A GAME OF CONES by Abby Collette
The Second Ice Cream Parlor Mystery

Although not yet a member, Bronwyn Crewse attends a meeting of the Chagrin Falls shop keepers association when things get heated. Zeke Reynolds claims a mall will be built in the midst of the village. No one in the charming village wants a mall and everyone openly shows their disapproval. The next morning Zeke is found shot dead. Happy with the success of her family's ice cream parlor since she's taken the helm Win is content to make ice cream and let the police solve the murder, but her good friend Maisie has other ideas. Will Bronwyn become embroiled in another murder?

Developers make great fodder for murder mysteries. So it's no surprise when the spokesman for the company that wants to build a mall in the picturesque village of Chagrin Falls winds up killed before the second chapter starts! Revealing possible suspects and motives takes much longer, continuing until the very end with clues finally clicking into place in the last pages. It's a slower paced investigation, with Win willing to allow the police to do their job without interference despite Maisie's prodding...at least until things hit closer to home.

I really like Bronwyn and her down to earth attitude. She's the rock between her two over the top best friends. Another friend is added to the mix in the second Ice Cream Parlor Mystery, another over the top friend at that. Evidence, combined with her friend's questionable behavior lead Win to worrisome thoughts about her old friend. Could she be a murderer? Win also has to confront some unpleasant thoughts about her Aunt who has returned to town and is criticizing all of the changes Win has made to the family business. Does her aunt really want to resume management of Crewse Creamery? As Win deals with these two women she learns more about herself, her abilities, and what she wants out of life.

A GAME OF CONES is a fun mystery celebrating friends and family. I enjoy the close family relationships, the laughter, and the ice cream, and I can't wait to return to Chagrin Falls.

In the follow up novel to A Deadly Inside Scoop, Bronwyn "Win" Crewse is reaping the benefit of all of the hard work she has put reviving her family's business, Crewse Creamery over the last couple of months. Of course this doesn't stop her Aunt Jacqueline from returning to town with her sights set on overtaking the business and undoing much of that hard work. If that is not enough to contend with, Win's friend Rory is in town and is convinced Win should move back to New York to resume her life she left behind. However business is booming and it's not just the creamery either. All the small shops around the close knit town of Chagrin Falls are seeing an uptick in business. With success comes the unpleasant side effect of outside corporations looking to force their way in and a town meeting with a representative from a company intent on buying up land to put up a mini mall ends in a shouting match. Rory makes a most unpleasant discovery later that night when he stumbles across the murdered body of the same representative. While Win is quite reluctant to investigate, her friend Maisie is chomping at the bit to get started. However Win's tune quickly changes when Rory falls under suspicion. As the pair investigate, their friends, family, and neighbors are their to lend support and advice, introducing readers to a wide variety of charming characters. Suspects abound which would ordinarily be quite overwhelming however clues are interspersed throughout making the surprise reveal towards the end both logical and satisfying. The inclusion of three delectable recipes of sweet treats mentioned over the course of the narrative is an added bonus. A Game of Cones explores the themes of friendship, family, and community and the lengths to which one will go to protect and cherish those bonds. Win is on the cautious side and remains reluctant to jump into investigations which is a refreshing change of pace for a cozy mystery protagonist. I highly recommend A Game of Cones to cozy mystery fans as well as the first book in the series, A Deadly Inside Scoop.

I really enjoyed the first book in this series - especially the delicious sounding ice cream that the main character (Bronywn or Win) makes for her family ice cream shop in Chagrin Falls, a suburb of Cleveland. In this second entry in the series, Win is once again joined by her family members, her best friends Maisie and Riya, and lots of other supporting characters from her small town. She is also joined by Rory, one of her colleagues at the firm she worked for in NYC, who has been sent to try to talk her into coming back. Right away, Rory gets accidentally wrapped up in the murder of an outsider who came to town to announce a new mini-mall. I enjoyed the ice cream references (of course) and the characters, but I didn't think the mystery was as effective in this one as I remember it being in the first one. It wrapped up very quickly - almost abruptly - and I wish more time had been given to the resolution.. Still, I'll read more from Abby Collette and I wish I could eat some of that black tea and shortbread ice cream right now!

