Title: Pint of No Return
Author: Dana Mentink
Series: Shake Shop Mysteries #1
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
Release Date: May 25, 2021
Pages: 271
Book Source: ARC
“After her divorce from her thrice-married embezzler husband, Trinidad Jones is finally ready for a fresh start. So when she’s left one of ex’s businesses in Upper Sprocket, Oregon, she decides to pack up her dog, cash in her settlement, and open her dream business: the Shimmy and Shake Shop, introducing the world to her monster milkshakes. And even with a couple sticky situations underway, namely that the other two ex-wives also call Sprocket home, Trinidad’s life seems to be churning along smoothly.
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That is, until she discovers her neighbor, the Popcorn King, head down in his giant popcorn kettle. When one of Trinidad’s fellow ex-wives is accused of the murder and Upper Sprocket descends into mayhem, it’s going to take a supersized scoop of courage to flush out the killer.” – Amazon
Kim’s Review
Pint of No Return by Dana Mentink is a fantastic start to a new dessert cozy mystery!
With cozies I either enjoy the series because of how descriptive they are of the town and hobby or because of the great characters, and Mentink does great in both areas, but really shines in the character development.
Trinidad, Quinn, Doug and Noodles make a fantastic detecting team, and I wouldn’t mind a future romance with Trinidad and Quinn because Quinn seems like a wonderful man. Doug is on the spectrum, and I think more books could use a wider set of diverse characters.
Then there’s the other two ex-wives, Juliette and Bonnie, although we don’t get to know them much in this book, especially Bonnie, I see so much potential for them in future books. The twins, Carlos and Diego… having intelligent and amusing teens will be fun in future books. And Papa Luis is awesome! I love how kind and supportive he is, and including a multi-generational element to the series is a great idea.
So Mentink really sets up a great cast of diverse and interesting characters.
The way she describes Upper Sprocket is delightful and it is a town any cozy mystery fan would love to visit or move to. Then there’s all the yummy ice cream and Freakshakes! If I lived in that town I would have to walk everywhere to try and keep some of the weight off.
As for the mystery itself, there were lots of red herrings and various storylines that could have the reader continually changing their mind as to who the killer is… I know I was. And I really enjoyed the final outcome with what the treasure ended up being and becoming.
I’m already looking forward to book two in the Shake Shop Mysteries and recommend you give Pint of No Return a read!
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