For anyone who loves coffee, this series is a must! I really like Sage, she is an intelligent and rather low-key main character who comes across as very real. The setting for the story is a festival where Ground Rules has a cart and is also rolling out a new product in collaboration with the whiskey distiller sponsoring the festival. With a wonderful new product, an Irish coffee cocktail in a can and her wedding only three weeks away, Sage has a lot to he happy about. Unfortunately, Mark, Sage and Haley's nemesis, has arrived at the festival, although he was denied a booth and is definitely looking to stir up trouble. When he is found murdered in the parking lot next to the Ground Rules Subaru, only hours after a loud argument with Haley, things take a turn. Can Sage manage a busy festival, a new product roll out, and keep her partner out of police lockup? With the festival as a backdrop and all of Sage's wonderful family, friends, and employees along this is a very enjoyable read. Thanks to #Netgally, #Kensingtonbooks, and the author for an opportunity to read. #FatalBrouhaha #Ground Rules Mysteries #EmmelineDuncan #bookreview #bookideas #retiredreader

Fatal Brouhaha is the fifth book in the Ground Rules Mystery series, set in Portland, Oregon it follows coffee business owner Sage Caplin. Sage runs a successful coffee shop, cart and roastery with her business partner Harley. This mystery takes us to a 4th of July music festival that is celebrating a new coffee cocktail that features ground rules coffee and whiskey made at the distillery hosting the event. Things look to be going well until Mark Jefferies arrives uninvited. Mark runs a rival coffee shop that both Sage and Harley got their start at. He's been a thorn in Ground Rules side since its inception and the 1st book in this series. He's not just causing a disruption at the event, he ends up at the center of a murder and Sage is one again pulled into the investigation. Fast paced and action packed, with lots of potential suspects to keep you guessing.
There's also lots of great moments with Sage's friends and family including her adorable step son to be, Niko. The book ends with a wonderful wedding and the potential appearance of Sage's fugitive mother. Is it a tease for book 6?
I hope there's more to come from this wonderful series.

5/5 stars: This is the fifth entry in Duncan's Ground Rules Mystery series, which is a Culinary Cozy Mystery set in Portland, Oregon and follows a master barista and coffee cart owner as she finds her new product launch and collaboration with a local whiskey company interrupted after a bitter coffee shop rival's found dead and her partner's the prime suspect. She'll have to filter through secrets, grudges and blackmail to get to the bitter truth and as her sleuthing heats up, the closing fireworks won’t be the ones in the sky. With plenty of twists and turns, Duncan has masterfully crafted a mystery that deftly balances the suspects, clues and red herrings and will leave you pondering the whodunit until the final reveal. Heartfelt and humorous, Duncan's writing and character work are stellar; the characters are well-rounded and complex while remaining incredibly likable. It's a joy to catch up with Sage and her friends and family, especially her partnership with Harley. It's also great to see her business thriving, seeing her relationship with her gamer developer/designer Bax fiance heading down the aisle and spending time with her and Bax's sweet cat, Kaldi. Oh and you won't want to miss out on the delicious drink and dessert recipes Duncan's included. While you could read this as a stand-alone, you'll gain so much more by reading the series from the beginning; so be sure to pick up book one, Fresh Brewed Murder. This is a favorite series and Duncan didn't miss with this latest entry; Highly recommend!

I received this eARC thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing | Kensington Cozies in exchange for an honest review. Publishing dates are subject to change.

This series is just so much fun! I really love how Duncan has balanced growing the cast with creating depth for loyal readers. The Gorge location was tons of fun and I like how Duncan keeps moving things to places surrounding Portland. The mystery here was absolutely wild, full of chaos and misdirects. It was well done and super engaging. I’m look forward to where Sage and crew go next!

Another cozy Ground Rules coffee mystery finds Sage at a maker's festival where music, coffee, and murder are all being served up. A cute, quick, cozy read for mystery lovers.

This is book 5 of Sage Caplin building a Portland coffee empire while solving murders. This time it’s the body of long-time baddie Mark that she finds in the parking lot. Not only must she solve the murder because she like to, she must solve it to protect her business partner Harley because Harley is a prime suspect.
Once again, a fun and engaging mystery with lots of coffee trivia that I find interesting even though I don’t drink coffee. The cornhole tournament, the interesting and varied booths at the maker’s festival and her relationship with Baz are all great!
Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for this DRC.
#FatalBrouhaha #NetGalley

This is the newest addition to the Ground Rules mystery series featuring Sage, owner of a local Portland coffee house who solves mysteries in her spare time. I always enjoy these books because they make it seem believable that Sage would be involved in the mystery and is smart enough to solve it.

In this latest book, Sage and her business partner Harley’s longtime antagonist Mark Jeffries is murdered at a festival celebrating a new whisky coffee release. Many people had reason to want Mark dead and Sage needs to solve the mystery before the police arrest Harley for the crime. I enjoyed seeing all the characters again and the mystery, although the fact that so many people are hiding huge secrets or a connection to Mark did seem a bit extreme at times. Overall though this is a cozy addition and I’ll certainly read the next one.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this early arc. All opinions are my own.

