Book List: fiction for coffee lovers

If youre anything like me in the mornings, youre scarcely coherent until you hear that familiar burble of searing coffee spurting up through your Italian-style espresso maker. Until that rich, gritty aroma pervades the air, warming, waking: the mere promise of your morning coffee is almost enough to rouse you from your complacent, vaguely somnolent state.

And if youre anything like me, you like reading about coffee almost as much as you enjoy drinking it. At the very least, you surely enjoy reading about it'whilst drinking a coffee. Working purely on this assumption, I thought it might be timely to put together a list of coffee-themed fiction for you to peruse over your morning cuppa. Enjoy!

The Various Flavors of Coffee by Anthony Capella (see our review)

Blurb: It was a cup of coffee that changed Robert Wallis's life and a cup of very bad coffee at that. The impoverished poet is sitting in a London coffeehouse contemplating an uncertain future when he meets Samuel Pinker. The owner of Castle Coffee offers Wallace the very last thing a struggling young artiste in fin de siecle England could possibly want: a job.

But the job Wallis accepts employing his palate and talent for words to compose a 'vocabulary of coffee' based on its many subtle and elusive flavors is only the beginning of an extraordinary adventure in which Wallis will experience the dizzying heights of desire and the excruciating pain of loss. As Wallis finds himself falling hopelessly in love with his coworker, Pinker's spirited suffragette daughter Emily, both will discover that you cannot awaken one set of senses without affecting all the others.

Their love is tested when Wallis is dispatched on a journey to North Africa in search of the legendary Arab mocca. As he travels to coffee's fabled birthplace and learns the fiercely guarded secrets of the trade Wallis meets Fikre, the defiant, seductive slave of a powerful coffee merchant, who serves him in the traditional Abyssinian coffee ceremony. And when Fikre dares to slip Wallis a single coffee bean, the mysteries of coffee and forbidden passion intermingle'and combine to change history and fate.

__

The Espressologist by Kristina Springer

Blurb: What's your drink of choice? Is it a small pumpkin spice latte? Then you're lots of fun and a bit sassy. Or a medium americano? You prefer simplicity in life. Or perhaps it's a small decaf soy sugar-free hazelnut caffe latte? Some might call you a yuppie.

Seventeen-year-old barista Jane Turner has this theory that you can tell a lot about a person by their regular coffee drink. She scribbles it all down in a notebook and calls it Espressology. So it's not a totally crazy idea when Jane starts hooking up some of her friends based on their coffee orders. Like her best friend, Em, a medium hot chocolate, and Cam, a toffee nut latte. But when her boss, Derek, gets wind of Jane's Espressology, he makes it an in-store holiday promotion, promising customers their perfect matches for the price of their favorite coffee.

Things are going better than Derek could ever have hoped, so why is Jane so freaked out? Does it have anything to do with Em dating Cam? She's the one who set them up! She should be happy for them, right? With overtones of Jane Austen's'Emma and brimming with humor and heart, this sweet, frothy debut will be savored by readers.

__

The Coffee Trader by David Liss

Blurb: In his richly suspenseful second novel, author David Liss once again travels back in time to a crucial moment in cultural and financial history. His destination: Amsterdam, 1659'a mysterious world of trade populated by schemers and rogues, where deception rules the day.'On the world's first commodities exchange, fortunes are won and lost in an instant. Miguel Lienzo, a sharp-witted trader in the city's close-knit community of Portuguese Jews, knows this only too well. Once among the city's most envied merchants, Miguel has lost everything in a sudden shift in the sugar markets. Now, impoverished and humiliated, living on the charity of his petty younger brother, Miguel must find a way to restore his wealth and reputation.

