I enjoyed reading the 2nd book in the Ground Rules Mystery series. I was surprised we are taken out of the original location of “Ground Rules” coffee cart and placed at a music festival. Most series authors wait a few books in before taking the reader out of their cozy town. But it was nice change and made sense.

Now I’m a little closer to middle age than our main character Sage. As in the first story, I still find Sage a little flat. Kind of monotone in emotion. It may be the age gap but I have trouble connecting to her. I do admire that she is smart, sassy, confident and ambitious. No matter, my lack of connection hasn’t hurt my reading experience. It is a well written and interesting story that can be read as a stand alone. So don’t fret if you haven’t read the first book. Loved the change of scnerey and the different personalities at the festival. All though there is a murder (of course), and Sage is more tied to her cart at the festival, the general happenings of the festival and the variety of characters that pop up really got me involved and I felt like I was in attendance. And a shout out to festival coordinators - give me a VIP pass for all I can eat and drink (coffee is just fine for me) and I’ll show up no matter who’s on stage! I guessed a few things about the suspects early on. But not the killer till near the end. 2 thumbs up and looking forward to the next book in the series. Thank you netgalley and Kensington Cozies for the free eArc in exchange for an honest review.

Book 2 of A Ground Rules Mystery. This was such a wonderfully captivating sequel. There’s a setting change, a double murder to solve and plenty of enticing coffee descriptions.

This story takes places at a local music festival where Sage is asked to step in as a coffee vendor. I was surprised and slightly worried that we were already leaving the locations and characters established in the first book, but it worked! I enjoyed watching Sage set up their new cart and promote her growing business. What made it unique was the fact that she spent a good majority of her time actually working the cart. Instead of out hunting for clues, she was able to sleuth and interview customers as they came to get their caffeinated fix. I loved this idea. You get to hear all of the coffee chatter as she makes drinks, but it made you be extra aware of what she was witnessing from just her cart.

The mystery was great. There were so many suspects to work through and clues to slowly piece together. Just when I figured something out, a new twist would be introduced so that kept it extra intriguing.

I’m already looking forward to reading the next book, Flat White Fatality. I’m curious to see if we will return to the food court area or if it will begin at their new store. I’m also interested to see what role Bax and his adorable son will play as the series grows.

I really loved this book in a new to my series and author. I can't wait to read the next one. The characters and location really add to the plot. This book keeps you guessing until the end

This is a new to me author and I have to say I am looking forward to reading more by this author! I loved this book

I was so sure that I'd love this book but I found that it was very hard for me to remain interested. I felt like I was learning more about coffee than reading a mystery.

Sage and her coffee cart are at Campathon for the week. She is getting to see awesome bands, spend time with her boyfriend, and make money. When Sage almost trips over the body of a mega band manager, the week takes a turn. The local detective seems to be focused on Sage instead of finding the actual killer. Sage is determined to find out who it was so that she can clear her name.

I'm really enjoying getting to know Sage. I liked seeing her again. I do wish that this had taken place in more of the home base for the coffee cart because I feel like I haven't gotten to know the setting very well. I think it was too soon to take the story on the road. I was kept guessing through the entire book. I loved the twists and turns! I can't wait to read more!

Another excellent edition to a wonderful series! Full of twists and turns that leaves you wanting more and enjoying each moment until the end when the killer is caught!

This was a solid mystery and kept my interest. However, there was just something missing, or I wasn't connecting with the characters and the story the same way I did the first one. It could be the setting, which was neat, but didn't really give me a feel for much of anything except how much I don't want to camp at a music festival. I like Sage and I loved her VIP customer who ordered coffee every hour but there was nothing that really stood out on this one for me. I will still continue with the series and hope I connect more when it's back in town.

This was a great murder mystery novel that apparently I could never guess right! I did find myself getting lost with the huge number of characters and their roles in this book so definitely something you should keep track of by maybe writing in your Goodreads notes throughout the book to reflect on like I did.

A woman named Sage co-owns a coffee company and takes one of their mobile coffee shops to be one of many vendors at a music festival! Sage and her boyfriend Bax planned on enjoying their time outdoors with music and good vibes but what happens when Sage stumbles upon a body? How can she prove herself as innocent when a detective has her assumptions? This again was a great read, and kept the surprises coming from character relationships, to who the murderer actually is…. Can you guess?

