While this book is the second in the series, Allen does a good job of providing enough background information so readers new to the series don't feel like they're missing key elements/relationships from the first installment.

There is a lot to enjoy about this book, from the characters to the multiple storylines to various settings (A n ice cream shop and a castle? Yes, please!) The main storyline itself was engaging, and I liked how a few of the characters were also involved in "mysteries within the mystery". However, things did get convoluted at times which made following along a bit much. With that being said, the book was enjoyable overall. I plan on going back and reading the first book in the series.

Thanks so much to the author, St. Martin's Press, and Netgalley for the gifted advanced e-copy of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts. All opinions are entirely my own. { partner } All of my reviews can also be found on Instagram @Tackling_TBR and on my blog at tacklingtbr.home.blog

TW: murder, discussion of potentially predatory behavior

Y'all, is there anything better on a dreary day than a cozy mystery starring a former librarian? I really don't know that there is. There is just something about a cozy mystery this time of the year - especially one that talks about pumpkin spice ice cream as often as this one, and then gives you the recipe in the back of the book! I know what I'm doing on my next weekend.

This story was really fun, and a really easy mystery to jump into and feel invested in. It's got everything - eclectic characters, small town feel, cute pets, people who aren't all that they say they are, and a murder that ties them all together!

Overall I would absolutely recommend this book to folks who are looking for a cozy to help get them into the spirit of fall! But maybe stay away from it if you're afraid of bees. Lots of bees in this one. I would say that the best way to read this book would be somewhere where you can see the leaves changing, and with a hot glass of apple cider or mulled wine. Just really lean into the autumn breeze!

This was a wonderful mystery although at times it was easy to solve. There was not mention of mint chocolate so maybe the title should have been pumpkin spice since it was referred to quite frequently.

Thank you to St Martin's and NetGalley for the chance to read an early copy of this book! Apologies for the delay in sharing a review.

I enjoyed this mystery, though I think I preferred the first one and its world-building. The highlight of the book continued to be the inventive, delicious-sounding ice cream flavors, and my biggest complaint is that mint chocolate was not, to my recollection, one of the featured ones so I am confused about why it would be the title of the book.

When a high profile murder takes place, Riley is on the case! Readers will love the small town setting and the main character of Riley Rhodes, former CIA librarian and current ice cream shop manager. The story was well written and the characters were well rounded.

Mint Chocolate Murder is a delightful read. Riley, as the sleuth, is a former CIA librarian/operative who now manages her best friends ice cream store. The store "Udderly Delicious" is invited to take part in an art showing for the resident celebrity model who lives in a replica of a Scottish castle. Naturally a murder ensues and Riley is right in the midst of it. The story is filled with mystery upon mystery. It has quirky characters, a prima donna cat, and so much ice cream that the reader will be inspired to make (recipe included) the pumpkin spice flavor discussed throughout the book. A truly fun book with characters the reader will want to see again!

This was an enjoyable read. It was a little fun and the mystery was good. I loved the cats and the ice cream shop setting.

I'd highly recommend this to any cozy mystery fans.

Release Date: July 26, 2022

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Celebrating a successful summer at Udderly Delicious, Riley is excited to participate in Mull Moys fall arts festival! Maud Monaco, a former supermodel, is hosting an ice cream dream at the festival and hires Riley to provide the ice cream. Mauds art world friend come en mass including the infamous Adam Blasco, who has a penchant for becoming obsessed with the model he photographs. Everyone is speculating Maud invited him. When Adam is found dead, Riley can’t help but snoop and ask questions. Can she unravel the mint chocolate murder?

I enjoyed the world that @meriallenbooks created. I missed the first book but would happily go back and read it. This is the second book in the #icecreamshopmysteries series. I don’t know why it was called mint chocolate murder. Perish Pumpkin Spice or Pumpkin Spice Peril would have been a better title. The book was intriguing with a fun side story and I would recommend this book (and likely the series!)

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

#mintchocolatemurder #meriallen #bookstagram #cozymysteryseries #netgalleyreads #bookstagram #instareads #stmartinspress

Series #: Ice Cream Shop Mysteries #2
Narrator: Riley Rhodes, *former CIA librarian*???? What!
Location: Penniman, Conneticut
Sub-location: Udderly Delightful Ice Cream shop, Moy Mull's Fall Arts Festival
Animals: Rocky and Sprinkles, both cats
Theme: Ice cream
Recipes: No Churn Pumpkin Spice Ice Cream (why not mint chocolate?)
Magic?: No
Mystery notes: Lots of red herrings!
Notes on the puns of the title: Not a pun. Disqualified. Also has nothing to do with anything in the book.
Copaganda/police involvement: *A CIA LIBRARIAN???* Extremely weird. Other than that, no copaganda that I remember.

Lots of repetition in this book, which is great for me, a cozy mystery reader who kept setting this book down and picking it back up later. There's also a lot of twists and turns and interesting settings. Also, two cats! Three and a half stars from me, rounded up.

Riley Rhodes, formerly a CIA librarian, has settled in Penniman, CT and is running the Udderly Delightful Ice Cream shop…and she has scored a summer coup. Former supermodel Maud Monaco now owns Penniman’s Moy Mull castle, built by a Gilded Age millionaire. It’s an authentic Scottish castle, but Maud has transformed and repurposed it into an arts colony and is hosting a Fall Arts Festival. Udderly has been tapped to provide the unique treats for an ice cream social. Riley is looking forward to the festivities and the publicity for Udderly.

Things are going great until Adam Blasco, who has a featured exhibition at the festival and a complicated history with Maud, turns up dead. Blasco has made many enemies along his path to fame and there are plenty of suspects to choose from.

Riley gets involved and finds herself in real danger when she comes face to face with the killer, who has no qualms about killing again.

