Fiction, Mystery & Detective

Bean There, Done That

Name: Bean There, Done That
Author: Sandra Balzo
ISBN: 9780727866530

by Sandra Balzo

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Overview

Heres a tip: if your ex-husbands mistress-cum-missus asks for your help in proving that he cheated on her while he was married to you, just say no. And, whatever you do, dont invite her in . . .Coffeehouse owner Maggy Thorsen does just that when Rachel Slattery Thorsen comes knocking on her door. When the new Mrs Thorsen disappears that same evening, Maggy quickly finds herself embroiled in a murder investigation involving Rachels hotelier family Milwaukees answer to the Hiltons.

About the Author, Sandra Balzo

Sandra Balzo turned to mystery writing after twenty years in corporate public relations, event management and publicity. Triple Shot, her seventh Maggy Thorsen coffeehouse mystery, was just released, and Sandy's second series, Main Street Mysteries, debuted in April with Running on Empty. The books, set in the popular vacation destination of North Carolina's High Country, will alternate with the Maggy Thorsen mysteries. Heaven's Fire, about a fireworks show gone badly wrong, was released directly to Kindle with excellent reviews.

Balzo's novels have been nominated for both the Anthony and Macavity awards and received starred reviews from Kirkus and Booklist. In addition to her books about coffee-maven Maggy Thorsen and displaced journalist AnnaLise Griggs, Balzo writes short stories, two of which have been published in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, winning the Macavity, Derringer and Robert L. Fish awards. Those psychological thrillers, along with a third original story, are available on Kindle in The Grass is Always Greener and Other Stories.

Balzo has handled publicity for three Bouchercons (World Mystery Conventions), as well as the International Association of Crime Writers, and has served a national board member of Mystery Writers of America. A native of southeastern Wisconsin, she currently splits her time between Florida and the High Country of North Carolina.

And roots for the Green Bay Packers.

www.sandybalzo.com

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Editorials

Publishers Weekly

At the start of Balzo's spirited third Maggy Thorsen mystery (after 2007's Grounds for Murder), Rachel Thorsen, the wife of Maggy's ex-husband, Ted, shows up at Maggy's Brookhills, Wis., coffeehouse, Uncommon Grounds, and confides she suspects Ted is cheating on her. When Rachel disappears and is later found murdered, Ted is the chief suspect. Since Maggy and Ted share a son, she feels compelled to help, despite her budding relationship with Sheriff Jake Pavlik. Convinced that Ted is the killer, the members of Rachel's wealthy family spare no expense in trying to prove him guilty. It's up to Maggie to find the truth, even if that means helping the man who dumped her. An engaging sleuth, Maggy puts her own humorous, breezy spin on everything, from coffee lore to the colorful locals, in a cozy that will leave readers guessing until the end. (Oct.)

Kirkus Reviews

Milwaukee coffee-shop owner Maggy Thorsen (Grounds for Murder, 2007, etc.) is as steamed as the milk in a venti latte when her ex-husband's new wife asks for help proving what a faithless wretch he is. Cute gal Rachel has a problem. She thinks that her dentist husband Ted Thorsen is cheating. So she asks Ted's ex-wife Maggy for the old calendars she's saved to see if Ted might have been cheating on Rachel with somebody else during the same two years he was cheating on Maggy with Rachel. Maggy's none too pleased to be digging up old dirt. She's moved on with her life and, with help from her partner Caron Egan and rainbow-haired barista Amy, runs Uncommon Grounds, where Brookhills County's commuters and tennis moms snatch their daily caffeine fix. She's even got something going with sheriff Jake Pavlik. But curiosity is an insatiable beast-almost as bad as her sheepdog Frank-and Maggy nurses a sneaking suspicion about Ted and his dental-school classmate Emma Byrne, who's currently turning Sarah Kingston, Maggy's best friend, into a Brookhills Barbie. So she agrees to meet with Rachel shortly before the second Mrs. Thorsen drops out of sight, leaving the first Mrs. Thorsen in a worse mess than the jumble left by Uncommon Grounds' very own dumpster diver. Balzo gives an old formula new life with crisp dialogue, complex characters and a puzzle that can't be beat.

Kirkus Reviews

"Balzo gives an old formula new life with crisp dialogue, complex characters and a puzzle that can't be beat."

Publishers Weekly

"An engaging sleuth, Maggy puts her own humorous, breezy spin on everything, from coffee lore to the colorful locals, in a cozy that will leave readers guessing until the end."

Emily Melton

"Lively pacing, snappy dialogue, tongue-in-cheek humor, and a cast of attention-grabbing characters—not the least of whom is Maggy’s giant pooch, Frank—make for another successful entry in this agreeable series."