To The Last Drop: A Maggy Thorsen Mystery

Welcome!  I hope all of you have had an enjoyable Sunday.  Sandra Balzo is the author of A Coffee House Cozy Mystery series.  The first book in the series is Uncommon Grounds. You can find a full list of the book in the series here.   You can follow Sandra Balzo on Amazon and Facebook.  Many authors sponsor contests on Facebook and you can win books and other prizes. 

To The Last Drop by Sandra Balzo is the ninth book in A Maggy Thorsen Mystery series.  Maggy Thorson owns Uncommon Grounds with her business partner and friend, Sarah Kingston in Brookhills, Wisconsin.  Maggy inherited almost $50,000 from her brother and is visiting Lynne Swope, a financial advisor.  Lynne is married to William who just joined Maggy’s ex-husband’s (Ted) dental practice.  That evening the book club group is meeting at Uncommon Grounds.  The group includes Lynne and William.  Ted storms in very angry and wishes to see William.  They go outside, but Maggy manages to hear a tidbit of their “discussion”.  Ted tells William to pack up his office and leave.  The next day Maggy is visiting Thorsen Dental when a body is found on the ground by protestor, Rita Pahlke.  It turns out to be William Swope.   Did William jump out his tenth-floor window or did someone give him a little help out that window?  Maggy, of course, cannot help but look into the matter much to her boyfriend’s dismay.  Maggy is dating Sheriff Jake Pavlik, the Brookhills County Sheriff.  Maggy is soon knee deep in the secrets of the Swope family.  Will Maggy be able to uncover the truth? 

You will enjoy To The Last Drop if you read at least the first novel in the series first.  It is really not a stand-alone book.  It can be confusing trying to understand the characters, relationships and their backstories.  I really did not enjoy To The Last Drop.  I tried, but was not a fan of the human characters (the dog was the only one I enjoyed).  The main character, Maggy Thorsen is unappealing.  Maggy comes across as nosy and pesky (annoying).  Maggy’s best friend, Sarah Kingston is odd (I do not see what they have in common besides the business).  The author tried to make the mystery complex, but it was very simple to solve (the killer was extremely obvious—there might as well be a giant arrow pointing to the culprit).  I was able to identify the killer by the time I was 25% of the way through the book.  I give To The Last Drop 2.5 out of 5 stars (not for me).  Some information is repeated a few times throughout the book.  An example is Maggy’s divorce from Ted and why they are divorced.  I was astounded that anyone would trust Lynne Swope with their money.  I thought that once Maggy got to know Lynne, she would take back her $50,00 (and give it to someone more reliable).  The book does have a sweet, romantic ending.  This was just not the right cozy mystery for me.

I am going to go cook dinner and finish reading The Girls in the Garden by Lisa Jewell.  This is my third attempt at reading it (I am determined to get it finished this time).  I hope all of you have a lovely winter evening. Take care and Happy Reading!

Kris

The Avid Reader