* A pound of one of Cleo Coyle’s favorite coffees is periodically awarded to a newsletter subscriber. Winners are chosen at random from the current list of valid, active e-mail addresses.

Welcome to Cleo's

H a u n t e d

Bookshop

A mystery series Cleo Coyle writes

under the pen name

Alice Kimberly

"He is hard boiled in the tradition of
Philip Marlowe, and she is a genteel Miss Marple; yet the two opposites make an explosive combination..."

—Midwest Book Review

Meet the widow,
bookshop owner...

Penelope

After her husband’s suicide, young widow Penelope Thornton-McClure moves herself and her young son from New York City back to her little New England hometown of Quindicott, Rhode Island. When she arrives, however, she finds her aunt Sadie Thornton in financial trouble and about to lose the family's old bookshop. Unwilling to allow the business to fail, Pen cashes her late husband’s life insurance money and uses every penny to overhaul the inventory and remodel the place. As fate would have it, the construction rouses the spirit of a dead man, a private investigator from New York who’d been gunned down on the premises in 1949 while investigating a murder. Waking the from his half-century slumber, the hard-boiled ghost is less than thrilled to find himself cosmically imprisoned within the fieldstone walls of Pen’s bookstore...

Meet

the

Ghost...

Jack
Shepard, PI

In life, Jack's pulse had pounded to the rhythm of the city streets: the smoky dice joints and swingin’ suds clubs. Why couldn’t he have been gunned down in a joint like that? Instead, he got lead poisoning in the god-forsaken sticks, eternity in cornpone alley. There was only one thing that made this backwater existence tolerable. Her name was Penelope.
Okay, so the broad was one of those annoying do-right, fair-play Jane types, but she had a nice face, a sweet voice, and Jack always had been a sucker for redheads. If he heard her thoughts right, Penelope didn’t even believe in ghosts. Well, he hadn’t believed in them, either. But, brother, had he been wrong. Now he was a disembodied spirit, sentenced for his sins to exist in a world he hardly knew. Lucky for him his purgatory came with an auburn haired angel, a doll named Penelope he couldn’t stop watching or watching over...

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READ THEIR BOOKS

In 2004, Cleo Coyle launched her Haunted Bookshop mystery series under the pen name Alice Kimberly. There are now 4 novels in this nationally bestselling series with a 5th and 6th coming in 2009. Come back to learn more about her upcoming books.

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Haunted
Bookshop #1

The Ghost and
Mrs. McClure

Alice Kimberly

The spirit is willing...
to catch a killer.

Young widow Penelope and her Aunt Sadie are making ends met by running their newly remodeled mystery bookshop, a quaint New England landmark, rumored to be haunted. Pen may not believe in ghosts, but she does believe in good publicity—like nabbing Timothy Brennan for a book signing. But soon after the bestselling thriller writer reveals a secret about the store's link to a 1940's murder, he keels over dead, right in the middle of the store's new Community Events space. Who gives Mrs. McClure the first clue that it was murder? The bookstore's full-time ghost, a PI who was murdered on the very spot more than fifty years before. Is he a figment of Pen's overactive imagination? Or is the oddly likeable fedora-wearing specter the only hope Pen has to solve the crime? You can bet your everlasting life on it.

Excerpt:

“Listen to me, baby, all that counts now is you and your son. You’re in it together. Isn’t that what you told the kid this morning?”

“I don’t believe it," I told the ghost. "You were there this morning? With us? Upstairs, in Spencer’s bedroom? You heard me say that?”

“Uh, so anyway, doll, let’s get back to the case—”

“Oh, no you don’t. I want you to answer my question. Were you spying on us? On me? Upstairs in our private rooms?”

“I like to think of it as surveillance.”

“Well I forbid you to go up there again.”

“Lady, you can’t lay down house rules to a man with no body.”

Click here to purchase

Haunted Bookshop Mystery #1

The Ghost and Mrs. McClure.

Haunted
Bookshop #2

The Ghost and
the Dead Deb

Alice Kimberly

Don't haunt the customers!

