Importance of Being Urnest is the 10th installment in the Maggy Thorson Mystery series. In the beginning there is a shootout where Maggy’s boyfriend, Jake Pavlik is shot as well as another officer. Jake has proposed to Maggy, but she’s not sure if she is comfortable getting married. Maggy is the co-owner of Uncommon Grounds, a popular coffee house in a small Wisconsin town, along with Sarah her partner. Sarah seems to have no filters and “says it like it is,” which keeps Maggy on edge much of the time. Maggy is however, quite likeable, but Sarah, not so much – she’s a bit too snarky for my taste.

Although this novel is well-written, the characters don’t seem as well-developed as expected. Because of that point, it would be a good idea to start at the beginning of the series and read them in order. I’ve already ordered the first few to get more acquainted with the characters. Even though this is fairly entertaining as a stand-alone novel, some things aren’t as clear as they should be, and because this series is based on a cute premise, it will be worth reading from the start.

One of the good things about this novel is that the author weaves wit and humor throughout the plot, which also has its share of suspense. Even though this is a cozy mystery, there are some ups and downs and dangerous moments for the characters. It is a fast read, and will keep most readers smiling throughout.

Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.

What do you get if you mix together good coffee house, a sheep dog, retirement village, Botox and sheriff? You'd get a recipe for disaster or for murder or two, or three.

There is nothing cozy about this Manor in a small town. People are dying and disappearing left, right and center. Suspicions are mounting. Evidence is disappearing. Coffee gets cold. Love and relationships get hot.

I have no read all the previous books in the series, but I think the same characters, the same author's tendency to play with words to get the most of irony and wit out of the dialogues would be a joy to read. 

All in all, I'd like to visit this coffee house and eavesdrop on the conversations and goings on in there.

Read on the train. Read on the beach. Read at the cafe. Enjoy

Maggie has a lot going on, her fiance has been shot causing him to move in with her and shes running her coffee shop. When 2 new ladies to the area are murdered she soon gets involved. Should she marry Sheriff Jake or not? The characters are interesting and the story moves along well enough to keep your interest.

The Importance of Being Urnest: A Maggy Thorsen Mystery
By Sandra Balzo
Severn
December 2017

Review by Cynthia Chow

Running the Uncommon Grounds coffee shop out of a historic train station in Brookhills, Wisconsin has made Maggy Thorsen accustomed to a unique clientele. That definitely includes her neighbor Christy Wrigley, a former piano teacher who is currently an omnist who believes in all religions, dates an imprisoned convict, and now cleans as she appretices at the local mortuary and crematory. Working there gives Christy the opportunity to meet anther of Uncommon Grounds new customers, the now late mother of uber nice Hannah Bouchard. Maggy’s extremely cynical and sarcastic business partner Sarah Kingston has a lot to say about Hannah’s martyrdom, not to mention Maggy’s reluctance to accept Sheriff Jake Pavlik’s marriage proposal. Maggy is quite happy in her comfortable and committed relationship with her sheepdog Frank, and the risk of disrupting her current happiness is terrifying. An on-the-job incident speeds up Maggy’s decision, not to mention the increase in mortality amidst the residents of Brookhills Manor retirement facility.

The discovery of whether there is an actual murder doesn’t occur until readers are far into the novel, but clues are laid out from the beginning. The draw of this series is the incredibly entertaining banter and relationship between Maggy and Sarah. They are more akin to an old married couple than business partners, as their snipes are personal but never taken too personally. Their hilarious conversational tangents and references show how like-minded they have become, and following their train of thoughts is a guilty pleasure for those who favor politeness over truthfulness. Bi-polar Sarah and cynical Maggy match one another with their comebacks and insults, but it comes with the knowledge that no one else is more supportive or loving than the other. That Jake is willing to wade into their friendship is a testament to his bravery, not to mention his love for Maggie. This deftly written novel is inundated with clever dialogue and wry observations, and like its characters, the acerbic hard exterior hides a warm-hearted emotional center.

After starting this mystery, I realized that I needed to go back and read the series in order. This was my first encounter with this series and it's the 10th entry. No wonder I was confused and having a hard time finishing it. This is a series that, in my opinion, needs to be read in order. So, I gave it three stars because I was the reason it was hard to read and I am now on the hunt for the first book. I'm looking forward to catching up.
My thanks to the publisher Severn House and to NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Coffee shop owner Maggy Thorsen’s world is turned upside down when two officers are shot — one of them her beloved Sheriff Jake Pavlik. The shootout occurs at Brookhills Manor, a nursing home, and it ties in to some other goings-on. But the most important matter in the book isn’t crime related: Maggy, still scarred from her first marriage, has been asked to enter into a second with Pavlik. Will she, or won’t she? Unlike Janet Evanovich, who dragged that same question in her Stephanie Plum novels out so long that it turned the series into an unreadable parody of itself, Sandra Balzo knows how to balance her suspense.

