I am so happy to welcome Nancy Coco to Escape With Dollycas this week!!
Nancy Coco talks about
Mackinac Island Michigan and the Glories of Fall
I grew up in part in the great State of Michigan with its sweeping, softly sanded coastline. The deciduous forests with trees so tall you have to back up to look at them. Waterfalls, lakes, sand dunes and the glorious orchards of apples, cherries, and peaches, plus fields of veggies and blueberries give the state its natural paradise feel. There is nothing better than to take an Autumn trip up the coast to the Mackinaw suspension bridge that connects the upper and lower peninsulas of the State. Between the peninsulas in the straits, lies Mackinac Island. Yes, they are spelled differently, but pronounced the same.
The Island itself is lost in time with its “no automobile” rule and its lovely painted-lady Victorian cottages. Main Street is filled with the sound of horse hooves clipping along from the horse drawn carriages. The bells from the bicycles going by and the sound of crowds of happy tourists here to take in the old fort, the old fashioned way to get around and the lovely fresh lake breezes. There is a beautiful calm in the crisp air of Fall. The trees are bright in their Autumn dresses of red, orange, yellow and burgundy. Rich chocolate scents waft out of fudge shops along with the caramel and apple scents of popcorn and candied apples.
It is my pleasure and honor to set the Candy Coated Mystery Series
on this magical island. Alli McMurphy’s Historic Inn and Fudge Shop is a fun place for the magic of community, candy making, and, of course, the who dunnit. To Fudge or Not to Fudge
is set in the month of June when the lilacs come out and the Island is awash in Spring smells and a gorgeous explosion of pastel color. Whether you have a chance to visit in the Spring, Summer, or Fall, I hope you get an opportunity to visit the “Island that Time Forgot.” At the very least I hope that Allie, Mal, and the Candy-Coated Mystery series can depart a tiny bit of the flavor and feeling that you find in any season in Mackinac Island, Michigan.
Tell me, what is your favorite vacation spot and would you want a mystery series set there?
~Nancy
About This Author
Best known for writing plucky heroines Nancy Coco AKA Nancy J. Parra has 15 books published- Most recently Nancy has three cozy mystery book series going.Gluten for Punishment and Murder Gone A-Rye
are both part of the Gluten Free Baker’s Treat Mystery series. (Berkley Prime Crime)All Fudged Up
and To Fudge or Not to Fudge
are part of the Candy Coated Mystery series (Kensington) -which Nancy writes as Nancy Coco. Then there is Engaged in Murder
– the first in the Perfect Proposal series from Berkly Prime Crime.
All Fudged Up was Nancy’s first National Best seller.
Find out more about Nancy and her books on her webpage here.
To Fudge or Not to Fudge
(A Candy-coated Mystery)
2nd in Series
Cozy Mystery
Kensington (September 2, 2014)
Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
ISBN-13: 978-0758287120
E-Book File Size: 1150 KB
ASIN: B00IUPCL0E
With summer in bloom and tourists afoot, Allie is out walking her pup, Mal, when the curious canine digs up a bone from under a flowering lilac bush. The bone leads to a toe that’s missing a body. For the successful confectionaire it’s only the first in a series of sour events in the middle of the island’s Lilac Fest. When her stint on a cooking reality show swirls up a trail of foul play, Allie will have to outwit a cunning killer if she wants to continue living la dolce vida…
Dollycas’s Thoughts
This was quite a book. A reality cooking show has come to Mackinac Island and it bring Allie’s former mentor Chef Peter Thomas to town. He even talks her into appearing on the show! Mal also finds an interesting item while out for a walk. A bone buried in a bit of mulch, wait is that nail polish, OMG, that’s a toe bone!!
Nancy Coco has written a magnificent mystery! I was engaged from the first page until the last. She has created fun and entertaining characters and there are quite a few suspects. I also loved that there were 2 dogs involved in the story. One very well behaved and one not so much. I was laughing as the police were chasing the one who refused to drop his sensational find. Again Allie is under suspicion but she is hot on the trail to clear her name.
