This book kicks off a charming cozy mystery series set in an ice cream shop—with a fabulous cast of quirky characters.Recent MBA grad Bronwyn Crewse has just taken over her family’s ice cream shop in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, and she’s going back to basics. Win is renovating Crewse Creamery to restore its former glory, and filling the menu with delicious, homemade ice cream flavors—many from her … flavors—many from her grandmother’s original recipes. But unexpected construction delays mean she misses the summer season, and the shop has a literal cold opening: the day she opens her doors an early first snow descends on the village and keeps the customers away.
To make matters worse, that evening, Win finds a body in the snow, and it turns out the dead man was a grifter with an old feud with the Crewse family. Soon, Win’s father is implicated in his death. It’s not easy to juggle a new-to-her business while solving a crime, but Win is determined to do it. With the help of her quirky best friends and her tight-knit family, she’ll catch the ice cold killer before she has a meltdown…
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Fun! Fresh! Fabulous! Abby Collette has crafted a delicious addition to the cozy mystery world with her superbly written A Deadly Inside Scoop. Delightful characters and a puzzler of a plot kept me turning pages until the very end. I can’t wait for my next visit to the Crewse Creamery for another decadent taste.
Warning: Read this book = Crave Ice Cream!
Before we even talk murder and blizzards, know this: if you’re a simple vanilla or chocolate ice cream lover, this book will make you reconsider your ice cream repertoire. Collette’s creative use of fruit, cakes, and mix-ins made me hungrier with each new flavor. Recipes in the back of the book include snow ice cream, pumpkin spice roll, cherry amaretto chocolate chunk, and caramel corn ice cream.
When Bronwyn (Win) Crewse moves home to the village of Chagrin Falls, Ohio, and restores her family’s ice cream shop to its previous level of reputation within the community, she’s willing to devote plenty of hard work to make it succeed. Unfortunately after months of renovations, planning, and testing family heirloom recipes, an early first snow spoils opening day.
As if zero customers wasn’t bad enough, later that evening Win finds a body in the snow. Soon Win and her two best friends become amateur sleuths splitting their time between investigating the murder and their real jobs. In this village, everyone has a motive to kill the dead man, including members of Win’s own large family. The resulting mystery is complicated. Past crimes factor into present conflicts until it becomes tough to tell who’s telling the truth.
A Deadly Inside Scoop is a fun beginning to a new series. Win’s character is hard working, bright, and curious (although sometimes that causes trouble) and her friends are funny and quirky. I most enjoyed meeting her parents and coworkers, especially her close relationship with her PopPop. Since this is the first book, the author spends time letting us get to know how their family history intertwines with the village history.
I’ve never been to Cleveland and learned a lot about how such a small village could be part of the big city. There really is a Chagrin Falls, Ohio and there’s even a shop on the falls in real life. Check out Abby’s blog to see photos of the real store she used for her fictional ice cream shop.
I enjoyed reading this first book in a new series. Win has returned home and has remodeled and reopened the family’s ice cream parlor. Opening day has a snow storm and a dead body. When her father is the prime suspect she sets out to solve the murder with the help of her best friend. I really liked the small town setting and the ice cream parlor. I also enjoyed the relationship Win has with her family esp her grandfather. The mystery was good but I was able to solve it. The solution did make sense. There are some wonderful ice cream recipes in the back. I look for word to reading the next book in the series. Enjoy
Bronwyn “Win” Crewse is ready to reopen Crewse Creamery, the ice cream parlor founded by her grandparents in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, after some renovations. Unfortunately, opening day sees an early October snow storm and no customers. However, Win’s day gets even worse when she stumbles upon a dead body after she’s closed the shop for the day. The man turns out to be someone who crossed paths with Win’s family years ago, and not for the better. Before Win knows it, the police are looking at her father as the killer. Now, Win needs to figure out what really happened so she can clear him of a crime she knows he didn’t commit. Can she do that and get customers into the ice cream parlor?
I love ice cream, so that was a draw to this series, and the ice cream descriptions definitely made me drool. The delicious sounding recipes at the end will help with that. The mystery started out a little slowly. It did eventually get going, and we had some good suspects and twists before Win figured everything out. The characters were a mixed bag. I loved Win, and her family is wonderful as well. I especially appreciated the close relationship she has with both her parents and her grandfather. Her friends were more caricatures than fully developed characters, and as a result, they amused me at times and annoyed me at others. I can see them getting more developed as the series goes along, however. This is still a tasty treat, and I can see it developing into a favorite series for many.
