I appreciate mysteries that are entertaining without being graphic and gory. Cozy mysteries generally fit this bill and A DEADLY INSIDE SCOOP is no exception. First off, I love that this book is written by a Black woman and features a Black family. I haven't encountered a ton of diversity in cozy mysteries, so this makes a nice addition to the genre. Even better is the fact that the Crewse family is a clan of successful professionals who are proud of their roots and remain loyal to their family's humble ice cream parlor. I love that. In addition to the fun ice-cream-parlor-in-the-winter setting, I enjoyed the closeness of the Crewse family, Win and her cohorts, as well as Miss Felice, who totally stole the show! The plot is a little slow and unfocused, but it was compelling enough to keep me turning pages. While I guessed the killer's identity before Win did, I didn't catch on much before she did. Overall, then, I enjoyed this series starter and am definitely up to reading the next installment.

An enjoyable series start set in a family run ice cream parlor. Collette has brought together a unique setting, a varied cast of characters and a brave heroine for an intriguing mystery. I'm looking forward to the next in the series!

Synopsis:

This book kicks off a charming cozy mystery series set in an ice cream shop--with a fabulous cast of quirky characters. Recent MBA grad Bronwyn Crewse has just taken over her family's ice cream shop in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, and she's going back to basics. Win is renovating Crewse Creamery to restore its former glory, and filling the menu with delicious, homemade ice cream flavors--many from her grandmother's original recipes. But unexpected construction delays mean she misses the summer season, and the shop has a literal cold opening: the day she opens her doors an early first snow descends on the village and keeps the customers away. To make matters worse, that evening, Win finds a body in the snow, and it turns out the dead man was a grifter with an old feud with the Crewse family. Soon, Win's father is implicated in his death. It's not easy to juggle a new-to-her business while solving a crime, but Win is determined to do it. With the help of her quirky best friends and her tight-knit family, she'll catch the ice cold killer before she has a meltdown . . . (Goodreads)

Review:

The characters are well rounded and well developed. Win has reopened her grandparent’s ice cream shop and she is looking forward to having a thriving business. But sadly that does not work out as she planned because a man has been found murdered. With the help of her friends Maisie and Riya, they have to figure out who the killer is so she can get back to selling her ice cream.

The author is very talented in her descriptive writing and these descriptions pulled me into the book from the beginning. The writing style flows smoothly and the book is an easy read. The mystery was well plotted and there were enough clues to sift through and suspects to consider.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a well crafted cozy mystery. I look forward to seeing what Win’s next adventure is.

I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book provided by the publisher and NetGalley, which I greatly appreciate.

Love this series, it’s cute and fun but a little basic. The series picks up in terms of details and intriguing plots later!!

Bronwyn Crewse, known to her friends and family as Win, moves back to her hometown in Ohio after a hectic life in New York City and takes over the family ice cream shop. After some setbacks in getting the shop reopened, opening day arrives…in October. Not exactly the ideal time for ice cream in the Midwest! It snows on her opening day, leaving Win discouraged and questioning her choices. While out seeking some inspiration in the freshly fallen snow, she finds a body near the falls. The discovery opens old wounds in her family and Win’s father ends up the prime suspect in the murder investigation. Win sets out to find out who the real killer is and clear her father’s name, while running a newly reopened business! She thankfully has some great friends and family to help her out, both with the mystery and the business, along the way.

Abby Collette (a pseudonym of author Abby L. Vandiver) has crafted a wonderful new cozy mystery world in the first book in the Ice Cream Parlor Mystery series. The town of Chagrin Falls feels familiar and friendly, especially to anyone who has spent time in small Midwestern towns. Win is resourceful, her family is warm, her best friends are quirky, and the other residents of the town are colorful. The characters all seem realistic and interesting. It’s also really nice to see a diverse cast of characters, something that is usually lacking in the cozy mystery genre. Collette makes the reader feel welcome in this world. The descriptions of the ice cream made in the shop might make you crave a double scoop of your favorite flavor. (Yes, there are recipes at the end!) Sometimes the first book in a new can be too heavy on the introduction of new characters, and the story itself can suffer, but that is definitely not the case here. The mystery itself has good twists and turns, and the ending is pretty satisfying. I can’t wait to read more books in this series, to find out what kind of situations Win finds herself in next!

