# UNCOMMON GROUNDS--#1 in the Maggy Thorsen Coffeehouse Mysteries



## SandraBalzo (Mar 10, 2011)

_*Uncommon Grounds*, *Grounds for Murder*, and *Bean There, Done That* are the first three in my now six-book Maggy Thorsen mystery series (I finished the first draft of #7 today--yay!) and are now available on Kindle. Hope you'll try them out and let me know what you think!_
*
Uncommon Grounds
By Sandra Balzo*
Nominated for both the Anthony and Macavity Awards

_A body in a pool of skim milk._

An unsavory discovery at any time, but especially....inconvenient, when the milk puddle is on the floor in front of the espresso machine the very morning you're scheduled to open your chic suburban coffee house, Uncommon Grounds.

...And the body is one of your partners,

...and you and your other partner-the one who's still alive-are suspects.

&#8230;Which would all be bad enough, even if your husband hadn't dumped you for his dental assistant, Little Miss Tooth de Lay,

...leading you to jettison your old life and invest what little you have left in Uncommon Grounds,

...which now appears-like your marriage-to be circling the drain.


*Grounds for Murder
By Sandra Balzo
Earned a Booklist starred review*

Exactly how hot is the competition at the annual coffee trade industry conference in Milwaukee? Scaldingly hot.

What's not hot? Finding Marvin LaRoche, owner of the HotWired coffeehouse chain store stone-cold dead under a banquet table in the middle of the convention.

And everybody knows that Maggy was no great fan of Mr. LaRoche, nor of his overly competitive business practices - so it's up to Maggy's own amateur sleuthing skills to get herself out of the hotseat!

Mrs. LaRoche, newly widowed, certainly seems a bit too cheery. But then there's the angry activist who denounced LaRoche's practice of exploiting Third World coffee growers.

As the conference coordinator and the number one suspect, Maggy is on a countdown to find the murderer, save her coffeehouse and maybe, just maybe heat up her love life...

Thank goodness for caffeine!!


*Bean There, Done That
By Sandra Balzo
Earned a Kirkus Starred Review*

Here's a tip: if your ex-husband's mistress-cum-missus. asks for your help in proving that he cheated on her while he was married to you, just say no.

And you most certainly should not invite this new missus., Mrs. Rachel Thorsen, in for a cup of coffee. But big-hearted Maggy can't seem to help her own hospitality.

Unfortunately, most unfortunately, this mistress-cum-missus disappears shortly after her coffeehouse confab with Maggy and is later found murdered...making Maggy's ex, Ted, the chief suspect.

Despite the tempting satisfaction of seeing her ex go down, Maggy knows Ted is innocent. Cheater? Most definitely. Murderer? Most definitely not. So Maggy reluctantly agrees to help him. Rachel's wealthy family, however, disagrees and spares no expense in trying to put Ted behind bars.

Now it's up to Maggy to discover the truth...even if it upsets her on-again, off-again relationship with the handsome Sheriff Jake Pavlik...


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Welcome to KindleBoards, Sandra, and congratulations on your book!

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## SandraBalzo (Mar 10, 2011)

Chicago Tribune on *Uncommon Grounds*, the first book in the Maggy Thorsen Coffeehouse Mysteries:

_Despite my attraction to the darker, colder kind of mysteries and thrillers, I try to keep some-where near the middle of my mind the words of Anthony Boucher--who invented taking crime fiction seriously--when he wrote that "the important distinction is not between the schools of the whodunit but between the good and bad books whatever the school." That's why I'm especially pleased to praise Sandra Balzo's first novel, "Uncommon Grounds," which might well be of the cozy persuasion but is as wonderfully rich and sharply written as anything going.

Balzo, whose first short story won the prestigious Robert L. Fish Award, has imagined for her full-length debut the perfect modern equivalent of a British tea shoppe--a new coffeehouse in Brookhills, a small Wisconsin town as full of colorful, murderous lunatics as any Agatha Christie or Dorothy Sayers landscape.

What moves Balzo's book high above other writers who try to cover the same territory is a sharp and often amusing skill that convinces us that this is real life, and that it matters."_

*An excerpt from Uncommon Grounds by Sandra Balzo:*

So, does one take one's handbag when one goes surveilling?

I was willing to bet Miss Manners didn't have an answer
for that one. I opted to leave the handbag at home and slid my
driver's license into my pocket. That way they could identify
the body.

I waited in the minivan in the driveway, ski mask in hand,
and sure enough, at 11:00 p.m. the parade from Christ Christian
commenced down Poplar Creek Drive just as it had last
Thursday.

Four . . . five . . . six cars, each with more than one person
in it, best as I could tell. I let the last car get well past before I
backed out and followed.

We were all heading downstream toward Brookhill Road.
If my hunch was right, the cars would pull in . . .

Sure enough, the first car took a right just past Brookhill,
turning off Poplar Creek Drive onto a service road. The rest
of the cars followed, but I continued on, turning right at the
next driveway, which led to Brookhills Senior Manor. Poplar
Creek ran directly behind the Manor's back parking lot, separated
by a barbed wire fence.

I slid my ignition key under the mat so I wouldn't lose it
and got out of the van to look around. All was quiet. I didn't
even see Henry, my favorite imsomniac. Pulling apart the two
strands of barbed wire, I ducked through and skittered down
the muddy hill toward the creek. Although I couldn't see in
the dark, it sounded like it was still running high and fast.

I planted myself behind a wild honeysuckle bush and tried
to pull down my ski mask. That's when I remembered I'd left
it in the van. d*mn. Maybe this was like lying. You got better
at it, the more you did it.

I was sort of hoping I wouldn't get the chance.

I settled in to wait. And wait. Geez, how long does it take
to get out of cars and walk a block or two? What were they
doing? Handing out name badges? Assigning seats for the
ride back? It was probably all of fifteen minutes, but it seemed
a lot longer sitting there on the ground imagining field mice
crawling up my pants leg. Not that I would notice, since my
legs were asleep. And my butt was frozen.

Maybe this wasn't such a great idea. In fact, maybe this
was really stupid.

But something was going on down here and whatever it
was, I knew David had participated last Thursday because his
car had passed my house. Of course, it also could have been
Sam driving the Mercedes since, according to Eric, he had
spent quality time at Poplar Creek, too.

But somehow I doubted kids carpooled to makeout spots.
Then again, these days . . .

I heard a noise downstream. The wind carried the sound
of underbrush crackling, of people walking towards me.
Having seen enough TV shoot-em-ups to know that the good
guy should never stick his head up or somebody will try to
blow it off, I tried to peer through the shrub. Since the honeysuckle
hadn't leafed out yet, it was fairly easy to see through.
That might work both ways, I supposed.

I could barely make out several small spots of light. Flashlights,
maybe. And voices. Henry was right. They were awfully
noisy. Either they didn't realize their voices carried, or they
didn't care. I thought I recognized a couple of them-maybe
Rudy's or Way's-but that was likely wishful thinking. The
sounds just seemed to tumble over each other on the wind.

When the lights stopped moving, I crept out from behind
the honeysuckle and made for a tree, ten yards ahead. From
there, I crawled forward on my belly until I was less than a
half a football field away from the group.

I had to admit I was feeling pretty cool. Like when I played
Army in the backyard with Danny Danielli when we were
eight. I could still only see an occasional figure in the moonlight,
and I strained to see what they were wearing.

After all, militias wear fatigues right? Teenagers wear . . .
just about anything. I crept a little closer into the moon
shadow of another tree. Something about the way the figures
were moving made me think they were adults-and older
adults at that.

Yeah, Maggy. Brookhills' senior community was out for
maneuvers. Still I was certain now that these weren't kids,
but men, and that they were carrying-

Pop! A splinter of wood exploded from the tree trunk next
to me. Had that been a gunshot? In Danny Danielli's backyard,
the guns went "bang" not-

Pop!

Still, "pop" worked just fine.

d*mn, someone was shooting at me. I attempted to
become one with the earth-but not in the Zen kind of way-
and scutter away like a crab.

A hand grabbed my leg.

Buy it now!


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## SandraBalzo (Mar 10, 2011)

Uncommon Grounds, Grounds for Murder, and Bean There, Done That are the first three in my now six-book Maggy Thorsen mystery series (I finished the first draft of #7 today--yay!) and are now available on Kindle. Hope you'll try them out and let me know what you think!


Uncommon Grounds
By Sandra Balzo
Nominated for both the Anthony and Macavity Awards

A body in a pool of skim milk.

An unsavory discovery at any time, but especially....inconvenient, when the milk puddle is on the floor in front of the espresso machine the very morning you're scheduled to open your chic suburban coffee house, Uncommon Grounds.

...And the body is one of your partners,

...and you and your other partner-the one who's still alive-are suspects.

&#8230;Which would all be bad enough, even if your husband hadn't dumped you for his dental assistant, Little Miss Tooth de Lay,

...leading you to jettison your old life and invest what little you have left in Uncommon Grounds,

...which now appears-like your marriage-to be circling the drain.


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## Chris L (Mar 28, 2011)

I don't like coffee, but I like the sound of your books.


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## Ciareader (Feb 3, 2011)

SandraBalzo said:


> Uncommon Grounds, Grounds for Murder, and Bean There, Done That are the first three in my now six-book Maggy Thorsen mystery series (I finished the first draft of #7 today--yay!) and are now available on Kindle. Hope you'll try them out and let me know what you think!
> 
> 
> Uncommon Grounds
> ...


Must check into these. The last mystery I read also had to do with coffee shops. Actually, the one I am reading now, Death by Chocolate, doesn't have much to do with coffee but still has to do with food. The one before that, Coffee Shop Chronicles of New Orleans does. Your books sound so interesting.


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## SandraBalzo (Mar 10, 2011)

Chris L said:


> I don't like coffee, but I like the sound of your books.


Thanks, Chris, I hope you'll give 'em a try. I figure everybody loves a little fictional murder and mayhem -- with or without coffee!


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## SandraBalzo (Mar 10, 2011)

Ciareader said:


> Must check into these. The last mystery I read also had to do with coffee shops. Actually, the one I am reading now, Death by Chocolate, doesn't have much to do with coffee but still has to do with food. The one before that, Coffee Shop Chronicles of New Orleans does. Your books sound so interesting.


Who wrote Death by Chocolate (the one you're reading now)? I think there are a few books by the same title. Titles can't be copyrighted -- happily for me, since there a number of UNCOMMON GROUNDS, both books and coffeehouses. It's tougher and tougher to find a coffee pun that hasn't been used by one of them!!


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## Ciareader (Feb 3, 2011)

SandraBalzo said:


> Who wrote Death by Chocolate (the one you're reading now)? I think there are a few books by the same title. Titles can't be copyrighted -- happily for me, since there a number of UNCOMMON GROUNDS, both books and coffeehouses. It's tougher and tougher to find a coffee pun that hasn't been used by one of them!!


Death by Chocolaeg:

http://www.amazon.com/Death-Chocolate-Savannah-Mystery-Mysteries/dp/1575667126


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## SandraBalzo (Mar 10, 2011)

Ciareader said:


> Death by Chocolaeg:
> 
> http://www.amazon.com/Death-Chocolate-Savannah-Mystery-Mysteries/dp/1575667126


Thanks so much. I am having a GREAT time trolling for books this afternoon, because I just submitted (maybe an hour ago) my next one to my editor. Deadline met, God bless e-mail!!


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## SandraBalzo (Mar 10, 2011)

_*Uncommon Grounds*_, _*Grounds for Murder*_, and _*Bean There, Done That * _ are now available on Kindle! They are the first three in my six-book Maggy Thorsen mystery series, published by Severn House.

_*Heaven's Fire*_, a new original-to-Kindle, is about a fireworks show gone badly wrong.

And finally, _*The Grass is Always Greener and Other Stories*_, a sampler of my award-winning (she says, modestly  short stories, is now available for 99 cents!

Uncommon Grounds
By Sandra Balzo
Nominated for both the Anthony and Macavity Awards

A body in a pool of skim milk.

An unsavory discovery at any time, but especially....inconvenient, when the milk puddle is on the floor in front of the espresso machine the very morning you're scheduled to open your chic suburban coffee house, Uncommon Grounds.

...And the body is one of your partners,

...and you and your other partner-the one who's still alive-are suspects.

&#8230;Which would all be bad enough, even if your husband hadn't dumped you for his dental assistant, Little Miss Tooth de Lay,

...leading you to jettison your old life and invest what little you have left in Uncommon Grounds,

...which now appears-like your marriage-to be circling the drain.