Win (aka Bronwyn) is excited to be recreating her memories of the family creamery from when she was young. She has her MBA, a love of her grandmother’s unique ice cream flavors, and dreams of her own flavors. And a dead body. One that somehow could involve a member of her family.
It’s hard not to cheer for Win as she pursues her dreams and the good memories. And if she can prove her father or mother didn’t kill the man who took advantage, then she and her friends will do so. This was a fun read. I for one never had any trouble eating ice cream in the winter, though I tend to stick to the basic flavors. If you like cozy mystery, family owned businesses, and a bit of humor and romance, you’ll enjoy this book.
FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book in the hopes that I would post an honest review. This has not affected the content of my review in any way.
*I received a free copy of this book which I voluntarily chose to write an honest review for.
A fantastic start to what is going to be a wonderful culinary cozy. I am lactose intolerant to ice cream is not my usual go to snack but by the end of this book I was craving some so badly. We get to meet Bronwyn just as she is about to re-open the family ice cream shop after a huge remodel she did once she got to take over. This is a nerve wracking endeavor which is just made worse when a snow storm ruins opening day. To make herself fell better Win decides to collect fresh snow from by the falls to make ice cream with. Her plan is derailed when she finds a dead body instead. When her dad becomes a main suspect she finds herself asking lots of questions and getting into to trouble with the help of some friends. Smooth writing that really brings the story to life while taking the reader along for the ride. Made for a great mystery. I look forward to book two. I totally loved it so I give it 5/5 stars.
Dollycas’s Thoughts
First of all, it is never too cold for ice cream, in Ohio or Wisconsin or anywhere!!
Crewse Creamery is a family business and recent MBA grad Bronwyn “Win” Crewse has been handed the reins to bring the ice cream shop back to its glory days using her grandmother’s recipes while adding a few of her own. Unfortunately, her opening day was pushed past the summer months and the day she actually opens the snow is flying. So Win decides to embrace it by using her grandmother’s recipe to make Snow Ice Cream. While out gathering the snow she needs she discovers a body of a dead man in the snow. A man that has a bad history with her family and she soon learns many others. She, her friends, and her family, all join in to freeze out the killer and put them on ice for good.
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I loved this story!!
Set in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, just outside of Cleveland seems like the ideal place for a cozy mystery series. An area that could be ripe for all kinds of drama. An ice cream parlor theme is just plain delicious too!
Win is a true treasure. She is heartwarming, intelligent, with a great head on her shoulders. Her family is close, but she has a special relationship with her PopPop, which speaks volumes about them both. Maisie Solomon has been her best friend since kindergarten, but that girl is off her rocker, watching too many crime shows, and reading too many mysteries has her coming up with some theories that are way out there. Friend Riya brought her owns ideas and those didn’t go well either. All the core characters Ms. Collette introduced are strong, age and ethnically diverse, and very well-developed for the first book in a series, but she has left them with plenty of room to grow. We also have a regal feline resident at the ice cream shop which is just like a cherry on the top of my sundae!
The mystery was marvelous and I love following along while Win did her sometimes unorthodox and sometimes illegal snooping. The suspect list seemed to grow each step of the way instead of really eliminating anyone for quite a while. It also brought what could be a romantic interest for Win, and maybe even PopPop. I was completely captivated and entertained from beginning to end.
A Deadly Inside Scoop is a truly tasty debut for this series. It strikes all my cozy boxes and then some. It also has recipes in the back of the book!!! For these reasons and more, this book will be on my Best Reads List of 2020. I am craving Book 2!!
How can a new cozy series that features ice cream be bad? It can’t! In fact, it is downright delicious and the recipes at the end will have you pulling out an ice cream maker to make some for your own home.
Bronwyn Crewse, AKA Win, is our protagonist and amateur sleuth. She has recently returned to Chagrin Falls from NY and is reopening her grandparent’s ice cream shop. This shop has a history in that town and many have fond memories of her grandparents and the ice cream. The relationship with PopPop is heartwarming since he has been waiting for Win to come back and run the shop. Win’s parents are a bit overprotective of her since she is a girl and the baby of the family. It isn’t too surprising to see that trait from her parents or even her older brothers – and there are three of those!