This was a great sequel to the first book in the series. I found myself enjoying this one even more than the first. The setting was fun, I love the characters and the mystery certainly kept me guessing!

The second book in this series and it's better than the first one as I loved it.
The music festival settings was interesting and I liked the characters.
The mystery is solid and kept me guessing.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

This gets 3.5 stars from me overall, rounded up to 4 since Goodreads has yet to give us a half star option. I really like the premise of this series and its quirky vibes. The characters are likable and fit the quirkiness of the series. I liked the plot of this one with the music festival being a fun storyline. The mystery is good, although I didn't like the turns it took at the end. I actually felt a lot like the characters in the book when they are dealing with how the mystery is solved etc. This one left me sad at the end of the read. Still a solid series and I look forward to more mysteries with Sage and her friends.

Loved reading this book and author. If you haven't read it yet I highly.
recommend her and her books. Read the books in order.

When Sage set up her coffee cart at the Campathon Music Festival she was hoping for a busy weekend but what she did not plan on was finding a dead body. She did not intend to become involved in the situation, but not only did she feel like she was being treated as a suspect, but she kept hearing important things.

I found the details of the coffee cart interesting even though I don't drink coffee. Furthermore, I especially liked how the story had a realistic touch to it where what happens seems like something a person would think or do. Thanks to Kensington for ARC. The opinions expressed are my own.

Dollycas’s Thoughts

Sage Caplin is thrilled to receive a prime spot for her Ground Rules coffee cart at Campathon, an annual eco-friendly music festival just outside of Portland. It is her chance to show they made the right decision buying the second cart as they wait for their brick-and-mortar shop to open. She is also looking forward to spending her downtime with her boyfriend Bax listening to the bands, who just happens to know one of the musicians performing.

While Sage is selling a lot of coffee in all varieties there is an undercurrent of tension between some of the performers. Bax’s friend Maya has started a new group of her own after splitting with another one. Band manager Ian does his best to keep civil control between all of his clients but he must have pushed someone too far. Sage finds his dead body at the edge of the nearby woods. Things get personal because he is holding one of her coffee mugs and the detective on the case decides that and her discovery of the body puts Sage at the top of the suspect list. One other vendor tries to use that information to their advantage by spreading that news to anyone that will listen.

Will Sage be able to clear her name and a profit before everybody packs up and goes home? Or will the killer strike again? even taking aim at Sage? She’s going to need a double shot or two as she chases the clues and pours the coffee. Hopefully, the next death won’t be her own.

I really enjoyed the music festival setting for this second Ground Rules Mystery. It draws in a wide variety of people like one woman who was going to get everything out of her VIP pass by drinking as much coffee as possible. Coming back every hour to try something different. We also meet a pushy blogger/podcaster that is willing to do almost anything to get a scoop. Then of course there are the singers, musicians, camp staff, and other vendors. Most end up visiting Sage’s coffee cart, many more than once.

And our protagonist Sage Caplin knows how to keep her eyes and ears open. While she does need to leave the cart to follow some of the clues she quickly realizes that she can learn a lot by doing what she does best, serving her customers. I really enjoyed her multitasking and keen observations. I also loved that Bax was there to support her. Their relationship is comfortable for the most part. Our amateur sleuth read some signals completely wrong and I was happy to see that the whole thing was straightened out quickly and wasn’t drawn out over several chapters. I also liked that her brother was at the festival trying to keep her safe while throwing in his own two cents whenever he could.

The mystery ended up having several suspects due to the sheer amount of people at the festival and another death adds even more twists. Detective Adams seemed hyperfocused on Sage but Sage just worked harder to give her other options. I will say I had a revolving group of my own suspects until all was revealed. I was in awe of the way Sage pulled everything together and loved the way the reveal played out. I was riveted like I was right there witnessing in person.

Double Shot Death was a captivating read. Sage is a very engaging protagonist and I appreciated the way she interacted with everyone. The dialogues were very well-written. I was sorry that Harley, Sage’s business partner, was working the other cart and only mentioned a few times in the story. Sage’s dad and Uncle Jimmy were also only involved through phone calls and text messages. I wish all three were more featured but it truly didn’t take away how much I was entertained by this story. I just hope they are all back in book three.