Grounds for Murder
By Sandra Balzo
Earned a Booklist starred review

Exactly how hot is the competition at the annual coffee trade industry conference in Milwaukee? Scaldingly hot.

What's not hot? Finding Marvin LaRoche, owner of the HotWired coffeehouse chain store stone-cold dead under a banquet table in the middle of the convention.

And everybody knows that Maggy was no great fan of Mr. LaRoche, nor of his overly competitive business practices - so it's up to Maggy's own amateur sleuthing skills to get herself out of the hotseat!

Mrs. LaRoche, newly widowed, certainly seems a bit too cheery. But then there's the angry activist who denounced LaRoche's practice of exploiting Third World coffee growers.

As the conference coordinator and the number one suspect, Maggy is on a countdown to find the murderer, save her coffeehouse and maybe, just maybe heat up her love life...

Thank goodness for caffeine!!

Bean There, Done That
By Sandra Balzo
Earned a Kirkus Starred Review

Here's a tip: if your ex-husband's mistress-cum-missus. asks for your help in proving that he cheated on her while he was married to you, just say no.

And you most certainly should not invite this new missus., Mrs. Rachel Thorsen, in for a cup of coffee. But big-hearted Maggy can't seem to help her own hospitality.

Unfortunately, most unfortunately, this mistress-cum-missus disappears shortly after her coffeehouse confab with Maggy and is later found murdered...making Maggy's ex, Ted, the chief suspect.

Despite the tempting satisfaction of seeing her ex go down, Maggy knows Ted is innocent. Cheater? Most definitely. Murderer? Most definitely not. So Maggy reluctantly agrees to help him. Rachel's wealthy family, however, disagrees and spares no expense in trying to put Ted behind bars.

Now it's up to Maggy to discover the truth...even if it upsets her on-again, off-again relationship with the handsome Sheriff Jake Pavlik...

Heaven's Fire
By Sandra Balzo
An original novel

A fireworks show goes terribly wrong, pitting the passion of that singular industry -- and the multi-generational families who devote their lives to it -- against the economics and politics of big event marketing and television news.

"What I remember was being on my feet--all of a sudden on my feet, but I didn't know how I got there. And everyone around me, they were on their feet, too, and I could see their hands slapping together and I could see their mouths moving, but I couldn't hear them. Couldn't hear anything because I was standing in this place of pure light and noise, a place like nowhere I'd ever been before. And I thought, right then: This must be what heaven is."

The Grass is Always Greener and Other Stories
By Sandra Balzo
Including stories that won the Robert L Fish, Macavity and Derringer Awards

The Grass is Always Greener
--Thou shalt love they neighbor . . . or not
Viscery
--Where abduction meets obsession
My Best Friend's Funeral
--Joe Cardigan plants people--he's the funeral planner

The Grass is Always Greener was the first short story ever written by Sandra Balzo (Maggy Thorsen Coffeehouse Mysteries and Running on Empty), yet it was picked up by Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine (March 2003) and won both the Robert L. Fish and Macavity awards for Best Short Story.

Balzo's second story, Viscery, was also published in EQMM (December 2004) and went on to win the Derringer Award and a nomination for the Macavity.

Now those edgy stories by this award-winning author, best known for her regional mysteries, are available for the first time since their original publication, bundled with an original short story, My Best Friend's Funeral.


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## SandraBalzo (Mar 10, 2011)

Heaven's Fire, a new original novel, is now available on Kindle! It joins Uncommon Grounds, Grounds for Murder, and Bean There, Done That, the first three in my now six-book Maggy Thorsen mystery series published by Severn House.

Heaven's Fire
By Sandra Balzo
An original novel

A fireworks show goes terribly wrong, pitting the passion of that singular industry -- and the multi-generational families who devote their lives to it -- against the economics and politics of big event marketing and television news.

"What I remember was being on my feet--all of a sudden on my feet, but I didn't know how I got there. And everyone around me, they were on their feet, too, and I could see their hands slapping together and I could see their mouths moving, but I couldn't hear them. Couldn't hear anything because I was standing in this place of pure light and noise, a place like nowhere I'd ever been before. And I thought, right then: This must be what heaven is."

Uncommon Grounds
By Sandra Balzo
Nominated for both the Anthony and Macavity Awards

A body in a pool of skim milk.

An unsavory discovery at any time, but especially....inconvenient, when the milk puddle is on the floor in front of the espresso machine the very morning you're scheduled to open your chic suburban coffee house, Uncommon Grounds.

...And the body is one of your partners,

...and you and your other partner-the one who's still alive-are suspects.

&#8230;Which would all be bad enough, even if your husband hadn't dumped you for his dental assistant, Little Miss Tooth de Lay,

...leading you to jettison your old life and invest what little you have left in Uncommon Grounds,

...which now appears-like your marriage-to be circling the drain.

Grounds for Murder
By Sandra Balzo
Earned a Booklist starred review

Exactly how hot is the competition at the annual coffee trade industry conference in Milwaukee? Scaldingly hot.

What's not hot? Finding Marvin LaRoche, owner of the HotWired coffeehouse chain store stone-cold dead under a banquet table in the middle of the convention.

And everybody knows that Maggy was no great fan of Mr. LaRoche, nor of his overly competitive business practices - so it's up to Maggy's own amateur sleuthing skills to get herself out of the hotseat!

Mrs. LaRoche, newly widowed, certainly seems a bit too cheery. But then there's the angry activist who denounced LaRoche's practice of exploiting Third World coffee growers.

As the conference coordinator and the number one suspect, Maggy is on a countdown to find the murderer, save her coffeehouse and maybe, just maybe heat up her love life...

Thank goodness for caffeine!!

Bean There, Done That
By Sandra Balzo
Earned a Kirkus Starred Review

Here's a tip: if your ex-husband's mistress-cum-missus. asks for your help in proving that he cheated on her while he was married to you, just say no.

And you most certainly should not invite this new missus., Mrs. Rachel Thorsen, in for a cup of coffee. But big-hearted Maggy can't seem to help her own hospitality.

Unfortunately, most unfortunately, this mistress-cum-missus disappears shortly after her coffeehouse confab with Maggy and is later found murdered...making Maggy's ex, Ted, the chief suspect.

Despite the tempting satisfaction of seeing her ex go down, Maggy knows Ted is innocent. Cheater? Most definitely. Murderer? Most definitely not. So Maggy reluctantly agrees to help him. Rachel's wealthy family, however, disagrees and spares no expense in trying to put Ted behind bars.

Now it's up to Maggy to discover the truth...even if it upsets her on-again, off-again relationship with the handsome Sheriff Jake Pavlik...

The Grass is Always Greener and Other Stories
By Sandra Balzo
Including stories that won the Robert L Fish, Macavity and Derringer Awards

The Grass is Always Greener
--Thou shalt love they neighbor . . . or not
Viscery
--Where abduction meets obsession
My Best Friend's Funeral
--Joe Cardigan plants people--he's the funeral planner

The Grass is Always Greener was the first short story ever written by Sandra Balzo (Maggy Thorsen Coffeehouse Mysteries and Running on Empty), yet it was picked up by Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine (March 2003) and won both the Robert L. Fish and Macavity awards for Best Short Story.

Balzo's second story, Viscery, was also published in EQMM (December 2004) and went on to win the Derringer Award and a nomination for the Macavity.

Now those edgy stories by this award-winning author, best known for her regional mysteries, are available for the first time since their original publication, bundled with an original short story, My Best Friend's Funeral.


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## SandraBalzo (Mar 10, 2011)

_*
She Reads - She Blo*_gs says: 
These books are *reminiscent of The Women's Murder Club series by James Patterson  and the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich.* They are more like a great, creative combination of these two series. Of course there is a love story involved in these too!!! . . . These first three books have a great mystery in each of them. They are quick, clean, easy reads and each one can easily be read in an afternoon. Check out Sandra Balzo and all of her books. She is quick and witty and I love that in an author because she always adds that to her characters. I love how Maggy tries to solve these murders even though she has no background whatsoever in law enforcement. She loves to watch shows on TV about solving crimes. It is fun to see her go on a stakeout - and get totally busted by the county sheriff. My favorite moment between the sheriff and Maggy is:

Pavlik was staring at me, fascinated. "Why do you do that?"
I looked around uncertainly. "Do what?"
"Start acting like some kind of bad TV private eye all of a sudden. It's like talking to someone with multiple personalities."

Really this is good stuff! You laugh out loud all the time during this book. I give these books 4 stars. Go out and get them for an afternoon of fun, love, and murder!

For the rest of the review, visit: 
http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fshereads-sheblogs.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F04%2Freview-of-maggy-thorsen-mystery-series.html&h=6dec0


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## SandraBalzo (Mar 10, 2011)

*The Maggy Thorsen Mysteries * . . .    *Also by Sandra Balzo * . . .  

_*She Reads - She Blogs * _ says: 
These books are reminiscent of The Women's Murder Club series by James Patterson and the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich. They are more like a great, creative combination of these two series. Of course there is a love story involved in these too!!! . . . These first three books have a great mystery in each of them. They are quick, clean, easy reads and each one can easily be read in an afternoon. Check out Sandra Balzo and all of her books. She is quick and witty and I love that in an author because she always adds that to her characters. I love how Maggy tries to solve these murders even though she has no background whatsoever in law enforcement. She loves to watch shows on TV about solving crimes. It is fun to see her go on a stakeout - and get totally busted by the county sheriff. My favorite moment between the sheriff and Maggy is:

Pavlik was staring at me, fascinated. "Why do you do that?"
I looked around uncertainly. "Do what?"
"Start acting like some kind of bad TV private eye all of a sudden. It's like talking to someone with multiple personalities."

Really this is good stuff! You laugh out loud all the time during this book. I give these books 4 stars. Go out and get them for an afternoon of fun, love, and murder!


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## SandraBalzo (Mar 10, 2011)

Over the last two months, reviewers have recommended my books to people who like Janet Evanovich, James Patterson (Women's Murder Club), Joan Hess, Margaret Maron and G.A. McKevett. Oh, and a few months back, Charlaine Harris' Aurora Teagardens. God bless Kindle-readers, independent bookstores, libraries and librarians--you're the best!

With thanks,
Sandy

*The Maggy Thorsen Mysteries $2.99* . . .    *Also by Sandra Balzo . . .* _*$2.99 * _  _*$.99 * _


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## SandraBalzo (Mar 10, 2011)

*Uncommon Grounds*, *Grounds for Murder*, and *Bean There, Done That*, the first three in my now six-book Maggy Thorsen mystery series, are available on Kindle. The fourth -- *Brewed, Crude and Tattooed * -- will be up next month.

If you're not familiar with my work, the Maggy books are funny, quick reads--cozies, with a bit of a hard edge. I also have a second series started -- mysteries set in the mountains of North Carolina. The reviews for *Running on Empty,* the first of the new Main Street Mysteries, urge fans of _Joan Hess_, _Margaret Maron_ and _G.A. McKevett_ to give them a try. The Main Street books are warmer, the Maggy books, well . . . more cynical and laugh-out-loud funny (or so I'm told--bad luck for the author to THINK she's funny!!).

And to further confuse things, my original Kindle novel, *Heaven's Fire * is a thriller, and the stories in *The Grass is Always Greener *can probably best be summed up as psychological puzzlers.

Whatever your preference, I hope that something I'm writing will catch your imagination and, if it's not on Kindle yet, be assured it will be!!

All the best,
Sandy
www.SandraBalzo.com

*The Maggy Thorsen Mysteries *    *Also by Sandra Balzo *  

*
Uncommon Grounds
By Sandra Balzo*
Nominated for both the Anthony and Macavity Awards

_A body in a pool of skim milk._

An unsavory discovery at any time, but especially....inconvenient, when the milk puddle is on the floor in front of the espresso machine the very morning you're scheduled to open your chic suburban coffee house, Uncommon Grounds.

...And the body is one of your partners,

...and you and your other partner-the one who's still alive-are suspects.

&#8230;Which would all be bad enough, even if your husband hadn't dumped you for his dental assistant, Little Miss Tooth de Lay,

...leading you to jettison your old life and invest what little you have left in Uncommon Grounds,

...which now appears-like your marriage-to be circling the drain.


