A delightful cozy mystery! I enjoyed it very much. If you enjoy mysteries or stories with an amateur sleuth, and do not need the graphic reality with descriptions of gore and violence, this is a good choice. You can follow the clues to solve the mystery without any threat of nightmares.

Book two in a super cozy series. Ice cream, mystery, murder and some good writing and tap me in! I can't believe I found another cozy author to add to my list! Well done Ms. Meri!

This is #2 in the series but can be read as a stand alone. I have not read the first book but will be continuing with this series. The main character Riley is so interesting, she’s a former librarian for the CIA and now manages an ice cream shop! Throw in a murder and you have all the ingredients for a great cozy mystery! Definitely check out this series, and have some ice cream while you do!

This was the perfect sequel in this series! Riley is back and she's working full time at Udderly Ice Cream Shop. And once again, there's been a murder. Her best friend, Caroline, is dating the police chief, and they both do their best to "help" his investigation. All the amazing family and friends are back in this sequel and the story is a little bit darker than the first one, which I really liked. On to the third book! I truly hope there are more!

This is the second book I have read in this series and I enjoyed reading it. This one takes place at a castle turned into a an artist colony. Riley has been hired to cater the dessert portion of the meal. When a body is found in a locked room Riley set out to solve the crime. I really enjoy the small town setting and the ice cream background. The castle setting was a lot of fun. I enjoyed the mysteries and the solutions made sense. I was able to figure them out. I look for word to reading the next book. Enjoy

I loved the mystery and had no idea who the culprit was until the end. I loved the castle setting but it was slow paced, too many charachters and there was no mention of Mint Chocolate ice cream at all.

In every cozy mystery series, the second book has the hardest job. The first book has the benefit of newness, and it's fairly easy to make even the most mundane of introductions exciting by exploring a fresh world. The third book and beyond have the benefit of familiarity. As a reader, if you've made it that far, you're probably in for the long haul. The second, though? That's where a series finds out if its poison is potent. Fortunately for author Meri Allen, Mint Chocolate Murder suggests her Ice Cream Shop Mysteries series should have a long, healthy life ... murder aside.

Former CIA librarian Riley Rhodes is back on the case—of ice cream, anyway. When former model Maud Monaco needs a sweet treat for her arts festival at Penniman's Moy Mull Castle, Riley throws herself into whipping up new fall flavors as the manager of Udderly Delightful Ice Cream. However, when star photographer Adam Blasco is found dead, Riley can't help but wonder if he was murdered and just what other mysteries the castle might be hiding.

By plopping Riley and the bulk of the investigation into the castle, Allen immediately gives this second book an exciting jolt. Outside of the shop, Riley gets to explore a fun setting while stretching her sleuthing skills. Even so, she's one of the more grounded detectives in contemporary mysteries. Mostly calm and collected, she doesn't rush into danger without assessing the situation, giving this book a quieter feel.

That's not to suggest it's without thrills. A castle with a tainted history, a photographer with complicated relationships, and some slightly chaotic cats all keep Riley busy. Add in a genuinely likable cast of secondary characters, tight pacing, and a twisty mystery and altogether Mint Chocolate Murder is a solid second book in the series.

If it was ice cream, it'd be the perfect scoop.

Riley is thrown into a murder investigation when she provides ice cream desserts for an event at which the guest of honor is found dead. This is a nice twisty cozy mystery with interesting characters and nice storytelling. I enjoyed this book and am looking forward to the next in the series. I received a complimentary copy of this book and chose to write a voluntary, unbiased review.

This has been one of my favorite cozy mysteries that I've read so far this year!
Riley Rhodes who is a former CIA Librarian (can I just say that sounds like an awesome library job!), and now a manager of a small town ice cream store due to needing a change of pace. The ice cream shop is going to be catering at an event at a local castle, but while there someone ends up dying. This leads to Riley using her CIA librarian skills to use and trying to find out who did it as the small-town police are spread thin and don't have a suspect.

Overall this story was so fun and a nice change of pace for me. Riley was a fun character who was so good at both her management job, as well as being a good friend, and a pretty good detective too. I loved all the little side characters and how they added so much to the story and made it even better. From the owner of the castle, to the person who died assistant, to other people in the community there were just so many that helped bring it all together and showed how much can be going on at once without anyone realizing it until they start looking into a murder.
I can't wait to go back and read the first book in the series before I start the third book!



(I read a finished copy from the library)

This book is part of a series bit can be enjoyed as a standalone. An enjoyable cozy mystery featuring an amateur sleuth and characters that represent ordinary, everyday people. The case was interesting and kept me reading as I wanted to know how it would be solved. I did struggle, though, to connect with the characters though.

The Ice Cream Shop Mysteries by Meri Allen is a great series! I love the wiriting and the Charaters.

What i thought was great about the Mint Chocolate Murder how the story uses the castle. It was a great setting for the book and gave alot of fun details to the story. I really hope we see Maud and Prentiss in the next book. I really enjoyed the new characters. I also loved how sprinkles the cat was having a break down. She is always laying traps for people to fall and how she's wreck the house.

I can't wait to read the next book in the series!
Thank you St Martin's Press and Netgallery, for the ARC

This is the first book in the Ice Cream Shop series that I have read. But I enjoyed it so much that I will go back and read the first one. There are wonderful characters and an interesting location for the story. You will enjoy getting to know Riley, a former CIA librarian. She and the rest of the individuals who are part of the Moy Mull’s Fall Arts Festival will keep you entertained. There are a lot of relationships among the characters and you will be left wondering who really committed the murder. Riley does a fabulous job of sorting out the clues and not giving up until she has solved the case. What a wonderful whodunit! And I was left guessing until the very end. How can you go wrong with a murder, ice cream, and a castle! I can’t wait to get involved in the next adventure with Riley and the rest of the people in Penniman.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s for my advanced review copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

For more reviews, please visit my blog at: https://www.msladybugsbookreviews.com/. Over 1000 reviews posted!

