Death by Latte

Death by Latte by Linda Gerber

(book 2: Death By series)

Published: Sept. 18th, 2008 by Sleuth/Speak

It was only a few weeks ago that Aphra Connolly's life changed completely. She had been living a quiet existence on her father's secluded island resort, until Seth Mulo turned up and stole her heart...and provided information that led her to find her mom in Seattle. But the reunion isn't quite what she expected. Aphra's mom, Natalie, doesn't seem happy to see Aphra, and Natalie's boyfriend, Joe, insists that Aphra go home. Even worse, Seth shows up, only to ask her to return the ring he gave her the previous summer. At least Natalie's hunky neighbor is sympathetic. But when Joe is found dead at a nearby coffee shop, Aphra discovers her whole trip to Seattle has been based on a lie. And now someone just might be trying to kill her...

       Ok, so I only read this because the book I bought was $5 for all 3 of the books in this series. I gave Death by Bikini 3 Robots. You can read that review here. There really wasn't much plot at all in this book. Even though the 1st book was decent, this book is just a nothing story - tiny little bits of advancement in the plot with Aphra's mom, but other than that there is no reason for this book to exist.

Reasons I love this book:

• twists - Once the story actually got going, Aphra and her cohorts got into a bit of a situation. Even though some characters were extremely suspicious from the beginning, there were some little surprises in who turned out to be on which side.
• pace - These books are on the short side, so the plot moves pretty quickly. The beginning was a little slow for me, when Aphra met up with her mom and found out what was going on, but after that everything was faster.

Huh, what?:

• Aphra - Alright, Aphra. Let's review what we've learned from the 1st book. Someone that you thought you could trust was actually a killer. So...why are you spilling secrets to people you've known for 2 minutes? Aphra is supposedly 16, but she just comes off as younger, maybe 12. I don't know if it's because she's so self-centered or something else. 
• plot - There is no reason for this book to exist. The only significant thing that happens has to do with Aphra's mom and could have easily just been thrown into the next book. Much of the book is just dull. Exciting things happen, but the way they are written is just not interesting. It's kind of like watching something happen from behind glass where you can barely see or hear what's going on. 
• Seth's arrival - All of the sudden, out of nowhere, Seth appears in Seattle with no explanation as to how he got there. He's has his own reason for being there, but it seems like the author's reason for bringing him into the sequel is simply to have a love interest present. 

Favorite quotes:

• The air felt like it was being sucked from my lungs, and my head rang as if someone had clapped their hands over my ears. Hard. I don't remember falling, but the next thing I knew, I was sitting on the dock, head pounding. The boast was a mass of flames.        - pg. 107-108
• There's a thin line between suspicion and paranoia and I hate to think I may have crossed it, but the more I thought about it, the more suspicious I became. The vehicle we were driving belonged to - and had been equipped by - the Agency. An Agency man had suggested we take it. Why?   - pg. 193

2 Robots

This book contained nothing important to the series and I've lost whatever little interest I had in the plot. I'm not going to read the 3rd book even though I already own it. Good if you want a short, quick read and a cute, easy mystery.

Acquired: bought