connecticute ice cream shop – Cuddle Up With a Cozy Mystery

This is the third book in the Ice Cream Shop Mysteries by Meri Allen who most cozy mystery readers also know is Shari Randall who wrote the Lobster Shack Mysteries. I really love the key characters in this series. The sisters who work at the ice cream shop, Flo and Gerri, always crack me up with how different they are from each other. Riley’s got some good people working with her and bestie Caroline comes home for the weekends from Boston. Penniman sounds like a fun place and if you get the author’s newsletter you get little tidbits about what she’s writing and areas in Connecticut she’s based it on.

#NetGalley #StMartinPaperbacks #MeriAllen-ShariRandall

My Goodreads review:

Fatal Fudge Swirl by Meri Allen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Who wouldn’t love to visit Penniman at Halloween? It sounded pretty awesome with all the decorations and cool pumpkin carvings. Riley had her hands full with having to wrangle Sprinkles, the very-much-not-an-angel cat onto a film set because she was wanted for filming. Too hilarious how the cat from you know where took a liking to the lead actor but sure didn’t like the main actress, lol. And she had to keep up that America’s sweetheart image too, now that was pretty funny! Good ole Sprinkles can always produce a laugh from somewhere! But she couldn’t prevent murder.

The ending had a search going on for a young girl who might’ve witnessed the murder or heard something, so luckily she was found and the perp was named. Lots of family and friends time was enjoyed in the book as well. I thought Riley’s dad and stepmom were just too cute how they ran that bookstore together and now were part of the movie being made. Nice nod to one of everyone’s favorite cute romance/mystery channels too! The book releases on Tuesday, June 27, 2023 and I hope you’ll find like I did it’s nice little escape.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book provided by St. Martin Paperbacks via NetGalley, and my opinions are my own.

View all my reviews

This is the first book in a brand new series, Ice Cream Shop Mysteries by Meri Allen who I thought was a newcomer, but I was super happy to find out on Facebook that she’s none other than Shari Randall, another one of my favorite authors who wrote the Lobster Shack series which I absolutely loved. I’ve found I can always rely on her for some awesome and interesting characters no matter which persona she writes under. I felt so at home reading Rocky Road, and now I can’t wait for the next book!

My Goodreads review:

The Rocky Road to Ruin by Meri Allen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed reading about Riley’s backstory but moreso liked that she was a good friend who needed a change in her own life, so she came through when her bestie Caroline needed someone the most. I was never quite sure throughout the book whodunit and wavered among a few of the characters. Maybe this dog wasn’t all that likable, but I sure loved that little MacGillicuddy was a dachshund! Hilarious to give a German dog a Scottish name too. I really liked little Rocky the black kitty who sort of adopted Riley as his favorite human. He was awfully intuitive in other things too.

It was a good twist for once to have the bestie attracted to the detective. I’m pretty sure I haven’t seen that yet. Sometimes the bestie is already attached/married or going with the main detective, but this was a fun switch. There wasn’t quite the typical showdown. It was more of a discovery of a series of events and some crucial evidence. Everything was well-explained at the end and what a sweet surprise Caroline found hidden in an unlikely place. You’ll have to read the book and find out. Now I’m really looking forward to the next book and wondering if some new friends in this book will show up there too.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book provided by the publisher, and my opinions are my own.

View all my reviews

Tag: connecticute ice cream shop

Fatal Fudge Swirl review

The Rocky Road to Ruin review