BWW Reviews: Nancy Coco's ALL FUDGED UP, a Mystery With Recipes

For those who adore the food-related version of the cozy domestic mystery, a new entry is Nancy Coco's ALL FUDGED UP published by Kensington, complete with recipes for... yes, fudge, and more fudge. Why fudge? Because when a dead body is found in Papa Liam the fudge store owner's establishment, that's the food in question.

When Allie McMurphy takes over the historic McMurphy Hotel and Fudge Shoppe on Mackinac Island, the last thing she expects to find is Joe Jessop's body in a second-floor utility closet. Another thing the former Chicago resident doesn't anticipate? The close-knit ties among the small local community, all of whom think they know each other's business better than the next person.

And what if Joe Jessop's death isn't the only murder in the neighborhood?

With the help of her adorable new Bichon-poodle mix puppy, Mal, Allie makes her way through the maze of people, places, and history that help her discover that the fudge business can be murder.

And the recipes are great, too. Although this isn't a cooking-mystery with heavy duty cooking in it, it's certainly amusing, Mal is cute and fluffy, and there are enough recipes to keep a candy-lover happy. A decent entry in the subgenres of cooking and pet mysteries. Intended as the start of a new series, there's potential for the upcoming books.