The new Maggy Thorsen coffee-house mystery - Maggy Thorsen, co-owner of the Brookhills coffee-house Uncommon Grounds, is trapped in a shopping mall by a snow storm which cuts the electricity and phone lines. She finds the body of Way Benson, a local developer and owner of the mall. Maggy's discovery unearths other refugees of the storm and it seems that more than one of these people has a motive for killing the arrogant Way. Then there is another murder.

Book Description: The debut title in a new series by the author of the Maggy Thorsen Mysteries… Though a magnet to tourists looking for some Southern comfort, the small lake town of Sutherton - tucked so picturesquely into the mountains of North Carolina – has had its fair share inexplicable hazards. But when Daisy Griggs siphoned three pints of blood from poor Mrs. Bradenham at the resort’s annual blood drive – well, that seemed to take the cake. And so, police reporter AnnaLise Griggs comes home to Sutherton to look after her volunteer phlebotomist mother, Daisy (of the accidental bloodletting). But the "accidents" only seem to escalate upon the reporter's arrival in the High Country, leading AnnaLise to question whether Daisy is truly the cause of the trouble, as everyone else seems to believe, or its target… About the Author: Sandra Balzo turned to mystery writing after twenty years in corporate public relations, event management and publicity. Triple Shot, her seventh Maggy Thorsen coffeehouse mystery, was just released, and Sandy's second series, Main Street Mysteries, debuted in April with Running on Empty. The books, set in the popular vacation destination of North Carolina's High Country, will alternate with the Maggy Thorsen mysteries. Heaven's Fire, about a fireworks show gone badly wrong, was released directly to Kindle with excellent reviews. Balzo's novels have been nominated for both the Anthony and Macavity awards and received starred reviews from Kirkus and Booklist. In addition to her books about coffee-maven Maggy Thorsen and displaced journalist AnnaLise Griggs, Balzo writes short stories, two of which have been published in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, winning the Macavity, Derringer and Robert L. Fish awards. Those psychological thrillers, along with a third original story, are available on Kindle in The Grass is Always Greener and Other Stories. Balzo has handled publicity for three Bouchercons (World Mystery Conventions), as well as the International Association of Crime Writers, and has served a national board member of Mystery Writers of America. A native of southeastern Wisconsin, she currently splits her time between Florida and the High Country of North Carolina. And roots for the Green Bay Packers. www.sandybalzo.com Reviews: "Balzo has created a lively southern town full of quirky characters and matched them with a lively plot. Readers who enjoy Margaret Maron's Deborah Knott mysteries will have fun with this one." –Booklist "The author of the Maggie Thorsen mysteries (From the Grounds Up) introduces an appealing new amateur sleuth who is calm, good-natured, and nosey for someone else's own good. For readers of G.A. McKevett and Joan Hess." –Library Journal “A full-throttle joyride." –Kirkus Reviews “A beguiling heroine in this wryly amusing first in a new series. . . . readers will cheer the resolute and feisty AnnaLise every step of the way." –Publishers Weekly

Book Description: Main Street Mysteries #2  A small lake town tucked into the mountains of North Carolina, picturesque Sutherton charms tourists and locals alike—though Sutherton may have more sinister secrets hiding behind its gentle Southern comfort… Back home to care for her help her mother with her main street restaurant, Annalise Griggs is mortified to run into her former lover—and his family. Driven to distraction worrying that small town mouths are wagging…tragedy strikes. And when similar “accident” occurs, Annalise knows she must get to the bottom of these small town murders—lest she become the next victim!  “Recommend this series to fans of Margaret Maron’s Deborah Knott novels, both for its strong female lead and its rural North Carolina setting.”—Booklist  “The well-drawn North Carolina setting is integral not only to the plot but also perhaps to AnnaLise’s most endearing quality—her abject terror of the area’s narrow mountain roads, full of crazy switchbacks and heart-stopping overhangs.”—Publishers Weekly   About the Author:Sandra Balzo turned to mystery writing after twenty years in corporate public relations, event management and publicity in Wisconsin. Murder on the Orient Espresso, her eighth Maggy Thorsen coffeehouse mystery was just released, and Hit and Run, the third Main Street Murder, will be out in early 2014. The books, set in the popular vacation destination of North Carolina’s High Country, alternate with the Maggy series. Nominated for both Anthony and Macavity awards, Balzo’s novels have received starred reviews from Kirkus and Booklist, while being recommended to readers of Janet Evanovich, Charlaine Harris, Mary Daheim, Joan Hess and Margaret Maron.In addition to her books about coffee-maven Maggy Thorsen and displaced journalist AnnaLise Griggs, Balzo writes short stories, two of which have been published in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, winning the Macavity, Derringer and Robert L. Fish awards. Balzo has managed publicity for three Bouchercons (World Mystery Conventions), as well as the International Association of Crime Writers, and has served as a national board member of Mystery Writers of America. A native of southeastern Wisconsin, Sandy currently splits her time between South Florida and the High Country of North Carolina. But, wherever she is, she roots for the Green Bay Packers.   

