Clare Cosi manages the Village Blend, the landmark Greenwich Village coffeehouse owned by her ex-mother-in-law and favored by an eclectic local clientele. As an amateur sleuth, Clare also often finds herself immersed in searching for clues to the latest crime.

Recently, the Village Blend beans were chosen to create a new java love potion called Mocha Magic, a coffee blend laced with an aphrodisiac. Mocha Magic Coffee was to be sold exclusively on Aphrodite’s Village, one of the most popular websites for women. The product was expected to bring in millions of dollars to the site and its owners.

On the morning of the highly anticipated launch party, Alicia, the creator of Mocha Magic, found a dead man in her hotel room. Clare quickly called the Fish Squad, aka Lori Soles and Sue Ellen Bass, local precinct detectives. When Soles and Bass arrived at the scene, Clare was shocked that much of the evidence was missing, including the body.

Because Clare’s main man, Detective Mike Quinn, was deeply involved in a case, she grabbed her ex-husband Matteo Allegro to help her find the killer of the now missing victim and whoever tried to set Alicia up as the murderer.

If that weren’t enough to keep Clare busy, she and Matt were also concerned about their daughter Joy and her heated relationship with rogue detective Franco.

When more bodies related to Aphrodite's Village appear, the pressure is on to find the killer and find out why he or she is after the secret formula. Suddenly, Clare, Matt, Mike, Franco, and Joy are all on the hunt for the killer – but who does the killer have in his or her sight?

Murder by Mocha is the tenth Coffeehouse Mystery published by bestselling author Cleo Coyle, the pen name for the author and her husband. The duo also coauthors the Haunted Bookshop Mysteries under the pen name Alice Kimberly.

As usual, the characters are believable, the plot flows smoothly from scene to scene, and the clues are tightly intertwined within the storyline. Although all the coffeehouse related mysteries are intriguing, Coyle upped the game with this one.

A top-notch mystery that will keep readers guessing until the final reveal, Murder by Mocha appears to be the best of the series so far.

Coyle weaves numerous tips on how to blend and serve a perfect brew throughout the story. Also, the recipes and further tips in the back of the book are mostly chocolate-related. Readers who love to cook will want to swiftly move into the kitchen to check them out, beginning with the first recipe called Aphrodisiac Brownies.

A special thank you goes to Cleo Coyle for providing a complimentary copy of this book for review. If you are interested in Murder by Mocha or any of the other books in this series, they are available at Amazon.com.