Cynthia Hickey's Fudge-Laced Felonies ~ Reviewed

FUDGE-LACED FELONIES
by Cynthia Hickey
ISBN # 978-1-60260-181-9
Heartsong Presents Mysteries, 2008
Genre: Mystery

Ethan Banning is a murderer—of rosebushes, that is. Summer Meadows once had a prize blue rose until Ethan, Mr. Hunky-and-Unreachable, got close to it. When she and Ethan dig into the scene of the planticide, they find more than a rose victim—the plant's roots are entangled with a velvet bag full of diamonds.

Add one released convict, a brunette bombshell just returned to town, a bloody glove and a missing diamond broker. Stir in a brand-new chocolate shop, a half-cup of danger and a few tons of mutual attraction, and you get a page turner.

Ms. Hickey draws her characters with a deft hand. The mystery is well played out and its resolution took me unawares. I don't read mysteries by choice—I'm more of a straight romance gal, so the masterful nature of this book was a delightful surprise. If you like your mysteries drawn with colors both light and dark, this mostly-lighthearted bonbon of a story is just for you.

Four stars.

Reviewed by: Deb Kinnard