Review - Chocolate Cream Pie Murder

Title:    Chocolate Cream Pie Murder
Author:  Joanne Fluke
Series:  Hannah Swensen #

Genre:   Cozy Mystery

Publisher:   Kensington

Format:  Kindle ARC
No. of Pages:  304

Date of Publication:  February 26, 2019

My Rating:  3 Stars

DESCRIPTION:

The heat’s turned up on a busy baker in a novel by the New York Times-bestselling “Culinary cozies don’t get any tastier than this winning series.”—Library Journal 

 When The Cookie Jar becomes the setting of a star-studded TV special about movies filmed in Minnesota, Hannah hopes to shine the spotlight on her bakery—not the unsavory scandal swirling around her personal life. But that’s practically impossible with a disturbing visit from the shifty character she once believed was her one and only love, a group of bodyguards following her every move, and a murder victim in her bedroom. 

Now, swapping the crime scene in her condo for her mother Delores’s penthouse, Hannah and an old flame team up to solve a case that’s messier than an upended chocolate cream pie. As suspects emerge and secrets hit close to home, Hannah must serve a hefty helping of justice to an unnamed killer prowling around Lake Eden…before someone takes a slice out of her! 

 Features over a dozen cookie and dessert recipes from The Cookie Jar! 

 “An updated, country-style classic mystery, meant for simple enjoyment and a touch of admiration at how Hannah always picks herself back up again, even when there’s a body in her bedroom and a disaster in her bakery…The only tough part about the book is the recipes can lure a reader into cooking something before reading the next chapter.”—New York Journal of Books

Link to purchase the series

MY THOUGHTS:

The Cookie Jar has been gaining popularity, and in this 24th book in the series, it is about to become the setting for a television special. A whirlwind of activity is about to occur, and not all of it good. One interesting factor about this book is the chapter fully closes on an old relationship of hers. Does this mean she is getting any closer to choosing between Norman or Mike?

Sadly for Hannah, Hannah’s previous marriage ended on a very unhappy note. Hoping that the filming of the TV special will deter gawkers about her personal life, Hannah would like to shine and continue shining in a professional sense. 

As with most books in this series, there is a dead body in fact, it was found in Hannah’s bedroom! Quite naturally, the amateur sleuth is about to get to work, ignoring her personal issues and heartbreak. 

While not much of a romance for Hannah when it comes to Norman or Mike, her frisky cat Moishe gets quality cuddling time with Cuddles, who is Norman’s cat. As a cat lover myself, I love any of these scenes. Alas, the murder! Well, never one to shy away from looking for answers, Hannah plunges ahead.  

A mix of an albeit brief murder investigation, there are a lot of recipes to be had in this book, something I am sure most bakers would enjoy. As I am not a baker myself, I glazed over these, but am still pleased that I had the chance to read this book, and gleefully continued on with the series. 

Many thanks to Kensington Books and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Like Hannah Swensen, Joanne Fluke grew up in a small town in rural Minnesota where her neighbors were friendly, the winters were fierce, and the biggest scandal was the spotting of unidentified male undergarments on a young widow's clothesline. She insists that there really are 10,000 lakes and the mosquito is NOT the state bird.

While pursuing her writing career, Joanne has worked as: a public school teacher, a psychologist, a musician, a private detective's assistant, a corporate, legal, and pharmaceutical secretary, a short order cook, a florist's assistant, a caterer and party planner, a computer consultant on a now-defunct operating system, a production assistant on a TV quiz show, half of a screenwriting team with her husband, and a mother, wife, and homemaker. 

She now lives in Southern California with her husband, her kids, his kids, their three dogs, one elderly tabby, and several noisy rats in the attic.  

Joanne Fluke has baked over 500,000 chocolate chip cookies for fans of her Hannah Swensen mysteries since the series debuted in 2000, not to mention countless pies, cakes, muffins and other sweets.  However, it’s not just the desserts that keep readers clamoring for her next novel.  Reviewers have long praised Fluke’s work, with Kirkus Reviews calling her novel PEACH COBBLER MURDER, “her tastiest yet.”  Publishers Weekly said her holiday Hannah Swensen Mystery, SUGAR COOKIE MURDER, is “a delectable culinary romp…[with] wacky and delightful characters.”

Fluke’s CHERRY CHEESECAKE MURDER marked her debut onto The New York Times bestseller list in March 2006, and she followed up that success again a year later in March 2007 with her second New York Timesbestseller, KEY LIME PIE MURDER, praised by Publishers Weekly as “Yummy…Fluke has developed a charming supporting cast—all feel like friends by the time the murder is solved.”

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