All I Want for Christmas Is Fudge

Candy-Coated Mystery #3.5

by Nancy CoCo

A holiday helping of murder heats up this sweet, seasonal mystery from the author of All Fudged Up—includes a yummy recipe exclusive to this ebook!

Ho-Ho-Ho-Homicide

This Christmas, event planner Jenn Christensen has come back to the winter wonderland of Mackinac Island, Michigan, to race for charity in the Santa Fun Run, rekindle her love for CSI tech Shane Carpenter, and indulge in her BFF Allie McMurphy's fabulous fudge. But there's one event she didn't plan—chasing down a killer. After finding a deceased Santa in a snowbank, she's shocked to discover the police suspect her of murder. It's up to Jenn, Allie, and a helpful golden retriever named Marley to catch the killer and find out who's at the top of the naughty list.

Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Christmas, Fiction, Cozy, Holiday, Novella

87 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 29, 2015

Reviews

[Mary Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Christmas Cozy Mystery
This is a wonderful Christmas cozy mystery. The author does a great job with description of the winter wonderland. She does such a great job that is is so vivid like she has just painted a picture. I still can vision the book in my head after reading it last night. This is a short novella and I never read this series before but it is not needed. Allie McMurphy’s best friend Jen who has recently returned from Chicago, where she had spent a couple of months on a job only to realize that she misses her boy friend Shane. She is back during Christmas week and decides to participate in the Santa Fun Run on Mackinac Island, during her run she is shocked to see a dead Santa stuck in a snow bank head first with his legs up in the air with one black boot on and the other boot off.

Police chief Rex Manning is called to the scene and assumes that Jenn is responsible for the murder. The dead Santa was found to be Tim Slater who was known to have a stalker that followed him. The police were looking into this and while looking into it, Allie was able to solve the mystery.

I was so happy to find this little gem. It was a nice little treasure. I wanted to find a good Christmas holiday cheer cozy mystery and this was it. The good thing was it was only 99¢ on Amazon. It even has a recipe for fudge.

[Tari · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you want a quick, happy ending mystery, then this is definitely for you! I thought it was pretty cool to begin with that this book is written from Jenn's point of view.

Time jumping from late summer to just before Christmas: Jenn is Allie's best friend who has missed Mackinac Island so much from when she went back to Chicago at the end of summer, that she is there for a week for Christmas and the Santa Fun Run 10k.

I was so used to recently reading the previous books told from Allie's viewpoint that I had to remember who "I" was, but it was a lot of fun hearing about the other characters from Jenn's viewpoint--I also really liked her description of her bestie, Allie.

And just like Allie, Jenn must have a tendency to find bodies because she finds one of the Santa Run participants in a snow bank one of the first mornings she was there doing her morning run. Since no one else was around, of course she's the person of interest even though the police realize she couldn't have done it due to later evidence.

The dead man had a girlfriend, a dog and a couple of other friends plus a stalker so there were plenty of suspects. Even though this was a shorter book, it wasn't lacking for clues and suspense since I didn't guess who the killer was till it was revealed. I love when Allie gathers everyone around like in the old books and some TV shows, to reveal the killer.

One person Jenn was especially anxious to see was her summer boyfriend, Shane the CSI guy on the island but he seemed a little distant so that was a little side story which turned out really well at the end.

I would love to see a future book in the series set at Christmas but have it be a regular length book. I want to hear about the Christmas festivities on the island and spend time at the McMurphy with my character friends there!

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great Christmas novella

I really enjoyed this novella. It was fun getting the story from Jenn’s point of view. I liked visiting the Mackinac in the winter. Can’t wait to see what happens next.

[QNPoohBear · Rating 3 out of 5]

Event Planner Jenn Christensen has returned to Mackinac Island for Christmas. She's drawn by friends, fudge and a winter wonderland. Not to mention a Santa pub crawl! A runner since college, Jenn has decided to participate in the Santa Fun Run, a 5k charity race held on the island. While training for the race, Jenn finds one of the Santas face down in the snow. When she tries to hep, she discovers the man is dead! As Jenn waits for the police and CSI, she admits to herself that part of the reason she returned, and wants to stay, is Shane, her boyfriend and crime scene investigator. Jenn is eager to see Shane again but when he arrives at the crime scene, he's all business and cold towards Jenn. Then Rex Manning, the detective in charge of the case, seems to think Jenn is a person of interest! Her best friend Allie is on her side and will do anything to help clear her friend's name.

The mystery part of this story is interesting. The victim, Tim Slater, seemed both like a nice guy and a jerk at the same time. Perhaps he shouldn't have been drinking. I was really shocked by who killed him and why. How could anyone kill someone wearing a Santa suit? It was good to see the story from Jenn's point-of-view. I always liked her better than Allie.

Character wise, this story is too short to really showcase the characters. Allie plays a major role in the investigation. She's a different person with Jenn, less attitude and softer. She only shares one fudge recipe for a hot chocolate fudge with cayenne pepper. Not one I want to make! The pets make a large cameo, comforting Jenn after she finds the body. Mella and Mal are both so sweet. I just adore little Mal, the BichonPoo puppy. I want to cuddle her! Frances is instrumental in helping make the right connections to move the story along.