Win is not on her own, she has two close friends – Maisie and Riva. Riva is a no-nonsense type of gal and you better watch out if you get on her bad side. Maisie is something of a free spirit and I’m not really sure what to make of her character and I think she is something of a loose cannon. She tended to jump in feet first without thinking things through and could potentially put them in harms way. I think this line from the book sums up Maisie quite well and is the thoughts of one of Win’s brother, James:
“He thought Maisie was a bundle of fireworks hovering over an open flame. He said no one would ever know when her fuse would catch fire or what direction she’d take off in. She was festive, he said, but potentially dangerous.”
The mystery is well thought out and while there are several characters to suspect of being the killer, the true killer might come as a surprise. I know I didn’t suspect this person but thought there was something strange about their actions. Now we know why!
I enjoyed the nod to the original Pink Panther movie with characters using some of their names like Peter Sellers and David Nivens.
There is a potential budding romance with a former police officer turned law professor who goes by the nickname O. He has his eye on Win and I think she might have some interest in him too despite her protests. I am anxious to see how this might play out. I also wonder about the police detective and if he might be interested in Win or if he was just working with her to get information? Only time will tell.
The only thing I thought was really odd was that Win called her parents mommy and daddy. Most people I know shorten it to mom and dad especially as they get older.
This is an enjoyable start to a new series and I suggest giving it a whirl. I am tempted to try the recipes at the end of the book as they all sound delicious! I just need an ice cream maker.
We give this book 4 paws up.
The first in a new cozy mystery series, A Deadly Inside Scoop has all the elements of a good cozy book!
1. The setting is great. Chagrin Falls, Ohio, is a quaint little area on the outskirts of Cleveland. It has small town charm and appeal and the residents have known each other for a long time. Very few secrets stay hidden here.
2. The main character is an amateur detective. Win, after finding a dead body, is notably shaken that such a thing occurred in her hometown. Things only grow worse for her when she discovers her own father is a primary suspect. Determined not to let her father be charged for a crime that she knows (or at least hopes) he didn’t commit, Win decides to look into the matter on her own.
3. Of course, there is a little romantic tension thrown in for good measure. It seems Win has two potential prospects for romance in the future. Both are likable characters and each has his own appeal for different reasons. To be clear though – the romance is just a backdrop to the plot and doesn’t really develop which was refreshing.
4. There’s a shop cat! Felice’s introduction is simply the best. “And there she was, Rivkah’s cat. She should have been called Your Highness. Her white coat flowed as she pranced down the steps and across the kitchen floor with her short, chubby legs, her plume tail swaying. She disappeared into the front of the store without even throwing a “meow” our way.” Felice is a star and everyone loves her.
5. Finally, Win is taking over the family ice cream shop. What’s a cozy without some sort of food? The book ends with some recipes that are used in the book. Great bonus for ice cream lovers!
All in all, this was a really good book. Some bits were a little slow and the mystery itself was not too involved but A Deadly Inside Scoop makes a great first entry into a new series. I look forward to reading the next one and seeing where it goes from here!
Recommended to anyone who likes cozies.
I really wanted to like this book but it just didn’t work for me. However, it had a super cute cover!
You can check out my booktube video review at https://youtu.be/I9LVNQ1OKZE
or read my review on my blog at https://lisasiefert.com/book-review-a-deadly-inside-scoop-by-abby-collette-an-ice-cream-parlor-mystery/
This was a very enjoyable cozy mystery ! This story is about Win Crewes, the newest manager of her family’s ice cream shop. The cast of characters is fun and this is a great start to a new series!
I won’t go into the plot, you can get that from the jacket. I just really enjoyed the family of Win – including her two best friends. I thought the story was interesting and kept me guessing until the end.
I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a fun cozy mystery. I won a copy of this book in a Goodreads giveaway, but the opinions are all my own.
Bronwyn (Win) Crewse is very happy to be home in Chagrin Falls, Ohio. After a health scare that proved to be easily treatable, Win relocated permanently from her marketing job in New York and undertook the task of renovating the family ice cream shop and reopening it. On the day of the reopening, snow falls in Chagrin Falls, and no customers come to the store. While walking by the falls that night trying to devise ways to bring in business, Win stumbles over a dead body in the snow – who turns out to be a man who had wronged her family years ago. When her beloved father becomes the major suspect, Win investigates.
This is a great start to a delicious series. Win has a very close-knit family, and I enjoyed getting to know all of them – her mom and dad, three brothers, and her grandfather PopPop. Win’s grandmother Kay was the driving force behind the ice cream shop and even though she has passed on when this story begins, she is still a presence in the story. Win also has two very quirky friends, Riya and Maisie, who have her back and hilariously help out on a “stakeout.”
