This is the debut book in the new cozy mystery series " Ice Cream Shop Mystery Series" . Thank you to the publisher and to Net Galley for the opportunity. I enjoyed this new series with a fresh take on cozies set in a charming ice cream shop.

I loved the setting of a fictional small Oregon town called " Upper Sprocket". Trinidad is our protagnist just divorced from a nefarious ex who left her a sizable settlement she uses to set up her dream ice cream shop. She has a talent for making fabulous milk shakes and the town takes to her business right away. When she finds out that two of her ex husbands ex wives also live in the town she hopes they can all get along. Her business is going well and she is settled in when she finds a popcorn vendor dead . Soon on the other ex wives is accused and Trinidad wants to clear her name . Clues abound as she solves this fun mystery with a great conclusion. ,'

This is a promising start to a charming series with all the right cozy mystery elements I loved the charcters, the setting and the sleuth. Well done to the author.

3.5 stars

Trinidad Jones is the main character in this amiable cozy, set in a small town in eastern Oregon. She hopes to start over after divorcing her husband, who turned out to be not only a philanderer, but also an embezzler. He winds up in prison, but all three of his ex-wives acquired property from him in Sprocket, Oregon and Trinidad takes the small storefront and plans to open an ice cream/milk shake business. She's a long way from her Cuban family in Miami, but she is determined to make a success of her new venture.

She is not used to small town life, especially since she is a topic of conversation. She soon meets another of the ex-wives and they discover they have a lot in common. So when Trinidad discovers a dead body and the other ex-wife is jailed for the crime, Trinidad decides it's up to her to find the real murderer. She has a cadre of new friends and supporters to help. Thanks to the publisher and to Net Galley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Trinidad Jones is starting over after her ex-husband was convicted of and sent to prison for embezzlement. Each of his three ex wives were given a business in the town of Sprockett, Oregon and all three are making their life there. Trinidad plans to open an ice cream shop in the building she was left and she hopes small town life with lots of tourists will be the fresh new start she is looking for with her senior rescue dog. With her eye on making her business a success, Trinidad has met some of her local business neighbors and even collaborates with one to purchase ingredients at a discount by going in on them together. What she didn't plan on was finding her business neighbor dead in a large vat he used for making popcorn delicacies.

When the third ex wife is accused of murdering the Popcorn King, Trinidad agrees to see if she can help clear her new found friend. With the help of two others in town, Trinidad finds that trying to open a new business and sleuthing don't necessarily make for a good combination. While trying to juggle it all, Trinidad finds sleuthing is a hot and cold sort of activity whereas her ice cream requires cold. How's a girl to balance everything and start fresh without being churned under?

A great start to a new series featuring a Cuban American protagonist...something that we've needed in the cozy world and I cannot get enough of it. Check out the ice cream recipe...Summer is coming and ice cream is going to be churned!

A cute story about second chances, friendship, and small town gossip. Great summer vacation read for a lazy day at the beach or pool. I found myself smiling often as I read this book and look forward to the second book in this new series.

Pint of No Return: A Shack Shop Mystery
By Dana Mentink
Poisoned Pen Press
May 27, 2021

Review by Cynthia Chow

At the age of 36, Trinidad Jones never expected to find herself starting over in a new town and taking on a new career. But 18 months ago her (now) ex-husband Gabe Bigley went into prison for an assortment of embezzlement and fraud crimes, and unable to afford rent in Portland Trinidad had come to his former hometown to take over Gabe’s abandoned Hot Dog store. Trinidad has dreams of transforming it into the Shimmy and Shake Shop, where she would serve up extravagant, specialty milkshakes. The town of Upper Sprocket, Oregon also contains the two ex-wives Gabe neglected to mention existed, although Juliette Carpenter is the younger replacement model who followed Trinidad as a bride. Trinidad only has a chance to meet her once before Juliette is arrested for the murder of Kevin Heartly, the owner of the Popcorn Palace and Juliette’s estranged boyfriend.

After forming a bond over both having been deceived by Gabe, Trinidad feels compelled to help prove Juliette’s innocence. That need to help is further propelled when Sheriff Cynthia Bigley also happens to be Gabe’s older sister and does not look kindly upon any of the three exes who blame him for upending their lives. It’s not long before the sheriff arrests Juliette, to the satisfaction of vengeful Tanya Grant, Kevin’s newest motorcycle seat inhabitant. With the investigation closed it’s up to Trinidad and her new friends to continue the investigation. Quinn Logan, of Logan’s Nut Farm where she buys tasty topping for her shakes, provides a surfeit of local knowledge and connections. He becomes even more helpful when someone takes offence at Trinidad’s involvement in Kevin’s death, damaging the shake shop before it’s barely had a chance to serve its first frosty confection.

