Maggy Thorsen first appeared in Uncommon Grounds and one of the best ways to learn about a person is by asking questions, so let’s get to know Maggy.

What is your full name?
Maggy Thorsen

How old are you?
Mid-forties, but that’s all I’m going to say. And I’m not getting any older, despite the fact that my college-age son does. Go figure.

What is your profession?
I dumped a corporate public relations job to open a coffeehouse with friends, only to find one of them dead in a pool of skim milk our first morning. Things have gone downhill from there.

Do you have a significant other?
Yes

What is their name and profession?
Jake Pavlik, Brookhills County Sheriff. It’s the usual meet-cute: he suspected me of murder, yada, yada, yada. [Editor’s Note: LOL]

Do you have any children?
My son Eric is a student at the University of Minnesota.

Do you have any siblings?
None that I talk about.

Are your parents nearby?
No

Who is your best friend?
Sarah Kingston, who is ornery, bi-polar and an opinionated pain in the butt. But I love her.

Do you have any pets?
Frank is my sheepdog and the other “significant other” in my life. Frank and I just adopted Mocha, a stray chihuahua. We’re all adjusting.

What town do you live in?
Brookhills, Wisconsin

Type of dwelling and do you own or rent?
I own a small frame house up Poplar Creek in Brookhills.

Would you say you live in a small town or a big city?
Brookhills is a small town, population-wise, a suburb west of Milwaukee. Sometimes the people here are pretty full of themselves. My now ex, Ted, insisted we live here and, after the divorce, I bought a much (MUCH) smaller house on what passes for the wrong side of town.

What is your favorite spot in your home?
Probably the front living room, because that’s where the magic happens. Meaning the pizza gets delivered.

Favorite meal and dessert?
Oops, gave that one away, didn’t I? I also love me some Chinese takeout and, in a pinch, spray cheese on Ritz crackers. Red wine goes with all of the above. Dessert is the occasional left-over sticky bun from Uncommon Grounds.

Do you have any hobbies?
Watching classic movies

What is your favorite vacation spot?
My living room. I don’t get out much.

What music do you listen to?
I love epic movie soundtracks. Also country, but sometimes all the unrequited love makes me weepy, so I switch over to boy bands.

Do you have a favorite book?
Murder on the Orient Express

What is your idea of a really fun time?
Sleeping in until ten. But my dream is going away with Pavlik and being a grown-up for a few days without the smell of coffee in my hair. And maybe without a murder in the next room.

If you were to write a memoir, what would you call it?
** Let’s Be Frank **

Amateur or professional sleuth and whom do you work with?
I’m a professional body-stumbler, according to Pavlik. Walk ten feet and there’s another one–not my fault. Anyway, the answer is amateur sleuth and Sarah is Archie Goodwin to my Nero Wolfe usually.

In a few sentences, what is a typical day in your life like?
Alarm goes off at five, and I tug out whatever body part has been trapped beneath Frank all night and bring back the circulation. Hobbling to the bathroom, I shower and slip on my jeans and Uncommon Grounds T-shirt. By then, Mocha is awake, and Frank has gone back to sleep. I wake him and let them both out and feed them.

Then it’s off to open our coffeehouse, Uncommon Grounds, with either Sarah or our henna-tattooed barista, Amy. Early mornings and late afternoons are our busiest times, since we’re in an old train station that serves the commuter line into nearby Milwaukee.

Happily, that gives me plenty of time in between to solve the occasional murder and still be home for supper.

And you already know what we’re having.

Death of a Bean Counter is the 12th book in the “Maggy Thorsen” cozy mystery series, released April 7, 2020.

Trouble is brewing for coffeehouse owner Maggy Thorsen when her barista’s wealthy beau is murdered.

Maggy Thorsen’s head is spinning thanks to partner Sarah Kingston’s latest idea – selling luxe espresso machines in their Wisconsin coffeehouse, Uncommon Grounds. But Maggy soon faces a far bigger problem when her fiancé, sheriff Jake Pavlik, makes an official call on the coffee house’s star barista, Amy Caprese.

Amy’s wealthy new beau, investment adviser Kip Fargo, has been shot dead in his bed – and Amy is the last known person to see him alive. Kip had just proposed to Amy, but she turned him down, triggering a terrible argument and making Amy the prime suspect. Determined to prove her barista’s innocence, Maggy soon makes a number of disturbing discoveries. Can she untangle lies, jealousy and Kip’s shady dealings in time to avert the disaster that’s brewing?

Purchase Link
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About the author
Sandra Balzo is an award-winning author of crime fiction, including two mystery series from Severn House–the Maggy Thorsen Coffeehouse Mysteries and Main Street Murders, featuring journalist AnnaLise Griggs. Film rights for the Maggy Thorsen Mysteries have been optioned toward development for film or television. Death of a Bean Counter is the twelfth book in that series. To learn more about Sandra, visit her website at sandrabalzo.com.

All comments are welcomed.