*Grounds for Murder
By Sandra Balzo
Earned a Booklist starred review*

Exactly how hot is the competition at the annual coffee trade industry conference in Milwaukee? Scaldingly hot.

What's not hot? Finding Marvin LaRoche, owner of the HotWired coffeehouse chain store stone-cold dead under a banquet table in the middle of the convention.

And everybody knows that Maggy was no great fan of Mr. LaRoche, nor of his overly competitive business practices - so it's up to Maggy's own amateur sleuthing skills to get herself out of the hotseat!

Mrs. LaRoche, newly widowed, certainly seems a bit too cheery. But then there's the angry activist who denounced LaRoche's practice of exploiting Third World coffee growers.

As the conference coordinator and the number one suspect, Maggy is on a countdown to find the murderer, save her coffeehouse and maybe, just maybe heat up her love life...


*Bean There, Done That
By Sandra Balzo
Earned a Kirkus Starred Review*

Here's a tip: if your ex-husband's mistress-cum-missus. asks for your help in proving that he cheated on her while he was married to you, just say no.

And you most certainly should not invite this new missus., Mrs. Rachel Thorsen, in for a cup of coffee. But big-hearted Maggy can't seem to help her own hospitality.

Unfortunately, most unfortunately, this mistress-cum-missus disappears shortly after her coffeehouse confab with Maggy and is later found murdered...making Maggy's ex, Ted, the chief suspect.

Despite the tempting satisfaction of seeing her ex go down, Maggy knows Ted is innocent. Cheater? Most definitely. Murderer? Most definitely not. So Maggy reluctantly agrees to help him. Rachel's wealthy family, however, disagrees and spares no expense in trying to put Ted behind bars.

Now it's up to Maggy to discover the truth...even if it upsets her on-again, off-again relationship with the handsome Sheriff Jake Pavlik...


----------



## SandraBalzo (Mar 10, 2011)

*Uncommon Grounds*, *Grounds for Murder*, and *Bean There, Done That*, the first three in my now six-book Maggy Thorsen mystery series, are available on Kindle. The fourth -- *Brewed, Crude and Tattooed * -- will be up in July.

If you're not familiar with my work, the Maggy books are funny, quick reads--cozies, with a bit of a hard edge. I also have a second series started -- mysteries set in the mountains of North Carolina. The reviews for *Running on Empty,* the first of the new Main Street Mysteries, urge fans of _Joan Hess_, _Margaret Maron_ and _G.A. McKevett_ to give them a try. The Main Street books are warmer, the Maggy books, well . . . more cynical and laugh-out-loud funny (or so I'm told--bad luck for the author to THINK she's funny!!).

And to further confuse things, my original Kindle novel, *Heaven's Fire * is a thriller, and the stories in *The Grass is Always Greener *can probably best be summed up as psychological puzzlers.

Whatever your preference, I hope that something I'm writing will catch your imagination and, if it's not on Kindle yet, be assured it will be!!

All the best,
Sandy
www.SandraBalzo.com

*The Maggy Thorsen Mysteries *    *Also by Sandra Balzo *


----------



## SandraBalzo (Mar 10, 2011)

Hope you'll take a look!!
Sandy


----------



## SandraBalzo (Mar 10, 2011)

I'm reading the proofs on the next in the Maggy Thorsen coffeehouse mysteries, _*Triple Shot*_, which will be out the end of this year both in hardcover and on Kindle. In the meantime, though, hope you'll check out the books _*now*_ available:

If you're not familiar with my work, the Maggy books are funny, quick reads--cozies, with a bit of a hard edge. I also have a second series started -- mysteries set in the mountains of North Carolina. The reviews for *Running on Empty,* the first of the new Main Street Mysteries, urge fans of _Joan Hess_, _Margaret Maron_ and _G.A. McKevett_ to give them a try. The Main Street books are warmer, the Maggy books, well . . . more cynical and laugh-out-loud funny (or so I'm told--bad luck for the author to THINK she's funny!!).

And to further confuse things, my original Kindle novel, *Heaven's Fire * is a thriller, and the stories in *The Grass is Always Greener *can probably best be summed up as psychological puzzlers.

Whatever your preference, I hope that something I'm writing will catch your imagination and, if it's not on Kindle yet, be assured it will be!!

All the best,
Sandy
www.SandraBalzo.com

*The Maggy Thorsen Mysteries *    *Also by Sandra Balzo *  

*
Uncommon Grounds
By Sandra Balzo*
Nominated for both the Anthony and Macavity Awards

_A body in a pool of skim milk._

An unsavory discovery at any time, but especially....inconvenient, when the milk puddle is on the floor in front of the espresso machine the very morning you're scheduled to open your chic suburban coffee house, Uncommon Grounds.

...And the body is one of your partners,

...and you and your other partner-the one who's still alive-are suspects.

&#8230;Which would all be bad enough, even if your husband hadn't dumped you for his dental assistant, Little Miss Tooth de Lay,

...leading you to jettison your old life and invest what little you have left in Uncommon Grounds,

...which now appears-like your marriage-to be circling the drain.


*Grounds for Murder
By Sandra Balzo
Earned a Booklist starred review*

Exactly how hot is the competition at the annual coffee trade industry conference in Milwaukee? Scaldingly hot.

What's not hot? Finding Marvin LaRoche, owner of the HotWired coffeehouse chain store stone-cold dead under a banquet table in the middle of the convention.

And everybody knows that Maggy was no great fan of Mr. LaRoche, nor of his overly competitive business practices - so it's up to Maggy's own amateur sleuthing skills to get herself out of the hotseat!

Mrs. LaRoche, newly widowed, certainly seems a bit too cheery. But then there's the angry activist who denounced LaRoche's practice of exploiting Third World coffee growers.

As the conference coordinator and the number one suspect, Maggy is on a countdown to find the murderer, save her coffeehouse and maybe, just maybe heat up her love life...

Thank goodness for caffeine!!


*Bean There, Done That
By Sandra Balzo
Earned a Kirkus Starred Review*

Here's a tip: if your ex-husband's mistress-cum-missus. asks for your help in proving that he cheated on her while he was married to you, just say no.

And you most certainly should not invite this new missus., Mrs. Rachel Thorsen, in for a cup of coffee. But big-hearted Maggy can't seem to help her own hospitality.

Unfortunately, most unfortunately, this mistress-cum-missus disappears shortly after her coffeehouse confab with Maggy and is later found murdered...making Maggy's ex, Ted, the chief suspect.

Despite the tempting satisfaction of seeing her ex go down, Maggy knows Ted is innocent. Cheater? Most definitely. Murderer? Most definitely not. So Maggy reluctantly agrees to help him. Rachel's wealthy family, however, disagrees and spares no expense in trying to put Ted behind bars.

Now it's up to Maggy to discover the truth...even if it upsets her on-again, off-again relationship with the handsome Sheriff Jake Pavlik...


----------



## SandraBalzo (Mar 10, 2011)

Done with proofs! On to the new book.


----------



## SandraBalzo (Mar 10, 2011)

The seventh book in my Maggy Thorsen coffeehouse mysteries, _*Triple Shot*_, will be out the end of this year both in hardcover and on Kindle. In the meantime, though, hope you'll check out the books _*now*_ available in e-book:

If you're not familiar with my work, the Maggy books are funny, quick reads--cozies, with a bit of a hard edge. I also have a second series started -- mysteries set in the mountains of North Carolina. The reviews for *Running on Empty,* the first of the new Main Street Mysteries, urge fans of _Joan Hess_, _Margaret Maron_ and _G.A. McKevett_ to give them a try. I'm currently at work on the as-yet-untitled second book in the series. The Main Street books are warmer, the Maggy books, well . . . more cynical and laugh-out-loud funny (or so I'm told--bad luck for the author to THINK she's funny!!).

And to further confuse things, my original Kindle novel, *Heaven's Fire * is a thriller, and the stories in *The Grass is Always Greener *can probably best be summed up as psychological puzzlers.

Whatever your preference, I hope that something I'm writing will catch your imagination and, if it's not on Kindle yet, be assured it will be!!

All the best,
Sandy
www.SandraBalzo.com

*The Maggy Thorsen Mysteries *    *Also by Sandra Balzo *  

*
Uncommon Grounds
By Sandra Balzo*
Nominated for both the Anthony and Macavity Awards

_A body in a pool of skim milk._

An unsavory discovery at any time, but especially....inconvenient, when the milk puddle is on the floor in front of the espresso machine the very morning you're scheduled to open your chic suburban coffee house, Uncommon Grounds.

...And the body is one of your partners,

...and you and your other partner-the one who's still alive-are suspects.

&#8230;Which would all be bad enough, even if your husband hadn't dumped you for his dental assistant, Little Miss Tooth de Lay,

...leading you to jettison your old life and invest what little you have left in Uncommon Grounds,

...which now appears-like your marriage-to be circling the drain.


*Grounds for Murder
By Sandra Balzo
Earned a Booklist starred review*

Exactly how hot is the competition at the annual coffee trade industry conference in Milwaukee? Scaldingly hot.

What's not hot? Finding Marvin LaRoche, owner of the HotWired coffeehouse chain store stone-cold dead under a banquet table in the middle of the convention.

And everybody knows that Maggy was no great fan of Mr. LaRoche, nor of his overly competitive business practices - so it's up to Maggy's own amateur sleuthing skills to get herself out of the hotseat!

Mrs. LaRoche, newly widowed, certainly seems a bit too cheery. But then there's the angry activist who denounced LaRoche's practice of exploiting Third World coffee growers.

As the conference coordinator and the number one suspect, Maggy is on a countdown to find the murderer, save her coffeehouse and maybe, just maybe heat up her love life...

Thank goodness for caffeine!!


*Bean There, Done That
By Sandra Balzo
Earned a Kirkus Starred Review*

Here's a tip: if your ex-husband's mistress-cum-missus. asks for your help in proving that he cheated on her while he was married to you, just say no.

And you most certainly should not invite this new missus., Mrs. Rachel Thorsen, in for a cup of coffee. But big-hearted Maggy can't seem to help her own hospitality.

Unfortunately, most unfortunately, this mistress-cum-missus disappears shortly after her coffeehouse confab with Maggy and is later found murdered...making Maggy's ex, Ted, the chief suspect.

Despite the tempting satisfaction of seeing her ex go down, Maggy knows Ted is innocent. Cheater? Most definitely. Murderer? Most definitely not. So Maggy reluctantly agrees to help him. Rachel's wealthy family, however, disagrees and spares no expense in trying to put Ted behind bars.

Now it's up to Maggy to discover the truth...even if it upsets her on-again, off-again relationship with the handsome Sheriff Jake Pavlik...


----------



## SandraBalzo (Mar 10, 2011)

*Uncommon Grounds*, *Grounds for Murder*, and *Bean There, Done That*, the first three in my now six-book Maggy Thorsen coffeehouse mystery series, are available on Kindle. The fourth -- *Brewed, Crude and Tattooed * -- will be up next month.

If you're not familiar with my work, the Maggy books are funny, quick reads--cozies, with a bit of a hard edge. I also have a second series started -- mysteries set in the mountains of North Carolina. The reviews for *Running on Empty,* the first of the new Main Street Mysteries, urge fans of _Joan Hess_, _Margaret Maron_ and _G.A. McKevett_ to give them a try. The Main Street books are warmer, the Maggy books, well . . . more cynical and laugh-out-loud funny (or so I'm told--bad luck for the author to THINK she's funny!!).

And to further confuse things, my original Kindle novel, *Heaven's Fire * is a thriller, and the stories in *The Grass is Always Greener *can probably best be summed up as psychological puzzlers.

Whatever your preference, I hope that something I'm writing will catch your imagination and, if it's not on Kindle yet, be assured it will be!!

All the best,
Sandy
www.SandraBalzo.com

*The Maggy Thorsen Mysteries *    *Also by Sandra Balzo *  

*
Uncommon Grounds
By Sandra Balzo*
Nominated for both the Anthony and Macavity Awards

_A body in a pool of skim milk._

An unsavory discovery at any time, but especially....inconvenient, when the milk puddle is on the floor in front of the espresso machine the very morning you're scheduled to open your chic suburban coffee house, Uncommon Grounds.

...And the body is one of your partners,

...and you and your other partner-the one who's still alive-are suspects.

&#8230;Which would all be bad enough, even if your husband hadn't dumped you for his dental assistant, Little Miss Tooth de Lay,

...leading you to jettison your old life and invest what little you have left in Uncommon Grounds,

...which now appears-like your marriage-to be circling the drain.


