Coffee and books are two loves of mine! I enjoyed the first in this series and loved this second one also! But you don't have to have read the first to enjoy this one. Great characters. Loved the setting and the story line. Thanks #netgalley and #Keningston for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are mine.

Engaging cozy mystery. Yes, I am craving mocha or espresso or French press. Need to try the other types of coffee preparation mentioned. The murder mystery kept me guessing...wrong. I somehow skipped over reading the first one. I need to do that as I am certain I will enjoy it. I look forward to reading the next book too. Happy to have discovered this pleasant series.

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review,

This is the second in the Ground Rules Mystery cozy mystery series. Sage, the protagonist, is opening a food cart, or rather a coffee cart, at a famous Portland music/camping festival. Unfortunately, she stumbles across a body of an unliked music manager. Can she solve the crime before she is next?

I haven't read the first, but thankfully, that is not needed here! Unlike some series, there was nothing I felt I missed by not reading the first - most of the necessary background was explained well. I felt like the first thirty pages were aggressively Portland, but then it mellowed it. I also felt like I didn't see many clues to point to the killer, but overall I enjoyed this mystery! I definitely will go back and read the first one.

What is better than a coffee themed mystery? Emmeline Duncan explores more of Ground Rules and Sage's next adventure. Sage and Bax take on a music festival and of course Sage stumbles upon another dead body. Duncan crafts a tale of cozy suspense. It was a quick and detailed read. I look forward to many more in this series as we explore Sage's life with her.

I am thankful that I was able to read as an ARC from Netgalley and Kensington Books.

Genre: cozy mystery, book 2 in the Ground Rules Mysteries
Pub date: 4/26/22
In one sentence: Coffee cart owner Sage has the opportunity of a lifetime at Campathon music festival - until a man is found dead clutching one of her coffee mugs.

Fresh Brewed Murder was one of my favorite cozies last year, and I was so excited to read this one! The music festival setting was super fun - I enjoyed seeing Sage bond with the attendees (including one particularly well-caffeinated attendee!) Just like the first book, there's a ton of coffee knowledge here. Who knew mint coffee sodas were a thing? Not me! The murder plotline was compelling, but I wish there had been a little more action in the middle of the story rather than it coming mostly at the end. All in all, an enjoyable cozy mystery and I will certainly read book 3! 3.5 stars rounded to 4.

Thank you to Kensington Books for providing an ARC on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

It's Campathon Music Festival weekend. Amateur sleuth Sage Caplan got a lucky break and scored a spot for her traveling coffee cart there. It didn't take long for her to find a dead body. I enjoyed this storyline as Sage got involved whether she wanted to or not it seems. This book flowed well with a steady pace that kept me interested throughout. The characters are very likable and well-developed. Can't wait for the next book in the series.

•Review•
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
(No Spice)

I picked up book 1 in this series last year, while it wasn’t my absolute favorite I liked the setting and the characters enough to want to read book 2. I think this was a definite improvement on book 1.
One of my main complaints about book 1 was that there was to many characters, and to many story lines that had no point. This book did a good job of being more to the point compared to the 1st. Everything introduced felt important to the story or for character development.
While there were still a lot of characters that were introduced it felt easier to keep track of who everyone was. However I did end up missing some of the side characters like her business partner who didn’t really have a part in this story.
I also really love that the setting changed. I loved campathon. It was such a fun setting to explore and it helps the story to not get stale when you can introduce new places/people.
Overall I thought this book was really good. If you were on the fence after book 1 I say go ahead and pick this up. Even though it’s part of a series of Cozy Mystery books I think you could easily pick it up and not feel lost.

I was thrilled to see the the second book in the Ground Rules Series, Double Shot Death, by Emmeline Duncan on my shelf. I LOVED the first one and book two is just as wonderful! I’ve been (not so) patiently waiting for the book after I devoured the first one last year. Like a coffee lover I savored this book to the last drop.

Sage packs up a new mobile coffee cart to take a music festival! There’s camping, coffee and music on the menu but when an unexpected side of murder sours the event Sage steps in. I was surprised by the unraveling and loved seeing Sage and Bax together! I can’t wait for the next one and hope you enjoy this book as much as I did!