I love the setting too. It has been many years since I visited Mackinaw Island but I remember the great time we had. It is a truly a unique place and if you are in the area one you should definitely visit. Because of its location it is a great place to have a mystery or two or more.
This cozy has it all – a well plotted mystery, fantastic characters, the perfect amount of humor, all set in a beautiful place.
Oh and don’t forget the recipes and the fudge making knowledge we gain by reading about Allie’s daily demonstrations!! There’s a Dark Chocolate Peppermint Fudge I can’t wait to try for the upcoming holidays.

I am giving my review copy away!
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with a US or Canadian mailing address.
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Contest Will End November 19, 2014 at 11:59 PM CST
Winner Will Be Chosen By Random.org
Winner Will Be Notified By Email
and Will Be Posted Here In The Sidebar.
I love all of Nancy’s stories. All Fudged Up made me want to go right to Mackinaw Island.
I think Mackinac Island is a great place for a mystery! I have not been there but want to go someday. In the meantime, I can read about it.
We went over the bridge on our way to AK – our big retirement vacation. It is great country … I’d love to have a cozy mystery set there in Alaska. The mysteries now set there – Dana Stabenow for one author – are darker.
Where is the usual link to enter?
I couldn’t find the link either.
No need to enter me in the drawing–this looks like a terrific series. I love Mackinac Island, I grew up in Indiana. The perfect setting for a mystery (or just a fun vacation). Thanks so much for alerting us to this new release. Love it!
Haven’t read this one, but want to. I should get a lot of reading done, this winter. 🙂
What a beautiful place to use for a book. We were just in the UP last month. The only season we haven’t been up there yet is winter. Love the peace and slow pace of the island. Would love to read this series.
This sounds captivating and very special.
Sounds like a great book and candy too, you can’t go wrong.
I can’t see the link to enter.
My favorite vacation spot is usually a beach……
Love to read about familiar places and the ones on my wish to visit list.
Sorry, the link to enter the giveaway is now up! Not sure why is wasn’t showing. Thank you for alerting me! 🙂
I love this series! I’ve been to Mackinac Island and had their delicious fudge. That was a trip I will never forget.
I’d love to take a vacation on Mackinac—but I probably can only afford to read the book!
I love vacationing at the beach! Washington DC is another fun vacation spot that is a favorite for me. I’d love to read a mystery series set there!
Enjoyed the first book in this series.
My favorite place for vacation is Cape Cod, MA. I’ve loved since I was a little girl. There are already several very good mystery series set there.
My favorite vacation spot is Cape Cod, MA. Several mystery series are set there already.
My vacation spot is Las Vegas. It would be a fun place to do a series of cozies, I think. There are certainly enough other books set there.
I love the cover of this book. It sounds like a fun book.
Never been there but I know it has famous fudge. I don’t vacation much but did get to Maine this summer with family.
I SPEND A LOT OF TIME IN NOLA AND LIKE BOOKS BASED IN NOLA OR LA. GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR BOOK AND THANKS FOR THE GIVEAWAY!
I always find these no automobile places interesting.
Sounds like a great cozy. I can’t wait to read it.
Congratulations on the release of your new book! I have never been to Mackinac Island, but it looks lovely. One of my favorite vacation spots is Charleston, South Carolina. It would be a great spot for a mystery.
I would love to visit Mackinac Island some day, I can’t really say that I have a favorite vacation spot, we try to see something different any time we go on vacation. I must admit though that I never can say no to Epcot, lol.
I loved your first book and I can’t wait to read To Fudge or Not to Fudge.
I would like to visit vicariously, but make fudge to make it seem more realistic.
Sounds like another fun new cozy. And who doesn’t love fudge. LOL Thanks for sharing the lovely post.
yum fudge.sound like its going to be good.thanks for the chance.
I live in Toledo, Ohio, but haven’t been way up in Michigan to Mackinac. Favorite vacation spots were Toronto and Williamsburg, Virginia. I’d love to go to Chicago someday. I would like to read a mystery set in any of those places.
Sounds unique and interesting. Will check on it.