*Grounds for Murder
By Sandra Balzo
Earned a Booklist starred review*

Exactly how hot is the competition at the annual coffee trade industry conference in Milwaukee? Scaldingly hot.

What's not hot? Finding Marvin LaRoche, owner of the HotWired coffeehouse chain store stone-cold dead under a banquet table in the middle of the convention.

And everybody knows that Maggy was no great fan of Mr. LaRoche, nor of his overly competitive business practices - so it's up to Maggy's own amateur sleuthing skills to get herself out of the hotseat!

Mrs. LaRoche, newly widowed, certainly seems a bit too cheery. But then there's the angry activist who denounced LaRoche's practice of exploiting Third World coffee growers.

As the conference coordinator and the number one suspect, Maggy is on a countdown to find the murderer, save her coffeehouse and maybe, just maybe heat up her love life...


*Bean There, Done That
By Sandra Balzo
Earned a Kirkus Starred Review*

Here's a tip: if your ex-husband's mistress-cum-missus. asks for your help in proving that he cheated on her while he was married to you, just say no.

And you most certainly should not invite this new missus., Mrs. Rachel Thorsen, in for a cup of coffee. But big-hearted Maggy can't seem to help her own hospitality.

Unfortunately, most unfortunately, this mistress-cum-missus disappears shortly after her coffeehouse confab with Maggy and is later found murdered...making Maggy's ex, Ted, the chief suspect.

Despite the tempting satisfaction of seeing her ex go down, Maggy knows Ted is innocent. Cheater? Most definitely. Murderer? Most definitely not. So Maggy reluctantly agrees to help him. Rachel's wealthy family, however, disagrees and spares no expense in trying to put Ted behind bars.

Now it's up to Maggy to discover the truth...even if it upsets her on-again, off-again relationship with the handsome Sheriff Jake Pavlik...


----------



## SandraBalzo (Mar 10, 2011)

The seventh book in my Maggy Thorsen coffeehouse mysteries, _*Triple Shot*_, will be out the end of this year both in hardcover and on Kindle. In the meantime, though, hope you'll check out the first three books in the series, _*now*_ available in e-book: _*Uncommon Grounds*_, _*Grounds for Murder * _ and _*Bean There, Done T*_hat.

If you're not familiar with my work, the Maggy books are funny, quick reads--cozies, with a bit of a hard edge. I also have a second series started -- mysteries set in the mountains of North Carolina. The reviews for *Running on Empty,* the first of the new Main Street Mysteries, urge fans of _Joan Hess_, _Margaret Maron_ and _G.A. McKevett_ to give them a try. I'm currently at work on the as-yet-untitled second book in the series. The Main Street books are warmer, the Maggy books, well . . . more cynical and laugh-out-loud funny (or so I'm told--bad luck for the author to THINK she's funny!!).

And to further confuse things, my original Kindle novel, *Heaven's Fire * is a thriller, and the stories in *The Grass is Always Greener *can probably best be summed up as psychological puzzlers.

Whatever your preference, I hope that something I'm writing will catch your imagination and, if it's not on Kindle yet, be assured it will be!!

All the best,
Sandy
www.SandraBalzo.com

*The Maggy Thorsen Mysteries *    *Also by Sandra Balzo *  

*
Uncommon Grounds
By Sandra Balzo*
Nominated for both the Anthony and Macavity Awards

_A body in a pool of skim milk._

An unsavory discovery at any time, but especially....inconvenient, when the milk puddle is on the floor in front of the espresso machine the very morning you're scheduled to open your chic suburban coffee house, Uncommon Grounds.

...And the body is one of your partners,

...and you and your other partner-the one who's still alive-are suspects.

&#8230;Which would all be bad enough, even if your husband hadn't dumped you for his dental assistant, Little Miss Tooth de Lay,

...leading you to jettison your old life and invest what little you have left in Uncommon Grounds,

...which now appears-like your marriage-to be circling the drain.


*Grounds for Murder
By Sandra Balzo
Earned a Booklist starred review*

Exactly how hot is the competition at the annual coffee trade industry conference in Milwaukee? Scaldingly hot.

What's not hot? Finding Marvin LaRoche, owner of the HotWired coffeehouse chain store stone-cold dead under a banquet table in the middle of the convention.

And everybody knows that Maggy was no great fan of Mr. LaRoche, nor of his overly competitive business practices - so it's up to Maggy's own amateur sleuthing skills to get herself out of the hotseat!

Mrs. LaRoche, newly widowed, certainly seems a bit too cheery. But then there's the angry activist who denounced LaRoche's practice of exploiting Third World coffee growers.

As the conference coordinator and the number one suspect, Maggy is on a countdown to find the murderer, save her coffeehouse and maybe, just maybe heat up her love life...

Thank goodness for caffeine!!


*Bean There, Done That
By Sandra Balzo
Earned a Kirkus Starred Review*

Here's a tip: if your ex-husband's mistress-cum-missus. asks for your help in proving that he cheated on her while he was married to you, just say no.

And you most certainly should not invite this new missus., Mrs. Rachel Thorsen, in for a cup of coffee. But big-hearted Maggy can't seem to help her own hospitality.

Unfortunately, most unfortunately, this mistress-cum-missus disappears shortly after her coffeehouse confab with Maggy and is later found murdered...making Maggy's ex, Ted, the chief suspect.

Despite the tempting satisfaction of seeing her ex go down, Maggy knows Ted is innocent. Cheater? Most definitely. Murderer? Most definitely not. So Maggy reluctantly agrees to help him. Rachel's wealthy family, however, disagrees and spares no expense in trying to put Ted behind bars.

Now it's up to Maggy to discover the truth...even if it upsets her on-again, off-again relationship with the handsome Sheriff Jake Pavlik...


----------



## SandraBalzo (Mar 10, 2011)

I'm happy to announce that the fourth Maggy Thorsen Mystery is now up on Kindle!

 * Kirkus Reviews: * *"A freak May snowstorm provides the perfect cover for murder in a suburban strip mall [and,] armed with flashlights from Goddard's Pharmacy, Maggy leads her mighty band of retailers on a quest to capture the killer."*

It's May first and in Wisconsin that means the daffodils and hyacinths are poking up their heads. 
Unfortunately, it also means they may freeze their little buds off. The freak snowstorm arrives without warning or so it seems to Maggy Thorsen, co-owner of the coffeehouse Uncommon Grounds.

Trapped, Maggy ventures out into the service corridor looking for sustenance, only to find the body of Way Benson, local developer and owner of the mall. Maggy's discovery unearths other refugees of the storm, most of them with reasons to kill the arrogant Way.

Cut off by the snow, Maggy has to be content to leave Way to become a corpse-sicle. Content, that is, until another member of their intrepid little group is killed and the coffee - sans electricity - gets even colder than the bodies.

"Near the start of Balzo's lively fourth Maggy Thorsen mystery, a sudden spring "thundersnow" traps Maggy and friends in Benson Plaza, the Brookhills, Wis, strip mall where Maggy rents space for her coffee shop, Uncommon Grounds.. . . Credible characters and a well-constructed plot."
Publishers Weekly​
*The Maggy Thorsen Mysteries *     *Also by Sandra Balzo *


----------



## SandraBalzo (Mar 10, 2011)

​*Uncommon Grounds*, _*Grounds for Murder*_, _*Bean There, Done That * _ and _*Brewed, Crude and Tattooed*_, the first four in my now six-book Maggy Thorsen coffeehouse mystery series, are now available on Kindle for $2.99 each.

If you're not familiar with my work, the Maggy books are funny, quick reads--cozies, with a bit of a hard edge. They're set in a gourmet coffeehouse in Wisconsin, and I've just finished the seventh book in the series, _*Triple Shot*_. I also have a second series started -- mysteries set in the mountains of North Carolina. The reviews for _*Running on Empty*_, the first of the new Main Street Mysteries, urge fans of Joan Hess, Margaret Maron and G.A. McKevett to give them a try. The Main Street books are warmer, the Maggy books, well . . . more cynical and laugh-out-loud funny (or so I'm told--bad luck for the author to THINK she's funny!!).

And to further confuse things, my original Kindle novel, _*Heaven's F*_ire ($2.99) is a thriller, and the stories in *The Grass is Always Greener and Other Stories by Sandra Balzo*($.99) can probably best be summed up as psychological puzzlers.

Whatever your preference, I hope that something I'm writing will catch your imagination. And if it's not up on Kindle yet, it will be!
All the best,
Sandy
www.SandraBalzo.com

*The Maggy Thorsen Mysteries *     *Also by Sandra Balzo *


----------



## SandraBalzo (Mar 10, 2011)

*Hi gang, hope everybody is staying warm and dry--SO glad my Kindle has a long battery-life....*

   ​*Uncommon Grounds*, _*Grounds for Murder*_, _*Bean There, Done That * _ and _*Brewed, Crude and Tattooed*_, the first four in my now six-book Maggy Thorsen coffeehouse mystery series, are now available on Kindle for $2.99 each.

If you're not familiar with my work, the Maggy books are funny, quick reads--cozies, with a bit of a hard edge. They're set in a gourmet coffeehouse in Wisconsin, and I've just finished the seventh book in the series, _*Triple Shot*_. I also have a second series started -- mysteries set in the mountains of North Carolina. The reviews for _*Running on Empty*_, the first of the new Main Street Mysteries, urge fans of Joan Hess, Margaret Maron and G.A. McKevett to give them a try. The Main Street books are warmer, the Maggy books, well . . . more cynical and laugh-out-loud funny (or so I'm told--bad luck for the author to THINK she's funny!!).

And to further confuse things, my original Kindle novel, _*Heaven's F*_ire ($2.99) is a thriller, and the stories in *The Grass is Always Greener and Other Stories by Sandra Balzo*($.99) can probably best be summed up as psychological puzzlers.

Whatever your preference, I hope that something I'm writing will catch your imagination. And if it's not up on Kindle yet, it will be!
All the best,
Sandy
www.SandraBalzo.com

*The Maggy Thorsen Mysteries *     *Also by Sandra Balzo *


----------



## SandraBalzo (Mar 10, 2011)

​*Uncommon Grounds*, _*Grounds for Murder*_, _*Bean There, Done That * _ and _*Brewed, Crude and Tattooed*_, the first four in my now six-book Maggy Thorsen coffeehouse mystery series, are now available on Kindle for $2.99 each.

If you're not familiar with my work, the Maggy books are funny, quick reads--cozies, with a bit of a hard edge. They're set in a gourmet coffeehouse in Wisconsin, and I've just finished the seventh book in the series, _*Triple Shot*_. I also have a second series started -- mysteries set in the mountains of North Carolina. The reviews for _*Running on Empty*_, the first of the new Main Street Mysteries, urge fans of Joan Hess, Margaret Maron and G.A. McKevett to give them a try. The Main Street books are warmer, the Maggy books, well . . . more cynical and laugh-out-loud funny (or so I'm told--bad luck for the author to THINK she's funny!!).

And to further confuse things, my original Kindle novel, _*Heaven's F*_ire ($2.99) is a thriller, and the stories in *The Grass is Always Greener and Other Stories by Sandra Balzo*($.99) can probably best be summed up as psychological puzzlers.

Whatever your preference, I hope that something I'm writing will catch your imagination. And if it's not up on Kindle yet, it will be!
All the best,
Sandy
www.SandraBalzo.com

*The Maggy Thorsen Mysteries *     *Also by Sandra Balzo *


----------



## SandraBalzo (Mar 10, 2011)

Chicago Tribune on *Uncommon Grounds*, the first book in the Maggy Thorsen Coffeehouse Mysteries:

_Despite my attraction to the darker, colder kind of mysteries and thrillers, I try to keep some-where near the middle of my mind the words of Anthony Boucher--who invented taking crime fiction seriously--when he wrote that "the important distinction is not between the schools of the whodunit but between the good and bad books whatever the school." That's why I'm especially pleased to praise Sandra Balzo's first novel, "Uncommon Grounds," which might well be of the cozy persuasion but is as wonderfully rich and sharply written as anything going.

Balzo, whose first short story won the prestigious Robert L. Fish Award, has imagined for her full-length debut the perfect modern equivalent of a British tea shoppe--a new coffeehouse in Brookhills, a small Wisconsin town as full of colorful, murderous lunatics as any Agatha Christie or Dorothy Sayers landscape.

