The Title is Settled, and no more debate!

Okay, not only did the poll decide it--just barely--but my Mom confirmed it: the title of the new book (previewed Friday) will be Death By Ice Cream.

Here's the rationale, as thought out by one of my friends, in a nutshell: Death By Ice Cream "is unabashedly cutesy cozy."  And that's the right tone.  I'm not sure if "cutesy" is 100% on, but I do want a potential reader to see at once that there's nothing hard-boiled about this mystery.  Mom felt that The Corpse in the Cooler could as easily be a bit grim, but the whole ice cream thing pretty securely anchors it in the cozy section.  And that's where I want it to be.  She also noted that much would depend on the cover, which must indicate a hint of the absurd.

So, that settled, I'm off to the cover artist.  By the way, I had said elsewhere that I would give an ARC to the person who suggested the winning title.  Oddly, as far as I can tell, Death By Ice Cream was my suggestion.  If anyone knows better, let me know.  And I'll send a copy to the runner-up, Charlene from the Goodreads.com Cozy Mysteries group (who came up with The Corpse in the Cooler, truly a great title as well!), instead.

Thanks to everyone who helped!  Your input and thought really did help me get a grip on what the title should be and do, as well as which one it should be.

Here's to many more goofy mysteries with the Pismawallops Island PTA!