This series is one of the first that truly made me want to travel to a setting. Character driven (human and 4 legged), fantastic setting, light romance, fudge, Fall AND murder mysteries.... WIN WIN!!!

Fantastic series. One of the first Cozy series I started way back when. Highly recommend!

I really loved this Halloween themed cozy. It was surprising and fun. I did figure out who did it, but still enjoyed the book and look forward to the next offering in the series.

Crisp autumn air, leaves crunching under your feet and the perfect....murder? Join beloved character Allie as she is getting hyped up about the annual zombie walk for charity. Unfortunately, murder has decided to steal the show. Allie's cat stumbles upon the latest tragedy, a body in the alley.

Sadly, this local isn't playing a zombie, she's truly gone. Allie joins her love Rex Manning and together they try to solve this murder, before another one happens.

This is a fun cozy that sometimes tries too hard. it's trope-y but then again, that's how all cozies are. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Fine to read as a standalone.

I really enjoy this series. It is October on Mackinac Island and Allie is looking for word to the slower place, doing some remodeling on her hotel and dressing up for the Zombie run. Instead her cat discovers a dead body and she sets out to solve the murder. I really enjoy the setting and the characters. The mystery was good and there were some red herrings to make it interesting. I look for word to reading the next book in this series. Enjoy

Fudge Bites, the latest installment of the Mackinac Island Candy Coated Mysteries series finds Allie McMurphy helping officer Rex Manning figure out where the dead bodies showing up during the Island's Zombie Walk are coming from and who might be responsible for their deaths. As always, there's someone chasing Allie and some worries about whether she's safe--and Rex and she have a few romantic moments too. The backdrop of Mackinac Island and the Historic McMurphy Hotel and Fudge Shop make for a delicious setting!

I loved this cozy mystery by Nancy Coco. I felt she did a great job writing this one, looking forward to reading more from her.

I love books set in fall and this book had all my favorite fall elements. The story moved at a fast pace, which I like. The victim was found in the beginning of the first chapter and allowed for a lot of time to introduce clues and suspects. I was kept wondering until the very end. I have read books in this series before and I always enjoy the setting of the Island and the characters feel like old friends. I highly recommend this book.

The seventh book in the Candy-Coated Mystery series by Nancy Coco is Fudge Bites. Allie, owner of a local fudge shop and hotel, is all set to participate in the zombie walk when her cat discovers a fake zombie who is really dead. She begins her own investigation and soon finds herself in the killer's cross-hairs along with members of the senior group. Time is running out to solve the murder before the killer claims more lives. The book has plenty of excitement and a bit of romance. This series is becoming one of my favorites.

Another great addition to the series. Although this is book 7 in the series, it could easily be read as a stand alone. I adore the setting for this series on Mackinac Island. The author does a great job of pulling the reader into the setting without over explaining things. The book is well plotted, well paced and the characters are fun and likeable. The mystery was perfect for Halloween!

This is a new-to-me cozy mystery series. Although I am reading #7, I didn't have any problem following the characters and setting which happened to be one of my favorite places in the US: Mackinac Island in Upper Michigan. It certainly had lots of twists and turns to keep me guessing as to who the villain was, and I actually never did figure it out. I loved the small town feel of Mackinac Island as well as all the wonderful seniors who filled the story. Liz's fudge recipes were awesome, and I intend to try some of them out at Christmas time! Enjoyed seeing newcomer to the island, Liz, discover that the citizens did not see her as an outsider but truly adopted her as part of their family. I look forward to reading the previous books as well as the next one to see if Liz decides to spend the winter Mackinac Island where she can be snowed and iced in.

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It's Halloween on Mackinac Island and time for the annual Zombiefest. The last thing Allie expects to find is a dead zombie. This fudge making master plus historic hotel caretaker, has plenty on her to-do list which includes deciding if she should brave the harsh winter or travel south to stay with her BFF in Chicago. Sure that this is a case of mistaken identity, Allie works through the clues like she works through her fudge recipes. Incidentally, those recipes are out of this world, I would suggest starting with the flourless brownies. Great story filled with suspects, secrets, sweets, and surprises.

Brought to you by OBS reviewer Jeanie

This exciting mystery is at times funny, scary or sadly serious. Allie has just completed her first tourist season as the new owner of the family’s Historic McMurphy Hotel and Fudge Shop on Mackinac Island. It is a time of change, and not just due to cooler temperatures and falling leaves. Jenn, Allie’s best friend who worked tirelessly to promote the McMurphy this summer, left for a prestigious job in Chicago. Her chocolatier, Sandy, has been offered a position as head pastry chef starting next season at a larger hotel. Many of the folks Allie loves at the senior center are going south for the winter. Her new family on the island is scattering, and she wonders what winter will bring. Winter, when only a few die-hards stay in this cold winter wonderland.