AnnaLise's philandering father's attempt to 'do right' by his many heirs goes deadly wrongJournalist AnnaLise Griggs' return to her hometown in North Carolina's western mountains has led to some unexpected surprises – most notably the discovery that legendary womanizer Dickens Hart is her birth father, and she an heir to Hart's huge fortune.Founder of the White Tail Lodge – a High Country knock-off of the Playboy concept – Hart now claims he wants to 'do right' by any other children he may have fathered. To that end, he's invited all his former lovers and potential heirs, including AnnaLise and her own mother, Daisy, to what Hart envisions as a festive Thanksgiving weekend at the sprawling lakeside mansion.But not everybody is in acelebratory mood, and when a body is discovered dead in the bed, AnnaLise isleft with the impossible task of identifying the killer.

Maggy confronts a number of mysterious deaths and has an important decision to make about her future with Sheriff Jake Pavlik in the new Maggy Thorsen coffeehouse mystery. The choice of an antique silver coffee urn as the final resting place for elderly Celeste Bouchard's ashes might seem a cruel joke. After all, the wealthy boutique owner was taken ill and died while daughter Hannah was off having lattes at Uncommon Grounds. But Maggy Thorsen, the coffeehouse's owner, has more pressing things on her mind: a jail break and subsequent shoot-out has forced her main squeeze, Sheriff Jake Pavlik, to take refuge with her. And Maggy has a serious decision to make: marriage or not? And with an escaped convict still on the loose, Maggy suddenly has a difficult and dangerous puzzle to solve.

*Maggy Thorsen refuses to give in as trouble brews again - * When Maggy Thorsen’s coffee house, Uncommon Grounds, is virtually obliterated by a snowstorm, she and her friend Sarah resolve to reopen – and Maggy’s found the perfect spot near the train station, just in time for the opening of the new commuter route. But when Sarah’s uncle dies suddenly, in the first of a series of ‘accidents’, it’s clear that someone doesn’t want Uncommon Grounds to reopen. Maggy, however, has no intention of yielding . . .

