Death of a Bean Counter is the 12th Maggy Thorsen mystery by Sandra Balzo. Released 7th April by Severn House, it's 208 pages and available in hardcover and ebook formats.

Although this is the 12th book in the series, it works well as a standalone and I had no trouble keeping up. It's a modern small-town cozy with coffee shop amateur sleuth Maggy and her handsome fiance Sherriff Jake trying to solve the shooting death of the fiance of a local businessman (and embezzler) with whom the coffee-shop's barista is entangled. The suspects are legion, the victim seemed to be quite sleazy, and nobody seems to have a solid alibi.

It's a quick and easy read with a plot that moves along at a satisfying clip, light and bantering dialogue, and a satisfying denouement. There are plot twists aplenty right up to the last page. My main quibble is that main character Maggy feeds (or mentions feeding) her two dogs pizza several times over the course of the book. No pizza for pups!

Entertaining and engaging. Well written and fun with pretty clean language (a few "sh*ts" and "d*mns", nothing worse). There's no explicit sexual content or on-page violence. Four stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Princess Fuzzypants here: Maggy is now living with the chief of police but that does not stop her from investigating a murder when many of her friends are the suspects. The victim, found in his bed, is a hot shot financier whose personal and professional life is closely intertwined with both Amy her barista and Sarah her partner. There were many people from his children to his clients whose lives he impacted and not always for the best. In fact, when it came to skeletons in the closet, this guy had them in droves.
There are lots of interesting characters from the devoted housekeeper and gardener who may or may not have been as devoted as they seemed. His two children are also an interesting pair. Then there is another suspect whom Maggy learns may be closer to her than ever imagined. Plus there is sparkling repartee between the characters. It makes this a truly enjoyable read.
The actual mystery and the killer turn out to be a surprise. I did not see it coming.
Five purrs and two paws up.

Death of a Bean Counter by Sandra Balzo has Maggy Thorsen discussing a new venture her business partner, Sarah Kingston when Sheriff Jake Pavlik walks into Uncommon Grounds with a deputy by his side. They are there to question barista, Amy Caprese about her boyfriend, Kip Fargo. Kip is dead and Amy is one of the last people to be with Kip before he was murdered. It was reported that Kip and Amy had a loud disagreement and Amy turned down Kip’s marriage proposal. Amy is in hot water and Maggy is going to pull her out of it before Amy gets burned. Death of a Bean Counter is the 12th A Maggy Thorsen Mystery. I did not know that when I requested the book. I did find myself at a loss in the beginning, but I quickly caught up thanks to the background information included. I thought the story was well written and just the right length. The story moved along at a good pace with a variety of suspects and good clues to help a reader solve the whodunit. I thought the mystery was unique. I enjoyed the creativity the author used. Maggy may be searching for a killer, but she does have a business to run. She deals with business issues while trying to clear Amy. I enjoyed the humor sprinkled throughout the story. I thought the main characters were developed and realistic. I liked that Maggy is a mature character who is kind and thoughtful. Death of a Bean Counter is an entertaining cozy mystery with a perplexing puzzle, coffee machine conundrum, a baffled barista, gorgeous gardens, and pizza pie.

I like this series and I think each instalment is better than the previous.
This was an enjoyable story, engrossing and entertaining.
I was glad to meet again the likeable cast of characters and read about their life.
The mystery is solid and it kept me guessing.
A book I recommend.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

This is the twelfth in the series but works well as a stand alone. It's not a long cozy but is a very satisfying one. Maggy knows her barista, Amy, didn't kill Kip, the man who just proposed to her. She may not have done it but the police are not taking her off the list of suspects - a list that turns out to be very long. Kip may have been seen as a very rich, very successful investment advisor but that's how he was able to fleece his clients. Instead of investing their money he kept it for himself. Yep, it's a long list of angry clients. Maggy is determined to find out who the real killer is and get Amy off the hook. One major snag would be Maggy's fiance, Jake (the sheriff) who really wants her to keep her nose out of the investigation. That's not going to happen.
I enjoy this series not only because the puzzles are very well crafted. Maggy is a 40 something woman who runs her own business and cares deeply for her friends. The humor is perfect, as well. Don't worry if you are new to this series. Enjoy this entry and add the previous eleven books to your TBR list.
My thanks to the publisher Severn House and to NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

A fun and convoluted cozy mystery. Cleverly presented Some amusing puns and situations. Adorable dogs. Challenging romance. A wide assortment of characters to flavor the plot. A delightful light cozy.

