This was a gentle, enjoyable read. I chose it because it was a little different to my normal mystery reads. The mystery itself was quite intriguing.

I am sure that there will be others who take to this complicated and extended family vibe, but I didn't really take to the cast of characters. The ice cream shop aspect just felt a little too much as well.

My thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for my Advance Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review.

Ice Cream. Friendships. Dogs, Mystery, Ice Cream...what more can you ask for in a book. Learning more about the characters in Upper Sprocket is always good for a smile and a laugh. I really like how Papa Luis interacts with people. Trinidad and her sisters are forming a great "family" I really can't wait for the next read.

Thank you Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for the advance read.

I received this ARC via Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press, in return for an honest review. While the second book in this series, it is easily read as a standalone. I’m delighted to return to Upper Sprocket and Trinidad Jones. She owns the Shimmy and Shake ice cream shop, because of her crooked ex-husband’s shenanigans. She’s also facing her first winter in town and worries about how to keep her shop solvent as the seasons change. Luckily, she has her grandfather, Papa Luis, and her fellow ex-wives, Bonnie and Juliette (yep, their ex was a piece of work!). She also has a handsome neighbor, Quinn, who has his own challenges in caring for his special needs brother, Doug.
Upper Sprocket is co-hosting Alpenfest for the first time with its neighboring town. Great for business but tough for the community when Papa Luis’ beloved car comes home with a body inside the trunk! When the body disappears before the police arrive, Trinidad and Luis are cofounded. Figuring out what happened ties back into a missing persons case from 30 years prior. It also opens old wounds for Quinn and his brother. Trinidad doesn’t mean to insert herself into things; she just wants to make her ice cream and keep her business going. Yet, somehow, she’s the one that spots small details to help the police chief solve the crime.
Trinidad has lots of self-doubt from her marriage. One of the joys of this book is watching her grow into herself again and trust herself more, as well as appreciating the deepening relationships with the other people in town. While the author poses lots of possible suspects, she also lays out the clues to help solve the mystery, so it wraps to a solid conclusion. I look forward to the next in this series!

While I didn't realize this was book 2 in the series I still enjoyed it! I'll definitely be going back to see where it all started! Cozy mystery fans are going to love this series!

Starting over, reinventing, learning to trust again all in the midst of murder, mystery and a mountain festival.

The yodelers are in town for Alpenfest and it's a boon for the business owners of Upper Sprocket, especially Trinidad Jones at the Shimmy and Shake and her sister-in-ex, Bonnie, at the Station. Unfortunately Papa Luis comes home from Bonnie's with a little something more than blueberries in the trunk of his beloved classic car.

This book gives us a twist on the classic cozy mystery, instead of going straight to the whodunit, we spend some time pondering whowasit. It doesn't take long to figure out the missing body was that of Forge, a ruthless local businessman with enemies aplenty. Carlos and Diego dig up a potential connection to a local girl who went missing 30 years earlier and a mysterious traveling reporter seems awfully interested in certain people around town.

I really like the characters in this book. Trinidad is kind and vulnerable but never weak. Her relationships with Bonnie and Juliette are becoming stronger and make what she went through with cheating ex-husband Gabe almost worthwhile. Felice, Bonnie's daughter, plays an increasing role in this book and she's a very charming kid who's wormed her way completely into Trinidad's heart (not to mention the reader's).

The killer was kind of easy to spot, but there were enough other characters with plenty of motive that I was not completely convinced until the very end and even then I didn't realize the connections that existed between other characters until the big reveal. The author weaved past events into the current events well and sprinkled plenty of evidence around. This is a series I will definitely continue to read and highly recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.

It's Alpenfest in Upper Sprocket. Yodelers are congregating in the square, tourists flocking to the town, and Trinidad Jones is hoping to scoop up her own portion of visitors with her Shimmy and Shake Shop.

To this end, this week Trinidad plans on showcasing some of her flavors: Apple Pie and Caramel Crunch. Each of the flavors would be made into a Freakshake. 🥧 🍏

The Apple Pie would be transformed into an Autumn Apple Avalanche shake. The dessert would include generous scoops of freshly churned ice cream 🍦blended with pieces of cinnamon pie crust, doused with a pecan sauce, and topped with a hefty chunk of browned butter apple bar and swirls of whipped cream🍨.
The flavors have been featured on the flyers she passed out the day before the yodel fest. Her assistants, twins Diego and Carlos are there to assist.

Her Cuban grandfather Papa Luis has decided to make Sprocket his home and has set himself up as a taxi driver in his classic 1951 Buick.

While retrieving a box of blueberries 🫐 from his car he discovers a dead body in the trunk. How did it get there? And who is the victim?

Quickly Trinidad calls the chief of police Cynthia Bigley, her ex-sister-in-law who arrives with Officer Alvin Chang. When they head to the car, they find the body missing. Who stole it and why?

Later the following day with the Yodel festival in full swing, Chief Bigley informs Trinidad about some evidence on the missing corpse. Apparently, the body turned up in a lake where the body-snatcher dumped it. More so the body belonged to a local named Forge Emberly.

Earlier there was an altercation between Forge and Mayor Ramona Hardwick at Bonnie’s inn. (Bonnie is also an ex-wife of Trinidad’s now ex-husband Gabe.)Though they both get along.

Forge planned on expanding the railriders route the previous fall, and Quinn– a guy Trinidad’s been seeing– had agreed to sell Forge his piece of land for that purpose.