Author Meri Allen has created an interesting cast of characters, a mystery with plenty of twist, turns and suspects enough to keep you turning the pages to see if you’ve figured out whodunit. And there’s even a no-churn ice cream recipe to tempt your taste buds. Although, given the book is set in the fall and Riley spends a lot of time making pumpkin spice ice cream, maybe the title should’ve been Pumpkin Spice Murder!

Mint Chocolate Murder by Meri Allen
I have recently concluded that I don’t like cozies as much as I used to but this one was really good. I have not read the first book in this series so it took a bit to figure out who all the characters were. There seems to be a small town full of people the reader needs to know and I must admit that once in a while I had to stop and think about how someone fit in. But it really wasn’t a major issue.
I had someone else pegged for the murderer even though there was kind of a big clue early on so that was my fault. Still it was an enjoyable story and I like the cats. There seems to be a bit of an upcoming romance and that is okay too. The little mystery from a hundred-ish years ago was not a big surprise but it made a good little side story.
I might go back and read the first book but the TBR list is already pretty long. I have to agree with the person who said that mint chocolate ice cream doesn’t really figure into the story but the title is alliterative and frequently it’s the publisher and not the author who makes that kind of decision.
Thanks to Netgalley.

moy mull castle gave me whimsical, medieval vibes and i loved the premise of the festival and exhibit honoring the estate’s history. i enjoyed the set-up of this cozy murder but as interesting as the history of moy mull was, i felt that it pulled away from the main plot of this novel. i would be at the edge of my seat trying to figure out what riley had planned next but then my flow would be interrupted by the events that happened years ago. i will say, parts of the history ties into the murder but I wish it was incorporated in more of a seamless way.

this was my first murder in the “ice cream shop mysteries series” and i’m eager to read more from meri allen. not all cozy mysteries have a first person pov and i really enjoy this kind of set-up because you really get a glimpse into the amateur detective’s head. considering the title, i went into this novel assuming it’d be set around summer… but i was wrong. the plot gives off a cozy autumn feeling and nowhere does it mention mint chocolate chip ice cream. instead, the main focus seemed to be on riley’s halloween flavors, especially pumpkin spice! nonetheless, i thought this was a great start to this series and i can’t wait to see what else is in store for riley.

This was such a fun cozy mystery! It had a great mystery at its core, which is always important! Added to that, it had a great cast of characters with a fantastic setting and ice cream!!! I’m really looking forward to more in this series.

This is a terrific cozy mystery filled with interesting characters, a well-developed storyline, an intriguing mystery to solve, a great setting for the story to take place, and its made all the better by the addition of ice cream!🍦 Reilly Rhodes is co-owner of Udderly Delicious Ice Cream and has been hired by local celebrity, former model, and widow of a real life prince, Maud Monaco, to provide decadent ice cream for the grand opening of an exhibit of work by famous photographer, Adam Blasco. Of course the grand opening is being held at Maud's castle ... you read that correctly ... her castle.🏰 The event goes off well, although with a few upsets because the artist is not everyone's cup of tea, or I suppose cone of pumpkin spice ice cream would be more appropriate. There are more suspects than ice cream flavors and Reilly wants to put her experience from her former job to work trying to figure out whodunnit. She doesn't want to step on the toes of the police chief who happens to be the boyfriend of her friend and co-owner of Udderly but she just has to get to the bottom of what happened and why. This was a really great read and I look forward to another big scoop of mystery by Meri Allen. I was provided an advanced reader copy by NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Meri Allen continues her Ice Cream Shop mysteries with Mint Chocolate Mysttery. Udderly Delightful Ice Cream Shop has the contract to supply ice cream special dishes to a posh event at Moy Mull Castle,, an American take on a British castle. The ersatz castle has become home to an artists' group whose photographer ends up murdered in a locked dungeon. A thoroughly slimy character. Whodunit? What is the best ice cream flavour.

Usually love cozy murder mysteries but I really struggled to get through the book. I was not worth the effort - wasn't able to finish iy.

The second in this fun mystery series. I like Riley and the ice cream shop she runs in the quaint New England town of Penniman. The supporting characters (especially the cats!) ;-) are fun and the mystery was good and had a few twists that kept me guessing. If I have one complaint about this cozy mystery, it's the title. Call me picky but if you are going to title a book after an ice cream flavor, said flavor should at least be mentioned in the book. Instead, the flavor mentioned most often including in a recipe in the back was Pumpkin Spice (and I loathe pumpkin spice). Otherwise, it's a light fun read and I suggest you start with the first, The Rocky Road to Ruin.

Ice cream! Castles! Murder! All can be found in Mint Chocolate Murder. Who can ask for anything more? A nice addition to the Ice Cream Shop Mystery series starring former CIA Librarian Riley.
Riley and her friends are helping to cater a dinner at the castle for a brooding, mean, well-known photographer. You’re probably way ahead of me here, but a murder does occur at the castle. The real question is how? The victim was in a room where there is only one key and the door cannot be accessed, in or out, without it.
A nicely paced story worth the read if you’re a cozy person like me. Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the digital copy of this ARC.. All opinions are my own. This review can also be found on my Goodreads page..

Having not read the first book in this series I was worried I'd feel left out. Instead, I was delighted by the sweet town charm and eccentric characters. This was a fun, cozy, mystery that kept you guessing until the end. Im excited for the next book in the series.

Just finished reading the second book and the ice cream shop mystery series by Meri Allen and have to say I loved loved loved it. I loved how Riley and her local friends do their own sleuth thing to solve the murder of a local photographer, loved how the barn cats Sprinkles and Rocky get into various antics around the farm and enjoyed the mystery itself that left me on the edge of my seat. Highly recommend to all ice cream fans and cozy mystery fanatics.