Cover Image: Death of an Ice Cream Scooper

Death of an Ice Cream Scooper

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Member Reviews

An enjoyable mystery, I didn’t realize this was the 15th book in the series before I read it. I would recommend going back to the beginning and starting with number one — which is exactly what I’ll be doing. Excellent writing, fans of the series won’t be disappointed.

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This book is full of ups and downs, drama, and fun. I recommend this for a quick mystery and easy read while at the beach or relaxing at home.

I received a free copy of this book but the thoughts and ideas are my own.

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In the quaint town of Bar Harbor, Maine, where tourists flock for the summer and the streets are filled with locally owned restaurants, bars, and, of course, ice cream shops, scandal is behind every corner!
Hayley Powell is a wife, mother, and chef. She owns a restaurant in town and finds herself to be quite the busy bee! To top it all off, a murder has occurred, and Hayley finds herself sleuthing around to solve the mystery!
New suspects pop up around every corner, and the things that arise will have you wondering “who dunnit” until the end!

I really enjoyed the setting of this book, and all the characters we encounter throughout the mystery. All the personalities were unique and really shined through.
It took me much longer to piece together the mystery than it typically does with cozies and that was really refreshing!
No love triangles with the main character to be found (YAY!)
The recipes through out are also wonderful! I found myself taking photos of them to save to make this summer.
Highly recommend this one! I’ll definitely be continuing on with the series and going back to the beginning!

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Very funny and well-crafted murder mystery featuring food columnist and restauranteur Hayley Powell. As usual, Hayley gets herself into hilarious--and sometimes dangerous--situations with her best friends as she works to solve the death of a ice cream shop employee.

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Hayley Powell is busy as ever. Running her restaurant Hayley’s Kitchen, writing her column for the Island times and expecting a visit from her son, who has been forging a career as an animator in California. He comes home with his girlfriend for a visit and drops a whopper of a surprise on her. While helping to unload an ice cream delivery for her restaurant, she can’t get enough of the salted caramel flavor, a body falls out of the freezer truck. Her sons best friend from childhood is implicated and Hayley’s instincts tell her something feels off. To add to her to do list both of her besties, Liddy and Mona have both started dating new men and want her to meet them. I’m typical Hayley fashion this book is full of laughs and recipes.

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Hayley lives in Bar Harbor, Maine. She owns a restaurant called "Hayley's Kitchen." She is married to Bruce and has two kids Gemma and Dustin. Dustin is in town with his girlfriend, his pregnant girlfriend.

Lynette owns the local ice cream shop. When Hayley and Lynette go out to the ice cream truck they find a dead body. Hayley investigates the death of an ice cream chick.

I really enjoyed this mystery and had fun following clues with Hayley. This is the 15th book in the series and my first. I was a tad confused at the characters but the author does a good job giving back stories. I'm excited to find another great cozy mystery series.

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Funny and witty book. I will read other books by the same author for sure. I wish I would have read the other books first tho!

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I enjoyed following the clues along with Hayley. It did took me a bit longer than usual to figure out who the killer was, instead of towards the beginning of the book like I normally do.. The motive could have been stronger in my opinion, but it works. The characters are one of the best parts of this series, and you can’t beat the location. I did not think that the affair aspect played very well, at least not in the beginning, but once all the tie-ins were exposed, I realized how important it was for Hayley to find out the truth.

Readers will enjoy Death of an Ice Cream Scooper. It isn’t to hard to figure out that it will leave you frustrated, nor is it repetitious. The ice cream shop, the affair, the college students, and the murder all have a part to play. I didn’t feel that this story was as strong as it could have been compared to others in the series, but it was still enjoyable, and I am happy to recommend it along with all of the books in this series.

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This is a new to me author and I have to say I am looking forward to reading more by this author! I loved this book

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I love a good cozy mystery! One that incorporates all of my favorite topics (i.e. bookstores, libraries, cooking, painting, inn keeping, animals, etc.), throwing in some action-suspense, a who-done-it, interesting characters, and a plot that keeps me guessing, then you’ve got me hooked. I will say, I am one of those people who like to read a series from the beginning, but I often find you don’t have to… either way I highly recommend reading Death of an Ice Cream Scooper by Lee Hollis.

*I received a complimentary copy of this novel from NetGalley at my request and this review is my own unbiased opinion.*

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Grab yourself a cup of Randy’s Special Coffee (recipe in the book) and enjoy this chilling cozy mystery. Good help is hard to find, even harder when your crew size is reduced by a cold hearted killer. There is a variety of suspects, some a little nuttier than others, including Mona’s teenage son. Hence the need for Hailey to get involved, even though she already has her hands full; from her own son’s big surprise, having a new restaurant to run, to keeping up with Mona and Liddy‘s new boyfriends. This mystery is a bit of a rocky road but before long Hailey has it handled. Engaging story, fun characters, and a nice sprinkling of recipes for both ice cream and ice cream related cocktails.

