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3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
I really enjoy Dana Mentink's writing style. She has a knack for a cozy mysteries that are short and sweet but with the right amount of suspense and mystery. The characters are fun and engaging. Trinidad is definitely one determined woman. Oh and the dog Noodles was my absolute favorite!! I absolutely loved the setting of this story. Small town with everyone knowing, everyones business. There is hint of romance but nothing develops.
Overall I thought this book was cute. Short and sweet but perfect for an afternoon or pool side read!
I received a copy of this book through Celebrate Lit. I was not required to post a positive review. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.
Overall I thought this book was cute. Short and sweet but perfect for an afternoon or pool side read!
I received a copy of this book through Celebrate Lit. I was not required to post a positive review. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.
So far one of my favorite cozy mysteries! I loved all the characters and the suspect was someone I definitely did not expect.
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was perfectly fine, but I feel like the synopsis was more exciting than the actual plot. There were a lot of characters but I got used to that. Noodles the dog was the star of the book. I am going to give the second book a chance.
Bestselling author Dana Mentink debuts a new culinary cozy series, the Ice Cream Shop Mystery with Pint of No Return. This has all of the delicious elements for a fun series.
Our amateur sleuth, Trinidad Jones, is starting over. Her ex-husband Gabe, in jail for embezzling, left her the deed to a storefront in Upper Sprocket, Oregon. Trina's sure it's going to be the perfect spot to open her dream business, the Shimmy and Shake Shop, an ice cream parlor featuring over-the-top milkshakes made with her family recipe ice creams.
Upper Sprocket's a small, close-knit community which means she's got a bit of notoriety. She's not the only ex in town. Gabe deeded businesses to his other two ex-wives as well.
When she meets one of the exes, Juliette, Trinidad's surprised at how well they get along. She feels like she's finally settling into her new town, making friends, and nearing opening day for her new business.
And then she finds one of her neighboring business owners dead. The Corn King's been murdered and shoved into his popcorn kettle. That's awful enough but Trina's new friend and fellow Gabe ex, Juliette, is the main suspect. Juliette's alone so it's up to Trinidad to find the real killer before Juliette's sentenced for murder.
I love how the author takes the familiar pieces of a cozy, culinary mystery and puts them together in charming and fun ways.
Trinidad is resourceful, smart, insecure about how she looks, with a big heart. Her dog, because cozies have to have a pet in there somewhere, is an adorable, aging dog, Noodles. He was training to be a companion so when he senses that Trina's stressed, he does goofy things like brings her condiments from the fridge one at a time, in hopes that one will cheer her up. Or he hides her bills under his bed because he knows they make her sad.
You have the usual cast of colorful characters in a small town, full of quirks and tangled ties. I sense a love interest in former military guy and current farmer Quinn. I appreciated how sensitively Quinn's brother Doug's neurodivergence was handled by the author. Also, yay for including a character and truly integrating him into the story instead of making him a token.
And Trinidad's Cuban grandfather was an absolute gem. I loved Trina reminiscing about him teaching her how to make ice cream. And their phone conversation where he continually tries to set her up with his friend's grandson in Miami.
Instead of going the route of having a male police chief, I love that not only is Upper Sprocket's chief a woman but she's also Gabe's sister. That gives a different flavor to the required tension between the amateur sleuth and law enforcement.
The mystery was a fun puzzle. If you've read cozies, I don't think the killer will be a surprise but the fun is in the journey getting there.
I'm looking forward to more of Trinidad and Noodles' adventures. I hope, in the next book, the Shimmy and Shake Shop gets to open. I also hope we get to meet the third of Gabe's exes. This is the type of series that you get involved in because you love the characters and want to have further adventures with them.
Our amateur sleuth, Trinidad Jones, is starting over. Her ex-husband Gabe, in jail for embezzling, left her the deed to a storefront in Upper Sprocket, Oregon. Trina's sure it's going to be the perfect spot to open her dream business, the Shimmy and Shake Shop, an ice cream parlor featuring over-the-top milkshakes made with her family recipe ice creams.
Upper Sprocket's a small, close-knit community which means she's got a bit of notoriety. She's not the only ex in town. Gabe deeded businesses to his other two ex-wives as well.
When she meets one of the exes, Juliette, Trinidad's surprised at how well they get along. She feels like she's finally settling into her new town, making friends, and nearing opening day for her new business.
