The Rocky Road to Ruin

I absolutely devoured this book, as well as some ice cream, too.
Riley Rhodes is a terrific character. Her down to earth style, her personality, and her often devil may care attitude brings a breath of fresh air to this genre.
The story opens with Riley heading to a funeral for her best friend's mom.
Things take a bizarre twist when her friends brother arrives, and tension between them is obvious.
When a sudden death shakes them to the core, Riley can't help but look for the answers and try to save her friend and the family business.
I'm excited to read more in this brand new series.

The Rocky Road to Ruin is such a fun cozy mystery! I could not put the book down until the very end.

Rily has returned home for a funeral. The travel blogger and librarian at the CIA now has a decision to make. Her and her brother must decide what to do with their inheritance. But trouble is brewing and soon her brother's body is found in the barn the morning after the funeral.

Twists and turns make this well-crafted character cozy one I highly recommend.

What a delight!! A highly recommended first purchase for fiction collections where cozy mysteries are popular.

If I could give this more than five stars I would! I LOVED it and can’t wait for more!
Riley Rhodes, travel food blogger and librarian at the CIA. I mean can you get anymore perfect for a cozy MC. She heads home to attend the funeral of her best friends mom. Unfortunately, her best friends brother is murdered. It was fantastic!
#therockyroadtoruin#netgalley

This is the first book in the brand new cozy mystery series, An Ice Cream Shop Mystery, by Meri Allen.This is a a fantastic start to a new series, and an intriguing way to start the summer. After all, who doesn’t like mysteries with cats and ice cream, especially when the author shared a few ice cream recipes?

I enjoyed how Meri gave life to her characters. Riley Rhodes care for others shines through as she tries to be there for, and protect, her good friend Caroline who has just lost her adopted mom and adopted brother, Mike. While Mike, was a conniver, and out to sell their mom’s property whether Caroline wanted to or not—his murder casts plenty of suspicion on Caroline, and Riley is doing her best to find out who killed him.

From early on, I had pegged a certain person in this book as the one most likely to kill Mike. As the book went along, more suspects came into play, and I was kind of right. I had some of the reason in mind, but the entire picture took a while to be revealed as Riley continued her investigation. The mystery was well done and neatly wrapped up by the end.

I also enjoyed the two cats in the book: Sprinkles and Rocky. Having owned many cats in my life, I know that each one is a treasure and has their own personalities. The antics of these two add an extra special element to this story.

The three things any girl would want: sunflowers, ice cream and a murder to solve? Join Riley as she returns home to help her best friend after the death of her mother. But everything's not as it seems and to find the murderer, Riley will have to dig into the past.

A perfect cozy mystery! Meri Allen's (aka Shari Randall) The Rocky Road to Ruin was an absolute pleasure to read, and I honestly couldn't put it down. One of those books that as you're reading you tell yourself you're going to read one more chapter and then go do something else but before you realize it you've read 10 chapters and still can't stop, lol. CIA librarian and travel food blogger Riley Rhodes has returned home to Penniman, Connecticut for a funeral, but then when her best friend's brother is killed that same night, Riley decides to put down temporary roots in her hometown to help bestie Caroline clear her name and save her family farm from being gobbled up by a development company, all while running Udderly Delicious, the farm's fabulous ice cream shop! I didn't figure out whodunit until the big reveal (always a plus!), and there are soooo many great characters that I hope to learn more about in future books in the series!!! I don't want to give too much away but seriously pick this book up, you won't be disappointed! A+++

*Also, I am really looking forward to making the sunflower ice cream recipe included in the back of the book - yum!!!

I received this book for free for an honest review from netgalley #netgalley

So cute. I love the setting. For me the setting is almost as important as the plot maybe even more so so the setting was very important to me in this book. The plot did progress very smoothly.

RIley Rhodes is a librarian for the CIA (perfect job, right?) when she's called home to Penniman, CT for a funeral. The deceased was the mother of Riley's BFF Caroline and the owner of Udderly Delicious Ice Cream Shop, and Riley dives into the ice cream business headfirst. But it's not all cones and sprinkles - Caroline's brother Mike turns up dead soon after, and it's up to Riley to find the killer.

I usually end up reading cozy mystery series out of order, so I was really excited to start this one with book one! I loved Riley and Caroline so much - I wish I could be friends with them in real life. And this ice cream - OMG. Udderly Delicious makes a signature sunflower ice cream for the town festival, and I need it in my life! There's a recipe in the back of the book, no worries.

Cozy mysteries need a fun cast of supporting characters and this book was no exception - one of my favorites was Brandon, a shop worker whose inattention to recipes leads to new ice cream flavor Sugar High, which takes the small town by storm. And of course there are adorable and quirky cats to keep our protagonists company.