What moves Balzo's book high above other writers who try to cover the same territory is a sharp and often amusing skill that convinces us that this is real life, and that it matters."_

*An excerpt from Uncommon Grounds by Sandra Balzo:*

So, does one take one's handbag when one goes surveilling?

I was willing to bet Miss Manners didn't have an answer
for that one. I opted to leave the handbag at home and slid my
driver's license into my pocket. That way they could identify
the body.

I waited in the minivan in the driveway, ski mask in hand,
and sure enough, at 11:00 p.m. the parade from Christ Christian
commenced down Poplar Creek Drive just as it had last
Thursday.

Four . . . five . . . six cars, each with more than one person
in it, best as I could tell. I let the last car get well past before I
backed out and followed.

We were all heading downstream toward Brookhill Road.
If my hunch was right, the cars would pull in . . .

Sure enough, the first car took a right just past Brookhill,
turning off Poplar Creek Drive onto a service road. The rest
of the cars followed, but I continued on, turning right at the
next driveway, which led to Brookhills Senior Manor. Poplar
Creek ran directly behind the Manor's back parking lot, separated
by a barbed wire fence.

I slid my ignition key under the mat so I wouldn't lose it
and got out of the van to look around. All was quiet. I didn't
even see Henry, my favorite imsomniac. Pulling apart the two
strands of barbed wire, I ducked through and skittered down
the muddy hill toward the creek. Although I couldn't see in
the dark, it sounded like it was still running high and fast.

I planted myself behind a wild honeysuckle bush and tried
to pull down my ski mask. That's when I remembered I'd left
it in the van. d*mn. Maybe this was like lying. You got better
at it, the more you did it.

I was sort of hoping I wouldn't get the chance.

I settled in to wait. And wait. Geez, how long does it take
to get out of cars and walk a block or two? What were they
doing? Handing out name badges? Assigning seats for the
ride back? It was probably all of fifteen minutes, but it seemed
a lot longer sitting there on the ground imagining field mice
crawling up my pants leg. Not that I would notice, since my
legs were asleep. And my butt was frozen.

Maybe this wasn't such a great idea. In fact, maybe this
was really stupid.

But something was going on down here and whatever it
was, I knew David had participated last Thursday because his
car had passed my house. Of course, it also could have been
Sam driving the Mercedes since, according to Eric, he had
spent quality time at Poplar Creek, too.

But somehow I doubted kids carpooled to makeout spots.
Then again, these days . . .

I heard a noise downstream. The wind carried the sound
of underbrush crackling, of people walking towards me.
Having seen enough TV shoot-em-ups to know that the good
guy should never stick his head up or somebody will try to
blow it off, I tried to peer through the shrub. Since the honeysuckle
hadn't leafed out yet, it was fairly easy to see through.
That might work both ways, I supposed.

I could barely make out several small spots of light. Flashlights,
maybe. And voices. Henry was right. They were awfully
noisy. Either they didn't realize their voices carried, or they
didn't care. I thought I recognized a couple of them-maybe
Rudy's or Way's-but that was likely wishful thinking. The
sounds just seemed to tumble over each other on the wind.

When the lights stopped moving, I crept out from behind
the honeysuckle and made for a tree, ten yards ahead. From
there, I crawled forward on my belly until I was less than a
half a football field away from the group.

I had to admit I was feeling pretty cool. Like when I played
Army in the backyard with Danny Danielli when we were
eight. I could still only see an occasional figure in the moonlight,
and I strained to see what they were wearing.

After all, militias wear fatigues right? Teenagers wear . . .
just about anything. I crept a little closer into the moon
shadow of another tree. Something about the way the figures
were moving made me think they were adults-and older
adults at that.

Yeah, Maggy. Brookhills' senior community was out for
maneuvers. Still I was certain now that these weren't kids,
but men, and that they were carrying-

Pop! A splinter of wood exploded from the tree trunk next
to me. Had that been a gunshot? In Danny Danielli's backyard,
the guns went "bang" not-

Pop!

Still, "pop" worked just fine.

d*mn, someone was shooting at me. I attempted to
become one with the earth-but not in the Zen kind of way-
and scutter away like a crab.

A hand grabbed my leg.

Buy it now!


----------



## SandraBalzo (Mar 10, 2011)

I'm enroute home from Bouchercon, the World Mystery Convention, which was absolutely wonderful. Not only did my books sell out within ten minutes of my panel (I couldn't believe it: people in my signing line with two or three $27.59 hardcovers!!) and did I get to hang out with the likes of Val McDermid, Harlan Coben, Sara Paretsky, Charlaine Harris and Robert Crais, but _this_ is what Scottish author Catriona McPherson said about my books:

_*If you like the deadpan wisecracks of Myron Bolitar, you'll love Maggy Thorsen, his female alter ego.*_

SO cool. If you want to read the first four Maggy's, you don't have to shell out $27.95. They're now on Kindle for $2.99 each--what a deal! Now if only I had a virtual signing line for them!

All the best,
Sandy


----------



## SandraBalzo (Mar 10, 2011)

*"If you like the deadpan wisecracks of Myron Bolitar, you'll love Maggy Thorsen, his female alter ego."*
_--Catriona McPherson, author of Dandy Gilver and The Proper Treatment of Bloodstains_

   ​*Uncommon Grounds*, _*Grounds for Murder*_, _*Bean There, Done That * _ and _*Brewed, Crude and Tattooed*_, the first four in my now six-book Maggy Thorsen coffeehouse mystery series, are now available on Kindle for $2.99 each.

If you're not familiar with my work, the Maggy books are funny, quick reads--cozies, with a bit of a hard edge. They're set in a gourmet coffeehouse in Wisconsin, and I've just finished the seventh book in the series, _*Triple Shot*_. I also have a second series started -- mysteries set in the mountains of North Carolina. The reviews for _*Running on Empty*_, the first of the new Main Street Mysteries, urge fans of Joan Hess, Margaret Maron and G.A. McKevett to give them a try. The Main Street books are warmer, the Maggy books, well . . . more cynical and laugh-out-loud funny (or so I'm told--bad luck for the author to THINK she's funny!!).

And to further confuse things, my original Kindle novel, _*Heaven's Fire*_ ($2.99) is a thriller, and the stories in *The Grass is Always Greener and Other Stories by Sandra Balzo*($.99) can probably best be summed up as psychological puzzlers.

Whatever your preference, I hope that something I'm writing will catch your imagination. And if it's not up on Kindle yet, it will be!
All the best,
Sandy
www.SandraBalzo.com

*The Maggy Thorsen Mysteries *     *Also by Sandra Balzo *


----------



## SandraBalzo (Mar 10, 2011)

Rainy day--time to read a book!


----------



## SandraBalzo (Mar 10, 2011)

*Reviews * are starting to come in for _*Triple Shot*_, the seventh Maggy Thorsen coffeehouse mystery, and they continue to be stellar. _*Triple Shot*_ will be out December 1st in hardcover for $27.95, but the first four Maggy Thorsen mysteries are now available on Kindle for just $2.99. Time to fire up that Kindle (or kindle your Fire  and get in on the _*Grounds*_ floor!

". . . stimulating seventh Maggy Thorsen mystery . . . This amusing, well-written entry should win Balzo more fans."
_Publisher Weekly_

"Maggy is on-site to put the pieces together, becoming an instant Internet sensation. Multiple bodies notwithstanding, this is appealing, lighthearted fare."
_Booklist_

". . . affirms this series remains one of the best gourmet amateur sleuths on the market."
_The Mystery Gazette_

"[Maggy Thorsen Mystery series] has taken on the maturity of a seasoned, well-grounded series that both feels comfortable to sink into, but had been updated enough to bring readers new enthusiasm and enjoyment. Highly recommended." 
_Bookreaders Heaven_

*The Maggy Thorsen Mysteries *     *Also by Sandra Balzo *


----------



## SandraBalzo (Mar 10, 2011)

*Reviews * are starting to come in for _*Triple Shot*_, the seventh Maggy Thorsen coffeehouse mystery, and they continue to be stellar. _*Triple Shot*_ will be out December 1st in hardcover for $27.95, but the first four Maggy Thorsen mysteries are now available on Kindle for just $2.99. Time to fire up that Kindle (or kindle your Fire  and get in on the _*Grounds*_ floor!

". . . stimulating seventh Maggy Thorsen mystery . . . This amusing, well-written entry should win Balzo more fans."
_Publisher Weekly_

"Maggy is on-site to put the pieces together, becoming an instant Internet sensation. Multiple bodies notwithstanding, this is appealing, lighthearted fare."
_Booklist_

". . . affirms this series remains one of the best gourmet amateur sleuths on the market."
_The Mystery Gazette_

"[Maggy Thorsen Mystery series] has taken on the maturity of a seasoned, well-grounded series that both feels comfortable to sink into, but had been updated enough to bring readers new enthusiasm and enjoyment. Highly recommended." 
_Bookreaders Heaven_

*The Maggy Thorsen Mysteries *     *Also by Sandra Balzo *


----------



## SandraBalzo (Mar 10, 2011)

Chicago Tribune on *Uncommon Grounds*, the first book in the Maggy Thorsen Coffeehouse Mysteries:

_Despite my attraction to the darker, colder kind of mysteries and thrillers, I try to keep some-where near the middle of my mind the words of Anthony Boucher--who invented taking crime fiction seriously--when he wrote that "the important distinction is not between the schools of the whodunit but between the good and bad books whatever the school." That's why I'm especially pleased to praise Sandra Balzo's first novel, "Uncommon Grounds," which might well be of the cozy persuasion but is as wonderfully rich and sharply written as anything going.

Balzo, whose first short story won the prestigious Robert L. Fish Award, has imagined for her full-length debut the perfect modern equivalent of a British tea shoppe--a new coffeehouse in Brookhills, a small Wisconsin town as full of colorful, murderous lunatics as any Agatha Christie or Dorothy Sayers landscape.

What moves Balzo's book high above other writers who try to cover the same territory is a sharp and often amusing skill that convinces us that this is real life, and that it matters."_

*An excerpt from Uncommon Grounds by Sandra Balzo:*

So, does one take one's handbag when one goes surveilling?

I was willing to bet Miss Manners didn't have an answer
for that one. I opted to leave the handbag at home and slid my
driver's license into my pocket. That way they could identify
the body.

I waited in the minivan in the driveway, ski mask in hand,
and sure enough, at 11:00 p.m. the parade from Christ Christian
commenced down Poplar Creek Drive just as it had last
Thursday.

Four . . . five . . . six cars, each with more than one person
in it, best as I could tell. I let the last car get well past before I
backed out and followed.

We were all heading downstream toward Brookhill Road.
If my hunch was right, the cars would pull in . . .

Sure enough, the first car took a right just past Brookhill,
turning off Poplar Creek Drive onto a service road. The rest
of the cars followed, but I continued on, turning right at the
next driveway, which led to Brookhills Senior Manor. Poplar
Creek ran directly behind the Manor's back parking lot, separated
by a barbed wire fence.

I slid my ignition key under the mat so I wouldn't lose it
and got out of the van to look around. All was quiet. I didn't
even see Henry, my favorite imsomniac. Pulling apart the two
strands of barbed wire, I ducked through and skittered down
the muddy hill toward the creek. Although I couldn't see in
the dark, it sounded like it was still running high and fast.

I planted myself behind a wild honeysuckle bush and tried
to pull down my ski mask. That's when I remembered I'd left
it in the van. d*mn. Maybe this was like lying. You got better
at it, the more you did it.

I was sort of hoping I wouldn't get the chance.

I settled in to wait. And wait. Geez, how long does it take
to get out of cars and walk a block or two? What were they
doing? Handing out name badges? Assigning seats for the
ride back? It was probably all of fifteen minutes, but it seemed
a lot longer sitting there on the ground imagining field mice
crawling up my pants leg. Not that I would notice, since my
legs were asleep. And my butt was frozen.

Maybe this wasn't such a great idea. In fact, maybe this
was really stupid.

But something was going on down here and whatever it
was, I knew David had participated last Thursday because his
car had passed my house. Of course, it also could have been
Sam driving the Mercedes since, according to Eric, he had
spent quality time at Poplar Creek, too.

But somehow I doubted kids carpooled to makeout spots.
Then again, these days . . .

I heard a noise downstream. The wind carried the sound
of underbrush crackling, of people walking towards me.
Having seen enough TV shoot-em-ups to know that the good
guy should never stick his head up or somebody will try to
blow it off, I tried to peer through the shrub. Since the honeysuckle
hadn't leafed out yet, it was fairly easy to see through.
That might work both ways, I supposed.