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Hayley Powell fans will want to immediately pick up the 15th installment in the Hayley Powell Food and Cocktails Mystery Book series, Death of an Ice Cream Scooper by Lee Hollis, a brother and sister team whose cozy mysteries capture the culture of the eastern United States. Hayley, who writes a food and cocktail column for the local newspaper and owns a new restaurant that is doing well, discovers the dead body of Miranda Fox, who has been employed as an ice cream scooper at Hayley’s friend’s ice cream shop. The dead woman, who was beautiful, had several young admirers, including Mona’s son, who has been stocking her. However, Haley finds a vial of poison in another boy’s room and he is arrested for the murder. Haley must find out who really killed Miranda before an innocent boy goes to jail.

This novel is set in Bar Harbor, a quaint city in Maine usually filed with tourists. Hayley, the protagonist is a positive, friendly girl who is well-liked. Her character has been well developed throughout the series. Her two BFFs, Mona and Liddy are also well-developed and are like vinegar and water in their differences. They fit the stereotype of Eastern personalities and are constantly at each other’s throats. The story flows easily, and there are plenty of twists and turns as Hayley, who is considered an amateur sleuth, solves the murder and hopefully stays alive herself.

This novel is lots of fun; it is light and is a fast read. This one contains recipes for cocktails as well as ice creams. Most of the recipes are quick and easy, so they are perfect for making while reading the series.

Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.

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I thought this one was a quick read. It was fun and the characters are likeable except for Hayley. I thought she was difficult at best. The twists and turns were quite interesting though. I think this book is definitely worth a read.

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⭐⭐-- Adorable cover!

Sigh...Unfortunately, I just didn't like this one. I have read a couple short stories with these characters and loathed Hayley. However, the previous book in this series was really good and Hayley wasn't an issue. Ya, well, she was back to being god awful in this installment. To be honest, most of the main characters were awful. 🤦🏻‍♀️ Lastly, and I think I mentioned this in every review I have done for this series. I am not a fan of dropping the recipes with pages long antidotes that have little to no connection to the actual mystery between chapters. It disrupts the flow of the story and honestly, I just skip them. Clearly, this just isn't the series for me.

**ARC Via NetGalley**

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This book was a tough one for me. The first half of the book was slow for me. I couldn’t get into it. The second half was better but it would be easy for me to sit it down.

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Book #15 in the Hayley Powell Food series, but it is the first book I've read of the series and also the first I've read by Lee Hollis. Very typical cozy murder mystery. And although it can be read as a standalone, this is more oriented for those who have read the series. Enjoyable story in general. Easy read. No complaints on writing style. But I didn't feel any connection to the main character Hayley and honestly wasn't a fan of her. I also quickly picked out the killer. I honestly felt like Mona & Libby's new boyfriend story line was more interesting and entertaining than the murder mystery. Being an avid cozy mystery reader, I can see this one is for fans of the series. However, it did not intrigue me enough to read any more in the series. I am looking forward to reading more by the duo writing as Lee Hollis and will try a different series or stand alone novel by them.

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

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Any series set in Maine and includes Ice Cream has me hooked from the beginning. I love the easy to read writing style that keeps my interest from the first few pages.

The characters are feeling like old friends that live in a fabulous vacation spot. They mystery was interesting and kept me guessing with just enough twists and turns.

I can't wait for the next one!

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dipping my toe in a new cozy mystery series always excited me and this time i was transported to bar harbor, maine’s ice cream parlor. this was such a fun read filled with characters who have their own complicated pasts and it’s hayley’s job to uncover the link between the small village and their latest murder. it was hard for me to put this one down because of how interesting the townspeople are - there’s lots to learn about them, which kept me on the edge of my seat. i felt like i was able to connect with each character and nobody got muddled in my head.

being a food columnist, hayley includes her entries from the local paper throughout the novel. i thought this was such a fun addition to the plot. however, as interesting and fun as these little tidbits were, they pulled me out of the mystery and i found it difficult to transition between the two. not all of them had to do with what was going on in the investigation so it definitely snapped my attention. with that being said, these columns set the novel up for the recipes that were included and i cannot wait to try some of hayley’s no-churn ice cream when the weather gets warmer

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Hayley's friend Lydia, owner of Bar Harbor Ice Cream, is convinced her husband is cheating on her. There are many suspicions when the student he is suspected of cheating with is found dead in the freezer truck owned by Lydia. Hayley must find out what actually happened before the wrong person is blamed.

I'm not sure if I'll be continuing this series. I'm just not finding it really interesting anymore. I also was really turned off by the stereotyping of Gen Z. It was like the whole first chapter was about how lazy and obnoxious they are, which I don't find to be true. I still enjoyed Hayley and Bruce and their family. But I felt like it was missing the spark.

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Lee Hollis has done it again. Poor Mona and Liddy, especially Liddy. What did she ever do to Cupid? Death of an Ice Cream Scooper was the perfect book to take my mind off of things.
I bought the audiobook, so I’ll revisit this title again. It was terrific.

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