The other new characters include Marley, a Golden Retriever who belongs to the murder victim's girlfriend, Eliza. Eliza seems like a nice lady but maybe a bit high maintenance. Her friends, Karla and Bill, sound even more high maintenance, being city dwellers. Finally, there's Albert Gray, Tim's stalker, who seems like the most likely suspect. Tim is kind of cantankerous and rude.

What I really didn't like about this story is the conclusion to the Jenn/Shane love drama. They need to grow up and learn to communicate better. I'm not a huge fan of what happens at the end and I'll be curious going forward to see what happens.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am loving this series, but my only concern is that this book seems and feels a little out of order. It almost seems like this book should be after book 4 since it takes place at Christmas and that one takes place in July. This is an interesting addition to the series and takes place from the point of view of Allie's best friend, Jenn--this time she is the unlucky one to find the dead body. Still these are fun, cozy mysteries, and I love the setting of Mackinac Island.

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute

This was a tasty appetizer to the series. It was a little confusing at times since this point of view was Jen’s and not Allies, so I had to switch gears. However this was a bridge to the next book. I do wish it was not just an e-book.

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book.
This one is told from Jenn's perspective when she goes back to Mackinac Island for Christmas. She does no expect to find a dead Santa, however her friend Allie jumps in to help when Jenn is suspected.
I like these characters and it was a good mystery. I will continue on with this series.

[Diane ~Firefly~ · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a short story with Jenn as the protagonist as she came back to the Island for Christmas to figure out is she wants to move there. While jogging one morning, she finds a body and the local police (whom I didn't remember being stupid) peg her as the primary suspect thinking she would kill a stranger to get a chance to see her sorta boyfriend who works crime scenes.

I can't count how many times Jenn mentioned that Allie was her best friend. and the whole issue between Jenn and Shane was ridiculous. He went from snubbing her one day to proposing the next? And how the murder was solved was even more ridiculous.

I liked seeing things from Jenn's POV, but everything was too rushed and the people seemed a lot dumber. Hopefully with the next book things will be back to normal.

[Madeline · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

There was a murder, a resolution, a relationship.

The story felt rushed to me....

[Elliott · Rating 2 out of 5]

a pretty simple seasonal cozy novella. it's told from the perspective of a secondary character in the series and seems mostly to serve to develop her relationship further - even as she's at the scene of a murder, she's trying to catch the attention of her bf... or is he her ex?! idk my priorities would probably be different around a corpse but I haven't been in that position to speak from experience. there's not much development for the other characters, and the plot is pretty thin (the culprit is telegraphed pretty directly).

if you love this series and really enjoy the characters, you would probably enjoy this little check-in more than I did (I was mostly reading for seasonal details).

[Cozy Reader Lady · Rating 4 out of 5]

"All I Want For Christmas is Fudge (Candy-Coated Mysteries #3.5)" by Nancy Coco is probably best read as a standalone novella. It isn't set well amongst the established time line of books before and after it. There are somethings that haven't happened yet that happen in this one if it is to fall between the 3rd and 4th books, while at the same time some things that supposedly do happen haven't happened. So, best to read it like a standalone if you want to enjoy this quick Christmas themed cozy mystery.

The mystery part was a bit quick lived to really get into it and it differs from others in this series in that there is only one culprit. It was nice to get the story from Jenn's perspective.

[Heidi · Rating 4 out of 5]

It really threw me off. This book is written in 1st person by Jenn. I am so use to it being from Allie's viewpoint. It ended really abruptly for me. I guess Nancy CoCo just wanted it to end quickly. I am waiting on book 4 from the library now.
Does anyone know if Allie won the prize money from the contest, or is that in the next book?

[Monica Gearhart · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a cute and fast read.

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute short story about the best friend!

[April Schilling · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great book in the series! Jenn Christensen has returned to Mackinac Island, Michigan to see her best friend, Allie McMurphy, try to rekindle her relationship with Shane Carpenter, and run in the Santa Fun Run the island is having for charity. Unfortunately, finding a dead Santa in a snowbank while doing the run has made things difficult for her on two of those fronts. Jenn and Allie, with the help of a very friendly dog named Marley are able to find out who the killer is and prove to police that it's not Jenn. Now if she could just figure out why Shane is being so cold to her....

I'm really enjoying this series and am looking forward to the next book!

[Linda Langford · Rating 5 out of 5]

This delightful novella is a fun addition to the previous books in A Candy-Coated Mystery series. Told from Jenn Christenson's viewpoint. Jenn is Allie McMurphy's best friend, and she's visiting beautiful Mackinac Island in December. It's time for the Santa Fun Run, and Jenn's a runner enjoying the winter wonderland around her until she finds a dead Santa in a snowbank. The clues and mystery behind the death briskly unfurl to a satisfying conclusion. A light, fun read perfect for a cozy afternoon or evening.