And then she finds one of her neighboring business owners dead. The Corn King's been murdered and shoved into his popcorn kettle. That's awful enough but Trina's new friend and fellow Gabe ex, Juliette, is the main suspect. Juliette's alone so it's up to Trinidad to find the real killer before Juliette's sentenced for murder.
I love how the author takes the familiar pieces of a cozy, culinary mystery and puts them together in charming and fun ways.
Trinidad is resourceful, smart, insecure about how she looks, with a big heart. Her dog, because cozies have to have a pet in there somewhere, is an adorable, aging dog, Noodles. He was training to be a companion so when he senses that Trina's stressed, he does goofy things like brings her condiments from the fridge one at a time, in hopes that one will cheer her up. Or he hides her bills under his bed because he knows they make her sad.
You have the usual cast of colorful characters in a small town, full of quirks and tangled ties. I sense a love interest in former military guy and current farmer Quinn. I appreciated how sensitively Quinn's brother Doug's neurodivergence was handled by the author. Also, yay for including a character and truly integrating him into the story instead of making him a token.
And Trinidad's Cuban grandfather was an absolute gem. I loved Trina reminiscing about him teaching her how to make ice cream. And their phone conversation where he continually tries to set her up with his friend's grandson in Miami.
Instead of going the route of having a male police chief, I love that not only is Upper Sprocket's chief a woman but she's also Gabe's sister. That gives a different flavor to the required tension between the amateur sleuth and law enforcement.
The mystery was a fun puzzle. If you've read cozies, I don't think the killer will be a surprise but the fun is in the journey getting there.
I'm looking forward to more of Trinidad and Noodles' adventures. I hope, in the next book, the Shimmy and Shake Shop gets to open. I also hope we get to meet the third of Gabe's exes. This is the type of series that you get involved in because you love the characters and want to have further adventures with them.
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Pint of No Return by Dana Mentink is a 2021 Poisoned Pen Press Publication.
I have several long-running cozy series going, but I’ve nearly caught up with most of them- so I’ve been looking to start a new, fresher series. With so many new cozies out there, it never occurred to me that I might struggle to find one I liked. I was beginning to think I might be better off finding another old series to read through, when this book caught my eye. I am happy to announce that I think we have a winner!
Trinidad Jones, newly divorced, grabs her chance at a fresh start when she’s awarded one of her ex-husband’s businesses in Upper Sprocket, Oregon. The hitch, though, is that two other ex-wives also live in Sprocket and sooner or later, she’s bound to run into one of them… which she does sooner, rather than later- and finds that she really likes Juliette!
But before she can officially open her new business- The Shimmy & Shake Shop- she discovers her neighbor- The Popcorn King murdered… and her new friend Juliette is the prime suspect!!
I enjoyed this first installment the series! All the necessary introductions to a new series- premise and characters, etc., does not overwhelm the mystery and investigation or slow down the momentum.
The suspects are plausible, as are their motives, and I didn’t guess whodunit- in fact, I was pretty far off base.
I liked the characters and think it will be easy to fall into the rhythm of this series. The town is lovely, easy to see in my mind’s eye, and I loved ‘Noodles’ the older service dog flunk out- who is much smarter than he lets on-and stole the spotlight on more than one occasion. Perhaps his role will encourage more senior pet adoptions.
Overall, a great start to this yummy series! I have a good feeling about this one! 🍧🍨
I have several long-running cozy series going, but I’ve nearly caught up with most of them- so I’ve been looking to start a new, fresher series. With so many new cozies out there, it never occurred to me that I might struggle to find one I liked. I was beginning to think I might be better off finding another old series to read through, when this book caught my eye. I am happy to announce that I think we have a winner!
Trinidad Jones, newly divorced, grabs her chance at a fresh start when she’s awarded one of her ex-husband’s businesses in Upper Sprocket, Oregon. The hitch, though, is that two other ex-wives also live in Sprocket and sooner or later, she’s bound to run into one of them… which she does sooner, rather than later- and finds that she really likes Juliette!
But before she can officially open her new business- The Shimmy & Shake Shop- she discovers her neighbor- The Popcorn King murdered… and her new friend Juliette is the prime suspect!!
I enjoyed this first installment the series! All the necessary introductions to a new series- premise and characters, etc., does not overwhelm the mystery and investigation or slow down the momentum.
