Riley Rhodes is heading home. After her years as a librarian in the CIA, she’s ready for a new challenge. But first, she heads home to Penniman, Connecticut, for her best friend’s mother’s funeral. Riley had grown up with Caroline and her older brother Mike, and now that their mother, Buzzy, has died, Riley can’t be anywhere except by her friend’s side.
Buzzy owned the Fairweather Farm and the Udderly Delightful Ice Cream Shop, both beloved parts of the small town. The ice cream shop usually has a line out the shop for her hand-made ice creams and sundaes made from the freshest of ingredients. And now, the whole town is grieving.
Mike had left Penniman to become a real estate developer. He came for the funeral with his girlfriend, tennis sensation Angelica Miguel. Caroline was an art appraiser who lived in Boston, and she still came back every weekend to help her mother at the ice cream shop. Now that Buzzy is gone, the property goes to Mike and Caroline. Mike is interested in selling it and developing high end homes while retaining the beauty of Penniman. Caroline doesn’t want to sell, and when Mike tells her his plans, she gets very angry at him.
So the next morning, when Riley finds him stabbed to death in the barn, it doesn’t look good for Caroline. When Riley goes to look for his girlfriend Angelica, she’s missing, along with her sports car. Riley knows that Caroline would never hurt her brother, and she thought very highly of Angelica, but Detective John Voelker can’t just take her word for it. Especially since, as the person who found the victim, Riley automatically becomes a suspect.
But she can’t worry about that. Buzzy’s ice cream shop is a town institution, and the customers are not happy that it’s closed. So Caroline and Riley decide to open it back up, especially with the town’s Sunflower Festival coming up in a week. Not only do they have to keep up with the customers who are lined up, they have to make ice creams to keep the freezer full, craft the special sunflower ice cream for the festival, and keep up with Buzzy’s special orders. With all that going on, Riley hardly has time to try to solve a murder.
The more time Riley spends back home, the more potential suspects she comes across. There’s the cowboy with the great smile that is flirting with all the women working at the shop. There’s the customer who comes in with dirty clothes and a cap but has a very expensive diving watch. There’s the realtor who was a girlfriend of Mike’s when they were in high school and wanted to meet up with him until his girlfriend showed up. There’s Buzzy’s farm manager, who fought with Mike about how he wanted to sell the land. Clearly, there is more going on in Penniman that Riley remembered from high school.
But will Riley be able to run the ice cream store, save the farm, exonerate her friend, and solve a murder before the killer sets their sights on her?
The Rocky Road to Ruin is the first in a new cozy series. Author Meri Allen brings this charming small Connecticut town town to life through its love of its hometown ice cream shop. This story is packed with everything—delicious ice cream concoctions, a champion cat who likes to drink from the toilet when no one is looking, baby goats, a spirited kitten, a used bookshop, and a cast of characters who add so much life and spirit to this story.
I loved The Rocky Road to Ruin. I thought the plotting was clever and the characters were a constant entertainment. I love this charming small town, and I can’t wait to go back for another double scoop of murder and fresh peach ice cream, served in a waffle cone that’s still warm. If you can take the pain of hearing about the ice creams, the hot fudge sauce, the caramel, the brownie and cookie mix-ins, without getting to taste them, then you may just fall in love with this book too.
Egalleys for The Rocky Road to Ruin were provided by St. Martin’s Press through NetGalley, with many thanks.
