Hayley Powell is in for the shock of her life when she accompanies one of her best friends, Mona Barnes, on what should be a routine-if-time-consuming errand. Mona’s dad, Bubba, has gone to his cabin in Bar Harbor, Maine, for an ice-fishing weekend. Unfortunately, he’s neglected to bring his heart medication with him. Mona’s mom, Jane, has insisted that Mona drive out immediately with the meds, so Mona has recruited Hayley for company on the impromptu road trip.

The last thing either woman expects upon arriving at the cabin is to see that Bubba isn’t alone. They’re surprised to discover that Elmer Crawford, the father of their other best friend, Jane, is there too. Worse, so is Dwight Jordan, the deadbeat dad whom Hayley hasn’t seen or heard from since he ran out on their family when she was a small child.

Neither of the women is pleased to learn that Dwight has apparently been getting together with Elmer and Bubba every winter for the past few years for a boys’ weekend. Dwight is contrite, saying that he’d wanted to reach out to Hayley and her younger brother, Randy, but never knew how. Now that he and Hayley have come face to face after decades apart, the “how” has been decided for him–and he wants to return to Bar Harbor to get to know his kids and their families.

While Hayley isn’t completely against letting her father back into her life, she would much rather he waited until the summer. Her mother, Sheila, moved to Florida a while ago but is coming back for Christmas, and Hayley does not want what’s sure to be a dramatic showdown between her parents to cast a pall over the season. Dwight, however, doesn’t take Hayley’s advice and comes down anyway, upsetting not only the family he left behind but plenty of other Bar Harbor residents–including someone willing to go to great lengths to ensure that Dwight does not survive the holidays. Will Hayley be able to figure out who and stop them before she loses her father for good?

This is an emotionally heavy installment of the long-running Hayley Powell Food & Cocktails Mystery series, as Hayley has to deal with the repercussions of Dwight’s bad choices, both in the past and–to her growing discomfort–in the present day. Dealing with a parent who is as irresponsible but charming as Dwight is hard for Hayley, even before his life is put in mortal danger several times. Hayley handles a tough situation really well, which will come as no surprise to other series fans.

There were 14 delicious, ginger-themed food and drinks recipes included here. Since my children have recently discovered the joys of chicken wings, I decided to try out this recipe:

Bruce’s Ginger Garlic Chicken Wings

Ingredients

½ cup honey

⅓ cup soy sauce

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon ginger, grated

¼ cup water

2 pounds fresh chicken wings cut into wings and drumettes

1 tablespoon olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

With paper towels, dry your chicken wings so they are not wet.

In a bowl, toss your wings with the olive oil, salt and pepper.

Place a piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet and put a wire rack on top of the parchment paper. Spread out your wings in a single layer onto the wire rack.

Bake for 45 minutes or until chicken is crispy and done.

Sauce:

Add honey, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, and water to a small saucepan and bring to a boil.

Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes until a little reduced and thickened.

Remove your sauce from the heat and it will thicken as it cools.

When your chicken is done, remove from the oven and toss in the sauce.

When the wings are all coated, put back on the rack and return to the oven for 15 more minutes.

Remove and enjoy!

I realized as I was putting this dish together that I wasn’t sure whether my wire rack was a baking rack or a cooling rack. I chose to err on the side of caution and use a perforated pizza pan instead, which I think did well in a pinch. I probably did wind up overbaking these a little, but the delicious sauce more than hid any defects in my cooking, as my family gobbled these wings right up. I served the wings with pasta and peas in an attempt at making a balanced dinner, but the chicken definitely disappeared first off of everyone’s plates.

Next week, we continue with the holiday season while whipping up a tasty baked good and investigating a pointedly addressed murder. Do join me!

See also: Cooking the Books: Six Stunning Sirens by Lynn Cahoon