This was the only rule bookshop owner had given her resident ghost, hard-boiled private eye Jack Shepard. But when the hot young author Angel Stark arrives at the store to promote her latest—a book of true crime—Jack can hardly contain himself. After all, crime is his specialty. Angel's books is an unsolved mystery about a debutante found strangled to death. And it's filled with juicy details that point a finger at a number of people in the deb's high society circle. But when the author winds up dead too—in precisely the same way—Pen is fast on the case...which means Jack is too. After all, a ghost detective never rests in peace.

Excerpt:

“In my day, dames with money from well-heeled families hired me to help them duck scandal on the QT. The last thing they’d ever do was write a book about it and tart it up in front of a ham-handed audience for applause.”

The booming, masculine voice in my head was either the ghost of PI Jack Shepard or a delusion of my half-demented mind. Which was true? Take your pick.

“It’s a different world than the ’40’s, Jack,” I silently replied.

“I liked my world better," Jack said. "The uptown crowd kept their trashy messes in the back alley, not on their bookshelf.”

Click here to purchase

Haunted Bookshop Mystery #2

The Ghost and the Dead Deb

Haunted
Bookshop #3

The Ghost and the
Dead Man's Library

Alice Kimberly

Sleuth, Nevermore?

Jack Shepard didn’t have much use for books when he was alive. Now that he's dead, he has even less interest in the crate of dusty old tomes that arrive at the bookshop he’s been haunting. Penelope, on the other hand, is thrilled with the delivery. The rare old Poe library was willed to her shop by an elderly admirer of her aunt Sadie’s. The dead man’s library is so valuable that Pen is inundated with astronomical offers for every volume in the set. Everything appears rosy, until Pen begins to sell the books, one by one…and one by one each buyer dies. The police don’t believe Pen’s theory—that these deaths are linked to the rare book purchases. In fact, the police don’t believe these deaths are murders at all. Pen, of course, knows differently, which means it’s time to persuade her hard-boiled haunter to stop resting in peace, start cracking some clues, and make sure this twisted Poe freak kills...nevermore.

Excerpt:

“Need a bedtime story, baby?”

“Jack?” I whispered into the dark.

“Well, it ain’t Clark Gable.”

I closed my eyes and sighed, happy to hear his voice. “Strange,” I whispered.

“What?” the ghost asked.

“I never would have thought there’d be so many things in life more disturbing than talking to a dead man.”

“Such as?”

My eyes opened again. I turned onto my side, hugged a pillow to me. “I can’t get the image out of my head.”

“You mean, Peter Chesley’s broken old body, lying like a pretzel at the base of the staircase he couldn’t climb?”

“I was right there, Jack...I was right there with Mr. Chesley, and I heard that crash upstairs. I knew something was wrong, but I left! I drove away!...He didn’t deserve to die like that. Nobody does.”

“Baby…who do you think you’re talking to?”

Click here to purchase

Haunted Bookshop Mystery #3

The Ghost and the Dead Man's Library

NOW ON SALE!

Haunted Bookshop #4

The Ghost and the Femme Fatale

Alice Kimberly

Haunted by her past...

The Movie Town Theater is holding its first ever Film Noir Festival, with Penelope Thornton-McClure handling book sales for the guest speakers, including screen actress Hedda Geist. The legendary femme fatale has been out of the spotlight for decades. Unfortunately, the moment she steps back into it, she's nearly killed. Then other guests start to die, and Penelope wants to know why her little town's film noir weekend has taken a truly dark turn.

With local police on the wrong track, Penelope enlists the help of Jack Shepard, PI. Okay, so Jack hasn't had a heartbeat since 1949, when he was gunned down in what is now Pen's store. But the hard-boiled ghost actually remembers Hedda's dark past and Penelope is sure he can help solve this case--even if he and his license did expire more than fifty years ago...

Click here to purchase

Haunted Bookshop Mystery #4

The Ghost and the Femme Fatale

Coming in 2009!