It's Ice cream and Murder in this entry into An Ice Cream Parlor series: A Deadly Inside Scoop!

The protagonist, Bronwyn "Win" Crewse takes over her family's ice cream business, Crewse Creamery. But she has a rough opening day, with a snow blizzard, no customers, no business, and she stumbles upon a dead body in the snow.

Win is a hard worker, passionate, very creative with creating ice cream flavors for her shop. It was fun reading about how she solves the case with help from her family, friends, and Crewse Creamery staff members.

The cover is cute, with its pink cover, ice cream scoop, a white cat, and sprinkles. The book will definitely make you crave ice cream. I'm looking forward to more in this series, and my thanks to the publisher for a copy of this book for my review!

3.5

This cozy mystery focuses on family, community, and friendship. Managing and updating her family's ice cream shop becomes the backdrop as Win and her mystery-loving friend, Maisy, attempt to solve a murder. It becomes more of a priority when Win's father becomes one of the prime suspects. The antics and dialogue steer the plot and there is a small hint of romance. At one point, there are a lot of suspects, which could be seen as possible red herrings, but might confuse some readers. Those who enjoyed this book will be looking forward to catching up with Win's tight-knit African-American family and their culturally diverse friends and neighbors in future installments.

Thanks to Berkley and NetGalley for the e-galley. I listened to the released audiobook for this review.
My ratings and reviews are my own.

Cozy mysteries aren't usually my cup of tea (or "scoop of ice cream" for this book), but I enjoyed the mystery of this one and the fun in trying to figure out the mystery.

This is sweet and fans of culinary cozies will rejoice.

I loved the story, the pacing, and that there are diverse cozy mystery characters! This is what so many fans have been waiting for!

This is a great read- a curl up with a cone kind of book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read this book through an ARC in exchange for an honest review. .

A new favorite cozy mystery series for me—Abby Collette’s Ice Cream Parlor Mysteries have it all! The characters are fantastic, I love the ice cream shop theme and seeing how she grows her business, and the mystery was well-done and compelling. Loved it!

A Deadly Inside Scoop is the first in a new cozy mystery series featuring the Crewse family, one of the only Black families in Chagrin Falls, Ohio and owners of a family ice cream parlor business started by the late and great Grandma Kay. I completely fell in love with the Crewse family and Crewse Creamery! The family is close-knit, supportive, and quirky. I fell in love with the whole family!

Bronwyn “Win” Crewse has been working in marketing in NYC and earning her MBA. When a health scare brings her home, she realizes that her dream is to reopen her family’s ice cream parlor, Crewse Creamery. Her grandparents had owned and operated it for years, before handing it over to her Aunt Jack who changed it to a novelty shop (a change the family was not in support of). When Win’s PopPop gives her the key to the store, Win spends a year restoring it to its former glory with a few key upgrades (seriously, the glass wall overlooking Chagrin waterfalls sounds stunning!).

Now, after some setbacks, Win is finally ready to reopen the store. But on her grand opening day a snowstorm blows through and no one comes in. Dejected, Win draws inspiration from her Grandma Kay and goes to collect some fresh snow to use in her ice cream. But before she can collect the snow, she trips over a dead body.

When it becomes clear that the unique murder weapon and the sordid history of the victim with Win’s own family has made her father the prime suspect, Win decides to help investigate. Afterall, she was the one who discovered the body, and she has a few leads! With help from her PopPop, friend Maisie, and a few other characters, Win hunts a killer all while trying to market her shop and make some ice cream to die for!

Abby Collette has a gift with characters. I have to give my first shout out to Win’s grandfather PopPop, who is just the delight of this entire book from his very first scene to the heart-pounding finale. Win’s two best friends Riya and Maisie are also so much fun. Riya has a bit of a temper in a delightful way, and Maisie… marches to the beat of her own drum. Loved them! There are so many great characters I’m looking forward to learning more about the people of Chagrin Falls in the next installment!

