Stars: 4 out of 5
Pros: Some great characters, good mystery
Cons: Some over the top characters, slow start to mystery
The Bottom Line:
Slow opening day
Even before the murder
Promising debut
An Opening Scoop of Murder
Yes, I have a massive sweet tooth, but one of my biggest
weaknesses is ice cream. So, naturally, A Deadly Inside Scoop caught my eye.
This is the first in the Ice Cream Parlor Mysteries by Abby Collette,
and it was a mostly delicious debut.
Bronwyn “Win” Crewse is ready to reopen Crewse Creamery, the
ice cream parlor founded by her grandparents in Chagrin Falls, Ohio. It’s been closed for a few months as Win
remodeled the inside, returning it to its former glory. Unfortunately, the renovations took longer
than originally planned, so she missed the summer season. Even worse, the day of the reopening in
October coincides with the early first snowfall of the season, keeping all the
customers away from the shop.
However, Win’s day gets even worse when she stumbles upon a
dead body after she’s closed the shop for the day. The man turns out to be someone who crossed
paths with Win’s family years ago, and not for the better. Before Win knows it, the police are looking
at her father as the killer. Now, Win
needs to figure out what really happened so she can clear him of a crime she
knows he didn’t commit. Can she do that
and get customers into the ice cream parlor?
Before you pick up this book, you need to have ice cream
handy. Yes, you will crave it that
much. I’m glad Win’s shop isn’t in town
because I’d be in multiple times a day sampling all the flavors and I don’t need
that kind of temptation. There are some
recipes in the back to enjoy, and they sound delicious.
Unfortunately, the mystery’s pacing was off. It seemed to take a while to get to the point
where Win was actively trying to investigate things. Once she does, there are some good surprises
and suspects before she figures everything out at the end.
The characters were also a bit of a mixed bag. I loved Win and her family. In fact, just before I picked up this book, I
was thinking how rare it was to find a series with a main character who has
good relationships with her parents and grandparents. It seems to be usually one or the other. Here’s we get to meet three generations of
Win’s family, and I loved all of them.
Her best friends, on the other hand, were more caricatures than true
characters. They provided some laughs
for me, but they could also annoy me at times.
Hopefully, they will be better developed as the series goes along. The suspects were good and did their part
keeping me confused as I read.
A Deadly Inside Scoop was still a tasty treat. There is plenty of promise in this debut, and
I can see this growing into a series that becomes a favorite for many.
I have this one and it does look good. That's too bad about the pacing. It seems to happen so often with a first book so hopefully it will get better as the series goes on. I'll pick this one up but will be prepared.
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