I shouldn't read the Fudge mysteries. I know this. I've said this before. And yet, when I saw the fireworks-filled cover on the library shelf, I couldn't help myself. The Fourth of July. Mackinac Island. Fudge. I have no one to blame but myself.
Allie McMurphy, in her infinite wisdom, has joined the Star Spangled Fourth committee. She has insisted on hiring a new company to put on the island's three fireworks shows - and then she discovers him dead in the fireworks warehouse, just before the entire warehouse explodes.
There are so many things wrong with this book. Regarding the writing, I'll just say it can't possibly be a mistake that the day I read this book is also the day I learned an Ohio appeals court ruled in favor of proper punctuation. Even looking beyond the punctuation, the writing itself is pretty terrible. Every person Allie encounters is described in minute and simultaneously meaning details from the hair (most women wear it in a bun, it seems), to the clothes, to the height (Allie is a master of knowing exactly how tall everyone she meets is). Also I've decided I really don't like Allie.
Although I wasn't a huge fan of either of the other books in this series, the plot in each was a compelling whodunit. This one is different. The entire mystery left me with a rather meh feeling, which wasn't helped by the way in which one of the characters (Henry) disappears completely from the plot and pages, his role in any of the "mysteries" completely unresolved (or forgotten). It was as if Nancy Coco got bored of her own characters and creation and abandoned them all, come what may.
The final verdict: skip this book.
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