Coffee & Chat is a contemporary novel that follows the life of Nicole Turner after she resigns from her Associate Principal position at Conway Intermediate School in Auckland, New Zealand. In her opinion the school is heading in a downwards spiral after a new politically correct principal, Danielle Plier, attempts to replace the technology section, part of Nicole's responsibility, with ethical and climate change studies.
Dustin Harris, the chairperson of the school's Board of Trustees can't dissuade Nicole from leaving but instead her asks her to take a year's leave of absence. She agrees but this decision affects her later in the year.
Nicole loves the early morning baking at Coffee & Chat, her coffee shop where her new life is in complete contrast to the stress of the position she left. One stormy winter morning she meets Rhett Fleming, a local lawyer who drops in for a coffee. Friendship soon grows into romance when they find they have much in common.
Shelby Fleming, Rhett's wife who he recently divorced has had affairs since their separation but is jealous of Nicole and becomes a problem. She has turned to drinking and finally goes to Alcoholics Anonymous where she meets Floyd Willis, a quiet guy there. They begin an affair before the horrible truth about what he is really like is exposed.
The Coffee & Chat shops are expanded when Rhett suggests licensing their trademark, which is an easier method than offering franchises. Soon, their shops appear in the supermarkets and malls around the city. Conditions are agreed to by the licensee and a percentage of the firm's profit pay for the naming rights. Nicole enjoys her expanded business and the opportunities involved.
Unexpectedly in November, Dustin Harris calls in and tells Nicole that Danielle Plier has resigned and she is invited to become acting principal until the end of the year. She reluctantly accepts and replaces 'politically-correct' changes with the traditional ones. These include allowing Christmas to be celebrated and the annual end of year dance is reinstated. Her reputation is popular and falling numbers of new entrants enrolling for the next year are halted. She does, however resist applying for the permanent principal's position but does help find a suitable principal.
Danielle Plier hears about the changes, blames Nicole for her own downfall and vows revenge. But what can she do? She seizes an opportunity but later regrets her actions.
Floyd, a womaniser and fraudster meets his match when he answers the door and is shot by a woman who blasts him with a shotgun. The police need to find if this assassin is Shelby or somebody else. Though Sergeant Mike Pinfold is convinced the murderer is Shelby, his superior Detective Inspector Gail McBride orders a wider investigation after a worker cutting grass in a ravine near the city discovers a shotgun.
Shelby contacts Rhett and asks for his help as a lawyer after she is interviewed over the murder. She insists she never killed Floyd even though she found out he was also having an affair with another woman from Alcoholics Anonymous and he has impregnated them both. Also he lied about who he really was and even his name and occupation is faked.
But is Shelby responsible? And what does Danielle Plier do to revenge Nicole? Also, how does Nicole's Coffee & Chat business continue to grow?
All will be revealed in this exciting romantic thriller.
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Richdale, Ross: -
After a career as a teacher and principal of mainly small rural schools, Ross Richdale lives in the small university city of Palmerston North in the North Island of New Zealand where he writes contemporary novels and science fiction. He is married with three adult children and six grandchildren.
His interest in current events and international incidents serve as a backdrop for many of his novels. Ordinary people rather than the super rich super powerful or violent, are the main characters in his stories. His plots also reflect his interest in the rural lifestyle as well as the cross section of personalities encountered during his years as a teacher.