This is the start of a mouth-watering and extremely unique new mystery series. The senior Labrador Noodles Trinidad recently adopted is instrumental providing not just much needed emotional support but consultation on pup-friendly creamy shakes. Unexpected help comes from her spunky and adorable grandfather Papa Luis, visiting from Miami while Trinidad’s mother is off on another cruise. He brings a sense of Cuban comfort to Trinidad as she builds a new life among the Sprockerians, who have made lives based around their town’s seasonal extremes. Trinidad has to survive the summer with Fourth of July brownie Freakshakes before she has to figure out how to run a Shake Shop during the freezing winter, so thinking that far ahead is not a priority. Delicious shake recipes are of course included at the end, hurtling readers along in a mystery that is full of charm, treasure hunts, and a very determined heroine.

Pint of No Return is a fantastic cozy mystery that is the first in the Shake Shop Mystery series. It follows Trinidad Jones as she begins a new life running an ice cream shop in a small town after her divorce. The characters were well-written and very likable. Trinidad and her dog Noodles make such a great team. I really enjoyed the people in the town, especially Quinn, Doug, and Papa Luis. The mystery itself is solid and has a satisfying outcome. I loved the atmosphere of the town and the Shake Shack. I can't wait to read more in this series.

How can you resist a ice cream-themed cozy mystery? That's like the epitome of cozy. The mystery was just as enjoyable as the setting.

I love cozy mysteries and this book was a great start to a new series! I love beginning new cozy series because the authors always have such rich descriptions of the towns and characters- this book was no exception to that rule. The author did a wonderful job of making the characters so well developed that they felt real. This book was a light easy read, fun with a mystery and all of its twists and turns thrown in. I can’t wait to continue reading this new series!

This is a fun debut for cozy fans! Trinidad's determined to make a go of a milkshake business in the Oregon town where the other two of her ex-husband's wives live (and where the chief of police is his sister! ). All seems to be good, she's made friends with Juliette, and Noodles the dog is enjoying life. Then, she finds her neighbor dead- murdered!- in a popcorn machine. The chief turns her attention to Juliette and Trinidad jumps to find the real villain. What sets this apart from the usual is the injection of Trinidad's grandfather Luis and the incorporation of her culture. The love interest, Quinn, is a good guy. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. AND, there's a recipe for ice cream- Yay!

Great cast of characters in the story and with a shake shop as place it’s based in make you interested. The setting makes you want to look into places like what is talked about. When reading a story like this you tend to wonder if this place can be real.

First book in new mystery series

Trinidad Jones is getting divorced from her embezzler husband to start a fresh start in Upper Sprocket Oregon where she plans to start the business of her dreams the Shimmy and Shake Shop where she will serve monster milkshakes. Even with her husband’s two other ex-wives also in Sprocket things are going along smoothly.

That’s until she finds her neighbor the Popcorn King head down in his popcorn kettle, and the suspect is one of her husband’s ex-wives. What is she to do before the town is turned upside down but to find the killer.

I love Trinidad’s dog noodle who takes the spot light in this story.

I liked the characters in this book and look forward to getting to know them better in the next book in this series. It was fun and a light read that’s sure to pick you up. Make sure to check to check it out you won’t be disappointed.

I received this ARC via Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press, in return for an honest review. I loved this book! It’s the start of a new series with a great protagonist. Trinidad Jones, Cuban American and the divorced spouse of a convicted embezzler and serial marrying man, finds herself in Upper Sprocket, Oregon, to take over a business deeded to her by said ex. Turns out, since she is one of his three ex-wives and all of them received businesses in town, odds are high that they’re going to awkwardly meet. Trinidad got a defunct hot dog shop that she’s rehabbing into her Shimmy and Shake monster milkshake shop. She’s renting a minuscule place to live, has a service dog school dropout for a pet and is slowly working her way to realizing her dream. That dream is interrupted when she discovers a fellow business owner face down in his giant popcorn kettle. Oh, and the Chief of Police is her ex’s older sister. Yikes!
Trinidad is smart, determined, suffering from self-confidence issues, and very human. She’s a great new protagonist in an interesting ‘fish out of water’ way. The supporting characters are well developed, and the series has so much potential. For example, while we get some backstory on the third ex-wife, she doesn’t make an appearance in this book, but I expect she will in the future. This is such a fun book with interesting, cozy twists. I really look forward to the next in the series!