Deliciously fun and fresh second book in this cozy mystery series, an Ice Cream Parlor Mystery Series! Let’s meet these delightful diverse characters:
Bronwyn Crewse ~ AKA Win. Slightly quirky, but relatable with some feisty best friends and family members. Owner of Crewse Creamery, the ice cream shop her family has owned for decades, and restored to serve sweet frozen treats in the small town of Chagrin Falls, Ohio.
We enter book two with a big city developer intent on building a mall in the middle of their town that would take over several of the small town’s shops and businesses.
Witty with the right amount of humor and smartly written. Lots of characters were written into this one from Win’s past in New York so not only was her time split between them, but the minute times she was able to actually work in her shop, and solving the murder her friend Rory is the person of interest in. Secrets are unearthed and the mystery was a bit more challenging this time compared to the first book.
Overall a fun cozy mystery, but the number of characters does make my head spin due to not only new ones, but almost all the ones from the first book in the series. While it is genuinely nice to read / watch all their personalities intertwine, some of them are, in my opinion, annoyingly written (whispers Maisie and Jacqueline). However, you can’t hall a cast of all agreeable characters, right? Always need all those hands in the deck of cards.
Thanks to Berkley Books, Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours, and NetGalley for an ARC!
Finish off your read with some of her refreshingly sweet recipes:
Rory’s Mint Mojito Coffee Ice Cream, Aunt Jack’s Peppermint Candy Ice Cream, and Win’s Easy Summer Mango Sorbet!

In A Game of Cones, Browyn is the manager of her family-owned ice cream shop in small town Chagrin Falls, Ohio. During a town meeting, a big city real estate developer mentions his plans to build a vertical mall in the historic town triangle. Later that day, he is found dead.

Almost all of the local store owners have a motive. Bronwyn is convinced by her best friend, Maisie, to solve the mystery. After all, Maisie has watched every amateur detective show on Acorn TV. She’s ready to use those skills in real life!

I just love the characters in this cozy mystery series. I loved the first book, A Deadly Inside Scoop, just as much. The mystery was more challenging this time. But best friends since elementary school, Maisie, Bronwyn and Riya, are up to the challenge. In this book, there are two ice cream and one sorbet recipes to make at home as well.

If you are looking for a fun small town mystery to solve filled with genuine and ethnically diverse characters plus family-first values, you must read A Game of Cones. 5 out of 5 stars!

And now it’s time to make Win’s Easy Summer Mango Sorbet. In my case, the vodka is not optional. Yum!

Thanks to Berkley Books, Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours, and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

I was curious about A Game of Cones and the first book in the series because of the covers. Berkley has done a lot with illustrated covers in the romance industry and I figured that probably means that this book would be a nice intro sort of cozy mystery and I could dip my toes in the water. Growing up, my favorite books were Nancy Drew and Boxcar Children mysteries or those historical mysteries and the Babysitter Club specials. The point is that I used to love mysteries. Nowadays though, if I read a mystery, it's usually more on the thriller side and I really just want something that captures that childhood joy. This book did not do that.

What it did do was confuse me immensely. I didn't love the writing style, which is definitely a me thing, but the way the plot moved had me feeling like I was in a pinball machine. The lack on subtlety in asking suspects questions was horrifying on every level. The sheer amount of characters was overwhelming. I also thought maybe we would get a romance in here and then at the end there was a suggested date and it came out of nowhere.

I am so hopeful that this book works for a lot of readers, but unfortunately, that reader was definitely not me. Thanks to Netgalley and Berkley for the review copy!

When the Crewse family ice cream shop is threatened with the opening up of a new mall, the shop owners are fearful that the town is headed toward gentrification. Things change when the developer is murdered in the back alley with one of Wyn's friends as the prime suspect. Will Wyn be able to save both her friend and community, in order to do that Win and the gang will have to put their heads together and start sleuthing again.

