Riley sits down for a question-and-answer session with dru’s book musings so that we, the readers, can get to know her better.

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What is your full name?
Riley Rhodes. I was named for my wonderful Irish Granny Riley.

How old are you?
35

What is your profession?
For the past two months, I’ve been manager of the Udderly Delicious Ice Cream Shop. Before that I worked as a librarian for the CIA (Central Intelligence Agency, not Culinary Institute of America) in Washington, D.C. Let’s just say I had a very sudden change in my employment status thanks to a guy in Rome named Paolo.

Do you have a significant other?
No, unless you count my rescue cat.

Okay, what is your cat’s name?
Rocky. Barn cat and escape artist extraordinaire.

Do you have any children?
No

Do you have any siblings?
I’m an only child.

Are your parents nearby?
Yes, my dad Nathaniel Hawthorne “Nate” Rhodes owns the Penniless Reader Used Book Shop on the town green. My mom passed away when I was young and Dad recently remarried a retired nurse named Paulette. Paulette and I – well, it’s complicated.

Who is your best friend?
Caroline Spooner, an art and antiques appraiser, has been my best friend since third grade. She was in foster care until she was adopted by Buzzy Spooner, the owner of the ice cream shop.

Do you have any pets?
Along with Rocky, I share a farmhouse with Sprinkles, a former show cat with the personality of Gloria Swanson in Sunset Boulevard. I’m pretty sure Sprinkles is trying to kill me.

What town do you live in?
Penniman, Connecticut. It’s in the serene northeastern part of the state that’s referred to as the Quiet Corner. It’s easy to see why Hallmark has filmed so many movies here – the town embodies New England charm.

Do you live in a small town or a big city?
Penniman is a small town, a village really, with a covered bridge, town green, and an artists colony called Moy Mull, which is housed in a castle built by an eccentric Gilded Age millionaire. I’m busy crafting treats for Moy Mull’s fantasy ice cream social right now.

What type of dwelling do you own or rent?
I live in Caroline’s family farmhouse. It’s a well-loved Victorian with gingerbread trim and a broad front porch. It needs a lot of work, but it’s right behind the ice cream shop, so I have a great commute.

What is your favorite spot in your home?
I love to curl up on the front porch with a good mystery and watch the sunset over the rolling hills of the farm across the road. This view when the leaves are turning in the fall? Perfection.

What is your favorite meal and dessert?
I love tea at Lily’s Tea Room – scones, miniature sandwiches and desserts, and a pot of steaming Earl Grey tea. It’s like a meal and dessert rolled into one. For straight up dessert, you can’t beat a sundae with a favorite flavor ice cream (mine’s mint chocolate chip) piled high with whipped cream, hot fudge, and a cherry on top.

Do you have any hobbies?
Traveling and reading Golden Age mystery novels. Ever since the murder in the locked dungeon at Moy Mull Castle, I feel like I’ve been living in an Agatha Christie novel.

What is your favorite vacation spot?
Someplace I haven’t been to yet.

What is your idea of a really fun time?
Gathering with friends at the ice cream shop to whip up new flavors.

If you were to write a memoir, what would you call it?
From Secrets to Chocolate Sauce: How I Went from the CIA to an Ice Cream Shop.

Amateur or professional sleuth and whom do you work with?
I’m an amateur sleuth with some unusual, useful experience. Because I loved to travel, the CIA tasked me with occasional undercover assignments. This background – plus my librarian chops – came in handy when a friend was accused of murder.

Who do I sleuth with?
My coworkers, the Fairweather sisters, know everybody and anybody in the village, and their deep knowledge of genealogy has been a great help. I also have a source at the police station — Tillie O’Malley, the loosest lips in Penniman. We meet at Lily’s Tearoom on the green and share information over their delectable scones and sandwiches. She’s a great source, but I dread the day that Caroline’s boyfriend, the police chief, discovers our little arrangement.

What is a typical day in your life like in general and when you are on a case?
In general, Udderly is slammed with customers from opening at 11 a.m. until closing at 10 p.m. in the summer. We craft small batches of ice cream using ingredients from Penniman’s organic farms and dairies, and I’m busy with prep work well before we open. When I’m on a case, I lean on my staff and interns from the farm across the road to take over the shop to give me a bit of time for sleuthing. Occasionally, I’ll cater a special event, like the fantasy ice cream social at Moy Mull Art Colony. Moy Mull’s director is a former supermodel who rarely leaves the castle. I can’t wait to meet her and learn why she’s such a recluse.

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Mint Chocolate Murder, An Ice Cream Shop Mystery #2
Genre: Cozy
Release: July 2022
Purchase Link

Riley Rhodes returns in the second delicious cozy set in a New England ice cream shop, Meri Allen’s Mint Chocolate Murder!

When Udderly Delightful Ice Cream shop manager Riley Rhodes is summoned to Penniman’s Moy Mull Castle, it’s the cherry on top of a successful summer season. The gothic pile built by an eccentric New England Gilded Age millionaire has been transformed into a premiere arts colony by Maud Monaco, a reclusive former supermodel. As part of Moy Mull’s Fall Arts Festival, Maud is throwing a fantasy ice cream social and hires Riley to whip up unique treats to celebrate the opening of an exhibit by Adam Blasco, a photographer as obnoxious as he is talented.

As Penniman fills up with Maud’s art-world friends arriving for the festival, gossip swirls around Blasco, who has a dark history of obsession with his models. Riley’s curiosity and instincts for sleuthing – she was a CIA librarian – are piqued, and she wonders at the hold the cold-hearted photographer has over the mistress of Moy Mull.

But when Adam is found dead behind the locked door of Moy Mull’s dungeon, Riley realizes there’s more than one suspect who’d wanted to put the malicious photographer on ice.

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About the author
Meri Allen is the pen name of Shari Randall, the Agatha Award-winning author of the Lobster Shack mystery series. She’s a librarian and military spouse (Go Coast Guard!) who, like Riley, loves traveling, dancing, and eating ice cream. You can catch up with her by signing up for The Scoop newsletter at meriallenbooks.com.

All comments are welcomed.