Cold as Ice Cream: A Cozy Culinary & Pet Mystery

Erin Price and her assistant, Vic, are surprised when Chef Kirschoff contacts Erin and asks her to be a judge in an upcoming cooking contest. She and Vic met the Chef on a cruise to Alaska, and Erin was pleased to have been able to cook with him during the cruise. They meet with the Chef and he tells them about the cooking competition, which is to be held in a nearby town. It’s actually a competition to make ice cream or to create a carbonated beverage. Erin and Vic both agree to be judges and they make arrangements for other employees to staff the bakery while they are gone. The first night, there is a dinner followed by a rather lengthy and long winded explanation of the competition. Feeling sleepy and needing to stretch her legs, Erin slips outside for a breath of fresh air. Instead, she gets a faceful of cigarette smoke and an earful from a rather nasty woman named Beryl Batcombe. After the rude comments began to be directed towards Vic, Erin decided it was time to exit for the night. The next day, Erin and the rest of the judges were supposed to meet and go on a tour to see the town and see the places that they will be listening for the competition. One of the places, a restaurant in the town. At one of the places, a restaurant in the town. They go inside and there's quite a large group of them So Erin, being one of the first ones inside is standing next to a walk in freezer. She puts her hand on the door, and as she's listening to what's going on. She presses down on the handle. The door opens, and she walks inside and notices that there's someone in there. Then she notices that the person isn't moving. She's dead. Not only that, it's the woman that she met the night before the nasty woman. It's Beryl Batcombe. Things are taking a bad turn. And it looks like this competition is going to be a nasty one.

Could not get interested in this one. I found myself skimming pages by the 6th chapter. Did not finish.