If you're looking to put a smile on your face this summer, grab some ice cream and read this book! 4.5 stars rounded to 5.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for providing an ARC on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

cozy-mystery, law-enforcement, amateur-sleuth, murder, murder-investigation, neighbors, family-dynamics, friendship, inheritance, greed, Connecticut, small-business, small-town, rivalry, secrets*****

Just reading about all the flavors of ice cream had my addiction in full swing! Riley has come back to her home town to give support to her best friend, gets involved in murder, works hard in her friend's late mother's ice creamery, decides to leave her old jobs, and learns to sleuth. Oh, and adopts a very useful kitten, and saves a dachshund from a fire. The characters are very engaging, the plot is solid and moves along quickly, there are just enough twists and red herrings, and not a few laughs. I loved it and am glad that there will be more!
I requested and received a temporary digital ARC of this book from St. Martin's Press via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

This new series throws so much in that you don’t think it would work, but it does; she’s a CIA librarian. Is that even a thing? But then it doesn’t go more into it except to tell you how her last mission went south and so now she’s home helping her bestie after her mom passes. Except then her brother is murdered. Cue the mystery and the red herrings! Oh, and she’s currently running the ice cream shop bestie’s mom used to run. Let me condense my review to this; fun, fun, fun! She actually solves the mystery but looking into things and following clues, not doing stupid stuff to endanger herself. Nice cast of characters surrounding her, a little bit of strife in her life with her reflect stepmother, cute animals, and ice cream. Who doesn’t love ice cream? Can’t wait for book 2!

This book is part of the Ice Cream Shop mystery series.
Riley Rhodes is a travel and food blogger as well as being a librarian at the CIA. She returns to her childhood home in Connecticut for a funeral, but manages to get in visits with old friends as well as her father. Her friend, Caroline, has, along with her brother Mike, inherited the local ice cream shop as well as the family farm.
The siblings don’t see eye-to-eye on how things should go. Mike wants to sell the farm; Caroline doesn’t. When Mike turns up dead, his sister is the first suspect that comes to mind as far as the police are concerned.
Riley knows that Caroline isn’t guilty of murder, but she must figure out what all of the strange things going on in Penniman mean and if the answer to the crime can be found there.

The first in a .wonderful new cozy mystery series that starts at a perfect time - ice cream season. I'll bet you won't be able to read this Ice Cream Shop Mystery without going out for an ice cream.
Riley Rhodes, past CIA Librarian and travel food blogger has come back to Penniman, Connecticut for the funeral of her best friend', Caroline's mother. As a Connecticut gal born and bred, I loved the charming, rural small town setting alive with dairy farms, sunflower fields and the Udderly Delicious Ice Cream Shop. I also enjoyed reading about the local " mentions" such as the Block Island Ferry. It isn't long before the country surroundings serenity is broken by a murder.
I loved many things about this book.The characters are engaging and I connected with Riley right off the bat. qLearning about all that goes into the process of making ice cream was very interesting and more than I'd thought. There also was a foodie trail running through the book, native tomato sandwiches, pastry, etc. I liked Riley's Dad who owned a local bookstore in town.And last but definitely the most important was the mystery itself which was quite a ride; faced paced with a few red herrings. I changed my thoughts several times regarding who the murderer might be. I can hardly wait for the 2nd book.
Thanks to NetGalley, the author and St Martin's Press for the opportunity to read and review this great book which is to be published on 7/27/21

This is the first book in a new series and I really enjoyed it! I loved the way the author describes everything and everyone to the point that you can practically visualize the scenes as the story goes along. The storyline was good and the mystery entertaining. This is a strong start to a new series and I can’t wait for the next book!

THE ROCKY ROAD TO RUIN, the first book in the brand-new Ice Cream Shop Mysteries, by Meri Allen, is a delightful start to a delicious series! As the story unfolded, I greatly enjoyed that the protagonist, Riley Rhodes, isn’t your typical, stumble through an investigation, amateur sleuth. She’s not only a librarian with great researching skills, but she worked for the CIA until an overseas misfortune sidelined her. Heading home to support her best friend, Caroline, who’d lost her mother, Riley pitches in to run Caroline’s family ice cream shop. Ms. Allen has an admirable descriptive voice and I couldn’t help but want to visit the charming setting of Penniman, Connecticut. She not only captures the beauty of the location but also the yummy tastes and aromas of the Udderly Delicious Ice Cream Shop. The author has developed appealing characters – both human and animal alike – and I especially loved Sprinkles, the cat who rules the household. The quirky feline steals each scene she inhabits!

There are multiple mystery threads running throughout the book, from long ago to current day, and the author effortlessly weaves them together into a cohesive story. I was so charmed by the story, I decided to sit back and enjoy the read as it unfolded instead of playing armchair detective. Either way, the mysteries and subplots are well-paced and entertaining scenes will keep the reader intrigued with lots of suspects and well-placed clues. Cozy mystery fans will drool over this new series by Meri Allen, who also writes as Shari Randall.

There are so many mouthwatering mentions of udderly delicious frozen concoctions throughout the story and I was pleased to see that there are recipes at the back of the book.

I was provided with an advance copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

A nice start to a new cozy series! Riley's come home to Connecticut to be with her friend Caroline after the death of Caroline's mother, a much loved member of the community. Caroline's brother Mike almost immediately tries to convince Caroline to sell the family farm and ice cream shop and then- he's found pitchforked to death. Yikes! Riley, our intrepid heroine, is a librarian at CIA, which is irrelevant to the story but an interesting angle for the character, and she, of course, starts to poke around for answers even as she runs the ice cream shop. I know this is meant to be a mystery (and it has good twists) but frankly I was equally engaged with the mechanics of the ice cream (I really want some of that sunflower!). The others characters are equally well done (I liked Paulette), the red herrings abundant, and the answers make sense. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. I'm looking forward to the next one. Don't miss the recipes at the end.