Book Review: A Sprinkle in Time by Dana Mentink (Shake Shop Mysteries #2)

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Strong mystery and characters

Cons: Nothing shook my enjoyment

The Bottom Line:

Body in the trunk

Opens a compelling read

The pages flew by

The Corpse in the Trunk.  Maybe.

Having enjoyed the first in the Shake Shop series last summer, I was looking forward to the sequel, A Sprinkle in Time.  Thanks to an early preorder delivery, I was able to sneak it into May.  I’m thrilled because it was a very fun book.

Fall is beginning to settle on Upper Sprocket, Oregon, but before winter sets in, the town is helping host an Alpenfest.  Trinidad Jones is hoping that the tourist will flood Shimmy and Shake Shop and help her build some savings for the coming winter months.

Things get complicated when her grandfather inadvertently picks up a dead body in the trunk of his beloved classic car.  They quickly call the police, but by the time the police arrive, the body is gone.  Trinidad isn’t sure what to think until a body turns up in a nearby lake.  While the police don’t think she or her grandfather had anything to do with it, Trinidad still can’t help gather clues.  Can she figure out what happened?

That premise certainly caught my attention, and as I was reading the book, it was fairly easy to see who would be the murder victim.  Fortunately, it wasn’t long before we had a confirmed corpse, and from there, we were off and running.  The case brings up some interesting complications for the characters we got to know in the first book, and I never wanted to put the book down since I had to know what was going to happen next.  I had a part of the solution figured out, but it turned out I only had a small part of things figured out.  I’m actually impressed with how everything came together in the end.

I had really enjoyed the variety of characters we met in the first book, and they are all back for this case.  I loved getting to spend more time with them here.  I still question if some of the relationships in this book would work in real life or not, but I am still willing to buy into them as I read.

Overall, the tone of the book is fun, and I laughed a few times as I was reading.  However, because of the characters, there are some more serious moments, and I found myself tearing up a couple of times as well.

Yes, this book will make you crave ice cream specifically and sweets in general.  You’ll be glad to find a couple of recipes at the end of the book.

A Sprinkle in Time is a strong second book is a great series.  I’m already looking forward to seeing the gang again soon.