Game of Cones is the second book in the Ice Parlor Mystery series. It is a solid cozy mystery that had some good moments but I did not enjoy this one as much as the first one. What I like about the book is that Colette makes sure the readers understands that these are amateur sleuths. They are constantly working out the crime erroneously, most of the time, until the case is solved. I also like that Wyn is still a reluctant detective who only gets involved once her loved ones lives are in danger. What did not work for me was her aunt coming back to the shop, I was expecting family discord but there was none, with the title being Games of Cones I thought there would be more of a fight for the ice cream shop as a sub-plot. Also, I found there to have been too many characters along with Wyn's family and friends, and it became difficult to keep track of them. Still, it has all of the elements that some readers love in a cozy mystery, like quirky characters and a close knit community. I rate it 3.25 stars, I look forward to the next installment.

This sequel to Abby Collette’s A Deadly Inside Scoop is sprinkled with fun and mystery.

“Bronwyn Crewse is delighted that Crewse Creamery, the ice cream shop her family has owned for decades, is restored to its former glory and serving sweet frozen treats to happy customers in the picturesque small town of Chagrin Falls, Ohio. But when a big city developer comes to town intent on building a mall, a killer with a frozen heart takes him out.

After literally stumbling across the body, one of Win’s closest friends becomes the prime suspect, and to make things worse, Win’s aunt has come to town with the intention of taking command of Crewse Creamery. Even though Win has a rocky road ahead to help her friend and keep her ice cream shop, it'll take more than a sprinkle of murder to stop her from solving the crime and saving the day.”

This was 3.5 stars rounded up. I find one of the characters to be extremely annoying, and I think this had too many plot points. I wanted to care more than I did, and it was still a fun read that I would recommend for anyone needing a lighthearted mystery with some very thought provoking themes sprinkled in.

**Thanks to NetGalley and Berkeley for providing me with a free ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review. My opinions are my own.**

Title: Game of Cones
Author: Abby Collette
Genre: Cozy mystery
Rating: 3 out of 5

Bronwyn Crewse is delighted that Crewse Creamery, the ice cream shop her family has owned for decades, is restored to its former glory and serving sweet frozen treats to happy customers in the picturesque small town of Chagrin Falls, Ohio. But when a big city developer comes to town intent on building a mall, a killer with a frozen heart takes him out.

After literally stumbling across the body, one of Win’s closest friends becomes the prime suspect, and to make things worse, Win’s aunt has come to town with the intention of taking command of Crewse Creamery. Even though Win has a rocky road ahead to help her friend and keep her ice cream shop, it'll take more than a sprinkle of murder to stop her from solving the crime and saving the day.

This wasn’t a good fit for me. Win seemed befuddled at best, if not completely clueless, and her three friends seemed to have one glaring personality trait…and nothing else. The leaps of “logic” in their “investigation” were random and sometimes nonsensical, and I had a difficult time suspending my skepticism, despite the solid writing and the quaint charm of Chagrin Falls.

Abby Collette is a bestselling author. Game of Cones is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Berkley in exchange for an honest review.)

Bronwyn "Win" Crewse has comfortably settled back into her hometown of Chagrin Falls, Ohio, concocting mouth-watering ice cream treats from her grandmother's recipes and spending time with her family. It isn't long, however, before her daily routine is disrupted by three unexpected visitors: Zeke Reynolds, an outside developer with plans to build a mall in the town triangle; Rory Hunter, a former coworker from New York; and Win's Aunt Jack, the woman responsible for nearly ruining Crewse Creamery with her misguided ideas.

Most of the community is opposed to the mall, and when the developer's lifeless body is found in an alley, the search for a killer begins. To make matters worse, Rory discovered the body, making her the the prime suspect. Win is determined to clear Rory's name, and teams up to do just that with her best friends, Riya, an inquisitive doctor and Maisie, a die-hard television detective series junkie, whose television addiction has give her a false level of sleuthing ability.

