A Belgian Mystery

The Eagle Bluff Lighthouse and the Belgians take the spotlight again in Hot Fudge Frame-Up, book 2 in the Fudge Shop Mystery Series set in Door County.

Written by Christine DeSmet, Madison, Wis., a frequent visitor to Door County, the series, is published by Penguin Random House, New York.

The books feature Belgian Americans Ava Oosterling and her Grandpa Gil, whom Ava lovingly calls “Gilpa.”

They co-own Oosterlings’ Live Bait, Bobbers & Belgian Fudge & Beer in fictional Fishers’ Harbor, Wisconsin, located near Sister Bay.

For the crime in the new Hot Fudge Frame-Up, which debuted June 3, DeSmet used the Eagle Bluff Lighthouse located within Peninsula State Park. For her research, DeSmet received the “mystery author tour” last fall from docent Ed Felhofer.

DeSmet, who is Belgian American, focuses her plots and characters on the culture and traditions of Door County’s Belgian heritage. The main character in her series was raised on a farm near Brussels and Namur.

Each book features original fudge recipes, including “Cinderella Pink Fudge,” a vanilla fudge loaded with Door County cherries. There’s also the Fisherman’s Catch Tall Tale Fudge line in the books for the guys, including beer fudge and “Worms-In-Dirt” fudge.

The first book in the series came out last fall, First-Degree Fudge, and stayed 10 weeks on the Barnes & Noble top 10 for mystery books. For more information visit ChristineDeSmet.com.