I could barely make out several small spots of light. Flashlights,
maybe. And voices. Henry was right. They were awfully
noisy. Either they didn't realize their voices carried, or they
didn't care. I thought I recognized a couple of them-maybe
Rudy's or Way's-but that was likely wishful thinking. The
sounds just seemed to tumble over each other on the wind.

When the lights stopped moving, I crept out from behind
the honeysuckle and made for a tree, ten yards ahead. From
there, I crawled forward on my belly until I was less than a
half a football field away from the group.

I had to admit I was feeling pretty cool. Like when I played
Army in the backyard with Danny Danielli when we were
eight. I could still only see an occasional figure in the moonlight,
and I strained to see what they were wearing.

After all, militias wear fatigues right? Teenagers wear . . .
just about anything. I crept a little closer into the moon
shadow of another tree. Something about the way the figures
were moving made me think they were adults-and older
adults at that.

Yeah, Maggy. Brookhills' senior community was out for
maneuvers. Still I was certain now that these weren't kids,
but men, and that they were carrying-

Pop! A splinter of wood exploded from the tree trunk next
to me. Had that been a gunshot? In Danny Danielli's backyard,
the guns went "bang" not-

Pop!

Still, "pop" worked just fine.

d*mn, someone was shooting at me. I attempted to
become one with the earth-but not in the Zen kind of way-
and scutter away like a crab.

A hand grabbed my leg.

Buy it now!


----------



## SandraBalzo (Mar 10, 2011)

_*H*_ope you'll check out my podcast with the wonderful _Suzanne Fyhrie Parrott _ of *Unruly Guides*. Suz is not only a huge reader and promoter of books and authors, but also an e-publishing genius. This is one busy lady and we had a blast talking!! Here's the link:

http://tinyurl.com/749y92g

*Sandra Balzo, Mystery Writer, Author of the Maggy Thorsen Mysteries and Running on Empty*
_Unruly Guides Author Interviews / FEATURED / Podcasts_

*From Suzanne:* Sandra Balzo is one of my favorite writers and I was so pleased she agreed to this interview. I have to admit, when I asked it was based on her book Running on Empty, which I read this past summer. When her newest book Triple Shot arrived by mail, I was excited and embarrassed. She is the author of what I call "The Coffee Books" - The Maggy Thorsen Mystery series of which I have several on my Kindle.

So, before the interview I began reading the first book in the series, Uncommon Grounds. It was fantastic - entertaining, good plot twist, and above all, no typos. I am in love with her work more than ever. And with newest book Triple Shot, I now have 6 more books awaiting consumption.

*Enjoy the Podcast with Sandra Balzo: http://tinyurl.com/749y92g*

*The Maggy Thorsen Mysteries *     *Also by Sandra Balzo *


----------



## SandraBalzo (Mar 10, 2011)

Reviews are in for _*Triple Shot*_, the seventh Maggy Thorsen coffeehouse mystery, and they continue to be stellar. _*Triple Shot*_ was released December 1st in hardcover for $27.95, but the first four Maggy Thorsen mysteries are available on Kindle and now through New Year's, they'll feature a bonus: a sampling of my favorite simple (very necessary for me  food and drink recipes -- all for just $2.99!

Here's a sample:

*KILLER Eggnog Latte*

1 shot quality espresso
10 oz steamed eggnog ("lite" eggnog works best for frothing)
Cinnamon and/or nutmeg for dusting

Combine espresso and steamed eggnog in a latte mug. 
Dust with cinnamon and nutmeg and enjoy with good book ​
Wishing you the best of the holidays,
Sandy
www.SandraBalzo.com
*PS: Look for Maggys 5 & 6 on Kindle in February!*


"[Maggy Thorsen Mystery series] has taken on the maturity of a seasoned, well-grounded series 
that both feels comfortable to sink into, but had been updated enough to bring readers new enthusiasm and enjoyment. 
Highly recommended." 
_Bookreaders Heaven_​
*The Maggy Thorsen Mysteries*     *Also by Sandra Balzo *


----------



## SandraBalzo (Mar 10, 2011)

Chicago Tribune on *Uncommon Grounds*, the first book in the Maggy Thorsen Coffeehouse Mysteries:

_Despite my attraction to the darker, colder kind of mysteries and thrillers, I try to keep some-where near the middle of my mind the words of Anthony Boucher--who invented taking crime fiction seriously--when he wrote that "the important distinction is not between the schools of the whodunit but between the good and bad books whatever the school." That's why I'm especially pleased to praise Sandra Balzo's first novel, "Uncommon Grounds," which might well be of the cozy persuasion but is as wonderfully rich and sharply written as anything going.

Balzo, whose first short story won the prestigious Robert L. Fish Award, has imagined for her full-length debut the perfect modern equivalent of a British tea shoppe--a new coffeehouse in Brookhills, a small Wisconsin town as full of colorful, murderous lunatics as any Agatha Christie or Dorothy Sayers landscape.

What moves Balzo's book high above other writers who try to cover the same territory is a sharp and often amusing skill that convinces us that this is real life, and that it matters."_

*An excerpt from Uncommon Grounds by Sandra Balzo:*

So, does one take one's handbag when one goes surveilling?

I was willing to bet Miss Manners didn't have an answer
for that one. I opted to leave the handbag at home and slid my
driver's license into my pocket. That way they could identify
the body.

I waited in the minivan in the driveway, ski mask in hand,
and sure enough, at 11:00 p.m. the parade from Christ Christian
commenced down Poplar Creek Drive just as it had last
Thursday.

Four . . . five . . . six cars, each with more than one person
in it, best as I could tell. I let the last car get well past before I
backed out and followed.

We were all heading downstream toward Brookhill Road.
If my hunch was right, the cars would pull in . . .

Sure enough, the first car took a right just past Brookhill,
turning off Poplar Creek Drive onto a service road. The rest
of the cars followed, but I continued on, turning right at the
next driveway, which led to Brookhills Senior Manor. Poplar
Creek ran directly behind the Manor's back parking lot, separated
by a barbed wire fence.

I slid my ignition key under the mat so I wouldn't lose it
and got out of the van to look around. All was quiet. I didn't
even see Henry, my favorite imsomniac. Pulling apart the two
strands of barbed wire, I ducked through and skittered down
the muddy hill toward the creek. Although I couldn't see in
the dark, it sounded like it was still running high and fast.

I planted myself behind a wild honeysuckle bush and tried
to pull down my ski mask. That's when I remembered I'd left
it in the van. d*mn. Maybe this was like lying. You got better
at it, the more you did it.

I was sort of hoping I wouldn't get the chance.

I settled in to wait. And wait. Geez, how long does it take
to get out of cars and walk a block or two? What were they
doing? Handing out name badges? Assigning seats for the
ride back? It was probably all of fifteen minutes, but it seemed
a lot longer sitting there on the ground imagining field mice
crawling up my pants leg. Not that I would notice, since my
legs were asleep. And my butt was frozen.

Maybe this wasn't such a great idea. In fact, maybe this
was really stupid.

But something was going on down here and whatever it
was, I knew David had participated last Thursday because his
car had passed my house. Of course, it also could have been
Sam driving the Mercedes since, according to Eric, he had
spent quality time at Poplar Creek, too.

But somehow I doubted kids carpooled to makeout spots.
Then again, these days . . .

I heard a noise downstream. The wind carried the sound
of underbrush crackling, of people walking towards me.
Having seen enough TV shoot-em-ups to know that the good
guy should never stick his head up or somebody will try to
blow it off, I tried to peer through the shrub. Since the honeysuckle
hadn't leafed out yet, it was fairly easy to see through.
That might work both ways, I supposed.

I could barely make out several small spots of light. Flashlights,
maybe. And voices. Henry was right. They were awfully
noisy. Either they didn't realize their voices carried, or they
didn't care. I thought I recognized a couple of them-maybe
Rudy's or Way's-but that was likely wishful thinking. The
sounds just seemed to tumble over each other on the wind.

When the lights stopped moving, I crept out from behind
the honeysuckle and made for a tree, ten yards ahead. From
there, I crawled forward on my belly until I was less than a
half a football field away from the group.

I had to admit I was feeling pretty cool. Like when I played
Army in the backyard with Danny Danielli when we were
eight. I could still only see an occasional figure in the moonlight,
and I strained to see what they were wearing.

After all, militias wear fatigues right? Teenagers wear . . .
just about anything. I crept a little closer into the moon
shadow of another tree. Something about the way the figures
were moving made me think they were adults-and older
adults at that.

Yeah, Maggy. Brookhills' senior community was out for
maneuvers. Still I was certain now that these weren't kids,
but men, and that they were carrying-

Pop! A splinter of wood exploded from the tree trunk next
to me. Had that been a gunshot? In Danny Danielli's backyard,
the guns went "bang" not-

Pop!

Still, "pop" worked just fine.

d*mn, someone was shooting at me. I attempted to
become one with the earth-but not in the Zen kind of way-
and scutter away like a crab.

A hand grabbed my leg.

Buy it now! 

Coming in February: _*From the Grounds Up * _ and _*A Cup of Jo * _ -- Books 5 & 6 in the Maggy Thorsen Mystery Series


----------



## SandraBalzo (Mar 10, 2011)

_*News! *

_ Narrator Karen Savage has just been retained to be the voice of Maggy Thorsen, "one of the best gourmet amateur sleuths on the market," in the first of the Maggy Thorsen Mysteries when _*Uncommon Grounds*_ comes to audio-book in March!

In the meantime, _*Uncommon Grounds * _ and the next three books in the series are available for $2.99 on Kindle. with the rest to follow very soon.

_"An engaging sleuth, Maggy puts her own humorous, breezy spin on everything, from coffee lore to the colorful locals . . ."_*
Publishers Weekly*​


----------



## SandraBalzo (Mar 10, 2011)

_Chicago Tribune_ on *Uncommon Grounds*, the first book in the _*Maggy Thorsen Coffeehouse Mysteries*_:

_Despite my attraction to the darker, colder kind of mysteries and thrillers, I try to keep some-where near the middle of my mind the words of Anthony Boucher--who invented taking crime fiction seriously--when he wrote that "the important distinction is not between the schools of the whodunit but between the good and bad books whatever the school." That's why I'm especially pleased to praise Sandra Balzo's first novel, "Uncommon Grounds," which might well be of the cozy persuasion but is as wonderfully rich and sharply written as anything going.

Balzo, whose first short story won the prestigious Robert L. Fish Award, has imagined for her full-length debut the perfect modern equivalent of a British tea shoppe--a new coffeehouse in Brookhills, a small Wisconsin town as full of colorful, murderous lunatics as any Agatha Christie or Dorothy Sayers landscape.

What moves Balzo's book high above other writers who try to cover the same territory is a sharp and often amusing skill that convinces us that this is real life, and that it matters."_

*An excerpt from Uncommon Grounds by Sandra Balzo:*

So, does one take one's handbag when one goes surveilling?

I was willing to bet Miss Manners didn't have an answer
for that one. I opted to leave the handbag at home and slid my
driver's license into my pocket. That way they could identify
the body.

I waited in the minivan in the driveway, ski mask in hand,
and sure enough, at 11:00 p.m. the parade from Christ Christian
commenced down Poplar Creek Drive just as it had last
Thursday.

Four . . . five . . . six cars, each with more than one person
in it, best as I could tell. I let the last car get well past before I
backed out and followed.

We were all heading downstream toward Brookhill Road.
If my hunch was right, the cars would pull in . . .

Sure enough, the first car took a right just past Brookhill,
turning off Poplar Creek Drive onto a service road. The rest
of the cars followed, but I continued on, turning right at the
next driveway, which led to Brookhills Senior Manor. Poplar
Creek ran directly behind the Manor's back parking lot, separated
by a barbed wire fence.

I slid my ignition key under the mat so I wouldn't lose it
and got out of the van to look around. All was quiet. I didn't
even see Henry, my favorite imsomniac. Pulling apart the two
strands of barbed wire, I ducked through and skittered down
the muddy hill toward the creek. Although I couldn't see in
the dark, it sounded like it was still running high and fast.

I planted myself behind a wild honeysuckle bush and tried
to pull down my ski mask. That's when I remembered I'd left
it in the van. d*mn. Maybe this was like lying. You got better
at it, the more you did it.

