Icing Ivy: A Writers' Retreat Stranger Than Fiction

Jane Stuart and Winky #4

by Evan Marshall

"Engaging!...Jane proves a shrewd sleuth."—Publishers Weekly

"For fans of feline cozies."—Library Journal

One of the students at Jane’s writers’ retreat gets an A in murder.

Jane Stuart and Ivy Benson were once best friends. Ever since Ivy's daughter Marlene was murdered, though, things have been rocky. To patch up their friendship, Jane invites Ivy to the writer’s retreat Jane organized. Jane and Ivy plan to spend the wintry week relaxing and drinking cocoa, just like old times!

Off-season Mt. Munsee Lodge is a mountain-top hotel which is perfect for relaxing and having fun. But Ivy brings Johnny, her new man, who turns out to be on the run. To Ivy’s displeasure, Johnny swoons over one of Jane's students, Carla, a waitress with little promise as a writer but great potential as a home wrecker. Johnny figures the retreat makes the perfect getaway, but what he’s running away from soon appears. And when an unexpected blizzard leaves everyone marooned in the snow, there's no chance for escape.

Out for a walk the next day, Jane finds her old friend Ivy on the snowy trail—dead. Ivy has been stabbed with an ice pick. Johnny's the likeliest suspect, but he’s vanished. Anyway, Jane knows Johnny’s not the one who iced Ivy. He has no motive. The killer is someone who knows a lot more about murder than writing.

But who? The snow melts, giving up clue after clue. Jane and her trusted tortie Winky investigate every lead and soon uncover Ivy’s dark secrets.

Writing can be murder, every writer knows that! Before this killer strikes again, Jane and Winky must find the one who may not know much about plot structure, but sure knows murder—cold.

BONUS

This edition contains an excerpt from TOASTING TINA by Evan Marshall.

REVIEWS OF ICING IVY

3.67 average rating all editions, 63 ratings, 7 reviews, added by 130 people, 31 to-reads, 90% of the people like it–Goodreads

5 out of 5 stars (4 customer reviews)–Amazon

"Jane Stuart is a Jane Marple for the millennium."—Kensington Publishing

"Miss Marple Lite."—Kirkus Reviews

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Evan Marshall is president of The Evan Marshall Agency and author of The Marshall Plan® For Novel Writing (Writer’s Digest, 1998), an international bestseller on novel writing. He is the author of 10 commercially published mysteries, including Manhattan Mysteries and Jane & Winky series, named “Miss Marple Lite” by Kirkus Reviews. His books appeal to fans of Janet Evanovich, Lilian Jackson Braun, Agatha Christie and Alexander McCall Smith. You can reach him at evan@evanmarshallagency.com.

Genres: Mystery

218 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 12, 2018

About the author

Evan Marshall is president of The Evan Marshall Agency and author of The Marshall Plan For Novel Writing (Writer’s Digest, 1998), an international bestseller on novel writing now in its 20th anniversary edition. He is the author of 10 commercially published mysteries, Manhattan Mysteries Series and Jane & Winky Series which was named “Miss Marple Lite” by Kirkus Reviews. His books appeal to fans of Janet Evanovich, Lilian Jackson Braun, Agatha Christie and Alexander McCall Smith. You can reach him at evan@evanmarshallagency.com.

Reviews

[Della Van Setten · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn’t really enjoy this writer. All of the characters were quite undeveloped and I think this is supposed to be like book four in the series. And the main characters family and cat just felt like a short little aside. Couldn’t feel sympathy or attachment to any of them.

[brenda janowiecki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jane is an author and teaching a writers class for a retreat. When her friend Ivy is found dead, she refuses to remain idle which so many possible suspects lingering nearby. She keeps checking alibis, Ivy’s home, and with her police boyfriend’s help, searches Ivy’s luggage.

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

A light mystery that helped me get through a difficult time.

[Diane Large · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not the best of this series. Found it confusing to follow.

[Dan Beliveau · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clever

[Dharia Scarab · Rating 4 out of 5]

Since I don't normally write reviews unless I have something specific to say, here's the break down of how I rate my books...

1 star... This book was bad, so bad I may have given up and skipped to the end. I will avoid this author like the plague in the future.

2 stars... This book was not very good, and I won't be reading any more from the author.

3 stars... This book was ok, but I won't go out of my way to read more, But if I find another book by the author for under a dollar I'd pick it up.

4 stars... I really enjoyed this book and will definitely be on the look out to pick up more from the series/author.

5 stars... I loved this book! It has earned a permanent home in my collection and I'll be picking up the rest of the series and other books from the author ASAP.

[Theresa Vencill · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was good because of the detail of the surroundings but the plot was confusing. In this book, Jane Stuart goes on a writers retreat on a mountain. She meets her old friend ivy who is murdered. The police are baffled and once again, it is up to Jane to solve it. The murderers are confusing and i did not understand how they murdered her or who they really are. Overall, it was not the best book in his series and I thought it was alright.

[Grey853 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jane's estranged friend Ivy shows up right before Christmas and they make up. Then she manages to get an invitation to Jane's writers retreat. After she's found murdered, Jane insists on playing detective to find the murderer.

It's not a bad set up and while I had some issues with some of the characters including Jane, it was an easy read.

[Doris · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a confusing book but an easy read, but it soured me on the entire series. It had good surroundings details but I had trouble figured out how the various players fit into the scene. I read through to the end, but still haven't quite figured out the why. I'm not even sure who the murderer was.

Overall, it was not the best book I have ever read.

[Gloria Mccracken · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pleasant lightweight read. A few loose ends left hanging.

[Cindy Kester · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute cat read.