A Deadly Inside Scoop

This perky series launch from Collette (the Logan Dickerson mysteries) introduces Bronwyn “Win” Crewse, who has taken over Crewse Creamery, the ice cream parlor her family has owned for decades in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, after her aunt’s retirement. Win is excited to remodel the business and recreate her late grandmother’s innovative recipes. But when a snowstorm keeps all her potential customers at home on Win’s opening day, she decides to comfort herself by making a batch of ice cream with snow. On her trek to find pristine snow, Win trips over the body of Stephen Bayard, who years earlier plunged Win’s family into a legal nightmare. Bayard was killed with a lethal injection, and Win’s father, a surgeon at the local hospital, becomes a prime suspect. With the enthusiastic help of her best friend, Maisie Solomon, Win sets out to prove her father’s innocence. Readers should be prepared for lots of coincidences and jumping to conclusions, but a pair of plucky female sleuths, a close-knit family, and ice cream shop lore more than compensate. This is a tasty treat for cozy fans. Agent: Rachel Brooks, Bookends Literary. (May)