I was sort of hoping I wouldn't get the chance.

I settled in to wait. And wait. Geez, how long does it take
to get out of cars and walk a block or two? What were they
doing? Handing out name badges? Assigning seats for the
ride back? It was probably all of fifteen minutes, but it seemed
a lot longer sitting there on the ground imagining field mice
crawling up my pants leg. Not that I would notice, since my
legs were asleep. And my butt was frozen.

Maybe this wasn't such a great idea. In fact, maybe this
was really stupid.

But something was going on down here and whatever it
was, I knew David had participated last Thursday because his
car had passed my house. Of course, it also could have been
Sam driving the Mercedes since, according to Eric, he had
spent quality time at Poplar Creek, too.

But somehow I doubted kids carpooled to makeout spots.
Then again, these days . . .

I heard a noise downstream. The wind carried the sound
of underbrush crackling, of people walking towards me.
Having seen enough TV shoot-em-ups to know that the good
guy should never stick his head up or somebody will try to
blow it off, I tried to peer through the shrub. Since the honeysuckle
hadn't leafed out yet, it was fairly easy to see through.
That might work both ways, I supposed.

I could barely make out several small spots of light. Flashlights,
maybe. And voices. Henry was right. They were awfully
noisy. Either they didn't realize their voices carried, or they
didn't care. I thought I recognized a couple of them-maybe
Rudy's or Way's-but that was likely wishful thinking. The
sounds just seemed to tumble over each other on the wind.

When the lights stopped moving, I crept out from behind
the honeysuckle and made for a tree, ten yards ahead. From
there, I crawled forward on my belly until I was less than a
half a football field away from the group.

I had to admit I was feeling pretty cool. Like when I played
Army in the backyard with Danny Danielli when we were
eight. I could still only see an occasional figure in the moonlight,
and I strained to see what they were wearing.

After all, militias wear fatigues right? Teenagers wear . . .
just about anything. I crept a little closer into the moon
shadow of another tree. Something about the way the figures
were moving made me think they were adults-and older
adults at that.

Yeah, Maggy. Brookhills' senior community was out for
maneuvers. Still I was certain now that these weren't kids,
but men, and that they were carrying-

Pop! A splinter of wood exploded from the tree trunk next
to me. Had that been a gunshot? In Danny Danielli's backyard,
the guns went "bang" not-

Pop!

Still, "pop" worked just fine.

d*mn, someone was shooting at me. I attempted to
become one with the earth-but not in the Zen kind of way-
and scutter away like a crab.

A hand grabbed my leg.

Buy it now! 

Coming in February: _*From the Grounds Up * _ and _*A Cup of Jo * _ -- Books 5 & 6 in the Maggy Thorsen Mystery Series


----------



## SandraBalzo (Mar 10, 2011)

_*News! *

_ Narrator Karen Savage has just been retained to be the voice of Maggy Thorsen, "one of the best gourmet amateur sleuths on the market," in the first of the Maggy Thorsen Mysteries when _*Uncommon Grounds*_ comes to audio-book in May!

In the meantime, _*Uncommon Grounds * _ and the next three books in the series are available for $2.99 on Kindle. with the rest to follow very soon.

_"An engaging sleuth, Maggy puts her own humorous, breezy spin on everything, from coffee lore to the colorful locals . . ."_*
Publishers Weekly*​


----------



## SandraBalzo (Mar 10, 2011)

*Reviews * are coming in for _*Triple Shot*_, the seventh Maggy Thorsen coffeehouse mystery, and they continue to be stellar. _*Triple Shot*_ came out December 1st in hardcover for $27.95, but the first four Maggy Thorsen mysteries are now available on Kindle for just $2.99 and the fifth, _*From the Grounds Up*_, will be up later this week. Time to fire up that Kindle (or kindle your Fire  and get in on the _*Grounds*_ floor!

". . . stimulating seventh Maggy Thorsen mystery . . . This amusing, well-written entry should win Balzo more fans."
_Publisher Weekly_

"Maggy is on-site to put the pieces together, becoming an instant Internet sensation. Multiple bodies notwithstanding, this is appealing, lighthearted fare."
_Booklist_

". . . affirms this series remains one of the best gourmet amateur sleuths on the market."
_The Mystery Gazette_

"[Maggy Thorsen Mystery series] has taken on the maturity of a seasoned, well-grounded series that both feels comfortable to sink into, but had been updated enough to bring readers new enthusiasm and enjoyment. Highly recommended." 
_Bookreaders Heaven_

*The Maggy Thorsen Mysteries *     *Also by Sandra Balzo *  [/url


----------



## SandraBalzo (Mar 10, 2011)

_Chicago Tribune_ on *Uncommon Grounds*, the first book in the _*Maggy Thorsen Coffeehouse Mysteries*_:

_Despite my attraction to the darker, colder kind of mysteries and thrillers, I try to keep some-where near the middle of my mind the words of Anthony Boucher--who invented taking crime fiction seriously--when he wrote that "the important distinction is not between the schools of the whodunit but between the good and bad books whatever the school." That's why I'm especially pleased to praise Sandra Balzo's first novel, "Uncommon Grounds," which might well be of the cozy persuasion but is as wonderfully rich and sharply written as anything going.

Balzo, whose first short story won the prestigious Robert L. Fish Award, has imagined for her full-length debut the perfect modern equivalent of a British tea shoppe--a new coffeehouse in Brookhills, a small Wisconsin town as full of colorful, murderous lunatics as any Agatha Christie or Dorothy Sayers landscape.

What moves Balzo's book high above other writers who try to cover the same territory is a sharp and often amusing skill that convinces us that this is real life, and that it matters."_

*An excerpt from Uncommon Grounds by Sandra Balzo:*

So, does one take one's handbag when one goes surveilling?

I was willing to bet Miss Manners didn't have an answer
for that one. I opted to leave the handbag at home and slid my
driver's license into my pocket. That way they could identify
the body.

I waited in the minivan in the driveway, ski mask in hand,
and sure enough, at 11:00 p.m. the parade from Christ Christian
commenced down Poplar Creek Drive just as it had last
Thursday.

Four . . . five . . . six cars, each with more than one person
in it, best as I could tell. I let the last car get well past before I
backed out and followed.

We were all heading downstream toward Brookhill Road.
If my hunch was right, the cars would pull in . . .

Sure enough, the first car took a right just past Brookhill,
turning off Poplar Creek Drive onto a service road. The rest
of the cars followed, but I continued on, turning right at the
next driveway, which led to Brookhills Senior Manor. Poplar
Creek ran directly behind the Manor's back parking lot, separated
by a barbed wire fence.

I slid my ignition key under the mat so I wouldn't lose it
and got out of the van to look around. All was quiet. I didn't
even see Henry, my favorite imsomniac. Pulling apart the two
strands of barbed wire, I ducked through and skittered down
the muddy hill toward the creek. Although I couldn't see in
the dark, it sounded like it was still running high and fast.

I planted myself behind a wild honeysuckle bush and tried
to pull down my ski mask. That's when I remembered I'd left
it in the van. d*mn. Maybe this was like lying. You got better
at it, the more you did it.

I was sort of hoping I wouldn't get the chance.

I settled in to wait. And wait. Geez, how long does it take
to get out of cars and walk a block or two? What were they
doing? Handing out name badges? Assigning seats for the
ride back? It was probably all of fifteen minutes, but it seemed
a lot longer sitting there on the ground imagining field mice
crawling up my pants leg. Not that I would notice, since my
legs were asleep. And my butt was frozen.

Maybe this wasn't such a great idea. In fact, maybe this
was really stupid.

But something was going on down here and whatever it
was, I knew David had participated last Thursday because his
car had passed my house. Of course, it also could have been
Sam driving the Mercedes since, according to Eric, he had
spent quality time at Poplar Creek, too.

But somehow I doubted kids carpooled to makeout spots.
Then again, these days . . .

I heard a noise downstream. The wind carried the sound
of underbrush crackling, of people walking towards me.
Having seen enough TV shoot-em-ups to know that the good
guy should never stick his head up or somebody will try to
blow it off, I tried to peer through the shrub. Since the honeysuckle
hadn't leafed out yet, it was fairly easy to see through.
That might work both ways, I supposed.

I could barely make out several small spots of light. Flashlights,
maybe. And voices. Henry was right. They were awfully
noisy. Either they didn't realize their voices carried, or they
didn't care. I thought I recognized a couple of them-maybe
Rudy's or Way's-but that was likely wishful thinking. The
sounds just seemed to tumble over each other on the wind.

When the lights stopped moving, I crept out from behind
the honeysuckle and made for a tree, ten yards ahead. From
there, I crawled forward on my belly until I was less than a
half a football field away from the group.

I had to admit I was feeling pretty cool. Like when I played
Army in the backyard with Danny Danielli when we were
eight. I could still only see an occasional figure in the moonlight,
and I strained to see what they were wearing.

After all, militias wear fatigues right? Teenagers wear . . .
just about anything. I crept a little closer into the moon
shadow of another tree. Something about the way the figures
were moving made me think they were adults-and older
adults at that.

Yeah, Maggy. Brookhills' senior community was out for
maneuvers. Still I was certain now that these weren't kids,
but men, and that they were carrying-

Pop! A splinter of wood exploded from the tree trunk next
to me. Had that been a gunshot? In Danny Danielli's backyard,
the guns went "bang" not-

Pop!

Still, "pop" worked just fine.

d*mn, someone was shooting at me. I attempted to
become one with the earth-but not in the Zen kind of way-
and scutter away like a crab.

A hand grabbed my leg.

Buy it now! 

Coming in February: _*From the Grounds Up * _ and _*A Cup of Jo * _ -- Books 5 & 6 in the Maggy Thorsen Mystery Series


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## SandraBalzo (Mar 10, 2011)

*Reviews * are coming in for _*Triple Shot*_, the seventh Maggy Thorsen coffeehouse mystery, and they continue to be stellar. _*Triple Shot*_ came out December 1st in hardcover for $27.95, but the first five Maggy Thorsen mysteries are now available on Kindle for just $2.99 and the sixth, _*A Cup of Jo,*_, will be up by next week. Time to fire up that Kindle (or kindle your Fire  and get in on the _*Grounds*_ floor!

". . . stimulating seventh Maggy Thorsen mystery . . . This amusing, well-written entry should win Balzo more fans."
_Publisher Weekly_

"Maggy is on-site to put the pieces together, becoming an instant Internet sensation. Multiple bodies notwithstanding, this is appealing, lighthearted fare."
_Booklist_

". . . affirms this series remains one of the best gourmet amateur sleuths on the market."
_The Mystery Gazette_

"[Maggy Thorsen Mystery series] has taken on the maturity of a seasoned, well-grounded series that both feels comfortable to sink into, but had been updated enough to bring readers new enthusiasm and enjoyment. Highly recommended." 
_Bookreaders Heaven_

*The Maggy Thorsen Mysteries *       * Also by Sandra Balzo *


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## SandraBalzo (Mar 10, 2011)

"[Maggy Thorsen Mystery series] has taken on the maturity of a seasoned, well-grounded series that both feels comfortable to sink into, but had been updated enough to bring readers new enthusiasm and enjoyment. Highly recommended." 
_Bookreaders Heaven_

*The Maggy Thorsen Mysteries *       * Also by Sandra Balzo *


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## SandraBalzo (Mar 10, 2011)

_Chicago Tribune_ on *Uncommon Grounds*, the first book in the _*Maggy Thorsen Coffeehouse Mysteries*_ (#6 in the series--_*A Cup of Jo*_--is today's KindleBoards *Book of the Day*!:

_*D*espite my attraction to the darker, colder kind of mysteries and thrillers, I try to keep some-where near the middle of my mind the words of Anthony Boucher--who invented taking crime fiction seriously--when he wrote that "the important distinction is not between the schools of the whodunit but between the good and bad books whatever the school." That's why I'm especially pleased to praise Sandra Balzo's first novel, "Uncommon Grounds," which might well be of the cozy persuasion but is as wonderfully rich and sharply written as anything going.

Balzo, whose first short story won the prestigious Robert L. Fish Award, has imagined for her full-length debut the perfect modern equivalent of a British tea shoppe--a new coffeehouse in Brookhills, a small Wisconsin town as full of colorful, murderous lunatics as any Agatha Christie or Dorothy Sayers landscape.

