The Fruitcake Murders

Ace Collins

Oct 2015 · Abingdon Press

About this ebook

As Christmas 1946 draws near, thirty-something marine officer-turned-homicide detective Lane Walker has his hands full. Three men with seemingly no relationship to each other have been murdered, including the powerful District Attorney. The only connection between the crimes? The weapons: twenty-year-old unopened fruitcake tins manufactured by a company that is no longer in business.
While some foods may be to die for, fruitcake isn't one of them! This heaping helping of murder will be no easy task for Walker, and he certainly doesn't need the determined and feisty Tiffany Clayton, the political reporter for The Chicago Star, getting in the way.
Employing witty dialogue and historical accuracy, The Fruitcake Murders offers equal parts murder, mystery, and mayhem in a perplexing whodunit set in the days just after World War II.

Ratings and reviews

The Fruitcake Murders by Ace Collins is set in 1926 and 1946. In the opening Jan Lewandowski is a candy maker who is heading to his factory to get a present he had hidden there for his daughter. On the way he sees a man leaving Geno Lombardi’s grocery with paper sacks full of items. Jan notices that his fruitcakes are not in the window as Geno promised. Jan goes into the store to speak with Geno and finds him with a knife in his back. Jan, in a bad move, takes the knife out of his back and holds it. He then checks the cash register getting blood on the money. Then in walks a cop who accuses Jan of murder. It is near Christmas in 1946. Lt. Lane Walker is an ex-marine turned homicide cop. He is at the house of Ethan Elrod, the district attorney who was found dead at his desk with a knife in his back. The knife did not kill him. He was actually killed with a blow to head from a tin of fruitcake (I guess that is one use for it). Ethan Elrod was a notorious good guy. Who wanted him dead? Tiffany Clayton is a reporter with The Chicago Star. Tiffany and Lane have a history (they kept making dates and Lane kept not showing up for them). Tiffany was to interview Ethan that evening for a story. Now Tiffany has a bigger story. Two more people are killed in the same manner. Will Lane and Tiffany be able to solve the case? Who wants them dead and where did they get the old fruitcake (I bet you can guess whose fruitcake it is). The Fruitcake Murders is a book that is trying too hard to a book from the 40’s. There is a lot of 40’s lingo thrown in like dame and doll (it was just overkill). I found The Fruitcake Murders to be a slow paced book. Besides what I mentioned above there is also a Santa scam and a mob boss. I give The Fruitcake Murders 2.75 out of 5 stars. I think the story had potential, but the execution was lacking. I think with a little more editing, the book could have been better (that is just one person’s humble opinion). The mystery was easy to solve (as well as figuring out what happened to Jan’s children). One thing that I found odd was instead of staying “Lane said” it would read “the cop”. It was just strange, and it was sprinkled generously throughout the book. I received a complimentary copy of The Fruitcake Murders from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

About the author

Ace Collins defines himself as a storyteller. He has authored more than sixty books that have sold more than 2.5 million copies. His catalog includes novels, biographies, children’s works as well as books on history, culture and faith. He has also been the featured speaker at the National Archives Distinguished Lecture Series, hosted a network television special and does college basketball play-by-play. Ace lives in Arkansas. Learn more about him by visiting AceCollins.com.