Author: Meri Allen
Published: June 27, 2023 by St. Martin's Paperbacks
Format: Kindle, Paperback 320 pages
Genre: Amateur Sleuth
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.
Series: Ice Cream Shop Mysteries #3
First Sentence: “Nothing like reading other people’s mail.”
Blurb: A movie production brings drama―and murder―to a close-knit New England village, forcing Riley Rhodes to scoop out the suspects.
Former CIA librarian and amateur sleuth Riley Rhodes is loving her fresh start as the manager of the Udderly Delicious Ice Cream Shop. The leaves are turning, tourists are leaf-peeping, and Penniman, Connecticut is putting finishing touches on the weekend long Halloween Happening. But the village is also buzzing. Former child star Cooper Collins is overseeing the production of a romantic comedy that’s filming on the town green and his domineering socialite mother, Diantha, is planning her lavish Halloween themed wedding at her Inn on the Green. Her fiancé has run the Inn's kitchen for years, ably aided by his recent ex-wife, chef Mary Ann Dumas. An old friend of Riley’s, Mary Ann turns to her when the bride requests a spooky ice cream wedding cake.
But the weekend takes a frightful turn when Diantha is found dead and suspicion falls on Mary Ann. The cast of potential suspects is long―each wedding guest had a chilling motive to kill the vicious heiress. Can Riley unmask the murderer before another guest ends up on ice? (GoodReads)
My Opinion: When a book begins with a list of characters, I get nervous. Does that mean the author knows that they aren’t defining their characters with individual voices or that there are too many to keep straight? Although the recurring characters were not included in the list, readers should be familiar with the women of Penniman by the time they reach the third book in the series.
I read this Halloween themed book during a summer heatwave and just the thought of cold foggy nights and ice cream was refreshing.
The storyline was a bit twisty and the subplots were weak. There is unnecessary repetition and the clues along the way may cause the reader a moment or two to connect the dots. Am I the only one that removes luggage tags after each flight?
By the end, the male characters all melded together. Which brother was which, who was the manager of the Inn, the groom to be, and who was the chef? Maybe I should have paid more attention to the list of characters at the beginning of the book.
Blurb: A movie production brings drama―and murder―to a close-knit New England village, forcing Riley Rhodes to scoop out the suspects.
Former CIA librarian and amateur sleuth Riley Rhodes is loving her fresh start as the manager of the Udderly Delicious Ice Cream Shop. The leaves are turning, tourists are leaf-peeping, and Penniman, Connecticut is putting finishing touches on the weekend long Halloween Happening. But the village is also buzzing. Former child star Cooper Collins is overseeing the production of a romantic comedy that’s filming on the town green and his domineering socialite mother, Diantha, is planning her lavish Halloween themed wedding at her Inn on the Green. Her fiancé has run the Inn's kitchen for years, ably aided by his recent ex-wife, chef Mary Ann Dumas. An old friend of Riley’s, Mary Ann turns to her when the bride requests a spooky ice cream wedding cake.
But the weekend takes a frightful turn when Diantha is found dead and suspicion falls on Mary Ann. The cast of potential suspects is long―each wedding guest had a chilling motive to kill the vicious heiress. Can Riley unmask the murderer before another guest ends up on ice? (GoodReads)
My Opinion: When a book begins with a list of characters, I get nervous. Does that mean the author knows that they aren’t defining their characters with individual voices or that there are too many to keep straight? Although the recurring characters were not included in the list, readers should be familiar with the women of Penniman by the time they reach the third book in the series.
I read this Halloween themed book during a summer heatwave and just the thought of cold foggy nights and ice cream was refreshing.
The storyline was a bit twisty and the subplots were weak. There is unnecessary repetition and the clues along the way may cause the reader a moment or two to connect the dots. Am I the only one that removes luggage tags after each flight?
By the end, the male characters all melded together. Which brother was which, who was the manager of the Inn, the groom to be, and who was the chef? Maybe I should have paid more attention to the list of characters at the beginning of the book.
No comments:
Post a Comment