May 2023 - Mystery Book Club - Past Titles - LibGuides at Westwood Public Library

"Pint of No Return" by Dana Mentink

Pint of No Return by Dana Mentink
Call Number: MYSTERY Mentink
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 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.

How is the book structured? Mentink didn’t use many narrative elements (flashbacks, multiple points of view, etc.). Did this detract from your enjoyment of the book? Why or why not?
Talk about the author's use of language/writing style. Pick your favorite passage. How does this particular passage relate to the story as a whole? Does it reveal anything specific about any of the characters or illuminate certain aspects of the story?
What did you think of the cutesy wording used in some passages? For example, “Kevin Heartly had popped his last batch of corn. Her scream exploded like an erupting kernel in his iron kettle” (pg. 26). Does this add to the cozy aspect of the mystery? Or take away from the overall tone of mystery?
Discuss the mystery aspect of the plotline. How effective is the author's use of plot twists and red herrings? Were you able to predict certain things before they happened, or did the author keep you guessing until the end of the story?
How important is the setting to the story? Was it important that the story took place in Upper Sprocket? That we meet all of Gabe’s exes? Could this have been any random small town?
What is the most essential part of a mystery or thriller: characterization, action, dialogue, or setting? How does this book rate in each of these areas?
Is this book part of a series? What other types of mysteries could you see taking place in Upper Sprocket?
Is the author equally invested in both character and plot? Or did the author put more effort into developing the story than in creating compelling and believable characters? Were the characters' motivations believable, or did their actions feel like a means to further the plot?
Agatha Christie wrote in her autobiography about her dislike of mysteries having a romantic subplot. Do you agree or disagree with her views? Did this book have an element of romance? Do you feel the love aspect enhances or detracts from the story?
Would you recommend this work to a non-mystery/thriller fan? Or would the work strictly appeal to fans of the mystery/thriller genre?
Have you read anything else by this author? If so, did this book live up to or exceed your expectations of the author?
What did you like or dislike about the book that hasn't been discussed already? Were you glad you read this book? Would you recommend it to a friend?

lives in California
the family includes two daughters
Papa Bear is retired from the fire department and he met Dana doing a dinner theater production of The Velveteen Rabbit
writes in two genres, cozy mystery, and romantic suspense
a USA TODAY, Publishers Weekly, and Amazon bestselling author as well as a two-time ACFW Carol Award winner, and a Holt Medallion recipient
Betrayal in the Badlands earned a Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award
2015 Heart of Excellence Finalist for Return to Pelican Inn
2014 ACFW Carol Award Winner for Jungle Fire
2013 ACFW Carol Award Winner for Lost Legacy
2012 Award of Merit in the Holt Medallion Contest
Pacific Northwest Writers Literary Contest, inspirational fiction, 2008
Women on Writing Flash Fiction contest, 2007
Long and Short Reviews Best Romance of 2007 nomination
Get Your Stiletto in the Door Contest finalist, 2005
ACFW Book of the Year Finalist, 2009
2010 Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award Winner
2019 Daphne du Maurier Award finalist
Publisher’s Weekly bestselling author

Shake Shop Mystery Series

Pint of No Return

A Sprinkle in Time

Spoon to be Dead

California Capers Series

Trouble Up Finny’s Nose

Fog Over Finny’s Nose

Treasure Under Finny’s Nose

Desert Desperate

Deadly Sands

Honey Creek Treasure Hunt

Rocky Mountain K-9 Series

Undercover Assignment

Desert Justice Series

Framed in Death Valley

Missing in the Desert

Death Valley Double Cross

Death Valley Hideout

Christmas Crime Cover-Up

Targeted in the Desert

True Blue K-9 Unit Series

Shield of Protection (ebook prequel)