The inhabitants and shopkeepers of Chagrin Falls are also fun characters in this mystery, and I really hope to see more of them in subsequent stories. The entire town is one close knit community where everybody has known everybody for decades. The mystery is also multi layered and there are plenty of suspects. I didn’t figure it out until the very end.
Last but certainly not least, author Abby Collette serves up mouth-watering descriptions of the ice cream flavors and cakes and desserts in the shop. Thankfully, she also includes several ice cream recipes in the back of the book. I can’t wait to try them, and I can’t wait for the next book in the series, A Game of Cones.
A Deadly Inside Scoop by Abby Collette is SO MUCH FUN, and I had such a great time reading it. I’m a big fan of the cozy mystery genre and this made for a great start to the Ice Cream Parlor series. It is lighthearted, entertaining, and pleasantly surprising, especially since I did not have the culprit figured out. Bronwyn (Win) was such a great character as was her friend Maisie. I loved watching them blunder through their investigation of who killed the man Win found dead, and there were lots of parts that had me laughing out loud.
I listened to the audio, and the narrator Chandra Skyye did such a great job that I really hope she’ll be back to narrate the next book in this series. She was so easy to listen to and she really made the perfect Win. Collette’s writing style sucked me in immediately and I didn’t want to put it down. A Deadly Inside Scoop was the perfect escape read (complete with a cat!) and I recommend it to anyone who is a fan of the cozy genre and looking for something quick. And who doesn’t love a book that has ice cream in it? I’ll be sure to have some handy for book two!
Thank you to the publisher for my advance review copy via Edelweiss. All opinions and thoughts are my own.
A small town cozy mystery, featuring an ice cream parlour is a first for me and after reading this book I discovered there is a whole niche for this type!
Bronwyn ‘Win’ Crewse has refurbished and reopening her family’s iconic ice cream shop taking it back to its roots and selling only ice cream and nothing else. Due to set backs the stores opening had to moved back to October, and the start of the cold months.
Who wants to buy ice cream during the winter you might ask? But she does get a few customers upon opening, and she knows it’s going 5o be heard going but she is determined to make it work. One evening she is looking through her late grandmother’s ice cream recipies and comes across one using fresh fallen snow, she gets the idea to head to the falls and collect some but she gets more than she bargains for when she discovers the dead body of a man!
Small town murder is not something that happens very often, and naturally the residents are shocked, but when the detective starts to look at Wins father as a suspect she does her best at armature sleuthing to find the real culprit.
I loved the setting around the ice cream parlour, and look forward to reading more in this series.
4 stars
This is an enjoyable new cozy mystery series. I was not able to rate this book with five stars because the main character, Bronwyn, was inconsistent. At times, she was unassertive and retiring while other times she was strong, independent, and assertive. There were also times when she failed to put clues together that were obvious; it seemed like the author used Bronwyn’s confusion to explain connections to the reader (which was not necessary). Overall, the characters were engaging and I enjoyed the mystery. I am looking forward to the next book in this series.
Back home to run the ice cream shop (Crewse Creamery) that her grandmother started, Win (Bronwyn) is starting from scratch. She’s had the shop renovated and is now making all the flavors by scratch from the recipe’s her grandmother left behind. With the backing of her family, she opens in the winter. Only, there’s no customers, you see she opened during the first snowstorm of the year thanks to the extra time the renovations took. While contemplating her next move, she decided to make a special snow ice cream her grandmother created, and literally stumbles across a dead body.
With the detective in charge of the case suspecting her own father of the man’s murder, Win and her best friend decides to solve the case and prove her father’s innocence. It’s not easy because the murdered man was a con man who’d caused a lot of trouble in their little area when Win was a small child. Wending her way through a cast of characters with their own reason for wanting the murdered man dead, Win also has a business to run. One that’s taking off thanks to the “O”, a former police officer who’s now a law professor at the local university.
I thoroughly enjoyed A Deadly Inside Scoop. It’s well written, with a great story, and wonderful characters. I can’t wait to see what Win, PopPop, Riya, Maisie, and the rest of them get into. I did figure out who the killer was, but was surprised as to the connection between the two.
I definitely recommend for fans of cozy mysteries. This is a winner!
**I received an ARC of this story from NetGalley and the publisher, and this is my honest and voluntary review.
I always love starting a new cozy mystery series, particularly if it’s by an author I haven’t read yet. A Deadly Inside Scoop is one of the better series debuts I’ve read recently, and I’m so delighted to have discovered a new-to-me author that I’ll definitely keep following!
