Reviewed: 25 December 2023

The Rocky Road to Ruin

by: Meri Allen

An Ice Cream Shop Mystery - Book 1

Rating: (3.5/5)

Ice cream saves the day - sorta.

I believe this is the first time reading this author. I like that not-so-typical backstory for the amateur detective. I was drawn to the story because of the cover and title - Ice Cream, need I say more (LOL).

There were a few things that I didn’t quite understand, but they are not material to the mystery though. The cats rule the house, but that probably is not a surprise. There are a couple of subplots that make the story interested and rounds but have little bearing on the mystery.

We kick off the story with Riley returning home for a funeral, but that is not the mystery she ends up investigating. At times I felt like Caroline should have been more involved given that she was directly impacted. However, with the number of characters, there was never a lack of interactions.

I don’t think I am giving too much away by saying there are some good suspects. It was an enjoyable read with lots of tasty sound ice cream breaks thrown in. I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

Happy Reading!

Release Date: 27-July-2021

Cozy Mystery, Audiobook, Female Sleuth

Plot Summary

Justice will be swirled by amateur sleuth Riley Rhodes in the first in Meri Allen's brand-new mystery series!

Riley Rhodes, travel food blogger and librarian at the CIA, makes a bittersweet return to her childhood home of Penniman, Connecticut - land of dairy farms and covered bridges - for a funeral. Despite the circumstances, Riley's trip home is sprinkled with reunions with old friends, visits to her father's cozy bookshop on the town green, and joyful hours behind the counter at the beloved Udderly Delicious Ice Cream Shop. It feels like a time to help her friend Caroline rebuild after her mother's death, and for Riley to do a bit of her own reflecting after a botched undercover mission in Italy. After all, it's always good to be home.

But Caroline and her brother Mike have to decide what to do with the assets they've inherited - the ice cream shop as well as the farm they grew up on - and they've never seen eye to eye. Trouble begins to swirl as Riley is spooked by reports of a stranger camping behind the farm and by the odd behavior of the shop's mascot, Caroline's snooty Persian, Sprinkles. When Mike turns up dead in the barn the morning after the funeral, the peace and quiet of Penniman seems upended for good. Can Riley find the killer before another body gets scooped?