Mayor Hardwick was opposed to his proposal which was denied. Forge was also running for mayor against Mayor Hardwick. Could this have been a motive?

When someone mentions in passing that he overheard Quinn threatening to kill Forge, Quinn becomes a suspect. It's up to Trinidad to help clear Quinn’s and her grandfather’s names.

An interesting cozy small-town mystery with fun characters including Trinidad’s Labrador, Noodles 🐩. Also filled with mouthwatering recipes such as Trinidad’s Browned Butter Apple Bar Recipe 🧈 and Cheery Cheery “Do-it-Yourself” Pickle Jar Icecream🍦

Thank you to Dana Mentink, NetGalley, and Poisoned Pen Press for the ARC of this book.

What a great addition to this series! Love the characters, they are like old friends, and the plot read easily from scene to scene.
Trinidad is busy trying to make her ice cream shop a success. Things are looking up, when she realizes Gabe is keeping a secret from her, causing all her insecurities from her ex to come flooding back. In the midst of all this, a body has been found, and things suddenly take an interesting turn. There are lots of suspects, some motives, and possibly a connection to a missing girl from 30 years ago. With lots of secrets floating around, it is hard to know who is telling the truth. But Trinidad, along with Pop and her "sisters" come up with some great answers. Can her amateur sleuthing actually help the chief solve this murder?
Already looking forward to the next book in this series.
I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I thoroughly enjoyed this mystery. The author does a good job of keeping the characters interesting. Ice cream and murder? Yes, please.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advance read.

I'm liking this series because it choses to go in a different direction than some cozies. Yes, you have the middle aged female main character who is starting anew in a quaint small town after a disasterous relationship, but it is doesn't use some of the usual ploys.

<spoiler>I especially like how the author doesn't pit the exes against each other. We frequently see that, but none of them knew about each other so I can never understand why we read about women attacking each other over a man when the man is at fault. Papa Luis, as the senior character, is competent and an asset, not used (usually well over used (Grandma Mazur after 26 (27?) books, anyone?)) to provide comic relief. I'd really like Trinidad to have a heart to heart with Papa so we know why he is really with her. It could just be he wants to make sure she's on her feet, but you'd think she'd ask.</spoiler>

The pacing is sometimes slow with a ton of detail about the townsfolk and Sprocket, but some of those details end up playing a big role in the end. However, you really can't solve the mystery based on the limited clues we are given.

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

Fun, quick and cozy mystery. Trinidad Jones is a likable character. The town is small and has that everyone knows everyone feeling. Overall good book.

#asprinkleintime#netgalley

Trinidad Jones finds herself with her sleuthing hat on again when her and Papa Luis find a body in his car that promptly disappears. Things aren't what they seem when an old cold case gets dragged into things.

Thank you #Netgalley for the advance reader copy of A Sprinkle in Time by Dana Mentink in exchange for an honest review. Trinidad Jones runs Shimmy and Shake Shop. Her dog likes the yodeling during the Alpenfest held during in Upper Sprocket in Eastern Oregon. Noodles whines and howls with the music. Trinidad's boyfriend, Quinn, is very opposed to Forge Emberly and his disregard of the creeks and forested areas in expanding his business. The mayor and council will not approve of his new ideas. Then later Trinidad and her Papa find something in the trunk of his car. A hand and fingers, white hair, oh no, time to call 911. Is this real? The body has disappeared!
Dana Mentink is a great writer. I really enjoyed reading this book. I look forward to trying the recipes at the end of the story.

Cute second book in a series. Trinidad is a good character, and I think over time she will become another favorite for me.
The ladies in the book share a unique history, and it's interesting to see how they bond.
I'm looking forward to watching this new series continue.

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle by Poisoned Pen Press and #NetGalley for my honest opinion. Opinions expressed are completely my own.


Quick, quaint, cozy read!

I liked visiting with Trinidad and Sprocket again. Trinidad's insecurities and worries about her business felt more realistic than in many cozy mysteries. The small-town rivalries, relationships, and tensions made for an interesting set of characters, too. I like how Trinidad and Gabe's other exes are growing closer, supporting each other!

The plotting was good, but two things bothered me. The clue in Felice's treasure jar was way too heavily foreshadowed, and I had no idea what railriders were until very late in the book, when it was explained. This may be common in some areas, but I wish Mentink had explained it earlier in the book.

Overall, an enjoyable read!

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

This book is the second in the series and I haven't read the first one, so my negative reaction may be due to lack of background with the story. However, I felt I had no sense of the main character, so I didn't feel invested in her journey. Also I felt the writing was noticeably weak. I wasn't grabbed by this.

This is a cozy mystery and a quick read. The characters are likable, and while reading, I hoped they would solve the mystery and be satisfied with the status quo. This book was sent to me by Netgalley electronically for review. These books are so great for vacation or holiday time...read in one setting...enjoy...try this one. I look forward to more books by this talented author.

When I think of cozy mysteries, I think of books just like this one, that gives all the feels, thrills and can satisfies just about every reader's heart. This is a perfect books to snuggle up with on any day. This is a new-to-me author that I enjoyed so much I went searching for book 1.

Generous Sprinkling Of Humour…
The second outing in the Shake Shop mystery series and murder has come to town when Papa Luis discovers more in his trunk than he expected. When the newly discovered corpse disappears Trinidad is on the case. With a gloriously crafted array of characters, a fun storyline and a generous sprinkling of humour this is an enjoyable read and a fitting addition to the series.