Hi, I’m Allie McMurphy and my mother is driving me crazy. It’s no wonder my pets – Mal the bichonpoo and Mella my calico cat – and I would rather solve a murder than get ready for my wedding. Of course, I have to get ready for the wedding. It’s only two weeks away. But my mom and my aunts and uncles all show up early and expect me to entertain them. How am I supposed to do that when I have fudge to make, an appointment for the final fitting on my dress to go to, and all the last-minute details.
Then when I leave the Mackinac Island Library, I stumble on the scene of a dead Velma French and a weeping Myrtle Bautita. These two are best worst enemies if there is such a thing. They love to squabble whenever they could over crafts, craft books, friends and more. In fact, they’ve been squabbling over things since high school. But when Myrtle becomes suspect number one, Irma asks me to help her friend by finding the killer. Well, I have to help. As an added plus, now I have a reason to dodge my mom.
Mom wants me to change my wedding plans from an outdoor wedding with a potluck reception, to a small intimate affair at the Grand Hotel with champaign and gourmet food. She also pooh poohs my eyelet dress even though, or maybe because, I helped the dressmaker design it. Instead, she wants me to wear a 1950’s Dior couture gown. A gown I’m afraid to move in unless I somehow rip it or get a food stain on it.
As you can tell, my day’s been frustrating to say the least. I asked my best friend and wedding planner, Jenn Carpenter to help me keep mom and her plans at bay. But Jen’s little boy gets sick, and she’s MIA for most of mom’s shenanigans.
This all happens in one day. Even Frances Mulvaney, the Manager of the McMurphy Hotel and Fudge Shop, and my assistant fudge maker Roxanne make my day worse by relieving me of my fudge making responsibilities early so that I can have more time to prepare for a wedding that may or may not turn out the way I planned. My mom always seems to get her way. But not this time. I’m only going to have one wedding and it’s going to be the one I want. In the meantime, I’ve got a murder to solve and a dress fitting appointment that I now need to put off. And I can’t even begin to think about my family who, without warning, came in early.
Altogether it’s been one of those days. Do you ever have a day when everything seems to go wrong? How do you cope with it?
Fudge and Marriage: A Candy-Coated Mystery, Book 14
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Release: April 2025
Format: Print, Digital
Purchase Link
Only two things might ruin fudge maker Allie McMurphy’s wedding: murder—and her mother . . .
June is always beautiful on Mackinac Island, which is why Allie chose this month for her wedding to police officer Rex Manning—definitely Mackinac Island’s finest in more ways than one. But if her mother has her way, that’s the last choice Allie will get to make. Allie’s the furthest thing from a Bridezilla—but it looks like she has a Momzilla on her hands. Why else have her mother and extended family shown up a full two weeks before the nuptials to drive Allie to dizzying distraction?
Honestly, a murder investigation is far less stressful—and as it happens, Allie just found Velma French dead on the ground beside the rock that killed her, with her rival Myrtle sobbing nearby. Things don’t look good for Myrtle, but all may not be what it seems. Allie vows to solve the crime before she walks down the aisle. But a killer has other ideas—and they seem to be focused on Allie herself . . .
About the author
USA Today Bestselling Author, Nancy Coco AKA Nell Hampton AKA Nancy Parra is the author of 40 published novels which include five mystery series: The Oregon Honey-comb Mystery Series (Kensington), The Candy-Coated Mysteries (Kensington), The Kensington Palace Mystery Series (Crooked Lane), The Wine Country Tours Mystery Series (Crooked Lane) The Gluten-free Baker’s Treat Mysteries (Berkley Prime Crime), and The Perfect Proposal Mysteries (Berkley Prime Crime). Her writing has been called witty and her protagonists plucky by reviewers around the world. Nancy is a member of Sisters in Crime, and loves to hear from readers.