Frozen Fudgesticks

by Josephine Beintema

An artic cold snap is wreaking havoc at the campground with frozen pipes, and brown outs from too many space heaters. While Ivy is dealing with the problems as best as she can, Luka is mysteriously missing. To make matters worse, the town council is about to rule on whether or not he will get the position of Chief of Police and they want a final interview. What can Ivy tell Mayor Whitcomb when she doesn't know where her missing boyfriend is?

It all seems too much when all construction work stops on the burnt out clubhouse as Don Miller discovers a body under the kitchen floor! Just who has been under the floor boards and for how long? With more questions than answers, can Ivy solve this cold case with the help of her senior sleuths?

229 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 1, 2024

Reviews

[Maria · Rating 2 out of 5]

Could this series be any more condescending? Here's a hint for would-be cozy authors looking to capitalize on the success of books like The Thursday Murder Club and The Marlow Murder Club: The older people in those books are the main characters and their actions are front and center. They're not relegated to playing a supporting role as some 20 or 30-something's "merry band of senior sleuths." Nor are they stuck constantly doing chores/baking cookies/dogsitting/providing a sounding board for some twit 1/3 their age. Sorry, nobody wants to play that kind of role in anyone else's life.

Also, it doesn't come across well to spend an entire book dwelling on how tragically misguided or naive a previous generation of women were for falling for some grifter, only to have the mc immediately swallow an incredibly implausible story about her boyfriend being temporarily in witness protection. Yeah, sure. Outside of fiction -- extremely formulaic, clichéd romance novels at that -- any sensible woman would kick that s*** to the curb. But no, I'm sure Miss Center of the Universe will swallow it whole and turn as many blind eyes as she needs to pursue her "true love" with someone she admittedly doesn't know well and has spent little time with. If it works out for her, that's sheer blind luck (or an author whose primary genre seems to be romance) since she's no less naive than any of the women who dated whatshisname the con artist.

[Therese · Rating 3 out of 5]

Distractions

The characters are very likeable. However, the oddly worded sentences, incorrect use of apostrophes, and wrong spellings and misprint make distractions that take away from the charm of the story. If the author uses AI as a writing help, I strongly suggest that she stop relying on it and rely on her own writing talents. If she doesn't use AI, then she needs to finds a really competent proofreader.

[Trish · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cutesy story - I’ve read them all - but this one had sooooo many issues that could have been caught by a good editor. I mean, using the wrong name for characters, misspelling their names, wrong words used that didn’t get corrected and timeline issues (one example - starts saying it’s the beginning of February but then says “last month” when referring to things that happened in the last book that was set at Christmas). It’s such a distraction to the story.

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't think of a single thing different to say about this book. I loved it and I loved this series. The characters are quirky and funny, and just so good to read about. Recommend reading.

[Lori · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved it

[Jean Walsh]

Great series. It is easy to read and the characters are charming.