I also appreciated that the mystery was kept at the forefront and the secondary focus was getting to know the characters. We didn’t rush into a love story, or spend too much time pulled away from the mystery, but I also felt I got to know everyone and will know the characters going into the second book. There are a few I’d definitely like to know more about, such as O and Mrs. Deveraux!

The mystery itself totally got me! I didn’t guess the murderer and I also didn’t guess how all the pieces would come together. It was a great mystery and a fun new series!

Thank you to Berkley Publishing for my copy. Opinions are my own.

I never really got into this book and it took me about half of the month to get through, unfortunately. I was thinking it was just me and my reading slump but it really was that THIS book was putting me into a slump. It was just… not great.

The MC revamps and reopens her family’s ice cream shop on a day when a blizzard moves through, leaving her with zero sales on her first day open. To make matters worse, she later finds a dead body in the snow. To continue to make matters even worse, it’s a known enemy of her family who screwed them over years before. Win has to make sure she can clear her family from the crime while balancing her new business.

I have to say that I didn’t love the writing style here – it was jarring at times and the internal dialogue of the character (or her describing what she was doing) felt very weird to me. It was almost juvenile, the way the sentences were structured and things were described. I know cozy mysteries are cuter and lighter than standard mysteries, so I just tried to ignore it and assume it came with the territory… but it never got better. Another issue with the writing style is that it was INCREDIBLY repetitive. Win and her friend, Maisie, went back and forth constantly with the clues and argued about the same suspects over and over. If some of those conversations were cut out, the book would be half this length.

By the time I got to the end of the book, I didn’t really care who the murderer was. There were some red herrings constantly discussed by the characters but I never took the time to think about what my own theory was. I just wasn’t engaged in the story. Unfortunately I won’t continue this series, but the ice cream shop sounded so good!

I was able to read this one thanks to the publisher and Netgalley. A Deadly Inside Scoop is about Bronwyn 'Win' Crewse who has just taken over her family's ice cream shop in a small town in Ohio. On her first day of opening the shop, she meets a man who claims to know her whole family and even remembers her from when she was a child. Upon her mother's arrival later, she lets her mom know about the encounter and immediately her mother has nothing nice to say about this man. It seems this man tried to steal the ice cream shop from the family years ago. With the opening coming closer, Win is nervous that the snow fall will discourage anyone from purchasing ice cream. To make matters worse, when she decides to get some fresh snow for a recipe, she stumbles upon a body. The investigation throws the entire family and town upside down as they all try to piece together who the person is and who killed this person.

I enjoyed the writing style of this novel. While reading, I found that it was more like a cozy up mystery and I found it easy to get through. With that being said, I wasn't all that connected to any of the characters except for Win - which I suppose is fine for some readers. I am a big fan of having side characters be a part of the story and to see their development throughout. Another thing that I was not overly fond about was the way Win revealed certain things. Now, that isn't to say those few things meant I disliked this novel. I would say this novel is a good pick for anyone who enjoys a quick mystery read. If you enjoy red herrings in mysteries, you will enjoy this - even more if you spot them quickly but can't help but question everything. If you enjoy small town mysteries, this is also a good one. All the characters know each other which makes everyone suspicious of everyone! I'd say this is good for readers who enjoy a character that wants to be more like Nancy Drew but also wants to steer clear of the investigation.

I enjoyed reading this first book in a new series. Win has returned home and has remodeled and reopened the family's ice cream parlor. Opening day has a snow storm and a dead body. When her father is the prime suspect she sets out to solve the murder with the help of her best friend. I really liked the small town setting and the ice cream parlor. I also enjoyed the relationship Win has with her family esp her grandfather. The mystery was good but I was able to solve it. The solution did make sense. There are some wonderful ice cream recipes in the back. I look for word to reading the next book in the series. Enjoy

A delicious start to a new series. I enjoyed Bronwyn and get quirky family and craved I've cream while reading this book. This is the perfect summer cozy

This was a great start to a new cozy mystery series. The cover and the setting of an ice cream parlor drew me into the story and I'm glad it did! There are a lot of great things about the book! The relationship between Win and her grandfather was delightful, as was the rest of the family. The mystery wasn't overly easy to figure out and kept me interested. And there were some definitely some funny moments! Overall it's a great start and I would recommend to any cozy mystery fans.

