Reviews

Holiday Buzz by Cleo Coyle

nitabee's review against another edition

3.0

Holiday Buzz is a fast, enjoyable read. With Mike Quinn living in DC, he makes fewer appearances, but he still shows up a lot. The dead body Clare stumbles upon this time is one belonging to M, her friend Janelle's employee who's been helping out at the Blend during this busy holiday season. A second body shows up midway through the book, belonging to

Spoiler

a baker named Rita Limon

. Police detective Lori Soles' usual partner is out due to medical reasons, so she's been saddled with a bumbling detective named Endicott - turns out he has political connections, is related to the mayor, which explains why he holds his job. Clare gets involved since Endicott is on the totally wrong path; in fact, he suspects Dante from the Blend! Clare thinks she has the murder solved at the end of the book, but she's slightly off.

Spoiler

She suspects it's one half of a Real Housewives type reality show BFF pair named Danni, but it's really Delores, the smaller, more shrewd one. Delores had been responsible for the death of M's cousin, Kathryn, a year earlier after stealing a hockey star's car and crashing it into Kathryn's bakery. Rita lets M know through a letter, and M decides to blackmail Delores for $50,000, though Clare discovers M had planned to use the large majority of the funds for noble purposes

.

Madame shows up sporadically throughout Holiday Buzz, aiding Clare in one of her usual madcap plots (this one to gain access to a retirement center to find one of M's friends who worked there). Matt and Bree are also present, and Matt is as delicious as ever. Joy is still in France, though Franco helps out Claire once or twice. I'm not sure how much longer Mike and Clare can manage the LDR, and references are made to an eventual wedding, with Mike telling Clare how he likes hearing her say "I do."

cheers__dear's review against another edition

lighthearted mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

beps111's review against another edition

hopeful lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes

3.5

nutti72's review against another edition

3.0

This was a must if you read the series. But I could have dome with a lot more Mike.

anieeereads's review against another edition

lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

denakaye's review against another edition

mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

aspygirlsmom_1995's review against another edition

lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

triciadea's review against another edition

4.0

I listened to the audiobook on my daily commute, and it finally happened. I was actually listening to the epilogue and missed my exit off the interstate! haha I really enjoyed this book, and thought I'd figured out whodunit halfway through. I was wrong. Only problem I have with these books is I usually end up wanting to eat all the goodies Clare Cosi is either making or eating herself.

fxtrtr's review against another edition

4.0

I have enjoyed every one of the Coffeehouse Mysteries on audiobooks. The narrator, Rebecca Gibel is awesome!

In this book, Claire Cosi's Irish immigrant barista is murdered during their annual Christmas cookie swap and Claire will leave no stone unturned to find her barista's killer and bring him or her to justice.

naitasia's review against another edition

4.0

audiobook/library
I felt it was one of the better plots in this series. Also, a great read during a heat wave with all the talk of snow and fa-lá-lá-lá-lattes.