Murder with a Cherry on Top

by Cynthia Baxter

Kate’s lifelong love affair with ice cream began as a preschooler, but that devotion was not transformed into a business until fifteen years after her high school graduation. She attended college and had a successful career as a New York City public relations consultant. She returned to Wolfert’s Roost when her “Grams” was injured, decided to stay, and opened her own business, Lickety Splits Ice Cream Shoppe. She finds her bullying childhood rival has not changed any, and there is a murder in quiet Wolfert’s Roost. Kate also has a big personal surprise when she visits Juniper Hill Organic Dairy to purchase milk and cream for her shop.

Murder with a Cherry on Top is a fun, fast-paced cozy mystery by Cynthia Baxter. While many cozies fall flat with descriptions, Baxter’s are right on target. They are precise enough to give the reader a good picture and concise enough to not be boring. Her dialogue is also good. Kate’s investigative style is reminiscent of Agatha Christie’s sleuths: she focuses on interviewing, some research, and thinking. This was a fast read and a book I didn’t want to put down.

I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to Kensington Books for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 5/5

Category: Mystery

Notes: 1. #1 in the Lickety Splits Ice Cream Shoppe Mystery Series

  2. Ice cream recipes included at the end of the book

Publication:  March 27, 2018—Kensington Books

Memorable Lines:

“But of course I can do anything you can do, and so much better!” Ashley replied. “I already know that.” She sighed. “It’s just that it’s so much fun seeing you squirm. It always has been. And I guess some things never change.”

Aside from the euphoric experience of something creamy and sweet and icy cold dissolving on my tongue, filling my mouth with a burst of flavor that seemed almost too good to be real, at least as meaningful to me was my father’s love of ice cream.

Who wouldn’t instantly fall in love with such a grand, three-story Victorian? At least it used to be grand. It was built in the late 1880’s, a time when the brand new inventions of Alexander Graham Bell and Thomas Edison were starting to seep into day-to-day life, playing croquet was all the rage, and the Wild West was still pretty darned wild. Coca-Cola, elevators, and ballpoint pens were all brand new phenomena…