Sandra Balzo est célébrée pour sa fiction policière captivante, tissant souvent des récits se déroulant dans de charmants cafés ou des décors pittoresques. Son style excelle dans la création d'intrigues engageantes et de personnages auxquels on s'identifie, entraînant les lecteurs dans le monde du crime et de son élucidation. Balzo construit magistralement le suspense et des rebondissements surprenants, ce qui lui a valu un public fidèle parmi les amateurs du genre à la recherche de lectures intelligentes et rythmées. Ses œuvres sont appréciées pour leur atmosphère et leur approche unique du format du mystère.
Set in Milwaukee at a scaldingly competitive trade show for the coffee industry, events reach a head when coffeehouse owner Maggy Thorsen discovers a body under a table at the conference center. As the reluctant conference coordinator and a potential suspect, Maggy must track the murderer, save her coffeehouse, and hopefully put some froth in her love life.
Amy Caprese is the star barista at Maggy Thorsen's coffeehouse, Uncommon Grounds. But her new beau Kip Fargo has been shot dead in his bed - and Amy is the prime suspect. Determined to prove her barista's innocence, Maggy soon makes a number of disturbing discoveries. Can she untangle a web of lies in time to avert the disaster that's brewing?
Maggy Thorsen's new neighbours, Philip and Vivian Woodward, are forging ahead with their plans to turn Vivian's grandparents' neglected cottage into The Big Steep tea shop. But when Maggy's sheepdog arrives at Uncommon Grounds coffeehouse bearing a 'gift' he discovered in the Woodwards' compost heap, the tea shop project takes a chilling turn .
Amidst the turmoil of a funeral, Maggy Thorsen finds herself entangled in the Kingston family's hidden truths when her partner Sarah's sister, Ruth, is hospitalized under suspicious circumstances. As Maggy and Sarah, along with Sarah's niece Arial, delve into the family's troubled history, they confront unresolved tensions and a mysterious stranger that may hold the key to uncovering dark secrets. The quest for answers reveals a complex web of motives surrounding Ruth's actions and Edna's controversial legacy.
Maggy Thorsen has taken on a new barista, Christy Wrigley, to fill in at her Wisconsin coffee house. When the new love of her life turns up unexpectedly on the coffee shop's doorstep, Christy is shocked - but what happens next is even more incredible, and Maggy is soon drawn into a deadly blend of betrayal, deception and lies.
Wisconsin coffeehouse owner Maggy Thorsen's cousin, Jacque Oui, is in trouble. Big trouble! His grocery store is struggling and his ex-wife has arrived from Paris claiming they're still married. Then a fire rips through the store's flat and a gruesome discovery is made... With Jacque suddenly missing, is Maggy about to be scorched by a killer?
Trouble is brewing for coffeehouse owner Maggy Thorsen when she's caught up in a storm and - and murder - at a writers' retreat. Maggy's no fan of the outdoors, but forest bugs are the least of her worries when lightning strikes the lodge during a storm and she discover the body of the retreat's organizer...