Marshmallow Milkshakes and Missing Persons

The Buenaventura Beach Mystery Series #1

by Mindy Killgrove

She never should’ve let Mama out of her sight.

The hot summer months used to be Avery Baldwin’s favorite time of year. After graduating from college, she wanted to move away from her hometown and make a life of her own, but the desire to be with her family, to return to the old, familiar haunts that were so comforting, stuck with her. As soon as the month of June rolled around, Avery enjoyed hopping in her car and driving to Buenaventura Beach where she readily embraced the salty ocean air and relished the feel of the sun’s rays as they kissed her hair.

But everything about this summer is different from all those that came before. As soon as Avery arrives in town, she learns that her mother, Loti, has been suffering from bouts of forgetfulness and even though others are pushing her to sell her restaurant, Mama Baldwin’s Café, she’s reluctant to give it up. Avery vows to help her mother, but when she bumps into Chance Zabrowski and his son Cubby at the grocery store, she quickly learns that Mama has been struggling more than she admitted.

When Avery, Chance, and Cubby all go to the café to check in on Mama, they find the doors wrapped in chains and padlocked shut. There’s even a sign on the door, announcing the closure of the restaurant. Stunned, the trio decide to ask Mama what happened and why she so suddenly changed her mind, but they can’t find her anywhere. Where did she go? What happened to Mama?

Find out by reading…Marshmallow Milkshakes and Missing Book One in the Buenaventura Beach Mystery Series.

Genres: Mystery, Ebooks, Contemporary

235 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 1, 2024

About the author

Mindy Killgrove is the author of the KATE KELLNER TRILOGY, the MISSY LAWRENCE TRILOGY, the KANEDY PRODUCTIONS SERIES, the BUENAVENTURA BEACH MYSTERY SERIES and is the creator of the RILEY ROUNDTREE SOCIAL STORY LEARNING ADVENTURE SERIES.



In 2013, shortly after its publication, MEET ME AT THE POND, the first book in the Missy Lawrence trilogy, was selected as the Reader's Choice Award winner for "Chick Lit./ Romance" by the Blogger Book Fair group.



Most notably, Killgrove is a professional ghostwriter. She has penned one play, forty-one short stories, and thirty-six novels all while working as a freelance author.

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In addition to crafting romance stories, Killgrove has devoted decades to creating classroom resources that can be used in grades K-12. More than 250 educational resources are available through her TeachersPayTeachers Store. Her work with the RILEY ROUNDTREE SOCIAL STORY LEARNING ADVENTURE SERIES is currently featured on her popular YouTube channel under the heading: THAT'S ALL SHE WROTE PRODUCTIONS.

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Her past writing credits include working for the New London Record as a sports reporter and the Heidelberg University newspaper, the Kilikilik. Her work was also published in Heidelberg University's Morpheus Literary Magazine.

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She passed on her love of literature and athletics to her students for more than fifteen years as a teacher. In that time, she served as the advisor for a high school newsmagazine, the drama director, and the coach of various sports teams, including softball, girls basketball, dance, and cross country.

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She has a bachelor’s degree from Heidelberg University and a master’s degree from Bowling Green State University. Killgrove is a member of the Autism Society of Greater Orlando (ASGO), the Philalethean Society, and the Jane Austen Society of North America (JASNA). She lives in Orlando, Florida with her adoring husband and three rambunctious, but beautiful children. When she’s not writing or reading, she’s exploring local theme parks, lounging on the beach, or aiming to bake the very best chocolate chip cookies in the world.

Reviews

[Megan Russ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Take a chance on this Chance

Avery and Chance were so cute.
Finding their way to the bottom of this sticky mystery only draws them closer together.
I loved the friends and side characters. I hope we get to see more of them in future books.
Great job Mindy!

[Marisa Groom · Rating 3 out of 5]

A delightful read!

[Margaret Hejmanowski · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have never read anything by Mindy Killgrove before, OMG this was fantastic!! Avery Baldwin comes home for the summer. Her sister Zoey tells her that their Mama has been getting forgetful. Mama owns a restaurant and works everyday, she's been doing this for over thirty years. Zoey and her husband Keaton want her to sell the restaurant and retire and relax. Mama leaves for work and asks Avery to pick up the berries at the store. As Avery is at the store she meets Chance, who works for Mama; he was picking up her berries as he always does. As they head to the restaurant, they notice their are padlocks on the doors, and a sign saying the restaurant is closed permanently. Avery and Chance (plus his cute son Cubby) are confused. If she planned to close the restaurant, she would have told them. But where is Mama? They go back home, she's not there. Avery calls Zoey at work, she knows nothing about this. Avery and Chance go around the town, talking to people, but no one has seen Mama. Where could she be??? Love the plot, great setting, and strong intense interesting characters. I look forward to reading more from Ms. Mindy Killgrove!!!