Maggy, sassy, clever and endlessly endearing, always delights, making this one of my very favorite series. A few regulars are back in The Importance of Being Urnest (which refers to a funerary urn, not a coffee urn), but most of them appear only in a mention, but readers won’t care because Maggy and Pavlik — and the two latest mysteries — are so compelling. Highly recommended.

In the interest of full disclosure, I received this book from NetGalley and Severn House in exchange for an honest review.

The Importance of Being Urnest by Sandra Balzo is the 10th book in the Maggy Thorsen mystery series, and my first book by this author. I was so lost with all the characters and trying to keep up, I did not finish this book. I am going to go back and read the series in order. I would not recommend this book as a stand alone.

I received this book for a fair and honest review.

Classic cozy set in a Wisconsin coffeehouse. This is the latest in a series and the uninitiated might find all the characters a tad confusing at first. Maggie, the owner of the coffeehouse and your intrepid investigator, is dealing with the death of one of her customers in the shop when things start to spiral. Her long time love Flavik is shot in an odd event and is recuperating at her home. Will these two- who have had an off and on relationship- finally get married? Will Maggie discover the causes of additional deaths? All good questions. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. This is a quick read that will appeal to fans of the genre.

Uncommon Grounds coffeehouse owner Maggy Thorson confronts a number of mysterious deaths and has an important decision to make about her future with Sheriff Jake Pavlik. When elderly Celeste Bouchard dies while her daughter Hannah was having coffee at Maggy's shop, it seems at first to be just a sad death. Then a jailbreak, hostage-taking and subsequent shoot-out at a retirement home injure both Jake and another fellow police officer. Maggie decides to care for Jake upon his release from the hospital and maybe seriously consider his marriage proposal. When Celeste's elderly female "companion" Nancy dies of suffocation, it appears there is a wily killer on the loose. The process and rules of cremating bodies in Wisconsin is an important clue to solving this mystery.

I received an eARC via Netgalley and Severn House with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book and provided this review.

I have no idea why people rate this so highly. I thought i was drunk through the first 3 chapters i was so unable to keep all the characters being introduced. The whole book was slow, the plot so thin it had holes in it and was in essence just a series of conversations finishing with a chapter to tell you what happened. There was nothing in the book to lead you to the finale and the whole was just boring. I wouldn't be tempted to anything else by this author

Maggy has a number of deaths to investigate, an important decision to make and her fiancé have been shot. Three ladies have newly arrived in the area of the Uncommon Grounds coffee shop. Soon two are dead and the third looks to inherit a lot of money as a result of their deaths.

There is also a fugitive on the loose after shooting the Sheriff and one of his men. It is a busy time for Maggy and her friends.

This book was not so much cosy as snoozy, I like a good cosy mystery, but this wasn’t one of them. I got bored very quickly and had a job to keep up with who was who and whether I really cared. It was predictable and really didn’t get going until the end and by then the damage was done. It may have been because this was not the first of the series and I haven’t read the others, so perhaps that may have been part of the problem.

It was not a good experience for me but have a go at reading it and see what you think.

Shesat.

Breakaway Reviewers were given a copy of the book to review

Maggy Thorsen mysteries have always delivered. And this latest is no exception.
The story revolves around mysterious deaths, the local mortuary and crematorium, a shootout with law officers, and a couple of scam artists. Of course, the action begins at Uncommon Grounds, the coffeehouse owned by Maggy Thorsen and her partner Sarah.

The give-and-take between Maggy and Sarah works well to reveal the closeness of their relationship while also keeping the story line moving. The multi-layered mystery is complex but easy to follow due to the author's skill at weaving the pieces together. The author has created a community of characters that is both believable and interesting to follow. And there is an underlying level of humor that keeps the reader smiling throughout.

'Importance of Being Urnest' was my first Maggy Thorsen Mystery and I am an instant fan. Maggy's relationship with her business partner Sarah is witty and full of humor. The mystery is multi-layered and suspenseful, with some difficult issues, like her Sherriff boyfriend being shot and some of his officers killed. It was alternately dark and funny, a perfect recipe for me. I'm going to go back and get the rest of the series because this book is that good.

Another fun entry in this cozy series. Maggy and her partner Sarah own the Uncommon Grounds coffee shop. One of the strengths of this series is the amusingly sarcastic dialog which really sounds like real people cracking wise.

A long-time group of friends meet Sunday mornings at Uncommon Grounds and the mother of one attendee passes away while there. That is only the start of a number of deaths in one. While Maggy helps her friends, her boyfriend sheriff Jake Pavlik is injured on the job and moves in with her to recuperate.

Maggy must figure out what is happening... .and what her answer to Jake's marriage proposal is going to be.

I've been a fan of this series for quite a while. I love Maggy and all the characters in this cozy series.
When a death strikes close to home, there seems to be some unanswered questions and Maggy can't help but get involved.
The twists and turns were exciting and I kept guessing who the guilty party was.

I do wish Maggy would marry Pavlik, I think they are both good for each other.
I look forward to reading the next book in this series.

I voluntarily read an ARC of this book provided by the publisher and NetGalley.