All You Need is Fudge: 02/06/24

All You Need is Fudge by Nancy CoCo (2016) is the fourth book in the Candy-Coated mystery series. While walking Mal, Allie McMurphy finds the body of a local socialite floating in the harbor. It's the week of the annual yacht race and initially everyone things she must have fallen in during a late night party. But the sister of Allie's boyfriend is accused of murder.

As Allie's not part of the same social circles as her boyfriend, she and her chocolatier are suddenly shut out of the event they had been partially catering. She's also kept away from her boyfriend and his family, leaving her wondering what's going on and anxious to help his sister.

So of course she sets out to solve the mystery. She probably could have given more time. Unfortunately the ending feels a bit rushed, where the author seemed more eager to finish her B plot (one involving a wedding proposal being planned by one of Allie's longterm employees. To have enough pages left to wrap up the book on a happy ending, the murder ends up confessing at a point when they could have just told Allie to mind her own business.

Save for the abrupt ending that doesn't rely on Allie's skills as an amateur sleuth at all, I enjoyed the book. I even liked the B plot and all the planning that went into the event.

The fifth book is Oh, Fudge! (2017)

Four stars

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