A cute concept for a new mystery series. The family dynamics are interesting but the way the mystery was handled dragged throughout the story. I found her friend Maisie annoying as the story doesn’t really need her since Wyn was able to come up with her own ideas.

Wow such a fun and unique Cozie! I loved how there was a mystery obsessed friend and of course the ice cream shop! This book is perfect for any season because of the ice cream shop aspect makes it great for summer but it also takes place in the fall by the lakes so there is lots of snow which makes it perfect for fall/winter. If you love cozies I definitely reccomend this one!

A Deadly Inside Scoop was a laugh out loud, delightful beginning to this new cozy mystery series! I am so glad that I requested this book from NetGalley. I cannot remember where I first heard about this one but I'm so thankful that I had it on my radar! Let me tell you all of the things that made this book standout for me. One, the author is obviously a mystery lover and threw in references to author mystery authors/books here and there that I couldn't help but appreciate. Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express is just one example. I loved the nod that she gave in this book to that classic - it just warmed my book loving heart! I also adored ALL of the characters in this book! Win has a large family that is also her support system. She also has two best friends that were absolutely hilarious. I was reading this one in bed just giggling to myself while my husband gave me strange looks. But I just couldn't help myself - it was too funny! The banter back and forth between the three friends as well as the situations that they found themselves in at times were just too great! I know this is going to sound wrong to many of you - but I'm not a huge ice cream person usually. I enjoy it to be clear but it just isn't my go to treat or snack. I will say that the different flavors that Win was making though helped to give me some serious cravings for ice cream while I was reading. The mystery was solid and kept me guessing. This was just such a great beginning to this cozy mystery series overall that I cannot wait to get my hands on the next book!

All in all, this book was a refreshing and enjoyable beginning to this new cozy mystery series! I was super excited to have found out that this author has two other cozy series under a pseudonym that I can check out while I'm waiting for book two to release. If you enjoy cozy mysteries with great characters, laugh out loud moments, and just a plain fun read; then check this book out! I can easily recommend it especially to all of my other cozy mystery or suspense readers!

Bottom Line: I'm so excited to have found both this series and this author as this book was an absolute delight!

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book thanks to the publisher and NetGalley. Honest thoughts are my own.

A Deadly Inside Scoop by Abby Collette is the first book in the Ice Cream Parlor Mystery series. Win has taken over her family's ice cream shop in Ohio and is ready for the grand reopening. Unfortunately it coincides with the first snowfall of the season which keeps customers away. Too bad it did not keep the dead body out of her path. The dead man tried to swindle her family years ago, and Win's dad is the police's number one suspect. The book was a bit slow in places which is not unusual in the start of a series. I loved the family aspect although Win's friends are a bit out there. I do look forward to the next installment to see how the relationships develop.

Back home to run the ice cream shop (Crewse Creamery) that her grandmother started, Win (Bronwyn) is starting from scratch. She’s had the shop renovated and is now making all the flavors by scratch from the recipe’s her grandmother left behind. With the backing of her family, she opens in the winter. Only, there’s no customers, you see she opened during the first snowstorm of the year thanks to the extra time the renovations took. While contemplating her next move, she decided to make a special snow ice cream her grandmother created, and literally stumbles across a dead body.
With the detective in charge of the case suspecting her own father of the man’s murder, Win and her best friend decides to solve the case and prove her father’s innocence. It’s not easy because the murdered man was a con man who’d caused a lot of trouble in their little area when Win was a small child. Wending her way through a cast of characters with their own reason for wanting the murdered man dead, Win also has a business to run. One that’s taking off thanks to the “O”, a former police officer who’s now a law professor at the local university.
I thoroughly enjoyed A Deadly Inside Scoop. It’s well written, with a great story, and wonderful characters. I can’t wait to see what Win, PopPop, Riya, Maisie, and the rest of them get into. I did figure out who the killer was, but was surprised as to the connection between the two.
I definitely recommend for fans of cozy mysteries. This is a winner!
**I received an ARC of this story from NetGalley and the publisher, and this is my honest and voluntary review.