Today, Allie will have fun with friends around the island. It is time for the Zombie Walk aka “Night of the Walking Red”, a fundraiser for the American Heart Association. Zombies of all sizes and shapes are everywhere as Allie and Liz, editor of the local newspaper, return from getting a costume for Allie’s pup, Mal. Allie’s calico cat Mella comes out of an alley covered with something that looks like blood, yet she doesn’t have any injuries. They hear a scream; their friend Sophie came from the alley saying that she thinks she found a dead guy…

Rex, the top investigator on the island and one of the two guys Allie dated over the summer, and another officer arrive at the scene. A woman came into the alley looking for her son. Unfortunately, Maggs’ son Anthony was wearing a jacket with his costume that looks exactly like what is on the body lying there. Maggs is the best friend of Frances, the McMurphy Hotel’s manager. Frances is going to spend the night with Maggs after getting such a shock. Anthony was getting ready to move to the lower peninsula for a teaching job.

Everyone on the island assumes that Allie will help investigate, as she has gained a reputation as an amateur sleuth in the short time she’s lived here. Everybody loves Maggs, and Anthony was also well-loved on the island and in his church. For as much as she wants to step back and let Rex and his officers do their job, it becomes personal when someone blew up the senior center. Yes, where she and many of the seniors were gathered that morning, barely cleared out before it was rocked by the first explosion.

Being back on Mackinac Island is like visiting old friends, from Allie and her puppy Mal to Rex, Frances and her new husband Douglas, and the folks at the senior center. Each person is so well defined that I can almost see them in the gorgeous setting painted by the author. I really like Allie, Frances and Liz. I like how Allie wants to hold onto the family and island traditions, especially in the fudge she makes and how she is updating the hotel to look as it once did with the only major changes being technological advances of the 21st century. Allie and Trent, the other man she was dating, broke up some time ago; dating someone who is away more than there isn’t the kind of relationship she wants. Rex has been more attentive, especially in Trent’s absence, but Trent’s proposition might change everything. This delicious mystery is full of fudge, humor, suspense, possible romance, and scary moments. Plot twists and turns continue to send the police and Allie in different directions. I enjoy seeing the interaction between Rex and Allie, between Allie and the seniors. Yes, they know all the gossip that helps her when she is looking for a bad guy, but she genuinely cares about them and enjoys making fudge for them. This armchair sleuth could only guess at a few of the pieces to this puzzle; it was more complex that I first thought. The solution, and the ending, are both very satisfactory, with more than one surprise in store. I highly recommend Fudge Bites and the rest of the Candy-Coated Mystery series! Each can be read as a standalone, with even more enjoyment if read somewhat in order.

*OBS would like to thank the publisher for supplying a free copy of this title in exchange for an honest review*

This is book 7 in the Candy-coated mystery series and it's a good one. Set on Mackinac Island during the off season the islanders are getting ready for Halloween with a zombie walk fund raiser. Alli has her fudge made for the day and is planning on attending the walk. When she finds her cat covered in blood she is soon standing over the dead body of a young local man who everyone loved. Now her beloved McMurphy Hotel is in jeopardy as the killer doesn't want her working on the case. All your favorites show up but this can be read as a stand alone. I received a copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

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.

Disclaimer: I was given an advanced reader copy of this ebook via NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I was disappointed to find out that this was the 7th book in the series, since I have not read any of the others. With that being said, I did still enjoy it and will be going back to read the rest. I love books that take place in Michigan, since it is my state, especially cozy mysteries!

I would definitely recommend this series to anyone that likes cozy mysteries!

I didn't realize this was the seventh book in the series till after. I requested it. I wish I would have known.

Unable to read and review by publication date due to other commitments, Will update immediately upon completion. Thank you NetGalley and Publisher,

A new entry in a fun cozy mystery series i haven't read the others in the series but definitely will now and can't wait to read the next one

I tend to jump into the middle of new-to-me cozy mystery series if there's something on the cover that catches my interest and that's exactly what happened when I saw the description for Fudge Bites by Nancy Coco. A dead body found during an annual zombie walk? Of course I was going to read that one!



Halloween isn't a major part of the plot. As soon as everyone washes of their makeup, life on the small island gets back to normal with the residents preparing for the off season. A bigger part of the plot is candy maker Allie's concern about how lonely she'll be once her friends take off for the winter and the rennovations she's making to her historic hotel.



A lot of pages are taking up with the details of Allie's life, but the murder mystery itself is the most fascinating part, especially the motives behind it. This one was a fun read.