Miguel enters into a partnership with a seductive Dutchwoman who offers him one last chance at success'a daring plot to corner the market of an astonishing new commodity called 'coffee.' To succeed, Miguel must risk everything he values and test the limits of his commercial guile, facing not only the chaos of the markets and the greed of his competitors, but also a powerful enemy who will stop at nothing to see him ruined. Miguel will learn that among Amsterdam's ruthless businessmen, betrayal lurks everywhere, and even friends hide secret agendas.'With humor, imagination, and mystery, David Liss depicts a world of subterfuge, danger, and repressed longing, where religious and cultural traditions clash with the demands of a new and exciting way of doing business. Readers of historical suspense andlovers of coffee (even decaf) will be up all night with this beguiling novel.

__

Black Coffee by Agatha Christie

Blurb: Created in 1930 as a stage play and faithfully adapted by Charles Osborne,'Black Coffee brings back beloved detective Hercule Poirot to exercise his little grey cells one more deliciously deductive time

An urgent call from physicist Sir Claud Amory sends famed detective Hercule Poirot rushing from London to a sprawling country estate. Sir Claud fears a member of his own household wants to steal a secret formula destined for the Ministry of Defense. But Poirot arrives too late. The formula is missing. Worse, Sir Claud has been poisoned by his after-dinner coffee. Poirot soon identifies a potent brew of despair, treachery, and deception amid the mansions occupants. Now he must find the formula and the killerwhile letting no poison slip twix his low lips.

__

Death by Latte by Linda Gerber

Blurb: It was only a few weeks ago that Aphra Connollys life changed completely. She had been living a quiet existence on her fathers secluded island resort, until Seth Mulo turned up and stole her heart and provided information that led her to find her mom in Seattle. But the reunion isnt quite what she expected. Aphras mom, Natalie, doesnt seem happy to see Aphra, and Natalies boyfriend, Joe, insists that Aphra go home. Even worse, Seth shows up, only to ask her to return the ring he gave her the previous summer. At least Natalies hunky neighbour is sympathetic. But when Joe is found dead at a nearby coffee shop, Aphra discovers her whole trip to Seattle has been based on a lie. And now someone just might be trying to kill her

__

Confessions of a Triple Shot Betty and Triple Shot Bettys in Loveby Jody Gehrman

Blurb for Confessions of 'Triple Shot Betty: Geena cant wait to spend summer vacation with her two best girls: her friend Amber and her cousin Hero. All three are working at the Triple Shot Betty coffee shop together, but the moment Amber and Hero meet, the claws come out. They hate each other on sight. Geenas dreams of a girl-bonding summer fl y out the window, and then threaten to disappear completely when a few cute (okay, drop-dead gorgeous) guys come along to woo the Bettys. But all is not what it seems, and in a story of mistaken identities, crazy summer high jinks, and enough romance to make Shakespeare proud, Geena and her friends learn that when Bettys unite, they can take on the most powerful force in their world: a hot guy.

Blurb for Triple Shot Bettys in Love: Geena is freaking out. Shes been going out with Ben for five months, their relationship is comfortable and perfect, and then Bam! hes suddenly putting the pressure on to be way more physical. Shes not sure shes ready. 'Enter Mr. Rex Sands, Geenas delectably hot and brilliant English substitute teacher (he speaks to her soul!), on whom her best friend Amber develops an immediate crush when he stops by the Triple Shot Betty coffee shack. Amber needs Geenas help talking to him because he is such an intellectual, so Geena finds herself writing love notes, MySpace messages, and texts to Mr. Sands under Ambers name. And he writes back! Geena is just doing it all for Amber (sort of), so its not technically cheating on Ben . . . right? In this romantic and playful update of'Cyrano de Bergerac, Jody Gehrman reintroduces readers to Geena, Amber, and the Sonoma gang as they walk the rocky and confusing path toward true love.

__

The Van Gogh Cafe by Cynthia Rylant

Blurb: At the Van Gogh Cafe, anything can happen. Claras dad owns the cafe, and shes seen it all from food that cooks by itself to poems that foretell the future. This award-winning collection of vignettes by Newbery medallist, Cynthia Rylant, is a treat to be relished. So bring your appetite for the unexpected, because at the Van Gogh Cafe, your order of tea and toast comes with a side of magic! Cynthia Rylant is the acclaimed author of more than a hundred books for young people, including the new poetry volume, Boris and the novel, Missing May, which received the Newbery Medal.