Pour yourself a nice cup of coffee and sit back and enjoy this latest story from Emmeline Duncan. I am excited to see where she takes her characters next!

This is a Cozy Mystery, and this is the second book in A Ground Rules Mystery series. I have read and reviewed the first book in this book series before picking up this book. I do not think you need to read the first book before reading this book. I really liked this book. The characters are so much fun and developed. The mystery was fun and kept me thinking, and I really enjoyed trying to figured the mystery in this book. In this book the coffee cart is at a music festival, and I found the setting fun, and I love that the setting is different then the first book. This series is a really good cozy mystery series that I will keeping reading. I was kindly provided an e-copy of this book by the publisher (Kensington Cozies) or author (Emmeline Duncan) via NetGalley, so I can give an honest review about how I feel about this book. I want to send a big Thank you to them for that.

While I enjoyed Fresh Brewed Murder, the first book in the Ground Rules Mysteries by Emmeline Duncan, Double Shot Death was not as enjoyable for me. I think the biggest reason was the characters and how little I connected with them…. Because most of them were new.

Cozy mystery readers usually keep coming back to a series because the characters end up feeling like friends and we want to find out what they are up to. Duncan went from creating great characters into the first book, to giving so many new ones in the second one because the main character, Sage, took her coffee truck to a festival. Now I love when main characters take a vacation and the book is set in a new location, so I think this has a lot of potential having Sage going to new locations, but I feel like Duncan needed to establish her core group more first. Maybe waiting until book four to venture out may have worked better. I can see this putting a lot of cozy readers off the series.

While I really enjoyed learning about coffee in the first book and in this one too, it started to feel like a coffee meme very quickly. I can’t live without coffee! Coffee is life! I would kill for a coffee!

If Duncan would have spent more time on developing the new secondary characters, and Saga a bit more instead of her obsessing about her boyfriend and thinking he was cheating one her, I know I would have enjoyed Double Shot Death a lot more than I did.

I will most likely read the third book in the series, but if it doesn’t get a lot better that will be the last one for me in this series since there are so many other fantastic cozy mystery series out there.

Sage Caplin, a young woman running a hip coffee cart with her friend in Portland, Oregon, is back in Double Shot Death. But this time she has a travel cart and she has brought it and her hunky new boyfriend to a music festival outside of the city. While she is busy selling coffee to hungover concert-goers, she finds herself involved in another murder investigation. It's funny how often that happens in cozy mysteries, huh? Compared to the first book in this series, Fresh Brewed Murder, this title was just okay. I thought the plot was a bit slow and there wasn't much character growth for Sage. I wish that there had been more scenes between Sage and her new boyfriend, Bax, but this isn't a romance so I understand why they weren't the focus of the story. I am not sure if I will continue reading this series because I was a little bit bored with this title.

The first in this series quickly became one of the cozies I've recommended the most, and I'm thrilled that book two lives up to the promise of the first. This book captures the environment it's set in beautifully, and the characters remain interesting (the author has given Sage such an interesting backstory- as she has for the rest of the characters as well!- that there is clearly potential for plenty of great stories ahead). The mystery is interesting and complicated with plenty of good suspects despite being in a more isolated environment. One I'll continue recommending.

Double Shot Death features Sage Caplin (I love the name) from Portland who I met in book 1, Fresh Brewed Murder. Sage has a coffee van that she runs with her business partner, Harley. In this story, Sage is on her way to a sustainable music festival and her boyfriend, Bax, has helped her get a good position for her Ground Rules coffee cart thanks to Maya, one of the musicians he knows. However there is some disharmony and Ian, Maya's band manager winds up dead.

The reader follows Sage through her life and especially Bax's. I really enjoy Emmeline Duncan's writing style. She tells the story in a way that brings the reader right into each scene, from learning about the coffee culture as well as the Portland vibe and food scene. I loved the interactions between the characters and the conversations they had seemed realistic. The witty repartee had me frequently chuckling and was a delight to observe. I liked Sage a great deal; she demonstrated that she has a soft spot for people, especially those in need of some help.

The pace throughout the book is even and Emmeline Duncan sprinkles clues here and there so the hip story remains fresh whilst the reader follows along. Double Shot Death will be of interest to many cozy readers, especially coffee connoisseurs, and I’m all agog to see what Sage will be up to next in book three of this excellent series.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from Kensington Books via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.