Trinidad Jones is making a new life for herself in Upper Sprocket, Oregon. While this itself may not seem strange, living in the same small town as your ex-husbands previous wives does add a bizarre twist. When her embezzling ex was taken to prison, he gave Trinidad the deed to a small store.
With her head held high, Trinidad begins preparing the shop for her new business, the Shimmy and Shake Shop.
Trinidad has done her best to avoid the other ex wives, but when she meets Juliette, she feels a kinship with her.
When the shop owner next door meets an untimely death, Trinidad finds herself wrapped up in the police investigation, refusing to believe her new friend is responsible.

This is a fabulous beginning to what I hope is a long running series. The cast of characters is fantastic and I felt an immediate connection to Trinidad. Quinn & Doug are excellent additions to the storyline, as well as Noodles, her fabulous dog.
I definitely recommend this book to all cozy mystery readers.

When I started reading this on my Kindle, I only had the title but no cover. I was so happy to discover that it was a an ice cream book rather than a beer book! There are a couple of really good beer cozy series, actually, but in real life, I'll take ice cream any day :>)

This is a promising start to a new cozy series. I like the way the author has made the premise of 3 ex-wives of a an embezzler all living in the same small town and each running a small business seem fairly believable. I did struggle a bit with how close Trinidad and Juliette became so very quickly. That part didn't feel very believable to me. But overall, the plot works, and the killer is believable, and I think the characterizations are good. I'm looking forward to returning to Upper Sprocket in the next book!

Review copy provided by the publisher via net galley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley, Dana Mentink and Poisoned Pen Press for the copy of Pint of No Return. This is my personal review.
Trinidad Jones has had a rough patch in her life and now she is divorced and ready to move on. She is happy to take one of her ex’s businesses, her cash settlement and her dog and move to Oregon to start her dream business – the Shimmy and Shake Shop. She soon finds out that two other ex- wives of her low life ex-husband live in the same town.
When she returns to her shop only to find the owner of the Popcorn shop next to her dead in a huge popcorn kettle!
Figuring out this mystery makes for a book with many interesting characters who all fit together and make this a great start to a new series.

I really enjoyed this new cozy mystery series! Trinidad moves to Sprocket, Oregon and opens up an extravagant, over-the-top shake shop. She lives in the same town with the two other ex-wives of her ex-husband Gabe Bigley. You know just by that there might be some drama! This mystery had me guessing almost till the end. It had so many characters who could of had a motive for killing Kevin, the owner of Popcorn Palace. This was the first time I read a cozy mystery where there is a female detective. I thought that was a nice change than the typical male detective in town. One of the secondary characters I grew to really love was Trinidad’s dog, Noodles. Noodles was so helpful and always so sweet. I also grew to love the people in town who helped Trinidad with the sleuthing, Quinn and Doug. Overall, I thought it was a great opening to what seems like a fun and exciting series. I’m looking forward to more in the future! Plus, there was a recipe in the back for Trinidad’s Easy Key Lime Ice Cream. Yummm.
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I was provided an e-ARC of this book by the author and publisher via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for granting my wish and providing an advanced electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Trinidad Jones is new to Sprocket, and she has big plans to open her own ice cream shop, the Shake and Shimmy shop, producing large Freakshakes, starting on the 4th of July. Deeded to her before her ex husband went to jail, she's ex-wife #2, having not known about #1, and #3 not knowing about either of them. She's expecting that things might be a bit awkward, but what she doesn't see coming is a dead body and a whirlwind murder investigation. As they get closer to figuring out who did it, the killer makes it clear that they know, and they want Trinidad and her new friends kept quiet.

With lots of ice cream puns scattered throughout the book, this one was truly sweet. If you love a good mystery, but you'd rather skip the gory details (mystery lite), then this book is perfect. The chapters seemed to fly by, and there was a cute little happy ending. I love closure and this book ties everything up, while still leaving room to continue, if the writer decides to visit Sprocket once more.

New author for me that I look forward to following. Great cozy mystery with fun characters. Grandpa added lots of depth and humor to the story. I would like to thank Poisoned Pen Press for the advanced copy.

A delightful start to a new series! The author mixes together the characters, plot and mystery so well it comes out a delicious read.

Take 3 ex-wives who live in the same town and YES things can be chaotic! Trinidad Jones moves to Upper Sprocket for a fresh start. When her neighbor is found dead things get shaken up! A great start to a fun series. Definitely worth reading! Thanks #netgalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are mine.