Member Reviews
A good addition to the series- but also easily read as a stand alone, Five Fudge a Chance is a cozy mystery with a wonderful setting and some great recipes.
I could not put this book down. It contains all of my favorite things, mystery, great characters, a fun and intriguing plot, not to mention the recipes for fudge. If you are a fan of cozy mysteries that you would enjoy this series.
Through NetGalley, I received a free copy of GIVE FUDGE A CHANCE (Book 11 of the Candy Coated Mysteries) by Nancy Coco in exchange for an honest review. County fair competitions, real corpses in the haunted house, and bodies falling from rooftops. It looks like Allie McMurphy has found herself in another pickle!
I liked this book and recommend it to fans of the series. I recommend the series to fans of cozy murder mysteries set in small island communities featuring candy shops, hotels, and animal sidekicks .
#GiveFudgeaChance #NetGalley
One of my favorite long-running cozy mystery series with a bakery theme. I enjoy watching protagonist Allie McMurphy grow between stories and like her blooming relationship with Detective Rex Manning. The lovely setting of Mackinac Island hosts this series in which Allie runs a historic hotel and specializes in creating yummy fudge.
This eleventh installment reveals smuggler tunnels, a creepy murder, and a mind-boggling second murder! Author Coco is adept at staging a plot that keeps readers eyes glued to the pages. An awesome cast of characters who feel like family, sweet pets, non-stop action, and delicious recipes throughout make this story a winner! I highly recommend.
I honestly reviewed an unedited digital arc provided by NetGalley and Kensington Publishing. All opinions are my own.
Nancy Coco, I am here to always find out what will happen next to my girl, Allie, as she continues to make herself a home on Mackinac Island. I must admit, until this book, I found Rex quite irritating, but this book highlights quite a bit of growth for our #1 cop. I found myself liking him a lot more.
Allie again finds herself sleuthing despite initially trying her best to stay away from it. When others start asking her to investigate, she sticks with saying I will not investigate unless it involves someone I know or somewhere important to me, but in typical Mackinac Island fashion, the subsequent murder takes place much closer to "home".
A really enjoy this cozy mystery series. I am always waiting for the next book to release so I can read it and find out what's going on with all the islanders I've grown so fond of. I will say Jenn and her husband are couple goals to me. I think Coco explores the ambiguity that has surrounded Allie and Rex's relationship for a bit and they seem to be more on the same page as the book progresses! WAHOO!
I already am looking forward to the next!!
What's not to love about a fudge filled series?
I enjoy reading about the island and hear about secret smugglar tunnels.
Including delicious and not too difficult to make fudge recipes is a huge bonus, but it is the main character who kept my attention focused.
There is some romantic tension too!
Summertime is coming to a close on Mackinac Island and the local fair is being held in the park. Allie is thrilled to participate in the candy competition; a win would allow her to participate in the state fair and gain great publicity for the McMurphy. Unfortunately the competition isn't a friendly one and the island is divided between Team Allie and Team Christine. But that issue is soon outweighed by a much bigger issue when Allie and Jen stumble over a dead body in a haunted house and a local parkour fan falls from the roof of the hotel. Is it possible that two suspicious deaths could be unrelated?
I really enjoy this series and went to Mackinac Island last summer so I could see all the sites. The author does a great job of capturing the charm of the island and the personalities of the residents. The mystery in this one was pretty complicated and the resolution was one that I could never have seen coming (perhaps a bit of a cheat but not overly so). The candy competition and the fair were fun to read about and gave the story a nice twist. The ending also brings in some interesting developments in the relationship between Allie and Rex.
Definitely a must-read series for cozy mystery fans!
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.
Give Fudge a Chance is another fun addition to this delightful series set in Mackinac Island. Michigan, where Allie McMurphy owns a hotel and fudge shop. Allie wins Best in Show at the annual County fair fudge contest. winning against twenty year winner Kristine Keller. who is absolutely livid over her loss. Allie and Jen find a dead body in the haunted house attraction, then a person jumped or was tossed off the hotel roof, and her friend Carol is kidnapped. Allie is certain all these events are connected and starts her own investigation, much to the consternation of her police officer boyfriend Rex Manning, who fears for her safety. This was another fun read that kept me guessing til the end.
I recieved a free eARC of this book. Thank you for the opportunity to read it
This is a later book in a series. While I hadn't read the earlier ones, I didn't find it difficult to jump in. Having said that, I found it hard to connect the threads, maybe because of not knowing the series as well. Still, overall this is a good cozy mystery with delicious sounding fudge recipes. Cozy fans should enjoy it, and may want to check out the rest of the series as well.
Give Fudge A Chance by Nancy Coco was an enjoyable read. Her books are known to hold your attention and make you try and figure out “who dun it?” I recommend this book.
Absolutely loved it!!!! This was my first time reading a book from this series and this author and I liked it so much ive already bought the first 3 books in the series I cant wait to read more about Allie ,Rex and all her quirky friends on the island! Great mystery felt like I was right there with them trying to solve it plus a ton of nail biting moments I loved this cozy I will highly recommend it to anybody!!!!
