In the second installment of Meri Allen's Ice Cream Shop Mysteries, Mint Chocolate Murder, protagonist Riley Rhodes has been hired by the organizer of a local arts festival to provide specially created ice creams for the attendees. During the festival the highlighted photographic artist is discovered dead in a classic locked room mystery.

In this series, the author has created a unique setting for this series and the characters to inhabit the setting have been developed with a great deal of forethought and attention to detail with rich histories and focus on the dynamics of the various relationships. The combination of the various locales and plotlines make for a very interesting read and with the numerous twists and red herrings, the reader is kept guessing until the very end.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and St. Martins Press and am leaving this review voluntarily.

Book two in the Ice Cream Shop Mysteries. This sequel had a fun setting and an intriguing case to solve.

The majority of this book takes place outside of the ice cream shop, Udderly Delight. Instead, it is set at a nearby estate that is made up of beautiful gardens, several quaint cottages and an elaborate castle that holds all sorts of hidden secrets. I enjoyed exploring this location. The mysteries surrounding this eccentric build definitely added to the murder case. Don’t worry, there is still plenty of chatter about frozen treats, especially Pumpkin Spice. Riley and her crew cater an ice cream social for the Princess of the estate, Maud Monaco.

The mystery part of the book was captivating and full of plausible suspects. I pegged the culprit early on and how they managed to get to the victim, even though the scene of the crime took place in a locked room environment! There were plenty of red herrings thrown in to make you second guess everyone’s motives. There was also a second side story involving the disappearance of an original resident of the estate. It tied into the big reveal perfectly at the end.

The furry felines, Sprinkles and Rocky definitely added some fun comedic relief and easily stole the scenes they appeared in. The book concluded with the author explaining how she was inspired by a ghostly Scottish legend. She also included a recipe for No Churn Pumpkin Spice Ice Cream. I look forward to continuing this series with Fatal Fudge Swirl, set to publish this summer.

The humor in Meri Allen's writing style is instantly noted such as meeting Riley's dog as he's facing the "indignity" of a cone around his neck, following getting neutered. The writing is very playful in describing him as not having forgiven her yet. This tone continues throughout the story and contains fun details that create whimsical (and humorous) visuals such as Bitsy waving a spoon in a way that is compared to how a fairy godmother "would magick a pumpkin" and Sprinkles' high opinion of herself, thinking "every side is her good side." This type of style makes it very easy to get interested in this series, especially this early on. I predict a humorous and zany journey to come for Riley, and can't wait to read it all.

Mint Chocolate Murder by Meri Allen

Riley is a manager of an ice cream shop in New England. This book is filled with secrets and murder.

This’d was a good novel. I enjoyed the environment of the castle. Great characters. Kept us in suspense as to who the murderer was. I recommend this book.

Mint Chocolate Murder is the second book in the Ice Cream Shop mysteries. I enjoyed this one more than the first one in the series as Riley are amateur sleuth has settled into the town. But alas it wouldn’t be a cozy mystery unless there’s a murder. This one focused more on the mystery because the characters were built up in the first book.

Full review to come on Goodreads and Amazon. Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for a review copy.

This is the second book in a series, but it can be read as a stand alone story. There were too many details and the main character was in her thoughts most of the time so the story was a bit muddled. I ended up skimming most of the chapters and went to the last chapter to see how it ends.

Another excellent edition to a wonderful series! Full of twists and turns that leaves you wanting more and enjoying each moment until the end when the killer is caught!

I thought this was a great cozy mystery, that I would definitely recommend!

I received an e-ARC from the publisher.

This was such an enjoyable read that I could not put it down once I started and finished it in one sitting. It moves along at a pace which made for an easy and relaxing read. It has characters that you want to know better and you cannot help but love them, no matter what happens. The story will grab you and keep you reading until the end and then you are wanting more. This book needs to be on your TBR list, no doubt about it.

