Books

	Dead Ends Author: Sandra Balzo Published: September 1, 2012 by Severn House Series Name: Main Street Murders Category: Mystery Main Character: Journalist AnnaLise Griggs, her mother Daisy and her other mother, Mama. Don't ask. A blast from the past has deadly consequences for the small town of Sutherton . . . Fall arrives early in the High Country of North Carolina, but journalist AnnaLise Griggs is more concerned about one particular trio of visitors: Benjamin Rosewood, his wife Tanja, and their daughter, Suzanne, especially as AnnaLise and Ben have history. When two sudden and unexpected deaths occur, AnnaLise must protect herself and the place she loves as she is forced to confront how far a person might go to get – and keep – what they believe should be their own. Click for more info.

	Running on Empty Author: Sandra Balzo Published: March 1, 2011 by Severn House Series Name: A Main Street Mystery Category: Mystery Main Character: AnnaLise Griggs and an ensemble cast Life on Sutherton's Main Street has always been inexplicably hazardous, no matter the season in the North Carolina resort town. The student who bet he could paddle a beer-filled ice chest across the lake. And lost. The two fishermen, squashed like June bugs while they were trying to buy (mostly) live night-crawlers from a vending machine. The skier, choking on her gum and arriving at the bottom of the slope still standing, if not quite breathing. Click for more info.

	A Cup of Jo Author: Sandra Balzo Published: September 1, 2010 by Severn House Series Name: A Maggy Thorsen Mystery Category: Humorous cozy with a sharp edge Main Character: Maggy Thorsen and ensemble cast Maggy Thorsen's heart, uncharacteristically, is swelling with optimism. Sure, her original Brookhills coffeehouse, Uncommon Grounds, was destroyed in a freak early May blizzard. But all seems perfectly poised for the grand re-opening of UG in a quaint Brookhills railroad station. Perfect, that is, until event manager JoLynne Penn-Williams makes a surprise appearance as a corpse in Maggy's publicity piece de resistance -- a giant inflatable Uncommon Grounds coffee cup. Click for more info.

	From the Grounds Up Author: Sandra Balzo Published: March 1, 2010 by Severn House Series Name: A Maggy Thorsen Mystery Category: Sharp-edged cozy, humorous Main Character: Maggy Thorsen and ensemble cast "When one door closes, another's probably getting ready to smack you in the ass," is the adage of Brookhills real estate agent Sarah Kingston. Click for more info.

	Brewed, Crude and Tattooed Author: Sandra Balzo Published: June 1, 2009 by Severn House Series Name: A Maggy Thorsen Mystery Category: Humorous Cozy Coffee Culinary Main Character: Maggy Thorsen and Frank the Sheepdog It’s May first 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 freak snowstorm arrives without warning or so it seems to Maggy Thorsen, co-owner of the coffeehouse Uncommon Grounds. Trapped, Maggy ventures out into the service corridor looking for sustenance, only to find the body of Way Benson, local developer and owner of the mall. Maggy’s discovery unearths other refugees of the storm, most of them with reasons to kill the arrogant Way. Cut off by the snow, Maggy has to be content to leave Way to become a corpse-sicle. Content, that is, until another member of their intrepid little group is killed and the coffee – sans electricity – gets even colder than the bodies. Click for more info.

	BEAN THERE, DONE THAT Author: Sandra Balzo Published: August 16, 2008 by Severn House Series Name: A Maggy Thorsen Mystery Category: Humorous Cozy Coffee Culinary Main Character: Maggy Thorsen, disenfranchised owner of the independent coffeehouse, Uncommon Grounds Here’s a tip: if your ex-husband’s mistress-cum-missus asks for your help in proving that he cheated on her while he was married to you, just say no. And, whatever you do, don’t invite her in . . . Click for more info.

	Grounds for Murder Author: Sandra Balzo Published: December 15, 2007 by Severn House Series Name: A Maggy Thorsen Mystery Category: Humorous Cozy Coffee Culinary Main Character: Maggy Thorsen, disenfranchised owner of the independent coffeehouse Uncommon Grounds At a scaldingly competitive trade show in Milwaukee for the coffee industry, egos and tempers are steaming over such burning issues as store rivalries, product quality and employee-poaching. But events reach a head when coffeehouse owner Maggy Thorsen discovers a body under a table at the conference center. As the reluctant conference coordinator -- and a potential suspect - Maggy must track the murderer, save her coffeehouse, and -- hopefully - put some froth into her love life... Click for more info.

	Uncommon Grounds Author: Sandra Balzo Published: December 1, 2004 by Five Star Mysteries Series Name: A Maggy Thorsen Mystery Category: Humorous Cozy Coffee Culinary Main Character: Maggy Thorsen, disenfranchised owner of the independent coffeehouse, UNCOMMON GROUNDS A body in a pool of skim milk . . . An unsavory discovery at any time, but especially inconvenient when the milk puddle is on the floor in front of the espresso machine the very morning you’re scheduled to open your coffee house, Uncommon Grounds.  And the body is one of your partners  And you and your other partner—the one who’s still alive—are suspects  Which would all be bad enough, even if your husband hadn’t dumped you for his dental assistant, leading you to jettison your old life and invest what little you have left in Uncommon Grounds. Click for more info.