Who stands to gain from Zeke's death? There is no shortage of suspects, but will the questions the sleuthing trio ask put them in a killer's crosshairs? And closer to home, how will Win deal with the possibility of Aunt Jack regaining control of the management of the family ice cream parlor?

A Game of Cones is equal parts murder mystery and family drama, with a healthy sprinkle of humor. Colette's cast of ethnically and age diverse characters are quirky and interesting, and the setting is appealing--making Chagrin Falls and Crewse Creamery favorite locations for cozy mystery readers to return to again and again.

This story was fun, suspenseful and full of creamy goodness. Well developed characters and believable situations. S very good who-dun-it! Can't wait for more!

Bronwyn is running her family's ice cream parlor in Chagrin Falls, Ohio. There is a new developer in town who wants to build a mall in the small town. He is murdered not long after he announces his plan and one of Wyn's friends is the one to find the body. Wyn is against investigating until one of her friends becomes the prime suspect.

I really enjoyed the first book in this series and was looking forward to reading this. Wyn is a great character and the family dynamics in the book are very realistic. I love how close she and her family are. Wyn's closest friends add a light humor to the story. Especially Riya. It was interesting to see Wyn's friend from New York come into town and see how Wyn's family and friends take to her almost immediately. But while there were things I liked about the book, there were a few that I could have done without. Wyn's Aunt Jack coming to town was a plot that could have been left out since it wasn't really pertinent to the story. I also wished Wyn would have started investigating sooner then she did. Overall this was a good, solid book. 3.5 stars I received this book from netgalley and Berkeley publishing in exchange for an honest review.

Love this series and author. If you haven't read this book yet I highly recommend it. I suggest reading the books in order.

Super cute cozy mystery featuring a Black lead! I really love how the heroine is forming a deep found family after returning to her home town. RTC.

This is the second in the series, Ice Cream Parlor Mysteries. I enjoyed reading the first one so much, I had to give this a try. I like that Win is a reluctant sleuth. I also like that the story is set in Ohio.

I found this installation to be a little unfocused but still enjoyable. Possibly a list of characters at the beginning so the reader can refer back to it may be in order. There were a lot of characters.
I liked the subject matter, developer trying to swoop into the downtown area. Is it revitalization, gentrification, or some of both?

I look forward to the next iteration.

Netgalley gave me an Advanced Reader Copy and am not required to leave a positive review.

I'm really enjoying this series and Win with her big wonderful family and crazy but fun-to-sleuth- with friends! She had a visit from a good friend named Rory from when Win worked at an ad agency in New York, and Rory's job was to persuade Win to come back to New York while tempting her with a nice fat pay increase and an office. I love what Win advised her friend later on toward the end. Poor Rory got a little tangled up in the murder that happened to be a guy representing a firm wanting to put a mini mall right in the downtown triangle of Chagrin Falls.

There were lots of secrets and mostly people were against this idea which would take away several of the small businesses. Maisie was about to burst from wanting to sleuth and coming up with about 800 conspiracies--that girl absolutely cracks me up and makes me laugh when she's around, what a hoot and genuinely nice person! The usual trio with the addition of Rory became a foursome (not quite all fearsome, although Riya is a force to be reckoned with!) for sleuthing. The showdown was very cool, and Rory's reaction was so good! I really liked Rory's character and would love to see more of her in future books. Who knows, maybe she'll change her mind about small towns someday?

I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book provided by the publisher via NetGalley, and my opinions are my own.

