Maggy Thorsen Mystery #4

Severn House publication, June 2009
Hardcover: ISBN 978-0-7278-6735-3
Trade Paper: ISBN 978-1-84751-125-6
Also available as E-book

It’s May 1st and in Wisconsin that means the daffodils and hyacinths are poking up their heads. Unfortunately, it also means they may freeze their little buds off. The Perfect Spring Storm arrives without warning or so it seems to Maggy Thorsen, co-owner of the Brookhills coffeehouse Uncommon Grounds. Trapped by the storm which cuts off electricity and downs phone lines, Maggy ventures into the service corridor that connects Uncommon Grounds to the rest of the mall, looking for sustenance beyond espresso and pastries.

What she finds instead is the body of Way Benson, local developer and owner of the mall. Maggy’s discovery unearths other refugees of the storm and it seems that more than one of these people has a motive for killing the arrogant Way. Cut off by the snow, Maggy has to be content to leave Way to become a corpse-sicle until she can get hold of her main squeeze, County Sheriff Jake Pavlik. Content, that is, until another member of their intrepid little group is killed and the coffee — sans electricity — gets even colder than the bodies.

What They’re Saying

Publishers Weekly: “Near the start of Balzo’s lively fourth Maggy Thorsen mystery, a sudden spring “thundersnow” traps Maggy and friends in Benson Plaza, the Brookhills, Wis, strip mall where Maggy rents space for her coffee shop, Uncommon Grounds.. . . Credible characters and a well-constructed plot.”

Kirkus Reviews: “A freak May snowstorm provides the perfect cover for murder in a suburban strip mall [and,] armed with flashlights from Goddard’s Pharmacy, Maggy leads her mighty band of retailers on a quest to capture the killer.”

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