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Brewed Awakening by Cleo Coyle
A Coffeehouse Mystery Book 18
Berkley • December 3, 2019
From Cleo Coyle, the New York Times bestselling author of Shot in the Dark and Dead Cold Brew, comes a delicious new entry in the “fun and gripping” (The Huffington Post) Coffeehouse Mysteries.
When coffeehouse manager Clare Cosi awakens on a bench in Washington Square Park, she has no idea she’s been missing for days, or that her friends and family have been frantic with worry. Now that she’s back, everyone is overjoyed, including a handsome NYPD detective who claims to be her fiancé. But to Mike Quinn’s crushing distress, Clare doesn’t remember him, or much of anything about the last fifteen years of her life.
Clare’s missing memory is tied to a crime she witnessed. An acquaintance of Clare’s elegant employer–and fellow member of an exclusive Gotham circle known as “The Ladies Who Brunch”–invited Clare to her posh hotel to sample gourmet wedding cakes. After their indulgent tasting, they headed to the parking garage, where a camera captured a masked figure with a gun confronting the hotel heiress with Clare looking on. Did the kidnapper take Clare, too? The camera went dark, just like Clare’s memory. Soon authorities grow suspicious. Is Clare really a victim? Or merely acting like one? Evidence is mounting that she set the woman up.
To clear her name, Clare must find a way to reclaim her memories and rescue the heiress before this high-stakes crime ends in tragedy. Otherwise, instead of walking down the aisle, Clare may find herself perp-walking to prison as an accomplice to kidnapping and murder.
This heavenly drink is a winter favorite at many American coffeehouses, which is why we put it on the menu of our beloved Village Blend. Perfect for a snowy night, it tastes like a rich, warm, coffee-infused milkshake. To learn more about our bestselling Coffeehouse Mystery series and download more of our recipes, visit our online coffeehouse: CoffeehouseMystery.com.
May you drink (and read) with joy!
~ Cleo
To download this recipe in a free PDF that you can print, save, or share, click here.
Makes one serving
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup good quality white chocolate, chopped
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1–2 shots (1/4 cup) hot espresso or double-strength coffee*
Whipped cream (optional)
White chocolate curls**
Step 1: Combine milk and white chocolate in a heatproof bowl and place the bowl over a saucepan that is about one-third full of boiling water. (The water level should be under the bowl and not touching it.) Stir constantly until chocolate is melted. Whip in the vanilla using a whisk, hand blender, or electric mixer. Continue to whip about a minute until the warm mixture is loosely frothy.
Step 2: Pour the espresso (or double-strength coffee) into a large mug. Add the steamed white chocolate milk and stir to blend the flavors. You can top with whipped cream, but it’s just as delicious without. Garnish with white chocolate curls and drink with joy!
*Note on coffee: For double-strength coffee, simply make a strong version of your regular cup. For instance, in a drip coffee maker, instead of using 1½ to 2 tablespoons of ground coffee for every six ounces of water, use 3 to 4.
**Note on curls: To create chocolate curls, start with a block of room temperature chocolate. Using a vegetable peeler, scrape the block and you’ll see curls of chocolate peel away.
Cleo Coyle’s new culinary mystery, Brewed Awakening, includes an appendix of recipes that will show you how to prepare the delicious foods and drinks mentioned in the story. To see, print, or download the free, illustrated guide to the book’s recipe section, click here or on the image to the left.
Download a free title checklist, personally written by Cleo, with mini summaries of all 18 Coffeehouse Mysteriesas well as her Haunted Bookshop Mysteries. The list includes links to Cleo’s published recipe guides and her bonus web content. To download the list as a PDF document, click here or on the image to the left.
About the Author
Cleo Coyle – Alice Alfonsi and Marc CerasiniCLEO COYLE is a pseudonym for Alice Alfonsi, writing in collaboration with her husband, Marc Cerasini. Both are New York Times bestselling authors of the Coffeehouse Mysteries, now celebrating more than fifteen years in print. They also write the Haunted Bookshop Mysteries, recently relaunched with the first new entry in nearly ten years, The Ghost and the Bogus Bestseller, now a national bestseller and honored as a Best Book of 2018 by Suspense Magazine. Alice and Marc are also bestselling media tie-in writers who have penned properties for Lucasfilm, NBC, Fox, Disney, Imagine, and MGM. They live in New York City, where they write independently and together.
CLEO’S NEWSLETTER: Fun contests, bonus recipes, and book news. To sign up, simply write a “Sign me up” email and send it to CoffeehouseMystery@gmail.com.
Brewed Awakening by Cleo Coyle
Cleo Coyle’s new culinary mystery, Brewed Awakening, includes an appendix of recipes that will show you how to prepare the delicious foods and drinks mentioned in the story. To see, print, or download the free, illustrated guide to the book’s recipe section, click here or on the image to the left.
Download a free title checklist, personally written by Cleo, with mini summaries of all 18 Coffeehouse Mysteriesas well as her Haunted Bookshop Mysteries. The list includes links to Cleo’s published recipe guides and her bonus web content. To download the list as a PDF document, click here or on the image to the left.
LOOOVE this series. Congrats on another book!