“Readers will want to curl up with this winner with a cappuccino or maybe even a Viennese cinnamon latte.” 

–Publisher’s Weekly

In her delightful debut, Balzo puts a 21st-century spin on the traditional cozy, replacing tea with coffee as the comfort beverage of choice. Divorced Maggy Thorsen and her friends open a coffee shop in their small Wisconsin town, but a dead body gets in the way…

“…as wonderfully rich and sharply written as anything going. What moves Balzo’s book high above other writers is a sharp and often amusing skill that convinces us that this is real life and that it matters.”
–Chicago Tribune

Uncommon Grounds
(Maggy Thorsen Coffeehouse Mysteries)
by Sandra Balzo
4.1 out of 5 stars 15 Reviews

Kindle Price: $2.99

Text-to-Speech: Enabled

Don’t have a Kindle? Get yours here.

“A Caffeinated Delight”

Here’s the set-up:

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.

 

…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.

 

Here’s how Publishers Weekly describes it:

In her delightful debut, Balzo puts a 21st-century spin on the traditional cozy, replacing tea with coffee as the comfort beverage of choice. Maggy Thorsen, a divorcée whose husband left her for his 24-year-old dental hygienist, and two women friends are eager to open a coffee shop, Uncommon Grounds, in the small Wisconsin town of Brookhills, whose inhabitants include such recognizable types as the local gossip and tennis moms. In a world where Starbuck’s and other chains are ubiquitous, Maggy and her friends have their work cut out for them. The challenge becomes even greater when Maggy discovers the body of one of her partners, Patricia Harper, on the floor of their coffee shop. Determined to find out who killed Patricia and why, Maggy delves into the mystery with a sense of humor that would make Miss Marple smile. In her search for the truth, she works with, and sometimes against, the new and unpredictable county sheriff, Jake Pavlik—and uncovers at considerable personal risk the secrets of some of the town’s most prominent citizens. Readers will want to curl up with this winner with a cappuccino or maybe even a Viennese cinnamon latte.

 

What the Reviewers Say

“UNCOMMON GROUNDS is a fun, addicting read, with Balzo striking a nice balance between the everyday and (occasionally) extraordinary. Her narration and plotting is extremely strong and confident throughout. She is careful not to fall into some of the traps that novels of this genre can create. As a result, Thorsen’s dog is cute, but not too much so; Pavlik is a ready, but imperfect, love interest; and Thorsen’s soon-to-be ex, a despicable cad who has left her for a twentysomething dental hygienist, never even makes an appearance… It is evident from UNCOMMON GROUNDS that Balzo’s talent runs strong and deep. We will see more manifestations of it, and soon.”
–Bookreport.com


“…Sandra Balzo really hits the mark with Uncommon Grounds. Maggy Thorsen, recently divorced public relations expert about to turn entrepreneur, embarks on the chance of a lifetime – opening, along with two friends, her own gourmet coffee shop. Opening day doesn’t go exactly the way the trio has planned; when Maggy arrives at the shop she finds Patricia Harper, one of the three co-owners, lying on the floor in a pool of milk with Caron, Maggy’s long-time friend and other co-owner, standing over her. From this point on, NOTHING is as it seems. I especially like Ms. Balzo’s use of an unconventional murder weapon – an espresso machine! It turns out that Patricia has been electrocuted, and not unintentionally.”
–C. A. Hopkins, Vine Voice


“The story line is an engaging tale that starts off as a wonderful police procedural, but soon adds a solid parallel amateur sleuth subplot. Magnificent Maggie makes the plot percolate as she wonders if she is a suspect, how to avoid pushy reporters and finally how to clear her name. The support cast enhances either the investigation, offers insight into the victim, or a better understanding of Maggie. Though the killer comes out of nowhere and seems stretched, mystery readers will take delight sipping this caffeine cozy caper.”
–Harriet Klausner, Number 1 Reviewer

About the Author

I turned to mystery writing after twenty years in corporate public relations, event management, and publicity in Milwaukee.
My books are set in a gourmet coffee shop and feature Maggy Thorsen, a down-sized PR person. (Go figure.) In the first book, Uncommon Grounds, Maggy arrives at the store the morning of their grand opening only to find one of her partners dead in a pool of skim milk in front of the espresso machine. I’m told the books are funny. There are??five more Maggy Thorsen mysteries out: GROUNDS FOR MURDER; BEAN THERE, DONE THAT; BREWED, CRUDE and TATTOOED: FROM THE GROUNDS UP and A CUP of JO. TRIPLE SHOT is coming later this year.

 

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