. But Maggy soon faces a far bigger problem when her fiancé, sheriff Jake Pavlik, makes an official call on the coffeehouse's star barista, Amy Caprese.

Amy's wealthy new beau, investment adviser Kip Fargo, has been shot dead in his bed - and Amy is the last known person to see him alive. Kip had just proposed to Amy, but she turned him down, triggering a terrible argument and making Amy the prime suspect. Determined to prove her barista's innocence, Maggy soon makes a number of disturbing discoveries. Can she untangle lies, jealousy and Kip's shady dealings in time to avert the disaster that's brewing?

• ISBN10: 072788946X
• ISBN13: 9780727889461
• Publish Date: 31 December 2019
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Canongate Books Ltd
• Imprint: Severn House
• Edition: Main
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 208
• Language: English

Reviews

[annieb123]

Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

Death of a Bean Counter is the 12th Maggy Thorsen mystery by Sandra Balzo. Released 7th April by Severn House, it's 208 pages and available in hardcover and ebook formats.

Although this is the 12th book in the series, it works well as a standalone and I had no trouble keeping up. It's a modern small-town cozy with coffee shop amateur sleuth Maggy and her handsome fiance Sherriff Jake trying to solve the shooting death of the fiance of a local businessman (and embezzler) with whom the coffee-shop's barista is entangled. The suspects are legion, the victim seemed to be quite sleazy, and nobody seems to have a solid alibi.

It's a quick and easy read with a plot that moves along at a satisfying clip, light and bantering dialogue, and a satisfying denouement. There are plot twists aplenty right up to the last page. My main quibble is that main character Maggy feeds (or mentions feeding) her two dogs pizza several times over the course of the book. No pizza for pups!

Entertaining and engaging. Well written and fun with pretty clean language (a few "sh*ts" and "d*mns", nothing worse). There's no explicit sexual content or on-page violence. Four stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.