Maggy Thorsen [7]"The new Maggy Thorsen coffeehouse mystery - "There's a chill in the Wisconsin air, and it's a shot in the arm - a triple espresso shot - to Uncommon Grounds, the Brookhills coffeehouse owned by Maggy Thorsen and real estate maven Sarah Kingston. Their new autumn drink is a huge success. But two estate agents have died lately, and Sarah herself is under investigation for irregularities at her job. Then a stench begins to percolate through the coffeehouse, and soon it's clear that corpses - like other bad things - do indeed come in threes . . .ReviewPublishers Weekly: "Maggy Thorsen, the proprietor of Uncommon Grounds, finds that rebuilding her coffee shop in the "Old Brookhills" section of Brookhills, Wis., can be murder in Balzo's witty, smoothly plotted fifth caffeine cozy...sassy, lighthearted whodunit..."Missing Mafia money and murdered female real-estate agents mix in the seventh in Balzo's Maggy Thorsen series. As always, the intrepid Maggy, co-owner of Uncommon Grounds coffee shop in Brookhills, Wisconsin, lands in the midst of the action. When a dreadful odor leads to the discovery of Brigid Ferndale's body near the coffee shop, Maggy's business partner, Sarah Kingston, finds herself under suspicion, since Brigid (the third real-estate agent killed in a week) was an apprentice with a company that had just filed a complaint against Sarah. As Sheriff Jake Pavlik, Maggy's lover, investigates the killings, a past-his-prime Chicago newsman turns up in town, looking for money presumed hidden after the 1974 Brookhills Massacre, a shootout between the FBI and the Milwaukee Mafia that left three dead on each side and millions in cash apparently gone. Despite irritating Pavlik with her probing, Maggy is on-site to put the pieces together, becoming an instant Internet sensation. Multiple bodies notwithstanding, this is appealing, lighthearted fare. --Booklist, November 1, 2011 About the AuthorSandra Balzo is an award-winning author of crime fiction, including eight books in two different mystery series--one set outside Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and the other in the High Country of North Carolina. Balzo's books have garnered starred reviews from Kirkus and Booklist, while being recommended to readers of Janet Evanovich, Charlaine Harris, Harlan Coben, Joan Hess and Margaret Maron. A former member of the National Board of Directors for the Mystery Writers of America, Sandy and her fiancé, fellow crimewriter Jeremiah Healy, split their time between South Florida and North Carolina.

A sharp and amusing mystery from a talented writer - Set in Milwaukee at a scaldingly competitive trade show for the coffee industry, events reach a head when coffeehouse-owner Maggy Thorsen discovers a body under a table at the conference centre. As the reluctant conference coordinator and a potential suspect Maggy must track the murderer, save her coffeehouse, and hopefully put some froth in her love life . . .

The new ‘Maggy Thorsen’ caffeine cozy   - * * Maggy Thorsen's heart, uncharacteristically, is swelling with optimism. Sure, her original Wisconsin coffeehouse, Uncommon Grounds, was destroyed in a freak blizzard. But, with new business partner Sarah Kingston, she’s found the perfect place to relocate to – a quaint railroad station that will soon be revitalized by a new commuter-rail connection. Sarah and Maggy hope that the station’s ‘Dedication Day’ will provide great free publicity. But their dream turns into a nightmare when the event manager makes her grand appearance on the day. As a corpse . . .

Independent Mystery Booksellers Association BestsellerRobert L. Fish Award-winning authorAnthony Award-nominated authorPatricia Harper is dead, killed by a hot-wired espresso machine inUncommon Grounds, her very own gourmet coffee store! Maggy Thorsen wants to know who killed one of her partners. Maggy needs the store to succeed. Starting over after her divorce, she's quit her PR job to open the coffee store. And if things aren't already tough enough, she begins to suspect one of her friends is responsible for Patricia's murder. Maggy joins forces with Sarah Kingstown, Patricia's closest friend, to investigate her killing. Together, they uncover unsavory small-town politics, bribes, kickbacks, and rampant infidelity. Before she's through, Maggy's sense of right and wrong will be shaken to its foundations. For once in her life, she is forced to draw her own line in the sand, and be prepared to defend it.