Bronwyn “Win” Crewse has a lot at stake as the book begins. She’s putting the final touches on restoring her family’s ice cream parlor (re-opening in the middle of a blizzard) and preparing to follow her beloved late grandmother’s footsteps, under the loving watchful eye of her Pop-Pop and with the help of her friends & family. Win is instantly likable, if a bit scattered (which is excusable, given how much she’s trying to juggle at the moment. Restart a community favorite business, carry on a family legacy, solve a murder… you know, the usual lol). Her ice cream flavors sound really yummy & I’m looking forward to seeing what she comes up – and how she uses her grandmother’s cherished recipes – as the seasons & series progress.
Win comes from a tight-knit family who make up the majority of the 0.4 % African American population of their tiny town just outside Cleveland, and I loved the diverse characters that make up the supporting cast as well. (Her Pop-Pop has my heart!) Including Win’s two best friends – Riya (half-Sicillian & half-Indian) & Maisie (whose Jewish grandmother owns & operates the town’s Chinese restaurant). Riya is the hotheaded protector; Maisie is the impetuous free spirit. And while we don’t spend much time with Riya in this book, the trio of friends is a formidable force to be sure.
The mystery is nicely layered and moves at a steady pace throughout the story. Poor Win and Maisie aren’t the most seasoned of investigators, opting for a rather madcap hodgepodge of ideas and stakeouts and interrogations, but it’s highly entertaining. A host of suspects cross their paths, along with some motives that range from fairly weak to pretty strong. You sorta get the feeling that, if Win and her crew had just been patient, Detective Beverley would have figured it out before too much longer but goodness it would have been a lot less fun!
Bottom Line: A Deadly Inside Scoop is a fun start to a new series with diverse characters, a strong sense of family & community, and – of course – yummy ice cream! Win is a heroine readers will quickly embrace, and her relatable struggles make her a sympathetic character. Best friend Maisie is the Lucy to Win’s Ethel – if that infamous comedic duo had also solved crimes – and, while you’re tempted to groan at her ideas, her infectious personality & loyalty to Win keeps her likable too. I loved the ethnic & age diversity of this small community & the unique perspective each brought to the book. A well-plotted mystery rounds out the mix, and I’m ready for another visit with the Crewse family & their ice cream parlor!
(I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book)
What do you get when you put together a tight-knit, slightly quirky family, a delectable collection of ice cream flavors, and an original mystery? A tasty start to a new cozy series. A Deadly Inside Scoop is a cleverly crafted mystery with a relatable main character in Bronwyn Crewse.
A DEADLY INSIDE SCOOP by Abby Collette
The First Ice Cream Parlor Mystery
Bronwyn Crewse is excited to reopen her family’s ice cream parlor. Now that she’s in charge, she’s bringing the shop back to its roots, selling only handmade ice cream and showcasing the natural beauty of Chagrin Falls. An unexpected early snowfall puts a damper on her first day of business which is capped off by finding a dead body! Things get worse when she learns that the dead man had bad history with her family and her father starts acting suspicious. Worried that her father will be arrested for a murder he didn’t commit, Win decides to take matters into her own hands and starts to investigate. Will she be able to solve the murder while bringing the family business back to its former glory? Or will the trail of the killer grow colder than her Ghoulish Blueberry ice cream eaten on a winter’s eve in Ohio?
I absolutely loved A DEADLY INSIDE SCOOP! Family is at the center and is the heart of this new mystery series. I love the seeing the close connections and interactions between family, friends, and neighbors. Abby Collete has a gift of imbuing the pages with life. You can feel the excitement Bronwyn feels as as opening day arrives. The characters jump from the pages and the descriptions make me feel as if I’m in Chagrin Falls with them.
One of my favorite things about the first Ice Cream Parlor Mystery is the realism. Win’s reactions, from discovering a dead body, getting caught snooping, and being confronted by a killer are completely believable. I also love that fact that while a possible romantic interest is introduced, Win isn’t the least bit interested in it.
A DEADLY INSIDE SCOOP is a winner! Laugh out loud scenes mix with heartfelt moments to create a charming funny mystery.
FTC Disclosure – The publisher sent me a digital ARC provided through NetGalley, in the hopes I would review it.
With a host of quirky friends and family members, Abby Collette’s new series is a welcome addition to the cozy mystery scene, and life at Crewse Creamery promises plenty of delectable adventures to come. Only one warning: A Deadly Inside Scoop causes a deep yearning for scoops of homemade ice cream, no matter the weather.