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Chautona Havig

Chautona Havig

Using story to connect YOU to the Master Storyteller

How Is a Fabulous Freakshake Related to Murder and Mayhem?

by Chautona Havig · Leave a Comment

If you love a good cozy mystery, or if you love a great ice cream shake, and especially if you like both, this is the new series for you! via @chautonahavig

If I have a favorite genre, it’s definitely mystery and/or suspense, and cozy mysteries like Pint of No Return by Dana Mentink is a perfect read–especially with summer coming.  Add to this fun, quirky whodunnit, a release fun FREAKSHAKE contest, and what more could you ask for?

This mystery in Upper Sprocket, Oregon will have you in a fine kettle of… corn-y situations and laughing about silly things like… well, metatarsals for one!

Find out about this series featuring the Shimmy and Shake Shop, Trinidad Jones, and her weasel of an ex-husband’s superfluity of ex-wives! (who knew?! She didn’t!)

cozy mystery

Note: links may be affiliate links that provide me with a small commission at no extra expense to you.

How Is a Fabulous Freakshake Related to Murder and Mayhem?

When I learned that Dana Mentink had a new cozy mystery series coming, I knew I’d be the first in line to read it. When I discovered that the publisher’s name was Poison Pen Press, well… I’ll admit it. The temptation to write a cozy and submit it just to be under that name came over me.

Never fear. I didn’t do it.  But man, I was tempted.

Enter your next favorite cozy mystery sleuth, Trinidad Jones!  This woman has been through some rough stuff, but with her service dog school flunkee dog, Noodles, she’s taken Upper Sprocket, Oregon by storm!

Or, at least has shimmied her way into a new career as a shake shop soda jerk.  Or something like that.  Upper Sprocket, home of some fabulous kettle corn and an “Alpine Fest” we’ll see in book two, has a new business!  The Shimmy and Shake Shop and their awesome freakshakes are here to keep your dentist in business and your insulin levels at an all-time high!

So how else would Dana celebrate but by having a freakshake contest?!

Find out all about the freakshake contest that goes with the release of Pint of No Return, the first in this new cozy mystery series, in this video:

…and get your entries in HERE (hurry, there are only four days left!)

The prize package with an Amazon gift card, shake glasses, apron, syrups… all the stuffness!!! You want this, guys!

Meanwhile, as you wait for Pint of No Return to release, don’t forget Dana’s first cozy mystery series, Finny’s Nose. Or, if your tastes run to suspense, THIS EPISODE talks about her latest that takes place in Death Valley!

About Pint of No Return

The first in a new dessert cozy mystery series! A murder in town is bound to shake things up…

After her divorce from her thrice-married embezzler husband, Trinidad Jones is finally ready for a fresh start. So when she’s left one of ex’s businesses in Upper Sprocket, Oregon, she decides to pack up her dog, cash in her settlement, and open her dream business: the Shimmy and Shake Shop, introducing the world to her monster milkshakes. And even with a couple of sticky situations underway, namely that the other two ex-wives also call Sprocket home, Trinidad’s life seems to be churning along smoothly.

That is until she discovers her neighbor, the Popcorn King, head down in his giant popcorn kettle. When one of Trinidad’s fellow ex-wives is accused of the murder and Upper Sprocket descends into mayhem, it’s going to take a supersized scoop of courage to flush out the killer.

You can find Dana at danamentink.com or at her  Facebook Group.

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The Because Fiction Podcast

The Because Fiction Podcast
The Because Fiction Podcast

Taking the pulse of Christian fiction

Episode 514: A Chat with Deborah Clack
byChautona Havig

Oh, my. When I learned about the awkward heroine in Even After This, I knew that I needed to chat more with Deborah Clack and get the scoop on what’s coming in this book. Listen in to learn why she had me cracking up through the interview.

note: links may be affiliate links that provide me with a small commission at no extra expense to you.

Don’t miss out on this second chance (in life) romance as well as Deborah’s Love Inspired marriage of convenience romance as well!

Even After This by Deborah Clack

When you’re ready to live again, love often has a way of finding you. Four years after tragedy, Meredith Harper is tired of hiding in her corner of Texas and living life like a game of dodgeball. She packs up her grief, awkward social graces, and sizable life insurance in search of a vacation and investment property in Colorado Springs. A botched dinner reservation throws her into the path of a bona fide movie star, and Meredith pushes through her comical celebrity neurosis to discover he is charming but a terrible dancer. A viral video of a daring rescue makes Harlan Holcombe’s celebrity star stronger, with millions of his fans deeming him a real-life Hercules. But a minute of heroism doesn’t absolve his past mistakes. As Harlan and Meredith spend more time together, he helps her believe there might be more for her not just in life but in love. And she might be part of the solution to restore the legacy he fears is tarnished. But what happens when the path to redeem his mistakes collides with the path to redeem her loss? A poignant and humorous contemporary romance of second chances with swoon but no spice, grief and healing, celebrity meets reluctant widow, love after loss, and new beginnings. This clean and wholesome love story will delight fans of Abby Jimenez, Katherine Center, Annabel Monaghan, and Cara Bastone.

Learn more about Deborah on her WEBSITE and follow on GoodReads and BookBub.

Like to listen on the go? You can find Because Fiction Podcast at:

  • Apple
  • Castbox
  • Google Play
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  • RSS
  • Spotify
  • Amazon
  • and more!
Episode 514: A Chat with Deborah Clack
Episode 514: A Chat with Deborah Clack
February 9, 2026
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Episode 513: A Chat with Amber Gabriel
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Episode 512: A Chat with Tim Bishop
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Episode 511: A Chat with Tessa Afshar
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Episode 508: A Chat with Katelyn Pfeiffer
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Episode 507: A Chat with Sarah Hanks
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Episode 506: A Chat with Suzanne Woods Fisher
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Bentley Girard’s about to propose… to a guy she do Bentley Girard’s about to propose… to a guy she doesn’t even love.
Not THAT way anyway.
After studying everything the Bible has to say about marriage, she’s decided she wants in. Now. So who’s going to take her up on that offer?
And just why did no one remind her that those vows include that little word, “love?”
Oops!
With her Bible in her hip pocket and a shiny new ring on her finger, Bentley navigates this new world of marriage with grace and… oh, who is she kidding? She flounders until she gets a sure footing and hangs on tight.
Grab the first book of this unusual series today! https://amzn.to/49UP8Oh #affiliatelink
Available on Kindle Unlimited, too!
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