Billionaire Blend: 02/12/20

Billionaire Blend by Cleo Coyle is the thirteenth book in the Coffeehouse Mystery series. This one opens with a bang, a fiery car bomb that kills a bodyguard, severely injures a tech firm billionaire, and damages the Village Blend.

Actually no. The book opens with a phone call as Clare is being whisked away to a fancy dinner at an exclusive location. Mike Quinn is concerned — possibly jealous. He's frankly too possessive of Clare and she's too willing to let him be.

The mystery is who killed the bodyguard and why. It's wrapped up in the misadventures of Clare and Eric Thorner, billionaire wonderkind. He's fashioned as a Millennial Steve Jobs/ Mark Zuckerberg. His company has a smartphone and other integrated smart devices, as well as various gaming apps.

But the problem with this volume is that the bad guys are so blatantly obvious. Perhaps it was the coincidence that I was rewatching/reading Noragami, that made me instantly spot the murderer and the plot. Not a third of the way of the book and I had the salient points sorted out. If you're curious what the connection is, pay attention to the Bishamon plot.

What remains is Clare and Mateo's round the world adventures on the dime of Eric Thorner. There's a trip to Paris, and trips to various coffee growing areas. These pieces are fun but they are essentially padding to an otherwise slim and straightforward mystery.

Four stars

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