I chalk it up to Allen's writing and characters that I was glued to this book even with a basic plot that reads like something you've read before. At its core, it's a small-town murder mystery with the prerequisite nosy single lady who helps solve it, but Riley is charming and all the different elements make for a complex case that keeps adding elements all the way up to the exciting conclusion.
Riley worked for the CIA with a cover of being a librarian who traveled the world, but now she runs her best friend's ice cream shop in the little town they grew up. When she's asked to provide ice cream for a gallery opening and event at the town's remodeled castle, now owned by a famous supermodel who was once married to a prince, it's exciting for more than one reason. But things get complicated when the famous artist being celebrated is found murdered in a locked room.
There are so many twists and little elements in the story that keep mudding up the true culprit, so it was a pleasant surprise that it turned out to be not who I expected. Allen keeps tossing things into the mix even when she could have let things coast and played it simpler. I really liked that.
It's book two in the series, but you can easily jump right in and enjoy this one.

Happy thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Paperbacks for the fun read!

This was really a good book. I look forward to reading the rest of the series. This book was well written and had just the right mystery and suspense in it! I would definitely recommend it.

What a fun story! I had no idea it was a sequel and book 2 of 3. It didn’t seem to matter to me though or to the storyline and characters. The book could easily stand on its own.
Riley Rhodes, former CIA librarian and current manager of the Udderly Delightful Ice Cream shop, lands a job supplying ice cream to an event at Moy Mull Castle hosted by former supermodel Maud Monaco. Moy Mull has an interesting history, as does Maud herself, including with Adam Blasco, the photographer who is highlighted at the event Maud is hosting. When Blasco is found dead, there are plenty of suspects, and Riley can’t help but do some behind the scenes investigating. The setting was amazing. It felt very realistic. The characters also felt very real. I didn’t like the title of the book though after reading it. It didn’t seem to have anything to do with the book.
Overall an enjoyable read!!
Thank you to Netgalley and St Martins Press for the advanced copy in return for my honest review.

With a mysterious castle, a variety of interesting characters, and an unforgettable setting, Meri Allen creates a delicious sundae of a read – with a cherry on top! Mint Chocolate Murder is a yummy read that will make readers crave a second scoop of Meri Allen’s delicious Ice Cream Shop Mysteries. Grab a snack and your book and see if you can figure out 'who done it?"

In Meri Allen’s Mint Chocolate Murder, the 2nd installment in the Ice Cream Shop cozy mystery series, this delicious new tale will keep you suspense with plenty of twists and turns to keep you guessing right to the end. For Riley Rhodes, a former CIA librarian, and proprietor of Udderly Delightful Ice Cream Shop, she’s been invited to a festival by Maud Monaco at the legendary Scottish Moy Mull Castle in Penniman, Rhode Island to serve her delicious ice cream. At first everything went okay, until she witnessed an argument between famed photographer Adam Blasco and one of her team members. When he was supposed to attend his art show at the gala, he didn’t show up, and his protegee Vye had to step in for him. Later, his body was discovered in a hidden dudgeon in the castle. Now it was up to Riley to sleuth around Adam’s past and the secrets of the castle’s historical background.Before she knew it, her life wound up endangered when she’s literally toe to toe with the real culprit in a real cliffhanger ending.

This captivating cozy novel is as compelling and delightful as the ice cream recipes. I cared for Riley, since she looked out for her best friend Caroline, and her co-workers at the ice cream shop. She had a nose for sleuthing and for digging into the nitty gritty truth. I really liked the picturesque small town of Penniman, Rhode Island for the location and its majestic scenic settings. The theme of the story is be careful and watch your step, since your past might sneak up on you.

This intriguing cozy mystery is enchanted and fascinating to read. I rated this book, three out of five stars for no reason. If you love culinary cozy mysteries with dramatic action, plenty of, heart-stopping suspense, and lots of twisted turns, Mint Chocolate Murder is a delicious story for you to enjoy. This book is recommended for those who love culinary cozy mystery authors like Joanne Fluke, JoAnne Carl, Jessica Beck, and Hallmark movies.

This was so much fun and had everything I love about a cozy mystery. The character are great! The plot is super strong! The setting and travel aspect is amazing! The only downfall was that Riley did make some questionable decisions in this book that made me uncomfortable. But overall a lot of fun and a great read.

Riley Rhodes was coming home to help her best friend run her inherited Ice cream shop. Riley hadn’t been home in 17 years. Making ice cream was a far cry from her previous job as a Librarian for the CIA.
Riley had just been summoned to the Moy Mull castle to help with an Art exhibition by a photographer friend of the owner, Maud Monaco. Her shop was to supply the dessert for the dinner. She was famous for her unusual flavors.
Riley loved exploring castles and this one was as beautiful. Little did she know that it would become the place where a murder would take place and she would be in a position to help solve it.
This mystery will have you guessing until the end. It is a fun read!

The title is what caught my attention when browsing for something to read. I love Mint Chocolate Ice Cream, however it is not the feature ice crem in the book. The castle setting was so well described and the murder taking place in a locked room was intriguing. Riley is a great sleuth but does some pretty risky things that had me shaking my head. Over all a great book and I would recommend it