Customer Reviews

Blueberry Muffin Murder

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Hoping to boost their winter economy, Lake Eden Minnesota is holding it's first annual Winter Carnival. Hannah Swensen is delighted about the extra revenue this will bring to her cookie shop. The town is thrilled to have Connie MacIntyre, celebrated TV chef and cookbook author, designing and baking their Winter Carnival cake. But when Connie Mac arrives, she quickly makes enemies with her overbearing personality. Hannah reluctantly agrees to let Connie use her shop to bake the cake, but arrives the next morning to find the cake burned and Connie face down in a tin of Hannah's Blue Blueberry Muffins. With her shop closed off as a crime scene and a very good friend, Connie Mac's personal assistant Janie, the prime suspect, Hannah starts investigating the murder. But can she provide the cookies for the carnival, solve the murder, and find Janie?

This is the third Hannah Swensen mystery, and the series has only gotten stronger. Hannah and her sister Andrea make a great detective team. All the supporting characters are back and used well in the plot. They're really starting to feel like good friends. I especially enjoyed watching the love triangle with dentist Norman and police detective Mike heat up. The mystery itself was very enjoyable. I had a hard time figuring out where this one was going, but the solution made perfect sense. And the climax kept me glued to the book trying to figure out how Hannah would escape with her life. There are 7 more delicious sounding recipes included. Someday I'm going to make them.

My only complaint with the book was that it ended too soon. If you're already a fan of the series, you'll love this book. If you have yet to meet Hannah, start with the first, Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder, and enjoy this delightful culinary themed mystery series.

Imagine opening a book and finding yourself in a snow covered, chilly town of Lake Eden where the cookies are freshly baked, winter carnivals supply all the hot chocolate needed to melt of the winter chill and a detective who bakes those cookies is on the run to solve the next cozy murder mystery. Not only is this mystery actually very interesting and complex but it develops our relationship with it's inhabitants, the neighbors and family members, coworkers and tourists all add a fun touch as we get familiar with their habits and manners. I recommend reading this series starting with the first book because they only get better and better - knowing all the facts only enriches the entire storyline. Andrea has a big part in this book and I find her endearing, Norman and Mike are battling it out for Hannah's feelings and things are starting to pick up in the romance department and the new characters add a whole other layer to the all ready charming town.

Hannah and her sister Andrea have new trouble on their busy minds. When the famous television host to the best watched cooking show decides to make an appearance at the Winter Carnival, everyone is thrilled and enamored with the idea of meeting Connie Mac, the star of the show. She arrives and makes herself known all right, by pushing everyone's buttons and making their lives miserable. From ridiculous demands to her sugar coated viper spiked requests to change everything into her way, she ends up meeting her own doom. Found in Hannah's bakery munching on blueberry muffins she meets the maker and turns the Cookie Jar into an investigation site, closing Hannah out. Desperate to save her shop and still make the cookies for the carnival, she decides to snoop on her own and find out who killed Connie Mac. The funny part is that everyone who is usually mellow and calm has deep resentment to Connie and finding out the only guilty person who actually committed the crime was quite the formidable task that required a lot of work and sugar to keep up Hannah's energy. In the end the mystery is solved and the reader is left hungrier for more of these fun books.

This book was wonderful and Hannah was wittier than ever, I always felt the connection to the story and as a bonus it was full of great cookie recipes and cooking tips. I am all ready planning on making some of them, and I have tried her recipes in the past, they work perfectly. The mystery was always the most important part and the story never fizzled, it reached the ending with flying colors.

Fun, enjoyable and breezy read, highly recommended for fans of cozy books.

- Kasia S.

Although this is Hannah Swenen's third adventure, it is the first I've read. I'm now looking forward to reading both past and future installments in the series.

Celebrity chef Connie Mac (think a Minnesota Martha Stewart) is found murdered in the pantry of Hannah's store, The Cookie Jar, and Hannah is plunged into the murder investigation. There is no shortage of suspects, as Connie wasn't known for her pleasant manner. Hannah manages to investigate while fending off the matchmaking attempts of her sister and mother, and while baking batches of cookies for the town's winter festival. Her investigation is complicated by the fact that one of her suitors is conducting the police investigation, the other is a suspect, and her mother is concerned that Hannah's habit of finding dead bodies (this isn't the first) may ruin her reputation.

