Last Licks

January 1, 2020
Against all the best advice, the owner of an ice cream shop pursues a sideline in detection. Kate McKay, the proprietor of Lickety Splits Ice Cream Shoppe in New York's beautiful Hudson Valley, has already had a run-in with murder while catering desserts for a glamorous gala (Hot Fudge Murder, 2019). Why she thinks that qualifies her for detective work is a mystery. Kate can't pass up assistant movie director Chelsea Atkins' lucrative offer to use her shop for a single day of filming, but she's dumbfounded when actress Savannah Crane keels over after eating one of Kate's fabulous ice cream creations. The investigating officer warns Kate off. So does her love interest, Jake, a former lawyer. But since the reputation of her shop has been jeopardized by Savannah's poisoning, she's not inclined to back down. Not even the advice of her Grams, who raised her and still lives with her, does any good. She and Emma, the niece who works part time at the shop, are both pleased that Grams has a man in her life: George Vernon, whom she met at the senior center and talked into helping with a big Halloween project at the local high school. Kate's cautious about her own relationship with Jake, who runs an organic dairy, because when he was her high school sweetheart, he suddenly dumped her, and they had no contact for years. The suspects in Savannah's murder seem to be the film company workers and a few of Kate's friends who were at the shop the night before, when the crew was setting up and Kate put out the ice cream dish and spoon to be used the next day. Kate manages to broaden the range of suspects and motives, none of which she mentions to the police, as she tries to figure out who did the deed before she becomes the next victim. Ice cream, romance, and some irresistible red herrings mark this tale of a sleuth who pushes things too far. 


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February 3, 2020
In Baxter’s sprightly third Lickety Splits Ice Cream Shoppe mystery (after 2019’s Hot Fudge Murder), Kate McKay, the owner of the Wolfert’s Roost, N.Y., ice cream emporium, is in the throes of decorating for the upcoming Halloween festivities when Chelsea Atkins, the assistant director of a movie being filmed in the Hudson Valley town, strides through the front door. She asks to use the shop as a location for a key scene featuring starlet Savannah Crane. The jaw-droppingly high fee for the one-day shoot prompts Kate to accept the offer. Besides the location, Kate also provides a bowl, spoon, and a big scoop of chocolate almond fudge, which Savannah eats during the scene. After polishing off the last of the ice cream, Savannah drops dead, and Kate becomes a suspect in her poisoning. Even while investigating plausible motives and potential suspects, Kate finds time to think up tantalizing ice cream flavors and enjoy the company of family and friends. This cozy has everything genre fans could want: an intelligent and plucky protagonist, a soundly plotted mystery, and solid character development. Agent: Evan Marshall, Evan Marshall Agency.