Blueberry Muffin Murder (Hannah Swensen Series #3) by Joanne Fluke
FIND & RESERVE AN IN-STORE COPY
Enter a zip code
(Mass Market Paperback - Reprint)
- Publisher: Kensington Publishing Corporation
- Pub. Date: February 2003
- ISBN-13: 9780758218582
- Sales Rank: 5,608
- 320pp
- Series: Hannah Swensen Series, #3
- Edition Description: Reprint
Synopsis
Preparations are underway for Lake Eden, Minnesota's annual Winter Carnival-and Hannah Swensen is set to bake up a storm at her popular shop, The Cookie Jar. Too bad the honor of creating the official Winter Carnival cake went to famous lifestyle maven Connie Mac-a half-baked idea, in Hannah's opinion. She suspects Connie Mac is a lot like the confections she whips up on her cable TV cooking show-sweet, light, and scrumptious-looking, but likely to leave a bitter taste in your mouth.
Hannah's suspicions are confirmed when Connie Mac's limo rolls into town. Turns out America's "Cooking Sweetheart" is bossy, bad-tempered, and downright domineering. Things finally boil over when Hannah arrives at The Cookie Jar to find the Winter Carnival cake burnt to a crisp-and Connie Mac lying dead in her pantry, struck down while eating one of Hannah's famous blueberry muffins.
Next thing Hannah knows, the police have declared The Cookie Jar's kitchen crime scene off-limits. She's a baker without an oven-and the Carnival is right around the corner. Hannah's only alternative is to cook up a plan to save her business-by finding the killer herself.
Includes seven original cookie and dessert recipes for you to try!
"Delicious food descriptions and recipes, warm and familiar characters who grow into real people ... a vivid picture of the small lake town and a well-crafted mystery provide the ingredients for yet another tempting feast that should satisfy all fans, old and new."
-Publishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly
In her third top-of-the-line culinary cozy (after 2001's Strawberry Shortcake Murder), the delightful amateur sleuth Hannah Swensen once again faces murder and mayhem with good cheer. To fight the late February doldrums, Lake Eden, Minn., is about to celebrate its first winter carnival with ice sports on the lake, activities for children and Hannah's delicious cookies from her shop, the Cookie Jar. The whole town is involved, and even Hannah's mother, who usually spends her time trying to get Hannah married, has found a new interest in recreating the home of one of Lake Eden's founding fathers. Connie MacIntyre, bestselling cook book author and star of a popular cable TV cooking show, has agreed to make the cake for the carnival banquet. But when Hannah discovers Connie's dead body in the pantry of the Cookie Jar, Hannah and her sister Andrea join forces to track down the killer, despite warnings by one of her boyfriends, policeman Mike Kensington, to stay out of the investigation. Since everyone who had contact with the abusive Connie disliked her, the sisters have plenty of suspects. Delicious food descriptions and recipes, warm and familiar characters who grow into real people (Hannah's increasing respect for Andrea is a highlight), a vivid picture of the small lake town and a well-crafted mystery provide the ingredients for yet another tempting feast that should satisfy all fans, old and new. (Mar. 5) Forecast: A simple, bold jacket featuring a skull formed by blueberries in a sliced muffin sends just the right message to attract cozy fans. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
More Reviews and RecommendationsBiography
Like Hannah Swensen, Joanne Fluke was born and raised in a small town in rural Minnesota but now lives in sunny Southern California. She is currently working on her next Hannah Swensen mystery.
Customer Reviews
- Reader Rating:
- Ratings: 12Reviews: 6
- See All Reviews
Who killed the cookbook authorby Anonymous
Reader Rating:
See Detailed Ratings
August 30, 2008: I always know I?m going to read a good mystery when I read a Joanne Fluke book and Blueberry Muffin Murder doesn?t disappoint. Hannah Swensen is up to her elbows in murder when cookbook author and television personality Connie McIntyre is murdered. The culprit? One of Hannah?s blueberry muffins. But who would want to kill Connie and why? Who in Lake Eden would benefit from Connie?s death and why implement Hannah? Hannah, along with her sisters and boyfriends, Norman, the local dentist, and Mike, head of Lake Eden?s detective squad, are on the job.
Deadly Divas & Shivering-Sisters Sleuthsby Anonymous
Reader Rating:
See Detailed Ratings
April 01, 2006: As usual, morning machinations with Moishe snuggled the story. Going from warm bed w/cat to work (with fresh, hot coffee at various points in the process) with a character who loves her livelihood is a vicarious joy of exotic dreams. Hannah had awakened seeing her breath in the frigid morning air, as she eased out from the bed covers before dawn. Her condo?s furnace was off. In my case the heat was always that low on winter mornings. There was nothing wrong with the furnace, two stories down, in the cellar of an antique brick building. I immediately settled in when Hannah?s condo?s heat was turned on, before she left for The Cookie Jar, without her having to even lift a finger to walk through the Yellow Pages for a repair person. I felt increasingly connected as Hannah paced through simple survival routines for Minnesota winters, the plugging in and unplugging of block heaters on vehicle engines, breathing through the nose to avoid icing up the window before the defroster begins functioning, etc. Dolores took a back seat in this plot, almost hiding in the shadow of Hanna?s (entertaining, sometimes endearing) bad moods. The morning-phone-call interruption from Hannah?s mother, Dolores, encountered less simmering irritation than usual, from both Hannah and Moishe, which was a plus. Hannah and Moishe?s un-welcoming moods toward Dolores make me wonder what Moms feel reading that. Mothering touchy, independent rebels wouldn?t be easy. On the other hand, Mrs Swensen is not an intimation of Mother Teresa. Dolores has mastered bringing out the under-breath hiss in Hannah. What?s soul healing to me is that Dolores and her daughters grow (through the series) to gradually discard some of the relationship sandpaper, and the various means Fluke uses to accomplish this are entertaining and realistic. In this case, Connie Mac, deadly diva, was a woman everyone could relish hating, no guilt necessary. I disliked this culinary guru so intensely, I almost developed an un-cozy rash, and looking forward to Hannah telling off Connie in the royal-est of spades. Oops. The female monster found a way to avoid Hannah?s (to cheer for when it?s earned like this) soul etching syntax. Hannah?s attempts to understand Andrea were a warm surprise, surfacing as they became the sleuthing pair here. Hanna?s intellectual-genius, rebel persona clashed entertainingly with her sister?s grammatical-disaster, common-sense-wisdom, applicable real-estate knowledge. I enjoyed the pro and con of Shopping Mall convenience (synthetic though it may be) being eased into an accepting, ?different strokes for different folks.? The sisters dichotomy contrasted well with their mother?s prior-generation meddlesome-manipulator, critical-parade-rainer. This female trilogy would curdle better than melted butter poured into vinegar if they didn?t have familial blood flowing in their veins. Delivering coffee and cookies to a collection of ice fishing houses was a warmth inducing venue in an icy environment, beautifully exposing the appeal of fresh cookies and hot coffee, and probably highlighted one of the major reasons for the success of this series. In an age of survival-and-reality TV shows, this lively, realistic winter-world in a small, cohesive community easily grabs and satisfy readers. Warm mittens in the back of your mind, sled in hand, cozy up!
loading...
loading...
loading...