Christine DeSmet | A Fiery, Fun Fudge Felony...And Tasty, Too

When a visiting European prince asks Ava Oosterling to unearth a priceless, 1800s divinity fudge recipe, the request fans the flames of foul play, with murder marring Ava’s Cinderella dreams.

In FIVE-ALARM FUDGE, Book 3 of the Fudge Shop Mystery Series by Christine DeSmet, Ava and her Grandpa Gil are again mixed up in a fun fudge felony—this time involving romance, royal relatives, and revenge.

The series is set in fictional Fishers’ Harbor on Lake Michigan.

Ava and her Grandpa Gil operate Oosterlings’ Live Bait, Bobbers & Belgian Fudge & Beer. Their shop is in Wisconsin’s Door County—the Cape Cod of the Midwest.

Grandpa has taken it upon himself to invite the prince of Belgium to visit. Grandpa insists the prince is a shirt-tail relation but far enough removed through several generations to qualify as marriage material for Ava.

Ava is beside herself with Grandpa. She’s in the midst of a rekindled romance with her ex, Dillon Rivers, who is refurbishing the Blue Heron Inn in order for Ava to take it over. In the meantime, Ava lives in a rundown rental cabin with an ever-present field mouse with attitude.

Grandpa has promised the prince that Ava will find a long, lost divinity fudge recipe supposedly hidden in a local historical church by a Belgian nun during an 1871 fire.

This series focuses a lot on true history of the area, including the villages of Brussels and Namur, named after Belgian cities.

Clues for the FIVE-ALARM FUDGE murder mystery are rooted in the history of the very real Great Fire of 1871. On the evening of October 8 and into the morning of Sunday, October 9, of that year the fire took an estimated 1,500 or more lives in the region. The tragic event occurred the same day as the famous Chicago fire that took about 300 lives.

This novel also brings readers the real history of Sister Adele Brise, who hid in a church southwest of Namur that fateful day when the fires swept the territory. It’s considered a miracle that she and the wood church were spared. A shrine now exists in Champion, Wisconsin, to honor her memory. Thousands visit the site each year.

In the novel’s adventurous fictional story, Grandpa and Ava surmise the nun must have made good Belgian confections—such as an early form of fudge—for the children that she taught in the rural homes. In the beginning of the novel, Ava scours the local church for the recipe, but instead she finds a dead body and a fire.

More fires ensue. The dangers of this arsonist and murderer put Prince Arnaud’s visit in jeopardy.

For sleuthing help, Ava calls upon her friends Pauline and Laura, as well as Dillon and his dog, Lucky Harbor.

Things get complicated when they discover that many people close to them have secrets concerning the murder victim and the fires, including Grandma Sophie, Ava’s nemesis Mercy Fogg, and the church ladies—who are eager to see Ava put on that glass slipper at the ball.

The heat is on Ava in this fast-paced adventure that includes original recipes for divinity fudge and more tasty confections.

About Christine DeSmet

Christine DeSmet writes the Fudge Shop Mystery Series (Penguin Random House/NAL/Obsidian). She’s also an award-winning scriptwriter and teaches writing at University of Wisconsin-Madison Continuing Studies where she directs the annual June Write-by-the-Lake Writer’s Workshop & Retreat. You can write to her at UW-Madison, [email protected] or find her on Facebook or at her website.