Fudge Bites by Nancy CoCo

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


It’s late October, off-season for tourists, but locals are up and lurching for the annual zombie walk charity event. Though everyone’s living it up, trouble is a just a few paw prints away. Allie’s followed the bloody tracks of her calico cat, Carmella, to a body in the alley behind the Historic McMurphy Hotel and Fudge Shop. Unlike the island’s other walking dead, this one’s flat-lined for good. It seems that someone is using the zombie fest as the perfect backdrop for murder. Now amateur sleuth Allie and dreamboat officer Rex Manning must use every trick in their treat bag to unmask a killer in disguise.

The author gives us well developed and well written characters who have grown since they were first introduced in book one. The mystery is full of suspects, twists, turns, and red herrings that make it hard to figure out who the killer is. The author does a nice job of describing how Mackinac Island looks in the fall, she is able to use her words to paint a picture in the readers mind of how this beautiful place looks.

I like that Allie is starting to think about the consequences of putting her life in danger before she starts investigating the murder. I didn't like that Trent came to the island to use his families money to try and entice Allie to get back together and go to Chicago with him. I'm glad that Allie made the decision to stay true to her self and stay on the island and see how things go with Rex, I think that in the terms of a relationship they seem to balance each other. I did miss not having Jenn in the book since she was able to help Allie see things from a different point of view. I liked how Carmella the cat helped in taking down the killer at the end of the book and was glad that no real harm came to her for her good deed.

I received and arc of this book from Netgalley and Kensington books for my honest review.

Fudge Bites is actually the 7th installment in the well established cozy series. When I received this book from NetGalley (a huge thank you to them and Kensington Press!), I had not read any of the previous books and didn’t know what to expect. What I found was a delightful book and a new series to add to my ever growing TBR list.

The setting of Mackinac Island was new to me. Though I had heard of the island vacation destination, I was unfamiliar with its setup, appearance, and attractions. After reading the book, I did begin to feel a connection to the area and could begin to picture what the area would look like. I did cheat a teeny tiny bit and looked up some images on Google, which also helped a lot. I loved the addition of the zombie walk to the story and this got the Halloween theme off to a good start, but I did feel like that fizzled a little as the story went on.

While I knew going into reading this that it was an already established series, I hoped to find the characters to be well introduced, which is common among cozy series. The list of characters is quite lengthy in this one and many were spoken about early in the book without enough background given for the reader to know who they were. I did piece the information together as the story went along, but it left me a little lost at first.There was also a large number of “good guy” characters. These were the characters that seemed to be recurring people (friends & relatives) within the series who were unlikely to be involved in the crime. The number of potential suspects from the remaining introduced townspeople was very small in comparison. This made the list of suspects so small that it wouldn’t be difficult to guess the culprit and at least have a very good attempt at getting it right. Having said that, the characters were amazingly charming and relatable which added to the cozy feel of the story.

The story was unique and while I may have guessed the murderer I didn’t guess the motive behind the killings.Overall, I enjoyed the mystery storyline of the book and am looking forward to reading the previous installments in this series. ( )

Fudge Bites by Nancy Coco is the seventh A Candy-Coated Mystery. It can be read as a standalone for those new to this sweet series. Allie McMurphy loves living on Mackinac Island and looks forward to her first winter on the island. She has renovation planned for the second floor plus adding a rooftop deck. Allie is feeling a little lonely with her best friend, Jenn living in Chicago and others departing the island for the winter. Allie is a developed character who is friendly and relatable. She has some important decisions to make in Fudge Bites. I enjoyed the twisty whodunit with multiple suspects and unexpected action. I always enjoy a mystery that keeps you on your toes. Nancy Coco gives us beautiful descriptions of Mackinac Island in the fall. I can see how it can be challenging to live on Mackinac Island in the winter with the freezing temperatures, lack of activities and no ferry. Allie’s fudge making will have your mouth watering. There are recipes for brownies and various types of fudge included (Apple Cinnamon White Chocolate Fudge for instance). There is an excerpt from Death Bee Comes Her which is the beginning of a new cozy mystery series for Nancy Coco. I am curious to find out what happens next for Allie and the McMurphy. Fudge Bites is a spooktacular cozy mystery with fabulous fudge, roof renovations, a canine with a keen sniffer, twinkling treasure, zany zombies, and suspicious suspects. ( )

Another great book by Ms. Coco. ( )

Fudge Bites is the seventh book in the Candy-Coated Mystery series.

Many of the residents of Mackinac Island are getting for the Zombie Walk which will raise money for charity. Allie is walking down the alley heading for where the walk will begin when she notices her cat Mella who appears to have blood on her paws. Allie soon hears a scream and heads back to near where she found Mella and finds her friend Sophie in a frantic state. Sophie relates that she has discovered a dead body. Rex Manning, police chief, starts his investigation. Allie, in turn, heads for the vet to have Mella checked out and to have samples taken from her blood-stained paws. By the time she returns, the walk is almost over. As she's checking out the remaining zombies she notices that there was another zombie dressed very much like the body that was just found. The first she thinks is, was the wrong person killed? Soon there is an explosion at the Senior Center that completely levels the building. One of the people saw something suspicious and was able to get everyone to safety without any serious injuries. Then at the McMurphy Allie is having some remodeling which needs reinforcing of the roof, when there is an explosion in the work area. No serious damage. Allie begins to wonder if this all related and if so, how? With the help of her island friends sets off to find a connection of these events and hopefully, the murderer will be discovered.

I enjoy this series as there is always an exciting and interesting story being told. The story is well written and plenty of twist and turns that kept me guessing as to who the murderer was.

Delicious sounding recipes also included in the book.

I can’t wait for the next book in this tasty series. ( )