__

Coffeehouse Angel by Suzanne Selfours

Blurb: From the author of'Saving Juliet comes a romantic comedy that is good to the last drop. When Katrina spots a homeless guy sleeping in the alley behind her grandmother's coffee shop, she decides to leave him a cup of coffee, a bag of chocolate-covered coffee beans, and some pastries to tide him over. Little does she know that this random act of kindness is about to turn her life upside down.' Because this adorable vagrant, Malcolm, is really a guardian angel on a break between missions. And he won't leave until he can reward Katrina's selflessness by fulfilling her deepest desire. Now if only she could decide what that might be . . .

__

Double Espresso by Anthony Bruno

Blurb: Parole officers Loretta Kovacs and Frank Marvelli have been ordered to find hit man Sammy Teitlebaum before Sammy kills mob turncoat Gus Rispoli, whos tucked away at My Blue Heaven, the Witness Protection Programs top-secret prison. But the bad guys dont anticipate the determined'efforts of Loretta and Frank as they travel to Seattle to find Sammy. They also dont foresee Loretta and her moodjust as they hit Java City, shes decided to quit coffee cold turkey!

__

One Coffee With'by Margaret Maron

A new series featuring NYPD homicide detective Sigrid Harald There was more than coffee in Professor Quinns morning coffee. Someone in the art department office had slipped in a spoonful of poison. Among the suspects are a young secretary, an enraged Hungarian maintenance man, and a colleague who had an affair with Quins wife. NYPD detective Sigrid Harold is called in to find the killer with an artistic temperament and an aptitude for death.

____

Beach Cafe'by Lucy Diamond

This is the new novel from Lucy Diamond, every girls best friend, and author of Sweet Temptation. Evie Flynn has always been the black sheep of her family a dreamer and a drifter, unlike her over-achieving elder sisters. Shes tried making a name for herself as an actress, a photographer and a singer, but nothing has ever worked out. Now shes stuck in temp hell, with a sensible, pension-planning boyfriend. Somehow life seems to be passing her by. Then her beloved aunt Jo dies suddenly in a car crash, leaving Evie an unusual legacy her precious beach cafe in Cornwall. Determined to make a success of something for the first time in her life, Evie heads off to Cornwall to get the cafe and her life back on track and gets more than she bargained for, both in work and in love

____

Cafe Scheherazade'by Arnold Zable

Cafe Scheherazade'is a haunting meditation on displacement, and the way the effects of war linger in the minds of its survivors.'In this deeply moving book we meet Avram and Masha, proprietors of the cafe, and hear the tales that they and their fellow storytellers have to offer: of Moshe stalking the streets of Shanghai and Warsaw, of Laizer imprisoned in the Soviet city of Lvov, and of Zalman marooned in Vilna and Kobe. And we learn how Avram and Masha met and fell in love and came to create their Melbourne cafe together.

____

The Briny Cafe'by Susan Duncan (See my review)

Ettie Brookbank is the heart and soul of Cooks Basin, a sleepy offshore community comprising a cluster of dazzling blue bays. But for all the idyllic surroundings, Ettie cant help wondering where her dreams have disappeared to'until fate offers her a lifeline, in the shape of a lopsided little cafe on the waters edge. When Bertie, its cantankerous septuagenarian owner, offers her the Briny for a'fantastic price, its an opportunity too good to miss. But its a mammoth task, and shell need a partner. Enter Kate Jackson, the enigmatic new resident of the haunted house on Oyster Bay. Kate is also clearly at a crossroads'running from a life in the city that has left her lonely and lost. Could a ramshackle cafe and its endearingly eccentric customers deliver the new start both women so desperately crave?