Riley Rhodes the proprietor of the Udderly Delightful Ice Cream Shop is summoned to Penniman's Moy Mull Castle. Riley and her best friend inherited the ice cream shop from her late mother and they enjoy running the shop. When Riley is contacted by Maud Monaco, a former model and a very wealthy one to provide dessert at a special exhibit at the medieval castle Riley is thrilled but things take a horrible turn when Riley becomes involved in a murder mystery that is like a locked room scenario.

This book was a fun, and entertaining cozy mystery! I loved the characters and the storyline was interesting! I would highly recommend this book to everyone!!

This is book 2 in the Ice Cream Shop cozy series and it can be read as a stand alone. Riley has be hired to create ice cream desserts for the local rich celebrity who is opening an art retreat in town. When the photographer Maud hires is found murdered the locals are all suspects. I like Riley and her rescue cat and her interaction with the small town locals who make her feel so welcome in the community. A good cozy with lots of suspects.

This was the first book I've read in this ice cream inspired mystery series, but I'm sure I'll be licking - I mean looking - up the first book in the series soon. Riley is hired to provide ice cream to two events at the local castle. When a murder happens, she is determined to find out how and why.

Things I liked a lot:
1. The descriptions of the ice cream and other food were fantastic. I loved all of the flavors and the mixtures
2. Riley isn't a clueless sleuth - she used to work for the CIA so she knows how to investigate.
3. The atmosphere at the castle was neat and I could picture it.
4. No love triangle!

Note: I kept waiting for mint chocolate chip ice cream (one of my favorites) to show up, but the only place it does is the title/cover. But pumpkin spice was a hit the rest of the book.

Not a bad book and I think my enjoyment was affected by seeing it so heavily promoted and flashed on social media. It just left me blah and uninterested as a result. I will try and read it again when the hype and pushing has died back.

I really like this series. This plot was good and the characters were likeable. I look forward to the next installment.
Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

While this book is the second in the series, Allen does a good job of providing enough background information so readers new to the series don't feel like they're missing key elements/relationships from the first installment.

There is a lot to enjoy about this book, from the characters to the multiple storylines to various settings (A n ice cream shop and a castle? Yes, please!) The main storyline itself was engaging, and I liked how a few of the characters were also involved in "mysteries within the mystery". However, things did get convoluted at times which made following along a bit much. With that being said, the book was enjoyable overall. I plan on going back and reading the first book in the series.

Thanks so much to the author, St. Martin's Press, and Netgalley for the gifted advanced e-copy of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts. All opinions are entirely my own. { partner } All of my reviews can also be found on Instagram @Tackling_TBR and on my blog at tacklingtbr.home.blog

TW: murder, discussion of potentially predatory behavior

Y'all, is there anything better on a dreary day than a cozy mystery starring a former librarian? I really don't know that there is. There is just something about a cozy mystery this time of the year - especially one that talks about pumpkin spice ice cream as often as this one, and then gives you the recipe in the back of the book! I know what I'm doing on my next weekend.

This story was really fun, and a really easy mystery to jump into and feel invested in. It's got everything - eclectic characters, small town feel, cute pets, people who aren't all that they say they are, and a murder that ties them all together!

Overall I would absolutely recommend this book to folks who are looking for a cozy to help get them into the spirit of fall! But maybe stay away from it if you're afraid of bees. Lots of bees in this one. I would say that the best way to read this book would be somewhere where you can see the leaves changing, and with a hot glass of apple cider or mulled wine. Just really lean into the autumn breeze!

This was a wonderful mystery although at times it was easy to solve. There was not mention of mint chocolate so maybe the title should have been pumpkin spice since it was referred to quite frequently.

Thank you to St Martin's and NetGalley for the chance to read an early copy of this book! Apologies for the delay in sharing a review.

I enjoyed this mystery, though I think I preferred the first one and its world-building. The highlight of the book continued to be the inventive, delicious-sounding ice cream flavors, and my biggest complaint is that mint chocolate was not, to my recollection, one of the featured ones so I am confused about why it would be the title of the book.