Win Crewse has put a whole lot of time and money into bringing new life into her family business, the Crewse Creamery. Business is good but there is danger on the horizon for the shops that call the town square (really a triangle) home. A developer from Dallas wants to turn it all into a mall. Just the word 'mall' is enough to set tempers flaring and voices up to full volume. When the merchants attend a presentation by a couple of envoys of the developers it devolves into a real mess. Win, her grandfather and her friends all have a lot to lose if the property is bought for the mall and the very life of the village of Chagrin Falls, Ohio will be changed. All reasons to want to put a stop to the plans but enough to commit murder? Within hours of the meeting the corpse of the man who made the development presentation the night before is found behind one of the town square shops.The list of suspects is long and Win wants nothing to do with any amateur sleuthing. Been there done that and no repeats, please. Turns out finding the killer isn't the only addition to her life. Her aunt comes to town with the intention of taking over control of the Creamery.
More than just a very well written mystery this is full of family relationships and the bonds of friends. I love her mom and her grandfather, PopPop. Somehow I missed the first book in the series and can't wait to get my hands on a copy.
My thanks to the publisher Berkley Books and to NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

The second book in a new series and while I like the main character Bronwyn and the recipes for ice cream treats, the books start very slow with too many characters introduced. Overall and ok read for a cozy mystery but a reader must have patience for the story to unfold.

After a town hall meeting with various shop owners a man working for the development company turns up dead. Her friend Maisie has been itching for another case to solve since the last and after Detective Beverly visits them she's convinced he was asking them to solve it.

I enjoyed the first book in this series so I was looking forward to this one. This one was a little all over the place for me by the halfway mark. While there needs to be multiple characters as suspects I felt like this story had too many characters. And they would be introduced and then disappear. Plus there was a side plot with Aunt Jack returning to town and trying to stake her claim in the show but that plot kept stopping and starting so you couldn't feel the full impact of her threat.

Win's friend Rory is also in town and her old coworker is trying to convince her to move back to NYC. And Rory is acting strange and stumbling over lies from the time we meet her. No surprise that she becomes a suspect in the murder case.

Maisie was way too hyper to the point where it just got annoying. She needed to be dialed back as she was too rash with accusing anyone and everyone of committing the murder and often derailing the investigation. For someone who watches a lot of crime mysteries she should know visiting someone and then openly accusing them of murder right away gets no results.

I enjoyed the ice cream making scenes and how Win mixes different unique flavors together. And I liked that during the gentrification talk she pondered if she was part of the problem too. Even though her shop is a long time owned family business it can be seen as more trendy with the recent revamps. Especially since business is booming so much she's expanding to a food truck.

But by the time the book ended and we found out who the murder was I just didn't care. Especially since I had guessed the person early on despite the red herring being thrown in at the end.

I still think this a good series Abby Collette just needs to tone Maisie all the way down in future installments. And don't overload with so many elements to the point where it gets confusing and uninteresting.

This is the 2nd installment in the Ice Cream Parlor mystery series. Bronwyn (Win) Crewse is back in Chagrin Falls and is managing the family ice cream parlor. She has made lots of improvements and is making all the ice cream herself just as her beloved Grandmother Kaye did. I did enjoy this book but I have to admit at times it is all over the place. A company has come to town and is buying up property to put up a mall on the town square and the merchants (or at least some) learn of this not from city hall but from a presentation at the merchants association which no one knows who put them on the agenda. The presenter Zeke is booed and says hey don’t shoot the messenger, so naturally that evening Zeke is shot dead. Since Win is in very early to make the ice cream she hears from her friend Maisie who she heard from someone else and then right after that the police arrive to ask questions. The detective is Liam Beverly who was in the last one and not sure how much of a role he really has and he is in just a few scenes. Win runs into her friend Rory who has arrived from New York to try and convince her to return to her job and she comes unannounced and with no prior contact from the company prior to this wanting her back. Maisie immediately wants to sleuth again and Win does not as she has no stake in the game but Rory is acting very odd and soon she becomes a suspect (don’t want to give away too much). I do enjoy the author’s writing but I think there are many things holding this back from being a 5 star rating. There are some wacky characters in this town and that adds to the delight but sometimes it goes too far and the characters need to have direction and get reined in. Win’s potential love interest O who comes in every day (the shop has been open at least 9 months) and Win still doesn’t figure out this guy likes her. I am looking forward to reading the next installment. It is a good enjoyable mystery and read.