The characters and plot elements are blended as skillfully as the ingredients in Hannah's delectable cookies. Speaking of which, the recipes in the book are a wonderful addition. Gotta go--I've got a batch of Peanut Butter Melts in the oven and I can't wait to taste them!

I enjoy the premise of this series. However, there are just some things about it that prevent me from giving it more stars, and unfortunately none of these things have been resolved in this installment.

When a murder takes place in town, it seems everyone seeks out the local cookie shop owner to make sure she'll be investigating. The police forbid her to get involved, yet turn around and give her confidential information, which she then proceeds to tell to others. She questions suspects as if she's an official and they immediately spill their guts to her. She even refers to the case as "her murder investigation."

I also find it annoying that everyone in town seems to whine and snivel at her feet. Her sister can't make a move without getting Hannah's approval and reassurance that she's doing a good job. She orders people around, all the way up to the mayor, and they just do whatever she says. People break the law and totally ignore the police in order to assist Hannah with whatever she needs. It just seems there's got to be a more believable way for an amateur sleuth to work on a case in a novel than by blatantly breaking the law and doing things she shouldn't be able to do since she's not an official.

I also can't stand the writing style when it comes to dialogue. Conversations between the characters comes off as stilted and unnatural. And enough already with the constant use of characters' names in every sentence ("Hi Hannah." "Hi Norman." "How are you Hannah?" "I'm fine Norman, how are you?" "Good, Hannah.") -- I'm quite capable of keeping track of who's talking to who without being reminded of it in every sentence of the conversation.

Finally, there's really no need for so many subplots to be going on at once, especially when they're obvious. I knew what the relationship between Alex and Janie was as soon as it was questioned. The same holds true for Paul. The ghost plot did nothing for the story. And I'm still trying to figure out how Hannah could draw the conclusion that her sister was pregnant just because she had a bigger breakfast than usual, especially when she states that she was away at college during Andrea's first pregnancy.

The author really does have a nice idea with this series, but she needs to work on these things for me to be able to give the books any higher of a rating.

After finding a total of five dead bodies over the past few months, and solving two crimes that left even the local police force stumped, flame-haired cookie queen, Hannah Swensen is determined to act like a normal business owner for once, and throw herself headfirst into the work that she loves - running Lake Eden, Minnesota's booming shop, The Cookie Jar. First up, supplying an array of tasty treats for the annual Winter Carnival. But in the world of Hannah, where there are cookies, there's murder, and before she knows it, she's at it again.

Since returning to Lake Eden, Minnesota, Hannah Swensen has discovered that she truly adores the small town way of life. The fact that she knows each and every one of her neighbor's is a pleasant discovery, and she can't help but feel as if all of the customers who stop in at The Cookie Jar are like family to her. Except for world-renowned cooking sweetheart, Connie Mac. When the lifestyle maven agrees to bake the cake for Lake Eden, Minnesota's annual Winter Carnival, the Lake Eden residents are up in arms with excitement - except for Hannah. Connie Mac may seem like a lovely person on screen, but in reality she's a demanding, conniving, unkind individual - at least to the people who work for her. To everyone else she's an underhanded, manipulative mastermind who can get just about anyone to do her bidding. Except for Hannah. As much as Hannah dislikes the TV host, she certainly doesn't want to see her dead; but that's exactly how she finds her. When Hannah arrives at The Cookie Jar to start the days work, she is shocked to discover the burnt to a crisp Winter Carnival cake, along with the lifeless body of Connie Mac lying in her pantry, surrounded by Hannah's special Blue Blueberry Muffins. Hannah has seen people go wild for her muffins, but this is the first time someone has literally gone belly up. The victim of a skull-bashing, Connie Mac has managed to cause just as much turmoil in her death, as she did during her living days - especially for Hannah. Due to the fact that Connie Mac was murdered in The Cookie Jar, Hannah's booming business has been marked a crime scene, and is completely off-limits. With the Winter Carnival looming just around the corner, Hannah knows that she can't possibly get her work done without a slew of commercial ovens by her side, so she resolves to do something to save her business - solve the murder herself. But as people begin dropping like flies, Hannah will have to keep her head in an attempt to catch the killer - before she finds herself next on the chopping block!

