Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Library Reader Advisory Blog: New Coffeehouse Mystery: Billionaire Blend

Billionaire Blend: A Coffeehouse Mystery

Clare Cosi, co-owner of the Village Blend coffeehouse in Manhattan comes across another murder to solve when a car bomb detonates right outside her shop, killing Internet billionaire Eric Thorner's chauffeur, and leaving Clare and Eric feeling lucky to escape any harm. To thank Claire for her aid, Eric buys the Village Blend a high end espresso machine and hires her to create a coffee blend so expensive and extravagant, that only the wealthy can afford it.

Per Publishers Weekly Reviews, "Coyle (the husband-and-wife team of Marc Cerasini and Alice Alfonsi) combines fascinating coffee lore, sumptuous culinary events, extravagant lifestyles, and romantic possibilities for a highly satisfying mystery."

Check out the other books in the Coffeehouse Mystery series!

On What Grounds (September 2003)
Through the Grinder (October 2004)
Latte Trouble (August 2005)
Murder Most Frothy (August 2006)
Decaffeinated Corpse (July 2007)
French Pressed (April 2008)
Espresso Shot (September 2008)
Holiday Grind (November 2009)
Roast Mortem (August 2010)
Murder by Mocha (August 2011)
A Brew to Kill (August 2012)
Holiday Buzz (December 2012)

Being Mortal by Atul Gawande

Genre: Adult Non-Fiction
Rating: 5 out of 5

"Being Mortal is about the limitations of what modern medicine can provide for people as their lives draw to a close. Gawande argues that the objective of medicine should not merely be treatment and survival; medical care should also ensure dignity in death and having control over one's final moments. He argues that instead of aggressively fighting the inescapable realities of aging, we should ask the hard questions of ourselves and our loved ones -- What makes life worth living? When should we try to extend our lives, and when should we choose a better quality of our remaining days over extending their quantity?

This book is difficult to read. Not because of the way Gawande writes -- his style is highly engaging, and he never lapses into excessively scientific jargon or overly simplistic explanations -- but because of the tough subject matter. Gawande draws on his own experiences as a doctor and peppers his book with honest and humane stories of his patients, friends, and family; the stories he tells make the book more accessible, and also more heartbreaking. (And that's not a bad thing.)

No one likes to think about their loved ones', or their own, impending mortality. But it's important to have these hard conversations, because as Gawande says, "endings matter." - Amanda

New Coffeehouse Mystery: Billionaire Blend

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