Things at Ashland, Oregon’s favorite coffee and pastry shop Torte have been going smoothly lately. Juliet and her team have been baking up a storm, decorating wedding cakes, serving up lunch, making ice cream concretes, and creating handmade coffee drinks for locals and tourists alike. Her husband Carlos has been running their vineyard. Everything is good. Which is perfect, as the West Coast Barista Cup is coming up, and their barista Andy has made it into the competition.
The Barista Cup is a big competition in the coffee world, and Andy is nervous about competing. He’s been studying and working on an original drink recipe for weeks, and Juliet can’t wait to see him on stage competing with the best baristas on the West Coast. But there is a problem. Judge Benson Vargas is notorious for being especially difficult to please, and Juliet worries that his harsh criticism will destroy his confidence.
Just getting set up at his station in the competition, Andy accidentally drops some of his beans. Vargas starts yelling at him, saying that he’s being disrespectful and should be disqualified. Another judge, Piper, steps in to calm him down and tell Andy that things will be okay, so he settles down a little and prepares for the first round. Even though he’s going up against some top baristas—and internet coffee stars—Andy knows that he’s put in enough work to make it into the competition. But does he have what it takes to win?
After a grueling first day of competition, Andy is still in the competition. But barely. Vargas took one sip of Andy’s original hot honey latte and spit it back out, complaining of all the salt. Andy took a sip as well and realized that something had gone wrong and there was way too much salt in it. The drinks for the other 2 judges were fine—it was just that one cup that was over-salted. Andy can’t figure out how it happened, and he makes Vargas another latte for him to drink as he’s leaving the venue.
As it turns out, that’s what kills him.
Juliet knows that Andy would never hurt the judge, no matter how much the man got on his nerves. But someone used Andy’s latte as the vehicle to deliver enough pharmaceuticals to kill him, and Juliet is determined to find out who would do that. Could it be coffee internet sensation Sammi, who was incredibly upset at ending day one in third place and is missing her anxiety medicine? Could it be the hotshot Diaz, with his confidence and upbeat playlist, who ended the first day on top but with an incredibly messy workspace? Could it have been the technical judge Piper, who Vargas threatened to fire from the Barista Cup competitions? Or what about James, the manager of the venue for the competition, who Juliet saw arguing with Vargas earlier that day?
While the police work on the evidence to find the proof they need of the murderer, Juliet and her best friend Lance ask around to find out all about the past relationships and gossip in the small world of artisan coffee to try to figure out who killed the judge and why. But will their investigation help the police catch a killer, or are they just brewing up trouble for themselves?
Mocha, She Wrote is the 13th mystery in the Bakeshop Mystery series. Author Ellie Alexander has a way with words, describing foods and drinks in a way that makes your mouth water and talking about the town of Ashland and the beauty of Oregon in such glowing ways that make you feel like you’re right there experiencing it all. Her relationships with her employees are kind and respectful, and that graciousness is so lovely to read about.
I particularly loved the barista competition as the setting for this crime. It opened up new characters and new possibilities for the investigation. Although these mysteries are formulaic (and isn’t that what we’re here for? We want a reading experience with these that are as smooth as Andy’s lattes and sweetly layered as Jules’ cookies), Alexander always come through with a story that flows like a caramel sauce, characters that are as balanced as the perfect mocha, and with an ending as fulfilling as a marshmallowy pavlova with seasonal fruits that have been soaked in red wine.
Egalleys for Mocha, She Wrote were provided by St. Martin’s Press through NetGalley, with many thanks.