Once again, I found I’d crashed midway into a series – this being the twelfth book – but didn’t have too much difficulty sorting out who did what to whom. While I’m sure if you read the previous eleven books, you’d know more about the characters, Balzo’s chatty style and strong first-person protagonist made it easy to read. The book zipped along with plenty of suspects and the small-town, gossipy dynamic that US cosy crime writers do so well set this whodunit up nicely.

Any grizzles? I did find Maggy’s nosiness and intrusive approach at times rather offputting. I liked the fact that she was no fresh-faced youngster, and her spiky relationship with her business partner, provided some nice snark. However, her determination to try and crack the case meant that she did crash in and at times, put her lovely Sherriff partner in a difficult position.

That said, the whodunit was well handled and while I had wondered about the murderer, due to the fact there were also a string of other likely culprits, I hadn’t guessed who it was. An entertaining, enjoyable read with a good spread of supporting characters within a well-established community. Recommended for fans of cosy mysteries. The ebook arc copy of Death of a Bean Counter was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest opinion of the book.
7/10

Amy didn't kill Kip- who just proposed to her- but there's a long list of possible suspects who might have done it. Maggy has to investigate because Amy works for her as a barista and because she now knows that Kip, an investment advisor, pocketed the money people entrusted to him. Her fiancé Jake, the sheriff, isn't thrilled, of course, but she's off and running. The mystery is nicely interspersed with Maggy's business issues (she has a coffee house with a partner, Sarah - who also lost money). There are some twists and you, like me, might be wrong with your first guess of the villain. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A quick read cozy that would be fine as a standalone.

Somethings Brewing At The Coffee House....
Maggie's Barista, Amy, becomes suspect number one when her boyfriend is murdered in his bed. Maggie's partner has a brainwave idea of selling espresso machines. Maggie is in the middle of mayhem. With down to earth writing, humorous asides and a galloping plot this is a fully entertaining cosy mystery with a likeable protagonist. Book twelve in the series and a worthy addition.

Maggy loves their coffee house and how successful they are. But when her partner tries to talk her into selling luxe espresso machines, she's not sold on the idea. Why take customers away from themselves? It gets worse when her barista is arrested onn suspicion of murder...

Severn House and Net Galley let me read this book for review (thank you). It will be published April 7th.

Maggy didn't even know Amy was dating the victim. Then she finds out she was the last person to see him alive and they had a huge fight before she left. He surprised her with a marriage proposal, very public, and she said yes rather than embarrass him in the restaurant. But once they got back to his place, she gave him the ring back. They'd only been dating three weeks, she wasn't ready to commit to anything yet. There were witnesses to their shouting match. Amy swears she didn't kill him.

Then they learn he was stealing money from his customers at the bank. That opens up a lot more suspects. Even his children might have done it because he was going to change his will and give his house and assets to Amy.

Maggie's boyfriend is the sheriff but he's not sharing much with her. She decides to investigate herself. But she better be careful...

<i>Death of a Bean Counter</i> is the first book I read in the Maggy Thorsen Mystery series, and I’m a fan.

The narrator has a delightful tone of voice. A little bit snarky. Which is what I like. I kept reading passages out loud to my partner. One of my favourites is: <i>’I like oaky Chardonnay, so sue me.’ Or go to somebody else’s house.</i>

The bean counter of the title is a not so nice financial advisor, who soon after his death turns out to have swindle some money he was supposed to invest, didn’t pay suppliers or his staff very punctually (if at all) and was about to disinherit his kids. That makes for a long list of suspects to go through.

The only down side to this book would be that it is relatively short (176 pages, where most cozies are between 225-275), but that is probably because all the unnecessary fluff was cut out; in the first scene, after the main characters are established - for new readers like me - the cops walk in and announce there has been a murder. Quickly to the point, I like that too.

I love this series. Sandra Balzo does a great job creating interesting and engaging characters. She then weaves a very entertaining story around the characters. It's easy to be drawn into the story and identify with the characters. The only bad thing about this series is that there are not enough of them. I can't get enough of Maggie and Sarah.

I’ve read all of the books in this cozy mystery series by Sandra Balzo.
Another mysterious death has Maggie stepping up to investigate on behalf of one of her friends.
When her friends new boyfriend is found dead, Maggie can’t stop asking questions, uncovering some secrets that were better left hidden.
Even though this can be read as a stand-alone, I recommend reading the series to get a better idea of what got Maggie to where she is.