Haunted Bookshop #5:

THE GHOST
AND THE HAUNTED
MANSION

Alice Kimberly

Click here to see an
exclusive, early version
of the cover in PDF format!

If you need the Adobe Reader software to read
the above PDF file, you can get it free.
Click here to go to the Adobe site
and click on the download Adobe Reader button.

Combining elements of cozy mysteries with detective noir, throwing in a bit of the paranormal, this is a series that will please any mystery fan"

—The Romance Reader's Connection.

A SPOOKY

CONVERSATION!

Amanda Killgore, reviewer for Huntress and Eternal Night, recently interviewed Cleo about her Ghostly series. Cleo discusses her inspiration for her Haunted Bookshop novels, including her love of The Ghost and Mrs. Muir and (don't get spooked now) cemeteries.

Click here
to read the interview.

Click here to learn more about the Coffeehouse Mystery novels.

To purchase the books, click here.

July 5, 2008
coffee yum

July 3, 2008
I believe the Village Blend is real!

July 1, 2008
Is the Village Blend a real place?

Coffee Peeps
& Peter Pans

(Real Matteo Allegros)

Shout-out to New York's Hampton Coffee Company!

Remember Murder Most Frothy? My 4th Coffeehouse Mystery gave Clare Cosi a summer job as a "coffee steward" at a posh new eatery in the Hamptons, the fabled seaside escape for New York's rich and famous. Well, here are some real coffee peeps who work hard to give the Hamptons folks a great cuppa joe. Click here to visit Hampton Coffee Co.'s site.

Click here to read about:
"Overstaying the Hamptons Party!"

A fascinating news story about "house shares" in the Hamptons and men who try to keep the postcollege "boys of summer" party going decades after their undergrad days. Shades of my character Matteo Allegro? You tell me!

BIG COFFEE
HEALTH NEWS!

Coffee may help you live longer reports USA Today. Click here to read more about a Harvard study that showed coffee's link to preventing heart disease.

BONUS RECIPES
FROM
Coffeehouse Mystery:

FRENCH PRESSED

NOW AVAILABLE!

EASY TARTE TATIN
(Upside-Down
Caramel-Apple Tart)

CREME CHANTILLY
(Fresh Whipped Cream)

PATE SUCREE
(Sweet Pastry Dough-
Can be used for any dessert tart crust)

To download all 3 of Cleo Coyle's FREE recipes
in PDF format, CLICK HERE.

Cleo's May Newsletter included a recipe for
Chocolate Pots de Creme.
(Rich, chocolaty, chilly French custard)

Check back again soon. In July, Cleo will post a downloadable version of this recipe with photos.

Ethiopian Coffee Ceremony!

Yes, like the Japanese with their tea traditions, the Ethiopians have a very special way of enjoying coffee. Click here to learn more!

BEST BARISTA
IN THE USA!

Congrats to Kyle Glanville
Winner 2008 US Barista Championship!

Kyle works for Intelligentsia Coffee & Tea in Los Angeles. He edged out 58 of the nation's other top baristas to become the nation's best coffee server. He also qualifies to compete in the World Barista Championship in Copenhagen Denmark, June 19-22. Good luck, Kyle! Click here to read more.

Hillary vs.
the Coffee Maker

I know, I know, you probably already heard about the YouTube video showing Hillary Clinton struggling to get a cup of coffee from a convenience store coffee machine. All I can say is: Senator, next time just call Clare Cosi! Click here to see the video.

NOW ON SALE!

C l e o i s

H A U N T E D...

Click here

to purchase

THE GHOST AND THE FEMME FATALE

Cleo's New

Haunted Bookshop Mystery

--------------

Cleo here. Yes! I write a 2nd mystery series under the pen name Alice Kimberly. My latest title in that series, The Ghost and the Femme Fatale, is now available at a bookstore near you (haunted or not)! To learn more about my 2nd mystery series, just click on the dancing ghost in the LEFT column of this Home Page.

COFFEE HEALTH NEWS

A cup of coffee a day could offset Alzheimer's disease. Click here to read more.

COFFEE COMPOST!

