February 15, 2022
What seems like a great opportunity turns into an Oregon barista's nightmare. Big news: Sage Caplin and Harley Yamazaki, partners in Ground Rules coffee company, are about to expand the two carts they own to a store. Plus, a last-minute cancellation has given Sage the coffee provider spot at the Campathon Music Festival on a farm outside Portland. Sage and her boyfriend, Bax, a video game designer, plan to make this a working vacation. They're barely parked when drama erupts between some of the other participants. As the first coffee drinkers arrive, it's clear that there are bad feelings between singer Maya Oliveira, who does songs for Bax's videos, and Nate Green, the frontman for the Changelings, a band represented by Ian Rabe. Maya wrote many of the songs on the Changelings album but so far has received neither money not credit. When Sage stumbles upon Ian's body, it brings back bad memories of a murder case in which she was a suspect. Sage tells Detective Adams about her unfortunate find and describes the people she saw in the vicinity, annoying her lawyer brother, who's also attending the festival, for saying anything without consulting him. As the festival goes on, Sage picks up a great deal of gossip while serving coffee and notices a few things that strike her as odd. But it takes a while until the penny drops and she realizes who killed Ian. A clever sleuth, music trivia, and plenty of West Coast vibes add up to an enjoyable read.
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March 7, 2022
Duncan’s assured sequel to 2021’s Fresh Brewed Murder takes Sage Caplin, the co-owner of Ground Rules (“a coffee company consisting of a roastery, two food carts, and employees”), to the annual Campathon Music Festival, held at a farm outside Portland, Ore. Joining Sage for the weekend-long event is Lukas “Bax” Baxter, her video game developer boyfriend, who runs into Maya Olivera, a singer with whom Bax has worked developing music for some of his games. Maya’s former band, the Changelings, is also there and playing music written or co-written by Maya and Nate Green, the Changelings’ front man, which gives Maya reason to confront Nate’s manager, Ian Rabe, over royalties she hasn’t been paid. One of Campathon’s organizers and Ian’s assistant also have reasons to have it in for Ian. When Sage stumbles across Ian’s dead body, clutching a coffee mug of hers, she once again turns sleuth. Solid prose, a well-crafted plot, and plenty of coffee lore draw the reader in. A socially liberal vibe—Bax happily mixes with his ex-wife, their young son, and her husband—sets this cozy apart. Agent: Joshua Bilmes, JABberwocky Literary.