I don't know how she does it, but with each addition to the Hannah Swensen series, Joanne Fluke manages to make the reader feel more and more like a resident of Lake Eden, Minnesota. Hannah is such a delightful character whose no-frills demeanor, firecracker personality, sarcastic slings, and passion for baked goods makes her lovable from beginning to end. Her fast-talking ways are quick-witted and creative; and her recipes are absolutely to-die-for (no pun intended!) treats. The only person who almost manages to overshadow Hannah would have to be her precocious four-year-old niece, Tracey, who comes off as sweet as Hannah's original concoctions. Once more, Fluke has proven that Hannah Swensen is a character who is here to stay - and her next adventure will be just as mouthwatering as the last three. Third times the charm!

Erika Sorocco

Freelance Reviewer

Hannah Swensen is the baker of delicious pastries, as well as the amatuer sleuth that keeps running into dead bodies in a small Minnesota town. Her investigative technique is straightforward and not very imaginative, but the delicious recipes and the warm personal interplay make it for a satisfying and occasionally funny read. One or two of the supporting characters are interesting, but most others are rather flat plot devices, including the victim.

The book does not demand much exertion from the reader, and neither strives for nor achieves a deep emotional engagement, but it works admirably as a cosy diversion.

This is the thrid Hannah Swenson novel I've read. I have learned to not expect complex characters, or unique plots. The books stay away from sex, unfriendly language, and the murders are never graphic. They remind me in a way of the old Nancy Drew/Hardy boys mysteries, in a sense. They are sweet and fairly innocent, but they provide enough of a mystery to keep you reasonably interested in finding out 'whodunit'. Blueberry Muffin Murder was actually the most enjoyable of the three that I've read so far. The 'bakery' mysteries are good for those times when you don't want something to read that takes a lot of effort. The word 'pleasant' keeps coming to mind as a type this. These books are a pleasant way to pass a few hours...just don't expect a big payoff.

If you liked the previous 2 Hannah Swensen mysteries Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder (Hannah Swensen Mysteries) and Strawberry Shortcake Murder: A Hannah Swensen Mystery (A Hannah Swensen Murder), you'll like this one just as much. It is a quick, easy read, and very entertaining. Great recipes too - makes me want to bake!

To drum up tourism during the off season, Lake Eden, Minnesota hosts its first annual Winter Carnival. The Cookie Jar bakery owners Hannah Swensen and Lisa Herman are providing many pastries though not the official Winter Carnival cake. That honor has been bestowed on TV show celebrity, Connie "Mac" MacIntyre, host of "Cooking with Connie".

Connie Mac expects everything her way and even overruns the most obstinate of local individuals Hannah's mom to gain what she wants. When the truck carrying the official cake rolls into a ditch ruining it, the abusive SOB orders Hannah to lend her the bakery's oven. Though tempted to tell Connie Mac where to stick her dough, Hannah acquiesces for the good of the Carnival and a friend who works for the nasty bully. The next morning Hannah finds her shop a total mess and angrily begins to clean up until she finds the murdered body of Connie Mac. Though warned by her potential boyfriend a cop to stay out of the investigation, everyone else provides Hannah support in trying to solve the crime.

The BLUEBERRY MUFFIN MURDER is an engaging pastry that fans with a sweet tooth for a culinary cozy will want to read. The story line is humorous and the who-done-it is fun though why the cops were not upset over the crime scene being ruined by Hannah is a mystery too. Readers will relish the support cast's confidence that Hannah, not the police, will solve the case by encouraging her to set up her command post. Joanne Fluke provides sub-genre fans with a delightfully delicious delicacy.

Harriet Klausner

I HAVE ALMOST READ ALL OF HANNAH SWENSEN MYSTERYS NOW.

THIS MYSTERY SERIES IS FUNNY,REAL,AND ALMOST IMMPOSSIBLE

TO PUT DOWN ONCE YOU START TO READ IT.SHE HAS MADE THE CHARACTERS REAL,SHE HAS BROUGHT THEM TO LIFE WITH THE UPS & DOWNS THAT LIFE BRINGS US.

DO YOURSELF A FAVOR AND READ THIS SERIES,ITS LIKE GIVING YOURSELF A GIFT,OF HUMOR.

DEDE N.J.