What moves Balzo's book high above other writers who try to cover the same territory is a sharp and often amusing skill that convinces us that this is real life, and that it matters."_

*An excerpt from Uncommon Grounds by Sandra Balzo:*

So, does one take one's handbag when one goes surveilling?

I was willing to bet Miss Manners didn't have an answer
for that one. I opted to leave the handbag at home and slid my
driver's license into my pocket. That way they could identify
the body.

I waited in the minivan in the driveway, ski mask in hand,
and sure enough, at 11:00 p.m. the parade from Christ Christian
commenced down Poplar Creek Drive just as it had last
Thursday.

Four . . . five . . . six cars, each with more than one person
in it, best as I could tell. I let the last car get well past before I
backed out and followed.

We were all heading downstream toward Brookhill Road.
If my hunch was right, the cars would pull in . . .

Sure enough, the first car took a right just past Brookhill,
turning off Poplar Creek Drive onto a service road. The rest
of the cars followed, but I continued on, turning right at the
next driveway, which led to Brookhills Senior Manor. Poplar
Creek ran directly behind the Manor's back parking lot, separated
by a barbed wire fence.

I slid my ignition key under the mat so I wouldn't lose it
and got out of the van to look around. All was quiet. I didn't
even see Henry, my favorite imsomniac. Pulling apart the two
strands of barbed wire, I ducked through and skittered down
the muddy hill toward the creek. Although I couldn't see in
the dark, it sounded like it was still running high and fast.

I planted myself behind a wild honeysuckle bush and tried
to pull down my ski mask. That's when I remembered I'd left
it in the van. d*mn. Maybe this was like lying. You got better
at it, the more you did it.

I was sort of hoping I wouldn't get the chance.

I settled in to wait. And wait. Geez, how long does it take
to get out of cars and walk a block or two? What were they
doing? Handing out name badges? Assigning seats for the
ride back? It was probably all of fifteen minutes, but it seemed
a lot longer sitting there on the ground imagining field mice
crawling up my pants leg. Not that I would notice, since my
legs were asleep. And my butt was frozen.

Maybe this wasn't such a great idea. In fact, maybe this
was really stupid.

But something was going on down here and whatever it
was, I knew David had participated last Thursday because his
car had passed my house. Of course, it also could have been
Sam driving the Mercedes since, according to Eric, he had
spent quality time at Poplar Creek, too.

But somehow I doubted kids carpooled to makeout spots.
Then again, these days . . .

I heard a noise downstream. The wind carried the sound
of underbrush crackling, of people walking towards me.
Having seen enough TV shoot-em-ups to know that the good
guy should never stick his head up or somebody will try to
blow it off, I tried to peer through the shrub. Since the honeysuckle
hadn't leafed out yet, it was fairly easy to see through.
That might work both ways, I supposed.

I could barely make out several small spots of light. Flashlights,
maybe. And voices. Henry was right. They were awfully
noisy. Either they didn't realize their voices carried, or they
didn't care. I thought I recognized a couple of them-maybe
Rudy's or Way's-but that was likely wishful thinking. The
sounds just seemed to tumble over each other on the wind.

When the lights stopped moving, I crept out from behind
the honeysuckle and made for a tree, ten yards ahead. From
there, I crawled forward on my belly until I was less than a
half a football field away from the group.

I had to admit I was feeling pretty cool. Like when I played
Army in the backyard with Danny Danielli when we were
eight. I could still only see an occasional figure in the moonlight,
and I strained to see what they were wearing.

After all, militias wear fatigues right? Teenagers wear . . .
just about anything. I crept a little closer into the moon
shadow of another tree. Something about the way the figures
were moving made me think they were adults-and older
adults at that.

Yeah, Maggy. Brookhills' senior community was out for
maneuvers. Still I was certain now that these weren't kids,
but men, and that they were carrying-

Pop! A splinter of wood exploded from the tree trunk next
to me. Had that been a gunshot? In Danny Danielli's backyard,
the guns went "bang" not-

Pop!

Still, "pop" worked just fine.

d*mn, someone was shooting at me. I attempted to
become one with the earth-but not in the Zen kind of way-
and scutter away like a crab.

A hand grabbed my leg.

Buy it now! 

*The Maggy Thorsen Mysteries *       * Also by Sandra Balzo *


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## SandraBalzo (Mar 10, 2011)

*Today and tomorrow (Thursday) my Kindle original, Heaven's Fire is free on Amazon.*

​
"Equal parts thriller, romance and family saga . . .
a compelling and deeply human read."
Joan Johnston, New York Times bestselling author of Texas Bride​
"Heaven's Fire" may be what Pasquale Firenze, patriarch of the family-owned Firenze Fireworks, calls his painting of the night sky with light, color and sound, but television producer Wendy "Jake" Jacobus has more practical considerations than her featured showman's artistry. Or so she believes, until Pasquale is killed--live on-camera--by an explosion, and Jake is hurled into a tangled web triggered by her job, her legacy as a cancer survivor, and her growing attraction to Simon Aamot, the federal agent assigned to the investigation.

Aamot has problems as well, but when the two are forced together by the tragedy, the man unable to let go of his past and the woman afraid to trust her future must race to prevent another catastrophic explosion--this one at the county's Fourth of July celebration.

"Rooted in the dangerously exotic world of a multi-generational fireworks company. . . spell-binding."
Jeremiah Healy, award-winning author of The Only Good Lawyer and Spiral

"A fast-paced mystery that explodes off the page."
Ali Brandon, national bestselling author of Double Booked for Death​
​
Today and tomorrow, you can't buy your own little piece of Heaven.

The whole thing is free!!​
*The Maggy Thorsen Mysteries *      *Also by Sandra Balzo *


----------



## SandraBalzo (Mar 10, 2011)

_Chicago Tribune_ on *Uncommon Grounds*, the first book in the _*Maggy Thorsen Coffeehouse Mysteries:*_

_*D*espite my attraction to the darker, colder kind of mysteries and thrillers, I try to keep some-where near the middle of my mind the words of Anthony Boucher--who invented taking crime fiction seriously--when he wrote that "the important distinction is not between the schools of the whodunit but between the good and bad books whatever the school." That's why I'm especially pleased to praise Sandra Balzo's first novel, "Uncommon Grounds," which might well be of the cozy persuasion but is as wonderfully rich and sharply written as anything going.

Balzo, whose first short story won the prestigious Robert L. Fish Award, has imagined for her full-length debut the perfect modern equivalent of a British tea shoppe--a new coffeehouse in Brookhills, a small Wisconsin town as full of colorful, murderous lunatics as any Agatha Christie or Dorothy Sayers landscape.

What moves Balzo's book high above other writers who try to cover the same territory is a sharp and often amusing skill that convinces us that this is real life, and that it matters."_

*An excerpt from Uncommon Grounds by Sandra Balzo:*

So, does one take one's handbag when one goes surveilling?

I was willing to bet Miss Manners didn't have an answer
for that one. I opted to leave the handbag at home and slid my
driver's license into my pocket. That way they could identify
the body.

I waited in the minivan in the driveway, ski mask in hand,
and sure enough, at 11:00 p.m. the parade from Christ Christian
commenced down Poplar Creek Drive just as it had last
Thursday.

Four . . . five . . . six cars, each with more than one person
in it, best as I could tell. I let the last car get well past before I
backed out and followed.

We were all heading downstream toward Brookhill Road.
If my hunch was right, the cars would pull in . . .

Sure enough, the first car took a right just past Brookhill,
turning off Poplar Creek Drive onto a service road. The rest
of the cars followed, but I continued on, turning right at the
next driveway, which led to Brookhills Senior Manor. Poplar
Creek ran directly behind the Manor's back parking lot, separated
by a barbed wire fence.

I slid my ignition key under the mat so I wouldn't lose it
and got out of the van to look around. All was quiet. I didn't
even see Henry, my favorite imsomniac. Pulling apart the two
strands of barbed wire, I ducked through and skittered down
the muddy hill toward the creek. Although I couldn't see in
the dark, it sounded like it was still running high and fast.

I planted myself behind a wild honeysuckle bush and tried
to pull down my ski mask. That's when I remembered I'd left
it in the van. d*mn. Maybe this was like lying. You got better
at it, the more you did it.

I was sort of hoping I wouldn't get the chance.

I settled in to wait. And wait. Geez, how long does it take
to get out of cars and walk a block or two? What were they
doing? Handing out name badges? Assigning seats for the
ride back? It was probably all of fifteen minutes, but it seemed
a lot longer sitting there on the ground imagining field mice
crawling up my pants leg. Not that I would notice, since my
legs were asleep. And my butt was frozen.

Maybe this wasn't such a great idea. In fact, maybe this
was really stupid.

But something was going on down here and whatever it
was, I knew David had participated last Thursday because his
car had passed my house. Of course, it also could have been
Sam driving the Mercedes since, according to Eric, he had
spent quality time at Poplar Creek, too.

But somehow I doubted kids carpooled to makeout spots.
Then again, these days . . .

I heard a noise downstream. The wind carried the sound
of underbrush crackling, of people walking towards me.
Having seen enough TV shoot-em-ups to know that the good
guy should never stick his head up or somebody will try to
blow it off, I tried to peer through the shrub. Since the honeysuckle
hadn't leafed out yet, it was fairly easy to see through.
That might work both ways, I supposed.

I could barely make out several small spots of light. Flashlights,
maybe. And voices. Henry was right. They were awfully
noisy. Either they didn't realize their voices carried, or they
didn't care. I thought I recognized a couple of them-maybe
Rudy's or Way's-but that was likely wishful thinking. The
sounds just seemed to tumble over each other on the wind.

When the lights stopped moving, I crept out from behind
the honeysuckle and made for a tree, ten yards ahead. From
there, I crawled forward on my belly until I was less than a
half a football field away from the group.

I had to admit I was feeling pretty cool. Like when I played
Army in the backyard with Danny Danielli when we were
eight. I could still only see an occasional figure in the moonlight,
and I strained to see what they were wearing.

After all, militias wear fatigues right? Teenagers wear . . .
just about anything. I crept a little closer into the moon
shadow of another tree. Something about the way the figures
were moving made me think they were adults-and older
adults at that.

Yeah, Maggy. Brookhills' senior community was out for
maneuvers. Still I was certain now that these weren't kids,
but men, and that they were carrying-

Pop! A splinter of wood exploded from the tree trunk next
to me. Had that been a gunshot? In Danny Danielli's backyard,
the guns went "bang" not-

Pop!

Still, "pop" worked just fine.

d*mn, someone was shooting at me. I attempted to
become one with the earth-but not in the Zen kind of way-
and scutter away like a crab.

A hand grabbed my leg.

Buy it now! 

*The Maggy Thorsen Mysteries *       * Also by Sandra Balzo *


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## SandraBalzo (Mar 10, 2011)

Uncommon Grounds now on audio-book!


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## SandraBalzo (Mar 10, 2011)

Now in e-book, Maggy Thorsen Mystery #7

​
Maggy Thorsen, the proprietor of Uncommon Grounds, finds that rebuilding her coffee shop in the "Old Brookhills" section of Brookhills, Wis., can be murder in Balzo's witty, smoothly plotted fifth caffeine cozy...sassy, lighthearted whodunit...
_Publishers Weekly_

A witty cozy with eccentric characters and a fast-moving plot.
_Booklist_​
The state of Wisconsin has never been known for its mild winters and this particular season is no exception. But that's all good news for Maggy Thorsen and Uncommon Grounds, her newly renovated Brookhills coffeehouse.

Now that Maggy and her real estate maven pal, Sarah Kingston, have finally completed the relocation of Uncommon Grounds to the town's historical train station, they've concocted just the perfect drink special to warm up the residents of Brookhills - Triple Shot, a heady coffee drink with massive doses of sugar and caffeine - during this especially cold season.

And all is going well for Maggy (okay, maybe she's a little over-caffeinated, but what do you expect?) when Ward Chitown, a has-been TV personality, rolls into town in search of a long-hidden Mafia stash. And Chitown knows the stash is here because his father led the FBI bust some thirty years ago, in which three agents lost their lives&#8230;

But now, it's the real estate agents in Brookhills that should be looking over their shoulders. Two of Sarah's fellow brokers were shot and left to die at the properties they were showing&#8230;and the whole town is feeling nervous, staying home with their windows drawn&#8230;

When the stench of death starts to pervade Uncommon Grounds, Maggy and Sarah are forced to put all other business aside and find the killer before Sarah becomes the recipient of the murderer's third shot&#8230;


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