A Killer Sundae

A Twisty Mystery

Dollycas's Thoughts

It's time for the annual Harvest Time Festival in Chagrin Falls, Ohio and Crewse Creamery owner Bronwyn Crewse is excited to put her new ice cream truck into service. She has loaded up the truck's freezers with all kinds of treats and is dishing up sundaes too. Her beautiful new truck has even drawn the attention of the local television station. The reporter and Win were in school together. They were never really friends but Win is very aware of the woman's nut allergy and took all the precautions when preparing her hot fudge sundae.

Later the woman collapses and dies right in the middle of the Hot Air Balloon Glow and her boyfriend accuses Win of serving her nuts to cause her death. Win knows she did no such thing.

It seems the reporter was still as abrasive in her adult life as she was back in school so there had to be more suspects out there.

In a strange twist, the boyfriend that accused Win now wants her help finding the real killer. She tells him she has no intention of investigating but he continues to come back every day trying to change her mind. Her friends Maisie and Riya are also pressuring Win to investigate for their own reasons. So Win bows to the pressure and starts trying to get the scoop on the killer.

Win continues to be one of my cozy faves. She is smart and funny with a huge heart. She has been through a lot since returning home to take over Crewse Creamery but is driven to make the family's ice cream business a rousing success. Getting the food truck to take her ice cream on the road for all kinds of events has turned out to be a great idea even though it put her on the scene of the crime. Her updates to the shop have helped to increase business as well. I love the relationship she has with her grandfather. Their morning meetings are inspirational. She has his full support and he helps her in any way he can. He also has a new friend and that just warmed by heart.

This story had other members of her family stepping in too to be sure both the truck and the shop was fully staffed. Her brother Bobby definitely has issues that need to be addressed. Of course, Maisie and Riya play vital roles in the story too but Maisie started out really rubbing me the wrong way. Even the chickenpox couldn't keep this woman in check. She was so bossy and pushy. I mean she is an "expert sleuth" because of all the television shows she watches but this time her antics were more grating than funny. I was intrigued by a new hire Win made. I hope he returns in the next book.

The author did whip up a very twisty mystery. There were a lot of dead ends and true clues were hard to pin down. Win makes a visit that took a lot of strength and that made me like her even more. That visit started to give her investigation a better focus and drove the story to a very exciting reveal that validated my theory. A theory I almost threw by the wayside a few chapters earlier.

While some of the characters really pushed my buttons A Killer Sundae was a very entertaining and enjoyable read. Ms. Collette making Win a reluctant sleuth this time made for a very captivating story.

I am very excited about the next book in this series. Win has been asked to participate in an event that in my neck of the woods is usually associated with wine, but let me tell you if it featured ice cream I would be pushing people out of the way to be first in line.