For my Pick Your Poison Reading Challenge, I chose Latte Trouble by Cleo Coyle for the category “A Cozy Mystery with a Beverage in the Title.”

This mystery follows coffee shop owner Clare Cosi, as she works to solve the crime that occurred during New York Fashion Week in her shop. Can she figure out who is the one responsible for the death or will her employee stay in prison?

This was my first time reading this series or anything by this author, and I can see some potential interest in reading more of these types of stories. While this wasn’t exactly like the Miss Marple series from Agatha Christie, I can definitely see the influences from some of those classic mysteries. 

I enjoyed the mystery surrounding the story, when it actually focused on it. Poisonings are always an interesting way for people to die because if done right, the suspect can easily get away with the crime. There were many times that I was hooked by the mystery, only to hit a wall every chapter with “Relationship Drama” written all over it. 

There were also some side plots that didn’t go anywhere and just took away from the mystery. This made the story just drag on. 

Even though the last couple of chapters were captivating, and I learned a bit about coffee, I don’t think I’ll be revisiting this series.

Overall, I give this a 3/5 stars.