Much thanks to #netgalley and #kinsington for allowing me to read and review this ARC
All thoughts and opinions are my own
Give Fudge a Chance is the eleventh installment in the Candy-Coated Mystery series set on Mackinac Island and featuring Allie McMurphy, owner and fudge maker at her family's hotel, the McMurphy Hotel and Fudge Shop. August on Mackinac means the island is swarming with tourists and this year the Mackinac County Fair is being held on the island instead of the Upper Peninsula due to renovations at the fairgrounds. Allie is looking forward to the fair and entering her fudge, hoping that more people will learn about her Fudge Shop.
Allie visits the fairground with best friend Jenn Carpenter, where the duo decides to visit the haunted murder mansion. Unfortunately, the corpse at the exit isn't a mannequin, but a dead human, Mike Sanders. Shortly after the discovery of Mike, Allie wins the fudge competition and goes on to beat out Christine Keller, who'd won Best in Show for the past 20 years with her caramels. Christine is livid especially when she also loses Best in Show for quilting to resident Carol and vows to destroy both women and prove they cheated.
Hazel Green has been spotted all over the island practicing Parkour, the art of jumping along the rooftops and any other high location. When Hazel takes a fatal tumble off the roof of the McMurphy, Allie sets out with the help of her friends and furry companions to find out if there is a killer loose on the island.
A fun afternoon read with the return of series regulars and Allie's furry companions, Mal and Mella.
Although we discover a whole network of underground tunnels on the island and things are heating up between Allie and Police Officer Rex Manning; oh, and the fudge recipes will still make your mouth water, the mystery fell sort of flat for me in this latest installment. But, I will most definitely be returning to Mackinac for the next adventures of Allie.
I received an advanced copy of Give Fudge a Chance from NetGalley via Kensington Publishing. While not required to write a review I am happy to offer my honest opinion.
recipes, Mackinac Island, island-life, murder, murder-investigation, law-enforcement, small-town, small-business, amateur-sleuth, friendship, pets, series, cozy-mystery, hotelier, county-fair, book-club,*****
PARKOUR!
Oh yeah, that was the SECOND murder.
The characters nice (except for the whiney one) but realistic, the twists are really different, the location is almost a character by itself, and the red herrings really add a lot.
I originally came for the location and the recipes, but now I'm hooked on the cozies and recipes.
The book is punctuated with delicious chocolate fudge recipes every few chapters. Good read!
I requested and received a free temporary e-book from Kensington Books via NetGalley. Thank you!
'Give Fudge a Chance' is an adequate addition to Nancy Coco's A Candy-Coated Mystery series. I appreciated the progress in Allie's relationship with Rex, although it is a little farfetched that she continues to put herself in ridiculous danger. The line about being continually kidnapped was facetious. It is also getting difficult to accept that an island with the population of less that 500 people can have so much death and mayhem. All this being said I am attached to the location and the characters and hope to have more in the future.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.
I am a huge fan of this series because it checks all the boxes for me: great setting, writing that flows, MC that actually goes to work. This mystery was well written and added a few elements that have been briefly touched on in other books (the tunnels) but I'd be lying if I said that I enjoy Allie's complete disregard for safety and Rex's pleas to be smarter about her investigating; it's getting a little annoying. Otherwise, I love how the series continues to progress for the characters personally and look forward to the next book.
Love this series! Allie is a hotel owner and fudge maker. She is entering the Mackinac County Fair fudge contest hoping to represent her business. While on a break, she finds a dead body in the haunted house attraction. Another solid mystery in this most entertaining series! Great characters! Thanks#netgalley and #Kensington for the eARC in exchange for a honest review. All opinions are mine.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for letting me review this book. Allie is at it again with the murder and mystery solving. You get pulled into the excitement of trying to figure out who the killer is along with Allie. I was intrigued by the first book in the series and I was hooked after a few pages in. I love that each book in this series has recipes as well.
Loved reading this book and series. One of my favorite authors. Hopefully you will enjoy the book as much as I am. Happy reading. Looking forward to the next book in the series
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Read if you like:
- culinary cozy mystery
- town fair setting
- Mackinac
- CANDY 💕💕
I am an absolute sucker for a culinary cozy mystery, and one set in a small town fair??? Swoooooon 😍
I have read a few books in this series before, and I really enjoy this author and series. I really like to use cozy mysteries as a “palate cleanser” between my depressing and often gory usual mystery/thriller genre. The murders that I love to hear about, but everything is happy and peppy; I love that 🤪
I have read many cozy mysteries and the ones that stick out to me are the ones just like this story, that have the recipes that coincide with the book in between chapters. It just gives it an extra flair and makes me assume the writer spent a fair bit of time and work on those extras!
This book got right to the point (murder) within the first few pages, and then worked the story from there, which I really like. Sometimes when the story has to build up for a bit to the murder I find myself getting bored and not even caring about what happens. Having the death take place immediately in the opening of the book ensures that I am hooked and invested in the story right away.
The best part of the story were all the small town quirky characters; I honestly wished I lived a life exactly like Allie’s in this book!
The story was excellent and engaging, and I did not see the ending coming!! Which I always appreciate 🤪 I can’t wait to read more books in this series by Nancy CoCo 💕💕
Hotel owner and fudge maker is excited to enter her fudge in the county fair, but she finds a murder before the judging. The setting, characters and plots always make this series fun!