Act of Valor

True Blue Brooklyn Series

Cold Case Pursuit

Roughwater Cowboys Series

Danger on the Ranch

Deadly Christmas Pretense

Cold Case Connection

Secrets Resurfaced

Gold Country Cowboy Series

Cowboy Christmas Guardian

Treacherous Trails

Cowboy Bodyguard

Lost Christmas Memories

Pacific Coast Investigations

Seaside Secrets

Dangerous Tidings

Abducted

Dangerous Testimony

Stormswept Series

Shock Wave

Force of Nature

Flood Zone

Wings of Danger Series

Hazardous Homecoming

Secret Refuge

Race for the Gold

Treasure Seekers Series

Lost Legacy

Dangerous Melody

Final Resort

Harlequin Love-Inspired Suspense

Seek and Find

Escape from the Badlands

Buried Truth

Betrayal in the Badlands

Endless Night

Race to Rescue

Flashover

Killer Cargo

Top Secret Target

Turbulence

Targeted in the Desert

Jungle Fire

Death by Chocolate Cherry Cheesecake by Sarah Graves
Call Number: Fiction Graves
Life just got a little sweeter in the island fishing village of Eastport, Maine. Jacobia "Jake" Tiptree and her best friend Ellie are opening a waterfront bake shop, The Chocolate Moose, where their tasty treats pair perfectly with the salty ocean breeze. But while Jake has moved on from fixing up houses, she still can't resist the urge to snoop into the occasional murder. Jake and Ellie have been through a lot together, from home repair to homicide investigation. So when they decide to open a chocolate-themed bakery, they figure it'll be a piece of cake. With Ellie's old family recipes luring in customers, they expect to make plenty of dough this Fourth of July weekend. Having family home for the holiday only sweetens the deal for Jake--until the ill wind of an early-season hurricane blows up her plans. When the storm hits, Jake's grown son Sam is stranded in a Boston bus station, and her husband Wade is stuck on a cargo ship. But as bitter as the storm is, something even more sinister is brewing in the kitchen of The Chocolate Moose--where health inspector Matt Muldoon is found murdered. Ellie never made a secret of her distaste for Matt, who had been raining on their parade with bogus talk of health code violations. Now, with no alibi for the night of the murder, she's in a sticky situation with the police--and it's up to Jake to catch the real killer and keep Ellie living in the land of the free.
A Cup of Holiday Fear by Ellie Alexander
Call Number: MYSTERY Alexander
It's Christmastime and everyone is heading to Torte, the most cheerful bakery in town. There's no place like home for the homicide... Ashland, Oregon, looks as pretty as a postcard this holiday season. The halls are decked, stockings hung, and eyes are all aglow--mostly thanks to the buttered rum. Jules Capshaw and her staff at Torte are busier than ever. . . still, even the town's most in-demand bakers need to take a break. So Jules invites everyone to celebrate at the local Winchester Inn's Dickens Feast, a six-course extravaganza with Yorkshire Pudding, Christmas goose, and all the trimmings. But as the weather outside becomes frightful, things inside turn less delightful when one of the guests ends up as dead as Scrooge's doornail. Now it's up to Jules and her helpers to make a list of suspects--and check it twice--to try to find out who's naughty, who's nice, and who's guilty of murder.
The Rocky Road to Ruin by Meri Allen
Call Number: MYSTERY Allen
Justice will be swirled by amateur sleuth Riley Rhodes in the first in Meri Allen's brand-new mystery series, The Rocky Road to Ruin ! 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?
Carrot Cake Murder by Joanne Fluke
Call Number: MYSTERY Fluke
Summertime has finally arrived in Lake Eden, Minnesota, and Hannah Swensen, owner of The Cookie Jar bakery, is looking forward to warm, lazy days eating ice cream and sharing picnics with friends. But when a family reunion takes a deadly turn, it's up to Hannah to find the killer.
More Details
In Hot Water by Kate Kingsbury
Call Number: MYSTERY Kingsbury
In bestselling author Kate Kingsbury's Misty Bay Tea Room series debut, the proprietress of a British-style tea shop must draw on her love for mystery novels to sleuth a murder. Vivian Wainwright is living her dream. The middle-aged widow owns the Misty Bay Tearoom, a quaint, English-accented shop on the Oregon coast. But on the eve of the tearoom's second anniversary, the dream turns nightmarish when a man falls to his death from a hotel balcony. The body belongs to Dean Ramsey, ex-husband of Vivian's assistant, Jenna. Detective Tony Messina quickly zeroes in on Jenna as prime suspect, since she was seen leaving the hotel shortly before the body was found. Vivian and her other assistant, Gracie, set out to help clear Jenna's name, using their wit and a bit of criminology know-how Vivian picked up from her late attorney husband. Detective Messina is on board, but he's starting to develop feelings for his number one suspect. Puzzling questions persist--chief among them, whose clothes was Dean wearing when he landed on the rocky shore? To complicate matters, Vivian's friend, pet shop owner Hal Douglass, seems to know some secrets about the hotel that could add a long list of names to the suspect list...including Hal's own. Vivian must work quickly because if she can't, Jenna faces a murder rap...or worse.