[Jeanie Jackson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short but oh so sweet. This book didn't feel like a novella, nothing was lacking. The series is a fun light read and I often look for that.

This one is from Jen's point of view but Allie is still the person who drives the investigations. Jen is on the island for the holidays and within twenty-four hours encounters a dead Santa Claus. When she calls 911, the first thing the operator asks is, "Is this Allie?" I love it and I loved the book.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mackinac Island is a great setting and there's quite a few holiday touches. But the plot is very abrupt, especially at the end. Even the romance goes from a boyfriend who will barely speak to Jenn in the first two very brief encounters to the guy appearing at her doorstep and suddenly all is forgiven. Some of the dialogue is awkward and I found the pet names very confusing: Mal, Mella, and Marley.

[Jane Irish Nelson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Barely 3 stars. This short novella is told from Jenn's point of view, as she visits Allie fro Christmas, hoping to reconnect with Shane. Unfortunately, I have already read several books set before this, but written after, and the author seems to have created a timeline that now causes a lack a continuity. For once, however, it isn't Allie or any of her pets that fits the victim, but Jenn. Although, as usual, Allie contributes to the solution.

[Elaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this short story a lot. It did take a little to get used to the fact that Jen n was doing the talking. And also I think I should have read it after All You Need Is Fudge because I think that is the order it should be in. But it was good just the same. Jenn can do the talking again sometime.

[Brandi Moriarty · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like that this is written in a different point of view. I did read this after I read another book and I was very confused on the inconsistencies, that's why I give it a 4 star. I loved the mystery and proof there is activities on Mackinac Island when it snows. I love these characters and can't wait to read more.

[L.M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little confusing because I think this one comes after #7 chronologically but was released after book #3. Some things don't line up and I found it terribly confusing that Jenn was the narrator. But it was still a fun read.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Super cute Christmas story

I really enjoyed this novella told from Jenn's point of view. It had nice winter hallmarks, with just the right amount of murder.

The second time through, I was more frustrated with the conflicting narratives between Fudge Bites and This story.

[Jill · Rating 2 out of 5]

The dogs were the best part of the book.

[Carla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not only is it nearing Christmas, but it is Novellas in November time. I have been reading the Candy Coated Mysteries off and on and this was a perfect time to read a novella that I had missed along the way. Allie McMurphy is the main protagonist in this series, but Jenn Christensen is her BFF and helps her solve the many mysteries/murders on Mackinac Island. This is a story where Jenn finds the body and is the main character. While out running one morning, she finds a dead Santa in a snowdrift. The annual Santa Run is gearing up with activities on the island, and the victim was there with friends to participate. Who wanted him dead? How did he end up in a snowdrift?

All I Want for Christmas is Fudge is a novella that is set near the beginning of the series. I liked learning why and how Jenn ended up living on Mackinac Island, which this story does. It was also nice that someone else discovered the body and was central to solving the crime. It was short and sweet, but gave me just enough of a taste of what this series is about and Jenn's relationships on the Island.

[Jeroen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice little read with a christmassy feel. It's my second visit to this series, after just finalising the first book. Since this story takes place after the first three books it gave away some developments from book two and three but nothing that spoils any of those mysteries, just interpersonal developments. Since it is short it is relatively simple but it was still quite fun. It is written in first person but not by the main character of the series. It was enjoyable, and fun to just read in one go. I like stories and mysteries with a Christmas setting so it's a good start for the upcoming holiday season.

[Traci Haley · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've never been a fan of the novella/short story in between full sized books of my favorite series. This one was no exception. It was merely okay, and I felt like some things had happened in the story that I hadn't been clued into, so it almost feels like this book should be #4.5 instead of #3.5, assuming we find out the missing plot in book #4. I also didn't really care for Jenn being the main character. She's pretty vapid and uninteresting and spent far too much time whining about Shane. All in all, this book was just all right.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

This series takes place on Mackinac Island. While I enjoyed the story I wish it had been fleshed out into a full novel instead of a short story/novella. While Eliza seemed very nice, she surrounded herself with people who were not so nice. It would have been nice to learn what she saw in Tim, Bill and Karla. The Shane/Jenn problem was never really discussed before it was resolved. I've reall enjoyed the other books leading up to this series and was disappointed that this story wasn't more developed.

[Charlene Roberson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute, quick Christmas mystery

Returning to Mackinac Island for Christmas is much different than visiting in the summer season!! There are fewer tourists, and the daily ferries don't run, because the water is frozen. But that doesn't mean there is no crime, so when a dead man is discovered wearing a Santa costume, the local amateur sleuths compete with the police to find the murderer.

[Margaret Klein · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another of the Fudgie mysteries from Mackinac Island. This one, 3.5, is told from the point of view of Jenn who is up to the island from Chicago to run a Santa race and spend Christmas on the island. I thought I had them all but missed this one. (3.5? who has one in the middle?) Perhaps because I have read so many of these this year my feed has been filled with Mackinac in the snow at Christmas time. This book fits right in. totally enjoyable.