I would recommend this series. This was a good book. There is a murder mystery that Sage feels she has to solve.

I couldn't wait to read the next Ground Rules mystery, which has become one of my favorite cozy series! Sage partnered up with a local distillery in Oregon on a collaboration and bring her Ground Rules trailer to the festival held in its honor. With the usual cast of characters and a few specific to the festival, there are many suspects in the murder of a fellow coffee entrepreneur. Duncan does a great job of plotting and interweaving social justice issues into her cozy mysteries. Another great read by her and highly recommended for cozy lovers!

Thanks to NetGalley and Kensington for the ARC!

One Irish coffee cocktail with a side of murder, please.

Sage Caplin and her Ground Rules coffee crew are co-hosting a Fourth of July festival with Dolye's Oregon Whiskey Distillery, aimed to promote their joint canned Irish coffee cocktail. The festival features a plethora of food and craft booths, with live music and corn holes tournaments taking place to draw a bigger crowd. When Sage's nemesis, and former boss at Left Coast Grinds, Mark is found murdered beside her Ground Rules car, Sage takes it upon herself to solve the crime before her business partner Harley takes the blame.

Set in the coffee-loving city of Portland, Fatal Brouhaha expands on the Ground Rules universe created in the previous four books. As Sage prepares for her wedding, the investigation is almost a welcome distraction to the normal pre-wedding jitters. Sage's Ground Rules staff are a delightful bunch, with Sophie and Kendall balancing each other out while also giving readers some very interesting coffee insights.

This book is extremely well-paced, and I often found myself astounded at how fast the book went by while reading. I absolutely adore Bax's son Niko as a budding investigator and graphic novel writer, with those surrounding him underestimating his perceptiveness. The actual mystery kept me guessing until the very end, which is always a good sign.

The only thing that I wish is that somewhere near me hosted a festival like this so that I could attend!

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for the opportunity to read this book for free in exchange for my honest review.

We are back in Portland with Sage and the Ground Rules coffee company. They are working with a whiskey company for an Irish to go. There's a festival introducing the canned drink. Sage and the coffee cart are there. There's a public altercation with Mark Jeffries and Harley. Then Mark's dead body is found by the company car. Harley is a prime suspect and MIA for most of the book. Sage decides to help investigate and find the real killer.

I really enjoyed this book and I love the series. Once I started reading I was hooked and I couldn't stop reading. I had no idea whodunnit. I really enjoyed following the clues with Sage.

recipes, cozy-mystery, Oregon, small-business, murder, murder-investigation, coffee-culture, coffee-shop, amateur-sleuth, festivals, unpleasant-victims, self-importance, family, family-support, relatives, relationships, siblings, lawyers, local-law-enforcement, friends, friendship****
Sage (and her business coffee cart) is an integral part of the music festival. One of the other vendors is a rather nasty businessman known to indulge in the practice of revenge porn. Until Sage finds him dead at the side of her car. Now the investigations begin!
I requested and received a temporary uncorrected proof copy from Kensington Books/Kensington Cozies via NetGalley. Avail April 29, 2025
#FatalBrouhaha by @writeremmelineduncan #GroundRulesMysteriesBk5 #NetGalley @kensingtonbooks #cozymystery #coffeeculture @goodreads @bookbub @librarythingofficial @barnesandnoble **** Review #booksamillion #bookshop_org #bookshop_org_uk #kobo #Waterstones

I enjoy this series and am not surprised that it was finally Mark that was done in. He had been a thorn in Sage's side since the beginning.. There are plenty of suspects. Sage sets out to find out who did to get her partner Harley out of suspicion. All of this occurs during a music/craft festival that Sage has partnered with a whiskey company. The wind up to the conclusion goes along at a good pace. This was overall a fun read.

Sage and that gang are back on the festival circuit and of course happen upon a dead body. This time it's Mark, former employer of several Ground Rules employees and series bugbear who has finally come a cropper. There's no shortage of suspects including multiple ex-wives, burned would-be business partners, and blackmail victims. Sage, helped by her soon-to-be stepson Nico and the rest of her crew, has to figure out how to exonerate her coffee roaster in between pulling espresso shots and mixing up coffee tonics. Sage is a little more acerbic in this installment than in those past, but she has to be getting tired of tripping over corpses.

#FatalBrouhaha #NetGalley is another great addition to this series.
Sage is a wonderful character and the author does a fantastic job of bringing all the characters to life. Each time I open one of these books, I feel like I'm catching up with old friends.
This book is definitely well done, the mystery reflects around the death of the owner of another coffee shop, who has close ties to Sage and her parter Harley. Sage knows she needs to help with the investigation unless she wants Harley to end up behind bars.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for selecting me to read an advanced copy of this book.

This was another quick, enjoyable read. I really like this series and its characters. Sage is an interesting protagonist and I can't wait until her mysterious con artist mother finally makes an appearance.