[Merry Chapman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Avery Baldwin graduated college and decided to go home to Buenaventura Beach for the summer and visit with her Mom, Sister, Zoey and her husband, Keaton. When she talks to her sister, she is told that their mother is forgetting things and she should sell the restaurant she owns and retire. After all, she has been working every day for the past 30 years. When Mama asks Avery to go to the store to pick up some berries, she meets Chance there who works at the restaurant and is getting berries like he always does. When they go back to the restaurant, they find it all locked up permanently. Avery and Chance are very confused. They go to the house to check on her and find out what is going on, she isn't there! With Chance's help, they go around town and no one has seen Mama. Where is she? What happened? How could she have just disappeared? Was she kidnapped? This is a great page turning with really good characters. I love how Avery and Chance and his cute son, Cubby seem to get together with the promise of something more in the next books to this very promising series. I received and ARC of this book but the opinions expressed here are strictly my own.

[Julia Lednicky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Warm Fuzzies

Loved the cozy, relaxed Buenaventura Beach world. I literally felt like this book was wrapping me in a warm hug, and I looked forward to reading when I went back to the book each time. So nice to escape to this cozy bubble!

Really enjoyed the dynamic between Avery and Chance with their somewhat bumpy meet-cute then seeing their friendship develop through the shared experience of searching for Mama, the missing person.

Main character Avery’s easy going personality is likable and she is very family oriented and loyal. The sidebar & action with her ex shows that she is forgiving and values harmony.

Happy to see a man of admirable character in Chance. Nicely written descriptions of his thoughts & actions. Kind of restores your faith in men. Cubby is a unique character and adds depth to Chance’s situation. We also see that Avery is kind, tolerant and understanding through her interactions with Cubby.

Avery is focused and dogged in her amateur sleuthing efforts to track down her mother and solve the mystery of her disappearance. Enjoyed this cozy missing persons caper & can’t wait to read the next book in the series!

[ABurch74 · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a delightful start to a new series. Avery and Chance are very relatable characters with an instant connection. The author does a good job developing the story and keeping you guessing to the end - all while creating a promising relationship with Avery, Chance and Cubby. I really enjoyed this book and look forward to future books in the series.

I received an advance copy and am leaving a voluntary review.

[Tari · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved this book! The characters were amazing which were what drew me in even though there wasn’t a murder. The story was definitely a page turner. The author has a good way of making the reader feel the characters’ confusion. I could actually feel all the frustration as they tried to solve this.

There’s a short excerpt included at the end from the next book, and now I can’t wait for it. I really wanna visit with these characters again!

[Linda Foster · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting & intriguing series starter. How does someone vanish so quickly? Strange goings-on in town!
A case of a missing person…where did she go & why!? We are left wondering as we are introduced to the town’s residents. A promising relationship is developing between Avery, Chase & Cubby. It takes a long time to realise who is behind the subterfuge.
I received a copy from the author & I am writing a voluntary, honest review.

[Juanita E. Arp · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book, it's a delightful start to a new series. Avery and Chance are very relatable characters with an instant connection. The storyline is well developed and keeps you guessing to the end. I can't wait to read more from this author. I received this book as a Free copy to read and I voluntarily leave this review.

[MacKenzie Emery · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this story as an audiobook. It is narrated by Heidi Hecker. This is a cozy, small town mystery. I loved the story and how the small town vibe made it entertaining and easy to believe these amateur sleuths. It is the first story in the series so if you love it, you have more to enjoy. The story was easy to follow and not too violent.

[Melissa Basnight · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mystery in Florida

Avery comes back every summer to spend time with her mother and sister. Her mother disappears and she learns all kinds of secrets concerning the people in the town. Kind of a confusing story that meanders a lot. The ending sort of left you hanging and didn't make sense. She really didn't ask the questions she should have to find her mother.

[Stephanie M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a fun summer cozy mystery! The story development was amazing and it kept me hooked until the very end! I really enjoyed the main characters which is something that is super important to me in a book. I can’t wait to read more of the series when it is released!!

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a new author to me. I think this is a great start to a new series. I very much enjoyed this story, thought it was well written and I thought the characters were likeable and charming. Looking forward to the next book. Recommend reading.

[Karin Tillotson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Where is she and why??? Keaton knows, doesn't he??? I enjoyed this story and recommended the book.

[Marilyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fresh take on a mystery which I enjoyed. Whie worry and clues were all around they didn't pan out.
It was a delightful ending brought to light with confronting the right suspect.

[Liza · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had an early idea about who the bad person/people were but got distracted along the way.

The main characters were enjoyable.

[theresa kuszmaul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun easy read

This book was a great read. Fun, easy and quick read. Loved it. Third book I've read from this author. Highly recommend

[E'Who'Reads'a'Thousand'Mysteries · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hard to follow

I thought this was a cozy mystery but there's not a lot of scene detail or character descriptions so it's hard to follow along with the storytelling.

[Rosemarie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Please see my review here: Pumpkin Punch and the Poisoning of a Few