Pint of No Return

(Due to unforeseen circumstances last month, I didn't get a chance to post this, though I finished it on 9/16/21. Sorry so late in the posting.)

In this blog post, I reviewed Dana Mentick's Pint of No Return, the first installment in the Ice Cream Shop Culinary cozy mystery series. This would hook you from the first compelling page to the last page in a sitting or two. It all started for Trinidad Jones, when she moved into Upper Sprocket, Oregon, a cozy little town to get away from her slimeball of a husband in more ways than one. She had plans on turning a former pet shop into her own ice cream parlor in the town to start her own small business. But things aren't what they cracked up to be when she ran into one of her ex's ex-wives Juliette in town and friended her. Then she met her business neighbor Kevin and later discovered his dead body when Juliette is the prime suspect. Along the way, she met some new people like Quinn and Doug who became her new friends and helped her clear Juliette's name to discover who the real culprit. Lo and behold, she ran into some obstacles on figuring out whodunit, until things came to a head when her shop and her life was endangered when the least unexpected suspect who killed Kevin was revealed in the end.

This was a charming introduction to this new culinary cozy series.  I loved the idea of having an ice cream shop open up in a small town--Upper Sprocket is an unusual and interesting name.  I cared for Trinidad and her Hispanic culture about being her independent self in Oregon when her family wants her back home in Miami. I do think Quinn is sweet on Trinidad and people would love her ice cream and shakes in her parlor. I liked the small town community of Upper Sprocket and what it had to offer for the location and the scenic settings. The theme of the story is don't be too jealous and getting greedy over one thing.

If you like small town culinary cozies with delicious recipes and heart-stopping action, non-stop drama, plenty of delicious intrigue, and topped with elevated suspense, Pint of No Return is for you.