One Bear's Opinion on: All Fudged Up

All Fudged Up
by Nancy Coco

This was the second mystery in a row I've read that was set around a candy shop. It was hard not to compare the two as I was reading them. This one was set on Mackinac Island, Michigan, which I have heard of, but never visited. And I certainly didn't know it was known for fudge, but I guess it must be in some way, as "Mackinac Island Fudge" was the 6th suggestion when I started typing "Mackinac Island" into the Google Search Window. You learn something new everyday.

Anyway to the mystery. The opening idea for the series is that the main character has inherited a combination hotel/fudge shop and is trying to figure out how she can keep the family business open, which, as it turns out is very similar to the overarching plot of the candy shop mystery I read before this one.  It's not a unique overarching plot.

I started out disliking the main character, but I think the author intended readers to start out disliking her. At one point, I was actually rooting for the townspeople to get to her and send her back to Chicago with her tail between her legs. As the book went on, I grew to like Allie a bit more, but the only really endearing character in the book to me was her pet dog, Mal (Marshmallow), and that was only because she was a dog. It's very hard to not like a puppy.

Even though the murder was introduced on the first page of the book, the real investigation did not start until well over two-thirds into the book. It was a long slog to get to the mystery part of the book, and setting up a romantic triangle, haggling with the insular townspeople and historical committee, and crate training a dog were not enough to carry the majority of the mystery for me.

I was even a bit disappointed in the fudge recipes provided in the book. I would have though that a graduate of the Culinary Institute would be able to make real fudge, not just the "foolproof" condensed milk fudge. And I would hope that the Fudge Shop the main character hopes to keep open sells something better than the cheater's fudge anyone can make in their kitchen. Though on further reflection, the easier fudge recipe might be so anyone can make them, but still, I expected better.

I know this is not really a nice review of the book, and I don't want to leave you with the impression the that book was terrible. It was not. there were some good parts of the book. The motive for the murder was rather ingenious. And the author dropped enough hints in the book that I had the murderer pegged relatively early, so it was nice to read to the end and have the satisfaction of figuring it out, even if the motive was not revealed until the end. Overall, I didn't dislike the book, I just didn't really like it either. It's a perfect book to read on vacation and leave at the hotel's paperback exchange.

One Bear's Opinion:  Three cups of espresso and a plate of non-alcoholic condensed milk fudge

Happy Reading Everyone, 
Oliver