____

Espresso for Two'by Courtni Wright

Shopkeeper Brandi Owens has worked next door to Sam Carlson for years, exchanging little more than pleasantries with the handsome businessman. When her matchmaking best friend Mia suggests they tear down the wall between their shops to make one big store, Brandis profits arent the only thing that benefit from the merger. The partnership quickly turns from business to pleasure, until another store owner decides she wants to sabotage Brandis shop and take Sam for herself. Suddenly Brandi has a fight on her hands, for her store, and for the man who has stolen her heart. And its a battle shes determined to win..

___

Coffee Rings'by Yvonne Lehman

They met in college, three young women with unstoppable dreams-until one tragic event pulled them in separate directions. Nineteen years later, they each find themselves living back in Laurel Ridge, North Carolina,and covering their deeply held pain with genteel social behavior. Annette is widowed and running a coffee shop. Ruby is married to a minister and raising three children. Lara is divorced and managing a womens boutique. When their long-held secrets surface, how will they hold the fragile pieces of their lives together? Are the stains of the past too deeply imbedded for true forgiveness to occur?

___

The Coffee Diary'by Caroline Kellems

Two years after her fathers brutal murder, Veronica returns to Guatemala to decide whether to sell her familys coffee farm. Stumbling upon the journal from her teenage years, she recalls crucial events from the past, in particular the arrival of her younger, illegitimate half-brother. This trauma changes her, and forever links her family to Jaime, the man who later becomes the towns corrupt mayor. Born into the lower class and yearning for respectability, Jaime turned to illegal activities to break the inevitable cycle of poverty. Now he is determined to have Veronicas farm by any means possible. During the years she lived away, memories of her country faded: the haunting landscapes, the beauty of the coffee farm, traditions, and faith. Upon returning she discovers, despite corruption, violence, and organized crime, a sense of belonging not experienced elsewhere. The country casts its spell on her and she realizes that Mayor Jaime, the villain she thought threatened her, is just a man shaped by the unforgiving nature of Guatemalan society.

___

A Honeybun Coffee'by Sam Cheever

Surprised into hiding in a mens room stall at work, Angie Peterson, owner of the Dunk and Run Coffee Shoppe, overhears two men talking about killing someone named Alastair Honeybun. Picturing a frail, helpless old Englishman, Angie rushes to warn him. There's only one, small problem, Alastair Honeybun is six foot two inches of yummy man, who's perfectly capable of taking care of himself. But when the thugs show up while Angie's still there, they soon figure out they'll need to take care of each other.'Running from criminals who seem to know where they are and what they're doing before they do, the two enlist Alastair's hunky and talented brothers to help them unravel the confusing swirl of murder, kidnapping, and downright unpleasantness closing in on them. But not to worry, the Honeybun brothers are determined to put a serious crimp in the bad guys' day!

__

The Little Coffee Shop of Kabul'by Deborah Rodriguez

After hard luck and heartbreak, Sunny finally finds a place to call home'in the middle of an Afghanistan war zone. There, the thirty-eight-year-old serves up her American hospitality to the expats who patronize her coffee shop, including a British journalist, a 'danger pay' consultant, and a wealthy and well-connected woman. True to her name, Sunny also bonds with people whose language and landscape are unfamiliar to most Westerners, but whose hearts and souls are very much like our own: the maternal Halajan, who vividly recalls the days before the Taliban and now must hide a modern romance from her ultratraditional son; and Yazmina, a young Afghan villager with a secret that could put everyone's life in jeopardy. In this gorgeous first novel,'New York Times'bestselling author Deborah Rodriguez paints a stirring portrait of a faraway place where'even in the fog of political and social conflict'friendship, passion, and hope still exist.

__

Cleo Coyles Coffeehouse Mysteries series:

(free reading guides are available from the authors website)

__

Sandra Balzos Maggy Thorsen mysteries:

(see our review of Uncommon Grounds, our review of Grounds for Murder, and our review of Bean There, Done That)