Cleo Coyle Brews up Murder in Dead Cold Brew {+ Awesome Giveaway}

I’m thrilled to welcome author Cleo Coyle to Thoughts in Progress today to talk about the latest release in her Coffeehouse Mystery series, DEAD COLD BREW.

Cleo (the writing team of husband and wife Marc and Alice) have created a fascinating series. In celebration of this recent release, Cleo is offering visits a chance to enter an awesome giveaway – a book, a tote, and coffee - oh my! Please see the end of the post for more details.

With each new addition in the Coffeehouse Mysteries, there’s a new adventure, delicious recipes, and tidbits about coffee to learn. I’ve loved the series since the first installment and can’t wait for each new book.

Please join me in giving a warm welcome to Cleo who joins us to talk about DEAD COLD BREW. Welcome, Cleo.

First and foremost, we send caffeinated cheers to Mason Canyon for her support of our work. Mason has been reading and reviewing The Coffeehouse Mysteries since the beginning, long before Penguin moved us into hardcover or we hit the New York Times list. 

Our little coffee series that got bigger and bigger is still going strong, and today we’re here to tell new readers about our books—and longtime fans about our latest entry, Dead Cold Brew.

The setting for the Coffeehouse Mysteries is a real one, New York City, where my husband and I have lived and worked for over thirty years. Our stories are inspired by actual crimes, and our characters developed from our own experiences in this challenging town.

Clare is the central figure in our mysteries. A single mom in her forties, she manages a busy coffeehouse in the heart of Greenwich Village while mothering an oddball collection of baristas in her employ. Clare’s knowledge of her community (along with her passion for righting wrongs) has helped the NYPD solve a number of perplexing crimes.

In Dead Cold Brew, Clare finally becomes officially engaged to her boyfriend, Detective Lieutenant Mike Quinn. Unfortunately, the custom-designed ring Mike slips on Clare’s finger opens a Pandora’s box to a cold case of murder, one that occurred sixty years ago in the stateroom of the Andrea Doria. This luxurious Italian ocean liner tragically sank off the coast of Nantucket in 1956.

On board the ship was a gifted Italian artisan named Gus Campana, the jewelry designer who created Clare’s engagement ring. When she finds Gus poisoned behind his West Village workshop, she won’t rest until she uncovers who may have done it and why. Her search uncovers a family scandal, a charming thief, and a deadly adversary.

If you are new to our series, don’t hesitate to pick up DEAD COLD BREW. You can read it as a stand-alone, and if you like it, you have 15 more mysteries to enjoy. But don’t miss this latest entry. It’s embedded with twists, turns, and wonderful secrets about New York City that we’ve discovered over the years—from an exclusive room in the legendary 21 Club, to the underbelly of the city’s Diamond District, to a hidden train platform beneath the Waldorf-Astoria.

Cleo (Alice and Marc), thanks so much for visiting with us today and sharing this background on your latest release. Your mysteries not only keep me in suspense and entertained but provide me with tasty recipes and more knowledge to fuel my love of coffee.

“A fabulous diamond, blackmail, embezzlement, surprise inheritances, murder, and a decades-old family scandal…with lusciously rich recipes.” — Publishers Weekly on Dead Cold Brew

DEAD COLD BREW is also a culinary mystery, with an appendix of more than 25 recipes, including Cannoli Cream Cupcakes, Perfect Pumpkin Quick Bread, Blueberry Buckle Cake, (Meatless) Baked Ziti, Chicken Cacciatore (Red and White Versions), American Fettuccine Alfredo, Irish Cream Chocolate Chip Cookies, Chocolate-Espresso Cookies, tips on how to make Cold Brew Coffee like a pro, and much more.

To see the book’s Free Recipe Guide, click here.

CLEO’S NEWSLETTER: Fun contests, bonus recipes, book news, and videos. To sign up, simply write an e-mail that says “sign me up” and send it to CoffeehouseMystery@gmail.com

FREE TITLE CHECKLIST: Get a title checklist with mini-summaries of all 16 Coffeehouse Mysteries and links to free recipe guides. To download the list as a PDF document, click here.

Alice Alfonsi and her husband, Marc Cerasini, who write as Cleo Coyle

CLEO COYLE is a pseudonym for Alice Alfonsi, writing in collaboration with her husband, Marc Cerasini. Both are New York Times bestselling authors of the Coffeehouse Mysteries, now celebrating over ten years in print.

Alice has worked as a journalist in Washington, D.C., and New York City, and has written popular fiction for adults and children. A former magazine editor, Marc has authored espionage thrillers and nonfiction for adults and children.

Alice and Marc are also bestselling media tie-in writers who have penned properties for Lucasfilm, NBC, Fox, Disney, Imagine, and MGM. They live and work in New York City, where they write independently and together, including the national bestselling Haunted Bookshop Mysteries.

Visit their website at www.coffeehousemystery.com. You can also friend Cleo on Facebook or follow on Twitter or Pinterest.

This giveaway is open to residents of the U.S. only and will end at midnight (EST) on Wednesday, Jan. 18

Cleo’s Prize Package includes an autographed copy of her beautiful new hardcover DEAD COLD BREW; a set of autographed glossy recipe cards; a large, durable, canvas tote bag featuring one of Madame’s favorite sayings: “Survive everything. And do it with style,” and a pound of premium “Billionaire’s Blend” coffee from One Good Woman Coffee and Tea Co., created in honor of Cleo’s 13^th Coffeehouse Mystery: Billionaire Blend.

To enter the giveaway, just click on the Rafflecopter widget below and follow the instructions. The widget may take a few seconds to load so please be patient. A winner will be selected by the Rafflecopter widget and I’ll send an email with the subject line “Thoughts in Progress Giveaway.” The winner will have 72 hours to reply to the email or another winner will be selected. PLEASE be sure to check your spam folder from time to time after the giveaway ends to make sure the notification email doesn’t end up there. If you win and you’ve already won the book somewhere else or you just decided for whatever reason you don’t want to win (which is fine), once again PLEASE let me know.

Thanks so much for stopping by during Cleo’s visit. Be sure to drop back by next week (Thursday, Jan. 19) when I share my thoughts on DEAD COLD BREW. Have you read any of the Coffeehouse Mystery series? Do you enjoy books that incorporate real places and events with your favorite characters?

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