Did you know that old coffee grounds = good compost for your garden? Click here to read more. (Who knew coffee repelled slugs? Now there's a hilarious metaphor for a CM book.)

In Paris, Coffee TASTES Like Compost

Click here to read a report on the state of coffee in the center of gastronomy. "The Bitter Truth about French Coffee" by Laura Anderson.

TAKING COFFEE CAMPING

A friend of mine (Hi, Terri!) asked me how to brew coffee on a camping trip. I had some ideas, but this article has some even better ones! Click here for tips on brewing coffee (and even espresso) in the woods. Click here to shop for coffee-making camping gear.

COFFEE SHOPS:

The New Office

Click here to read an MSNBC article on the new generation of self-employed, doing business over a hot cuppa joe.

Java Wedding Favors?

Click here for some great ideas on giving coffee and tea as wedding favors. (I'll tell Clare, since she's about to cater a VIP wedding in the next Coffeehouse Mystery: Espresso Shot! )

GOOD NEWS FOR FAIR TRADE!

Fair Trade Coffee prices will be going up in June 2008, which means coffee farmers will be getting more money for their Arabica beans. Because so many coffee farms are located in the poorest corners of the world, this is great news.

What is Fair Trade coffee?
Click here to learn more.

(For new Fair Trade pricing Click here.)

HERE AT LAST!

To ORDER

my new

Coffeehouse Mystery:

FRENCH PRESSED

Click here

Cleo here again. My 6th Coffeehouse Mystery, French Pressed, is now in stores. To read more about this book, click on the coffee cup in the left column "About the Coffeehouse Mystery Books" and scroll down to Book #6 in the series.

Coffee is Culinary!

Click here to read about a master chef Marcus Samuelsson's work with a master coffee blender to pair coffee with food. Coffee as a culinary experience: Clare would approve!

Coffee Recipes!

Acclaimed chef Marcus Sameulsson created a yummy Chocolate Cinnamon Bread recipe for Starbucks. If you'd like the recipe, click here!

Coffee Dessert Recipes

The National Coffee Association has some great coffee recipes. Click here to get them.

For even more coffee recipes, click here

DOOR COUNTY COFFEE...

And for coffee recipes from DOOR COUNTY COFFEE, a family-run coffeehouse in Wisconsin, click here.

A shout-out of thanks to Mary T., a Coffeehouse Mystery fan, for mentioning her fave coffeehouse on my Coffee Talk Message Board (the green chalkboard at the top of this column)

MOOSE COFFEE AND GIFTS

Stop in and say hello to Melissa!

Thanks to CM reader Melissa for telling us about the place where she works as a barista, Moose Coffee and Gifts of Houston, Missouri. Melissa enjoys experimenting with coffee drinks. Her latest favorite is: "Espresso, steamed milk, white chocolate, caramel, and vanilla." YUM! Click here to read more about her coffeehouse.

If you have a favorite coffeehouse, coffee drink, or recipe, share it with me and my virtual Village Blend visitors! Just click on the chalk board above and post away!
—Cleo Coyle

COFFEE AND BABY FORMULA?!

I laughed out loud at this blog from Sarah Bates of Zanesville, Ohio. Click here to read how a baby changed everything for this coffee connoisseur.

—Cleo

STRANGER THAN FICTION

"Maid Cafes" of Japan

Click here to read about cafes where women dress as maids and their"geek" clientele are fighting crime by packing weapons...

Japan's Romance with Kona Coffee

Click here to read about the growing interest of Kona Coffee-drinking in Japan.

Want to Grow
Your Own
Coffee Plant?

Thanks to CM reader“Linda" for posting info about where to buy coffee plants and seeds. Click here to go to the coffee seed catalog page and scroll down. Look for the "coffea" plants listed in ITALIC alphabetically.

Coffea arabica $3.84 -12 seeds
Coffea catura $3.29 -12 seeds
Coffea kona $3.95 -12 seeds

Linda also says: "Gurney's Plant and Seed catalog has small coffee plants for $8.95 each. Click here and look for item # 11295 for coffee plants."