As neither a coffee fan nor anything even close to a hipster type, you'd think I wouldn't have liked this book. But, you'd be wrong. I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to the Portland area with Sage and friends, rather wishing there were a music festival going on to get my music fix right now. I enjoyed getting to know not just the characters -- I haven't read the first book in the series yet -- as well as getting a behind the scenes look at the various issues and demands of putting on even a three day music festival, not to mention the stress of dealing with the egos involved. Even for this non-coffee fan, it was also interesting to see the steps involved in preparing the coffee cart and adjustments made to fulfill environmental issues. Oh, and there was a cat.

The mystery revolved around Sage's discovery of a body at the festival prior to its public opening and her interest in finding out who killed Ian. As the one who discovered the body, although she'd only met him the day before, he did die with one of her shop's mugs in his hand, making her at least a suspect. She does seem to have the knack of getting people to talk and/or being in the right place at the right time to overhear pertinent conversations. I got the impression that the desire to uncover the truth was as much because of the innate need to see justice done that had been ingrained in her as the daughter of a police officer as just curiosity but her need to know was strong. There's also a confidence about there that makes her largely ignore her father and lawyer brother's advice to have her brother with her as her lawyer when she talks to the police. She is quick thinking and smart, however, and seems to largely depend on her own wits.

While I wasn't really interested in all the chatter in the book about this and that coffee blend or bean, I was impressed that the author included some delicious sounding recipes for tea lovers like me at the end. I will definitely be looking for a copy of the first in this series to read and am looking forward to following Sage and the others, who are interesting in their own right, in the future. Thank you, #NetGalley and #KensingtonBooks for inviting me to the music festival!

Thank you Netgalley for the advance reader copy of Double Shot Death by Emmeline Duncan in exchange for an honest review. This story focuses on a food truck in Portland, Oregon and a young, witty sleuth who can make a great coffee. Sage Chaplin takes her coffee cart on the road to a music festival. She gets to Campathon and parks her cart on time. The other food vendors are late. There are lots of bands to listen to and 3 stages. Sage's coffee cart is the only coffee cart.
This was a great book with a behind the scenes look at a music festival. There sure seems like a lot of work involved in participating, but lots of fun too.

Double shot at death by Emmeline Duncan
Thanks NetGalley for sharing this Arc!

I really liked the characters in this book ! The mystery was entertaining and I loved how it was set in PNW. And there’s coffee. What else can someone ask for.

Sage Caplin is back in this second installment of the Ground Rules cozy mystery series. Having secured a food cart spot at the local music festival Campathon, Sage heads to the festival with her boyfriend Bax for a weekend of camping, selling coffee, and listening to live bands. When Sage finds the manager of one of the bands dead, she scrambles to try and clear her name off the suspect list and find the culprit.

This was a very fun cozy mystery, just like the first book. Though not a locked room mystery, this does take place at a ticketed music festival, so all the suspects are all in one spot. I do like Sage and all of the supporting characters, although I had hard time remembering who everyone was. Some of the parts in the middle did drag, but overall I enjoyed it. I also liked learning more about coffee. This was a nice light read that will be perfect for the summer.

I enjoyed this second installment in the Ground Rules mystery series. Though this is considered a cozy, this series doesn't stray from difficult topics while still having the cozy characteristics. Sage is working her coffee cart at the Campathon music festival outside of Portland with her boyfriend Bax when a murder occurs to one of the attendees. Though I missed some of the characters we met in the first book and the Portland location, the setting and music festival setup led to a great mystery. I had no idea who the culprit was and though the path there was winding, overall it made sense. I did feel that the ending was rushed and Sage figured it out quickly with only a few pages left with not much excitement. I can't wait to read the next entry in one of my auto-read cozy mystery series!

This was a funky story set in in the PNW. at a music festival. Sage has brought her coffee trailer to be a vendor. She becomes embroiled in the drama of backend of music and murder. As she is tangentially involved because of finding the body, she sets out to solve the murder. I found the most interesting part was the attitude throughout the book that was so distinctly Portland hipster. The culprit was not necessarily a shock but there was a good ending.

