A Game of Cones

At the start of Collette’s entertaining sequel to 2020’s A Deadly Inside Scoop, Bronwyn “Win” Crewse, the proprietor of her family’s ice cream shop in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, attends a meeting of the Shop Owners of Chagrin Falls Association, where Zeke Reynolds, the nervous representative of a Texas real estate company, gives the group an update on his company’s plans to build a mall in the village. The SOOCFA members make it clear they don’t care for the idea. When one of Win’s best friends, Riya Amacarelli, throws her shoe at Zeke, he cries, “Don’t shoot the messenger!” The next day, Zeke’s body is found in an alley, and Win, Riya, and Win’s other best friend, Maisie Solomon, join forces to discover which shop owner shot him. The stakes rise with the arrival of a former colleague from the New York City ad agency where Win once worked, who says she wants to lure Win back to New York, but isn’t telling the whole truth. Distinctive characters and sharp dialogue more than make up for some unresolved subplots. Cozy readers will look forward to the further adventures of Win and friends. Agent: Rachel Brooks, Bookends Literary. (Mar.)