"Pint of No Return" by Dana Mentink - Book Club Discussion

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 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.

About the Author:

• lives in California
• the family includes two daughters
• Papa Bear is retired from the fire department and he met Dana doing a dinner theater production of The Velveteen Rabbit
• writes in two genres, cozy mystery, and romantic suspense
• a USA TODAY, Publishers Weekly, and Amazon bestselling author as well as a two-time ACFW Carol Award winner, and a Holt Medallion recipient
• Betrayal in the Badlands earned a Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award
• 2015 Heart of Excellence Finalist for Return to Pelican Inn
• 2014 ACFW Carol Award Winner for Jungle Fire
• 2013 ACFW Carol Award Winner for Lost Legacy
• 2012 Award of Merit in the Holt Medallion Contest
• Pacific Northwest Writers Literary Contest, inspirational fiction, 2008
• Women on Writing Flash Fiction contest, 2007
• Long and Short Reviews Best Romance of 2007 nomination
• Get Your Stiletto in the Door Contest finalist, 2005
• ACFW Book of the Year Finalist, 2009
• 2010 Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award Winner
• 2019 Daphne du Maurier Award finalist
• Publisher’s Weekly bestselling author

Other Writings:

• Shake Shop Mystery Series

1. Pint of No Return
2. A Sprinkle in Time
3. Spoon to be Dead

• California Capers Series

1. Trouble Up Finny’s Nose
2. Fog Over Finny’s Nose
3. Treasure Under Finny’s Nose
4. Desert Desperate
5. Deadly Sands
6. Honey Creek Treasure Hunt

• Rocky Mountain K-9 Series

1. Undercover Assignment

• Desert Justice Series

1. Framed in Death Valley
2. Missing in the Desert
3. Death Valley Double Cross
4. Death Valley Hideout
5. Christmas Crime Cover-Up
6. Targeted in the Desert

• True Blue K-9 Unit Series

1. Shield of Protection (ebook prequel)
2. Act of Valor

• True Blue Brooklyn Series

1. Cold Case Pursuit

• Roughwater Cowboys Series

1. Danger on the Ranch
2. Deadly Christmas Pretense
3. Cold Case Connection
4. Secrets Resurfaced

• Gold Country Cowboy Series
• Cowboy Christmas Guardian

1. Treacherous Trails
2. Cowboy Bodyguard
3. Lost Christmas Memories
4. Pacific Coast Investigations
5. Seaside Secrets
6. Dangerous Tidings
7. Abducted
8. Dangerous Testimony

• Stormswept Series

1. Shock Wave
2. Force of Nature
3. Flood Zone

• Wings of Danger Series

1. Hazardous Homecoming
2. Secret Refuge
3. Race for the Gold

• Treasure Seekers Series

1. Lost Legacy
2. Dangerous Melody
3. Final Resort

• Harlequin Love-Inspired Suspense

1. Seek and Find
2. Escape from the Badlands
3. Buried Truth
4. Betrayal in the Badlands
5. Endless Night
6. Race to Rescue
7. Flashover
8. Killer Cargo
9. Top Secret Target
10. Turbulence
11. Targeted in the Desert

• Jungle Fire

Discussion Questions:

1. How is the book structured? Mentink didn’t use many narrative elements (flashbacks, multiple points of view, etc.). Did this detract from your enjoyment of the book? Why or why not?
2. Talk about the author's use of language/writing style. Pick your favorite passage. How does this particular passage relate to the story as a whole? Does it reveal anything specific about any of the characters or illuminate certain aspects of the story?
3. What did you think of the cutesy wording used in some passages? For example, “Kevin Heartly had popped his last batch of corn. Her scream exploded like an erupting kernel in his iron kettle” (pg. 26). Does this add to the cozy aspect of the mystery? Or take away from the overall tone of mystery?
4. Discuss the mystery aspect of the plotline. How effective is the author's use of plot twists and red herrings? Were you able to predict certain things before they happened, or did the author keep you guessing until the end of the story?
5. How important is the setting to the story? Was it important that the story took place in Upper Sprocket? That we meet all of Gabe’s exes? Could this have been any random small town?
6. What is the most essential part of a mystery or thriller: characterization, action, dialogue, or setting? How does this book rate in each of these areas?
7. Is this book part of a series? What other types of mysteries could you see taking place in Upper Sprocket?
8. Is the author equally invested in both character and plot? Or did the author put more effort into developing the story than in creating compelling and believable characters? Were the characters' motivations believable, or did their actions feel like a means to further the plot?
9. Agatha Christie wrote in her autobiography about her dislike of mysteries having a romantic subplot. Do you agree or disagree with her views? Did this book have an element of romance? Do you feel the love aspect enhances or detracts from the story?
10. Would you recommend this work to a non-mystery/thriller fan? Or would the work strictly appeal to fans of the mystery/thriller genre?
11. Have you read anything else by this author? If so, did this book live up to or exceed your expectations of the author?
12. What did you like or dislike about the book that hasn't been discussed already? Were you glad you read this book? Would you recommend it to a friend?