Sunday, November 24, 2024

Review - Triple Chocolate Cheesecake Murder

Title:
    Triple Chocolate Cheesecake Murder
Author:  Joanne Fluke
Series:  Hannah Swensen #27
Genre:   Cozy Mystery
Publisher:   Kensington
Format:  Kindle ARC
No. of Pages:  340
Date of Publication:   February 23, 2021
My Rating:  4 Stars

DESCRIPTION:

This fun new story from the Queen of Culinary Cozies is just the indulgence you need this winter! Cozy mystery fans know that a trip to The Cookie Jar—Hannah Swensen’s famous bakery—will always result in a delightfully page-turning whodunit…

New York Times and USA Today Bestseller!


Spring has sprung in Lake Eden, Minnesota, but Hannah Swensen doesn't have time to stop and smell the roses--not with hot cross buns to make, treats to bake, and a sister to exonerate!

Hannah's up to her ears with Easter orders rushing in at The Cookie Jar, plus a festive meal to prepare for a dinner party at her mother's penthouse. But everything comes crashing to a halt when Hannah receives a panicked call from her sister Andrea--Mayor Richard Bascomb has been murdered...and Andrea is the prime suspect.

Even with his reputation for being a bully, Mayor Bascomb--or "Ricky Ticky," as Hannah's mother likes to call him--had been unusually testy in the days leading up to his death, leaving Hannah to wonder if he knew he was in danger. Meanwhile, folks with a motive for mayoral murder are popping up in Lake Eden. Was it a beleaguered colleague? A political rival? A jealous wife? Or a scorned mistress?

As orders pile up at The Cookie Jar--and children line up for Easter egg hunts--Hannah must spring into investigation mode and identify the real killer...before another murder happens!


MY THOUGHTS:

Joanna Fluke has finally cracked the code for her Hannah Swensen series, and now we have book #27! Winter is over, and spring has sprung in Lake Eden, Minnesota. Hannah’s shop, The Cookie Jar, is bursting with orders, but guess what? Another murder has caught her attention once again.

The latest murder victim is Mayor Richard Bascomb, a man with an unkind reputation. Perhaps his death was fortuitous as the more people that Hannah speaks with, the more the memories of Bascomb were troublesome. So, more than one person could have easily wanted him dead. So, Hannah decides that she will be the one to solve his murder.

Here’s the twist in this story: the last person to see Bascomb alive was Andrea, Hannah’s sister. Andrea had a heated argument with the mayor, and others heard the exchange. Could Andrea have been the one who wanted the mayor dead and actually did it?

This book was engaging throughout, with murder and mayhem, and of course, recipes.

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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