Death by Vanilla Latte

Krissy Hancock has a way of getting involved with murder. Ever since she moved to Pine Hills and opened her cafe, Death by Coffee, she has come across too many killers. Sooner or later, no matter how hard she tries, she steps right in the middle of trouble. When her father, famed mystery writer James Hancock, decides to pay a visit there is no way murder is not going to follow.

Krissy is surprised by her father’s sudden visit, she’d missed him and although elated to see him she is worried that with a new book, and a book signing tour he might be endangering his health. The fact that he brought his longtime agent with him, a man Krissy has never liked or trusted worry’s her even more. But in her wildest nightmares, she never thought that her father would become the main suspect in the agent’s death.

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Series: A Bookstore Cafe Mystery – Book #4
Author: Alex Erickson
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Publisher: Kensington Books

Rating:

Krissy Hancock is always sticking her nose where it doesn’t belong, she keeps stepping into murder investigations and stepping on the local police officers’ toes in the process. Many people in the small town are not fond of her and fear that whenever she shows up, murder is soon to follow. So when her father comes to town with his literary agent, there is bound to be trouble. The agent ends up dead, and her father may be the killer. It becomes apparent that the police are at a loss, they have no clues and no other suspects. Krissy tells herself to stay out of it, her coffee cafe is where she needs to spend her time, let the cops figure it out but… their suspect is her father, and she uses this fact to justify getting involved and solving the murder before the police blow the investigation and arrest her dad.

Although this is a cute, fast-paced cozy with nice characters and a wonderful coffee shop setting, it is more of a romance based story than an actual mystery. The main character, Krissy is supposed to be a business owner, yet she acts and is treated more as an employee. She seems to be needy when she is meant to be a strong independent woman. The other characters in this story are unremarkable and lack any depth, except Krissy’s father. James Hancock is an excellent character that deserves far more attention and should be more involved in the plot and investigation. The ending is almost predictable. However, the character revealed as the killer is not plausible in the sense that the character is barely mentioned in the book at all.

The agent is a colorful and unlikable character who is the perfect victim that no one will actually mourn. Readers may be disappointed with the love triangle in this story as it plays a bigger part than is warranted. I would like the coffee shop to play a bigger role in the future. Overall this book has some good qualities and is well written. It will appeal to those readers who are looking for something lite and easy to read.