Pint of No Return is the first book in the new Shake Shop Mysteries by Dana Mentink which features ice cream shop owner Trinidad Jones and her incredible monster milkshake creations.
Title: Pint of No Return
Author: Dana Mentink
Series: Shake Shop Mystery #1
First Published: May 25, 2021
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
Genres: Mystery,
Acquired: from the author
*** Thank you to the author, Dana Mentink, for providing me with an e-copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review. ***
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.
That is, until she discovers her neighbour, Kevin, 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.
Murder, Mystery and Monster Shakes
I have a pretty big sweet tooth, especially for frozen treats – ice creams, gelatos, sorbets, etc but I have never really had an itch to jump on the monster milkshake bandwagon. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE normal milkshakes and I can’t help but gasp in awe whenever one of my food-loving friends posts a photo of a monster milkshake but I have never felt tempted to order one myself – I have a feeling that I wouldn’t be able to finish it, but it sure would make for a great photo and story!
That being said, I still love the idea of monster shakes and I was excited to dive into Dana Mentink’s new story. The protagonist, Trinidad is a pretty great character and I warmed up to her almost immediately. She’s 36 years old and trying to put her life together after her divorce from Gabe Bigley, who’s currently in jail. Being the generous man that he is, Gabe left Trinidad his restaurant, Gabe’s Hot Dogs. So, on a whim, Trinidad packs up her things and her Labrador dog named Noodles, and moves to Upper Sprocket, a tiny eastern Oregon town, where she promptly changed the restaurant into the Shimmy and Shake Shop, serving ice cream and monster shakes.
Did I mention that Gabe was generous? He was also generous with his affections and has been married (and divorced) three times. He left his first wife, Bonnie, some land and an old train car, which she turned in a B&B. Trinidad was his second wife, and got the restaurant. Gabe’s third ex-wife, Juliette, received a storage unit business. So, as Trinidad soon finds out, all three of Gabe’s ex-wives now live in Upper Sprocket. Add to that, Gabe’s older sister, Cynthia, is the Chief of Sprocket PD. Yikes.
While I thought that all these close connections would lead to a lot of drama, they really didn’t, not in a negative way. After a bit of an awkward start, all the women seem to get along, and Trinidad and Juliette even start to become friends. So when Juliette is a suspect in Kevin’s murder (they were dating) Trinidad steps in to help clear her friend’s name (ex-wives apparently have to stick together!)
I love the unique characters, especially the main character, Trinidad Jones
What really captured my interest with this book is that everything is pretty new and unique (to me, anyway). Trinidad is a refreshing character and her monster shake inventions sound absolutely drool-worthy! I especially loved the idea of the Key Lime Pie Freakshake – graham cracker crumbles, white chocolate striped shortbread cookies and a couple of lime-candy twists, all with a citrus ice cream base. YUM! As someone who often makes her own ice cream, I love playing around with new flavour ideas myself so I can fully appreciate Trinidad’s creativity.
But nothing spoke to me more than this one line in the book: “I had to substitute for the key limes, which is what we used in Miami when Papa Luis and I used to make it. You gotta squeeze a lot of those teeny limes to get enough juice, let me tell you.” No, you don’t need to tell me! I once baked a key lime pie from scratch (my husband’s favourite dessert) and I squeezed A BAG of tiny key limes BY HAND to get enough juice for the pie filling. By the time I was done my hands were sore and my fingers were all wrinkly from being in contact with the juice for so long. Never again.
But putting the ice cream creations aside, there were lots of other quirky and unique things that I haven’t seen in other cozy mysteries before (of course, there are literally hundreds of thousands of books out there so I’m obviously just speaking of my own reading experience). For example, the ex-husband is in jail while his sister is the chief of police? Or all three wives getting along like the best of friends? How about a love interest that runs a nut farm (you read that right, he grows and sells nuts)?
As for the. mystery itself, I didn’t have too hard of a time figuring out who did it, and the resolution probably won’t surprise many veteran cozy myster readers, but honestly, the journey to get to the end is a lot of fun and you won’t be disappointed. The pacing is pretty even and I was never bored nor did I feel that things were too rushed.
And while I still have a big of trepidation about ordering a monster shake, I didn’t have any qualms about Dana Mentink’s Pint of No Return. It was a great series start and I can’t wait to see the characters develop even more as the series continues.
Read Pint of No Return for yourself
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