The suspects are plausible, as are their motives, and I didn’t guess whodunit- in fact, I was pretty far off base.
I liked the characters and think it will be easy to fall into the rhythm of this series. The town is lovely, easy to see in my mind’s eye, and I loved ‘Noodles’ the older service dog flunk out- who is much smarter than he lets on-and stole the spotlight on more than one occasion. Perhaps his role will encourage more senior pet adoptions.
Overall, a great start to this yummy series! I have a good feeling about this one! 🍧🍨
Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for granting my wish and providing an advanced electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
Trinidad Jones is new to Sprocket, and she has big plans to open her own ice cream shop, the Shake and Shimmy shop, producing large Freakshakes, starting on the 4th of July. Deeded to her before her ex husband went to jail, she's ex-wife #2, having not known about #1, and #3 not knowing about either of them. She's expecting that things might be a bit awkward, but what she doesn't see coming is a dead body and a whirlwind murder investigation. As they get closer to figuring out who did it, the killer makes it clear that they know, and they want Trinidad and her new friends kept quiet.
With lots of ice cream puns scattered throughout the book, this one was truly sweet. If you love a good mystery, but you'd rather skip the gory details (mystery lite), then this book is perfect. The chapters seemed to fly by, and there was a cute little happy ending. I love closure and this book ties everything up, while still leaving room to continue, if the writer decides to visit Sprocket once more.
Trinidad Jones is new to Sprocket, and she has big plans to open her own ice cream shop, the Shake and Shimmy shop, producing large Freakshakes, starting on the 4th of July. Deeded to her before her ex husband went to jail, she's ex-wife #2, having not known about #1, and #3 not knowing about either of them. She's expecting that things might be a bit awkward, but what she doesn't see coming is a dead body and a whirlwind murder investigation. As they get closer to figuring out who did it, the killer makes it clear that they know, and they want Trinidad and her new friends kept quiet.
With lots of ice cream puns scattered throughout the book, this one was truly sweet. If you love a good mystery, but you'd rather skip the gory details (mystery lite), then this book is perfect. The chapters seemed to fly by, and there was a cute little happy ending. I love closure and this book ties everything up, while still leaving room to continue, if the writer decides to visit Sprocket once more.
Pint of No Return is the first book in the Ice Cream Shop Mystery series.
The premise of this book drew me in with Trinidad ending up in the same small town as her ex-husbands two other ex wives. Trinidad was a likable main character that ends up being a successful amateur sleuth. I found the secondary characters to be interesting and well-developed. The mystery was a great one, with plenty of suspects and a realistic motive. Dana Mentink did an excellent job in misleading the reader and taking them on wild goose chases that distracted me from identifying who the killer was. I'd recommend this if you're looking for a small town cozy mystery that kept me guessing.
I'm looking forward to the rest of this cozy mystery series!
Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for providing me with an advance copy in exchange for an honest review
The premise of this book drew me in with Trinidad ending up in the same small town as her ex-husbands two other ex wives. Trinidad was a likable main character that ends up being a successful amateur sleuth. I found the secondary characters to be interesting and well-developed. The mystery was a great one, with plenty of suspects and a realistic motive. Dana Mentink did an excellent job in misleading the reader and taking them on wild goose chases that distracted me from identifying who the killer was. I'd recommend this if you're looking for a small town cozy mystery that kept me guessing.
I'm looking forward to the rest of this cozy mystery series!
Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for providing me with an advance copy in exchange for an honest review
Check out my full review on my Lisa Latte Booktube Channel at https://youtu.be/V9X2DfpvDaI?t=53
For starters, that title is so cool! I love the pun. I also like this authors other stories, so I was interested to see how I'd like this one. Frankly, I think I ate it up. It's the first book in this series, it can make you crave more of this style of cozy. Yes, it's sweet, and not just from ice cream. There's a cast of fun characters, the main one being Trinidad. She's been through a divorce, so she's starting over with the Shimmy and Shake shop. I liked just about everything about this story. Between the cute names, healing, romance, recovery, and a bit of faith based foundation, and Noodles the dog, there's also a murder. Who killed The Popcorn King?
Thanks, Celebrate Lit, for my copy of this book. I leave this review freely, without a positive review ever being required.
Thanks, Celebrate Lit, for my copy of this book. I leave this review freely, without a positive review ever being required.