This is becoming a favorite series of mine. It was fast paced, funny and all around a good mystery. Sage Caplin is taking her Portland coffee cart on the road to a sustainable music festival. She had high hopes of selling coffee and relaxing while listening to the bands. What she wasn’t counting on was being thrown into a murder investigation.
#DoubleShotDeath #NetGalley

Double Shot Death by Emmeline Duncan (Ground Rules Mystery #2) 4.5 stars

A sequel to last years "Fresh Brewed Murder", we see Sage Caplin taking her coffee cart to a sustainable music festival. There has been a time jump between the first book and this one. Some of the characters have moved on to new businesses and the Ground Rules team has expanded. In the first book, Sage and Bax were flirting and getting to know each other. In this book, Sage and Bax have a relationship that seems solid and romantic. Sage scores a coveted spot in the food area of the Campathon, a long running music festival. In between handing out espresso, drip coffees, iced lattes and tea, she can watch the drama that surrounds her. Since she is one of the earliest risers (Coffee Cart!!), she stumbles on the dead body of a local band manager that represented several bands playing at the festival. It will take all her ingenuity and street smarts to make sure she is off the suspect list.

This is the second book in a brand new series that has a unique spin and perspective. I enjoyed the first book and was thrilled to be approved for the second one. We see some familiar characters and meet some new ones. The mystery was well crafted and a fun read. I look forward to the next book in this series.

Thank you Netgalley and Kensington Books for this ARC.

After reading Emmeline Duncan's first book to the new A Ground Rules Mystery series, Fresh Brewed Murder, I was delighted to be sent a Kindle ARC of the next book in the series, Double Shot Death. I just really love where this series is going and hope it has a long life ahead of it! This book, and the series as a whole, is very modern and fresh. It takes a nod toward the Millennial and Z-Generation, which is why I think I enjoy Emmeline's writing so much, it's relatable to me as a 38 year old millennial. The characters are inclusive and diverse, it's refreshing to say the least.

One thing that I loved about this book specifically were all the characters the author added to the story, there were so many avenues to keep you sleuthing - everyone was a suspect in my eyes! While the story and mystery felt very slow and steadily paced, it gave me a chance to really get to know the characters more. I thoroughly enjoyed the interactions between Sage Caplin, the protagonist, and the others... I especially enjoyed seeing more of Bax, her video game designer neighbor turned boyfriend.

Sage is not afraid to ask questions and has such a compassionate heart, for sure one of my favorite amateur sleuths. Can we talk about the delicious recipes included in this cozy?! This is something I don't always mention in book reviews, but the recipes in the back of the book had me drooling and I can't wait to try a few of these, especially the iced teas.

I for sure recommend pre ordering this read, it was such a delight and the mystery was on point! I guessed completely wrong when it came to the murderer and I so love when I'm wrong.

Sage Caplin scored a space for her coffee truck at a popular music festival. Good music, good coffee, and a weekend with her boyfriend, what more could a girl ask for? As Sage gets set for a great weekend, nothing is going to kill her buzz…well, not until a man is killed and she finds the body.

Being a suspect herself, Sage can’t help but want to find out who killed the man so she can clear herself, and an acquaintance, while seeking justice for the man. When she stumbles upon a second body, she really needs to step things up if she wants the police to have some more viable suspects. Sage has to hope her luck holds out and she isn’t ground under by the murderer before she can clear her name.

The second entry in this series, I was waiting for this one to drop and see what the future has in store for Sage and her being a body magnet. With Covid running rampant, it was great to escape to a music fest for awhile and enjoy the brews and tunes, even if only in my imagination. Can’t wait to see the next entry and see more of the cat and dog who are part of the series too.

I think I’ve found my new favorite underrated series. Such a cute unraveling mystery set in the backdrop of the PNW. The vibes here are everything and I’m loving Emmelines writing style. These books are short but pack a solid story into them. Looking forward to more from this author.

I really enjoyed this second book - Double Shot Death in the Ground Rules Mystery Series.

Sage and her food truck in Oregon are offering up some great coffee... until she finds a body. A great cozy mystery!!