This book was an easy and entertaining read. Cleo Coyle’s Clare Cosi is a likable, believable character, and her intelligence and wit make her a great amateur detective to follow. When a local Santa (Clare’s friend, Alfred Glockner) ends up dead, she is determined to find the killer. What she finds is that there was more to this Santa than she had ever imagined, and her pursuit of the truth gets her in hot water. Ever the amateur detective, Cosi charges ahead and ends up dodging a few bullets of her own. A cast of colorful characters and wonderful descriptions of holiday coffees make this a cozy read even without the tea. I enjoyed the details about all of the different coffee recipes almost as much as the story. Coyle has a wonderful sense of humor and it shows throughout the story as Cosi tries to make sense of how such a horrible thing could happen to a Santa at Christmastime.

This was the first coffeehouse mystery I’ve read, but I will be sure to go back and read the others in this series. If you’re looking for a good holiday mystery, you should definitely curl up with this one. Very good book.