Grounds for Murder by Tara Lush
Call Number: MYSTERY Lush
Barista Lana Lewis's sleuthing may land her in a latte trouble as Tara Lush launches her new Coffee Shop mysteries. When Lana Lewis' best -- and most difficult -- employee abruptly quits and goes to work for the competition just days before the Sunshine State Barista Championship, her cafe's chances of winning the contest are creamed. In front of a gossipy crowd in the small Florida town of Devil's Beach, Lana's normally calm demeanor heats to a boil when she runs into the arrogant java slinger. Of course, Fabrizio "Fab" Bellucci has a slick explanation for jumping ship. But when he's found dead the next morning under a palm tree in the alley behind Lana's cafe, she becomes the prime suspect. Even the island's handsome police chief isn't quite certain of her innocence. But Lana isn't the only one in town who was angry with Fabrizio. Jilted lovers, a shrimp boat captain, and a surfer with ties to the mob are all suspects as trouble brews on the beach. With her stoned, hippie dad, a Shih Tzu named Stanley, and a new, curious barista sporting a punk rock aesthetic at her side, Lana's prepared to turn up the heat to catch the real killer. After all, she is a former award-winning reporter. As scandal hangs over her beachside cafe, can Lana clear her name and win the championship -- or will she come to a bitter end?
Cheddar off Dead by Korina Moss
Call Number: MYSTERY Moss
In Korina Moss's cozy series debut, Cheddar Off Dead , cheesemonger Willa Bauer discovers that her new home in a small Sonoma Valley town is ripe for murder... something here stinks to high heaven, and Willa knows it's not the cheese. Cheesemonger Willa Bauer is proving that sweet dreams are made of cheese. She's opened her very own French-inspired cheese shop, Curds & Whey, in the heart of the Sonoma Valley. The small town of Yarrow Glen is Willa's fresh start, and she's determined to make it a success - starting with a visit from the local food critic. What Willa didn't know is that this guy never gives a good review, and when he shows up nothing goes according to plan. She doesn't think the night can get any worse... until she finds the critic's dead body, stabbed with one of her shop's cheese knives. Now a prime suspect, Willa has always believed life's problems can be solved with cheese, but she's never tried to apply it to murder...
Curses, Boiled Again! by Shari Randall
Call Number: MYSTERY RANDALL
Welcome to the seaside hamlet of Mystic Bay, where the fish is always fresh, the folks are ever-friendly, and murder is on a roll. . . Allie Larkin was living her dream as a ballet dancer when a bad fall put her out of business. Now she's back home in Mystic Bay to heal a broken ankle while also helping her dear Aunt Gully get her Lazy Mermaid Lobster Shack off the ground. Nothing would help Gully more than winning the local food festival's Best Lobster Roll contest. The competition is sure to be killer--especially after one of the contest judges dies after eating a roll from one of Gully's biggest rivals. Soon, all eyes fall on Gully as the prime suspect. Allie may only have one good leg to stand on, but she's not going to let her aunt go down for a crime she never could have cooked up. Can Allie, along with her devoted crew of friends, family, and customers, find a way to trap the killer and claw herself out of this hard-boiled murder case?
I Scream, You Scream by Wendy Lyn Watson
Call Number: MYSTERY WATSON
Recently divorced Tallulah Jones is mortified when she's stuck scooping sundaes for her two-timing ex-husband'and his bodacious new girlfriend, Brittanie'at his company luau. But when Brittanie drops dead, Tally is suddenly the prime suspect in her murder investigation. To catch the killer, Tally will have to dip deep into her small Texan town's darkest secrets and churn up stories some would prefer to keep in the past. But can she uncover the real culprit before a murder charge puts her dreams on ice for good?

Mystery Book Club - Past Titles: May 2023

"Pint of No Return" by Dana Mentink

QUICK LINKS

CONNECT WITH US

Westwood Public Library

Main Library

Islington Branch