Coffee Health News!

Coffee May Help Prevent Ovarian Cancer

A Harvard study found women who drank 3 or more cups of coffee or tea a day were 25% less likely to develop Ovarian Cancer than those who drank none. Click here to read more.

Coffee May Boost Memory
in Older Women

USA Today reports...

Women older than 65 who drank more than three cups of coffee a day — or the caffeine equivalent in tea — showed better memory retention than men, a French researcher reports. Click here to read the short USA Today report. Or click here to read a longer Scientific American article.

Painting RECOVERED!

This $5 million painting, titled “The Coffee Picker,” and painted by Brazil’s most famous painter, Candido Portinari, was stolen from the Sao Paulo Museum of Art. A priceless Picasso was also stolen. Click here to read about the recovery!

McDONALD'S TO OPEN McCAFE

Click here to read the Wall Street Journal's Page One story about McDonald's plan to take on Starbucks to the tune of $1 Billion. Written by Janet Adamy.

"...McDonald's added a position to its crew: barista."

"Franchisees say that many of their customers don't know what a latte is."

Cleo suggests they read

LATTE TROUBLE!

Coffee Lover Invents

"The Barista Game"

Did you know there's a new board game in which you win by making the perfect cup of coffee? Click here to read about the game designer who invented it.

Asleep at the Wheel

When you have to stay awake on a drive, what's better: a nap or caffeine? French researchers say if you're in your 20s, take a nap. If you're between 40 and 50, however, drink that cuppa Joe to stay awake. Click here to read more in the NY Times.

Coffee and Health

Coffee has been enjoyed by cultures the world over for 1000 years, and recent studies are showing coffee's potential health benefits. Here are just a few...

- Coffee No. 1 source of antioxidants

- WebMd - Coffee as Health Food

- Coffee may prevent colon cancer

- Coffee and exercise

Making joe for a Living...

Click here to read an interesting article about the owner and roaster of the Clarksville, Tennessee, coffeehouse Mugsy's—a favorite coffeehouse of CM reader "Kimberly," a life coach who sometimes meets clients here. Click here to go to Mugysy's website.

BIG COFFEE NEWS!

Ethiopia announces commercial culitvation of low-caffeine coffee plants! Ric Gostwick's "dream" coffee from Decaffeinated Corpse is no longer fiction! To read about this amazing breakthrough, Click here

#1 Bestselling Paperback

When the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association published its list of top selling mystery novels for July 2007, Decaffeinated Corpse made the #1 spot on the paperback list. Thank you, Coffeehouse Mystery readers. You helped to make Decaffeinated Corpse a national bestseller.

SEPTEMBER '07

CLEO's COFFEE PICK
for SEPTEMBER 2007 was Magnolia Grill Blend sold by Counter Culture Coffee roasters. To read more about this coffee or purchase it for yourself, CLICK HERE and scroll down to Magnolia Grill Blend.

OCTOBER '07

CLEO's COFFEE PICK

for OCTOBER 2007 was Gombe Reserve sold by Green Mountain Coffee Co. and endorsed by Dr. Jane Goodall. To read more about this coffee or purchase it for youself, CLICK HERE.

NOVEMBER '07

CLEO's COFFEE PICK

for NOVEMBER 2007 was Major Dickason's Blend sold by Peet's Coffee and Tea. To read more about this coffee or purchase it for yourself, CLICK HERE and scroll down the page until you come to "Major Dickason's Blend".

DECEMBER '07

CLEO's COFFEE PICK

for DECEMBER 2007 was 100% Kona Peaberry sold by Bad Ass Coffee Company of Hawaii. To read more about this coffee or purchase it for yourself, CLICK HERE.

Behold the Kona Happy Dance!

JANUARY '08

CLEO's COFFEE PICK

for JANUARY 08 was Ethiopian Yirgacheffe sold by Counter Culture Coffee Company. To read more about this coffee or purchase it for yourself, scroll towards the bottom of the Home Page and look for the article in the center column.