"Heaven's Fire" may be what Pasquale Firenze, patriarch of the family-owned Firenze Fireworks, calls his painting of the night sky with light, color and sound, but television producer Wendy "Jake" Jacobus has more practical considerations than her featured showman's artistry. Or so she believes, until Pasquale is killed--live on-camera--by an explosion, and Jake is hurled into a tangled web triggered by her job, her legacy as a cancer survivor, and her growing attraction to Simon Aamot, the federal agent assigned to the investigation. Aamot has problems as well, but when the two are forced together by the tragedy, the man unable to let go of his past and the woman afraid to trust her future must race to prevent another catastrophic explosion--this one at the county's Fourth of July celebration.“Equal parts thriller, romance and family saga . . . a compelling and deeply human read.” --Joan Johnston, New York Times bestselling author of Texas Bride“Rooted in the dangerously exotic world of a multi-generational fireworks company . . . spell-binding.”--Jeremiah Healy, award-winning author of The Only Good Lawyer and Spiral“A fast-paced mystery that explodes off the page.”--Ali Brandon, national bestselling author of Double Booked for Death"What moves Balzo high above other writers who try to cover the same territory is a sharp and often amusing skill that convinces us that this is real life, and that it matters.”--Chicago Tribune Review"Equal parts thriller, romance and family saga . . . a compelling and deeply human read." --Joan Johnston, New York Times bestselling author of Texas Bride"Rooted in the dangerously exotic world of a multi-generational fireworks company . . . spell-binding."--Jeremiah Healy, award-winning author of The Only Good Lawyer and Spiral "What moves Balzo's book high above other writers who try to cover the same territory is a sharp and often amusing skill that convinces us that this is real life, and that it matters." --Chicago Tribune on Uncommon Grounds". . . crisp dialogue, complex characters and a puzzle that can't be beat." --Kirkus (starred review) on Bean There, Done That"[Balzo's] new franchise is a full-throttle joyride. "--Kirkus on Running on Empty From the AuthorMy "day job" for nearly 25 years was public relations and event managment for a large bank holding company in Wisconsin. One of those events was Milwaukee's Fourth of July fireworks on Lake Michigan, a celebration that was actually held on July 3rd, so as not to interfere with the smaller civic celebrations the next day. It was a wonderful job, but the highlight was getting to know and work with the Bartolotta family of Bartolotta Fireworks, just outside Milwaukee. I've dedicated Heaven's Fire to late patriarch and founder, Sam Bartolotta, whose son John died with two other people in a 1991 explosion at the factory one awful morning. I'd also like to express my gratitude to--and appreciation for--Sam's oldest son, Joe, and Joe's wife Linda, who have been great friends and know,  all too well, the gain and loss, joy and sorrow, push and pull, of this singular family business. This one is special.SandySandraBalzo.com

Maggy Thorsen returns in this brand-new coffeehouse mystery, where the death of her ex-husband's colleague leads to events that hit Maggy close to home – in more ways than one . . .Maggy Thorsen's shock at finding her ex-husband Ted in a fight with William Swopes, an oral surgeon at Ted's dental practice, outside Uncommon Grounds, the Wisconsin gourmet coffeehouse she co-owns, is soon usurped by the horror of discovering a dead body outside Thorsen Dental's office block the next morning. Did he jump from the tenth-floor office window, or was he pushed?It's not long before Maggy is uncovering disturbing family secrets, lies and betrayal.As Maggy tries to piece together the clues, her beau, Jake Pavlik, hits her with another bombshell. Can she keep her emotions in check and find out the truth about a possible murder?

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 you most certainly should not invite this new missus., Mrs. Rachel Thorsen, in for a cup of coffee. But big-hearted Maggy can't seem to help her own hospitality.Unfortunately, most unfortunately, this mistress-cum-missus disappears shortly after her coffeehouse confab with Maggy and is later found murdered...making Maggy's ex, Ted, the chief suspect.Despite the tempting satisfaction of seeing her ex go down, Maggy knows Ted is innocent. Cheater? Most definitely. Murderer? Most definitely not. So Maggy reluctantly agrees to help him. Rachel's wealthy family, however, disagrees and spares no expense in trying to put Ted behind bars.Now it's up to Maggy to discover the truth...even if it upsets her on-again, off-again relationship with the handsome Sheriff Jake Pavlik...

It’s November and Maggy Thorsen, co-owner of the Wisconsin gourmet coffeehouse, Uncommon Grounds, is in South Florida at an annual crime-writers’ conference with her beau, local sheriff Jake Pavlik, who is due to speak as a ‘forensics expert’. Maggy’s pledge to behave solely as a tourist becomes trickier than she anticipated when the conference’s opening night event turns out to be a re-enactment of Agatha Christie’s classic, Murder on the Orient Express. As Maggy and Jake reluctantly set off on the night train to the Everglades to solve the ‘crime’, it’s clear that, as in the original novel, nothing is quite what it seems. And amidst rumours of careers taken, manuscripts stolen and vows broken, it seems that in the Everglades – as in life – the predator all too often becomes the prey.**