Customer Reviews

Candy Cane Murder

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I am not the biggest fan of short stories. I want more content to sink my teeth into. However, this book was the exception. I loved it! Hannah was in her usual keen sleuthing mode. I liked how the second short story referred back to Joanne's story and recipes. I am especially thrilled to be introduced to Leslie Meier. I enjoyed her story and I plan to read more of her books.

This is a collection of three Christmas mystery novellas written by three great cozy writers. Starring their series sleuths, they stand alone well enough to be entertaining for any cozy fan looking for some light reading in December.

Up first is the title story. "Candy Cane Murder" by Joanne Fluke finds Hannah Swenson playing Santa's helper, literally, at the Lake Eden Inn. Wayne Bergstrom, owner of a local department store, is doing his annual good deed playing Santa for the underprivileged kids in the area. But when leaving the party a little while later, she follows a trail of candy canes to find Wayne's body in a snow bank. Who would want Wayne dead? For a novella mystery, this one is fairly complex. Any of Hannah's numerous fans will love this story. It's a cozy Christmas offering and includes 8 cookie recipes, 2 drink recipes, and 2 quiche recipes.

Next comes "The Dangers of Candy Canes" by Laura Levine. I'm a fan of Laura's books so was thrilled to find another story starring freelance writer Jaine Austen. When one of Jaine's clients, Seymour Fiedler of Fiedler on the Roof Roofers, is sued for wrongful death, he hires Jaine to put down her pen and solve the crime. Seems that Garth Jankin fell off his recently reroofed house while decorating for his neighborhood's annual Christmas decorating contest. Since Garth had numerous enemies, Jaine quickly decides that the tiles were loosened. But who would do something like that? As with the books, this story is very funny. A sub-plot about Jaine volunteering with a group that mentors underprivileged girls almost slows the story down at times. But in the end this is a fun read.

Even though she's a staple of the cozy sub-genre, I have never read Leslie Meier before. I changed that with the third story, "Candy Canes of Christmas Past." This story takes us back in time to the first Christmas that series star Lucy Stone spent in Tinker Cove, Maine. Lucy is trying to deal with her husband's project, fixing up their home. So when town librarian Miss Tilly is nice to Lucy, Lucy looks for some way to repay her new friend. And that's how she begins trying to uncover the circumstances surrounding Miss Tilly's mother's death almost 50 years before. This story is as much about Lucy's struggles to fit into a new town and live in an old house as it is about the mystery. In fact, this was the weakest mystery of the book by far. But I liked the characters and plan to read the first in the series soon. This story includes 2 recipes, bringing the total for the book to 14.

If you love cozies and want to book to put you in the Christmas mood, this is the book for you. Pick it up and enjoy today.

This is one of the most wonderful, charming, interesting, and fun books that I have ever read. I was very satisfied when I finished it. This book is three books in one, by three different authors. All three books are fun, very well-written, clever, and entertaining.

"Candy Cane Murder" by Joanne Fluke:

The first book is by Joanne Fluke. Anybody who reads my reviews knows how crazy I am over the Hannah Swensen series, and this book is no exception.

This book starts out with Hannah at the Christmas party, dressed up as an elf. They are having a dinner and invited the children at the children's home. Hannah has a bucket of miniature candy canes for the children, and is looking forward to making candy cane cookies with the leftovers. When leaving the party, Hannah and her sisters find a miniature candy cane. . . Hannah also finds a body. I will not say more about the candy cane because I do not want to ruin the book.

There are lots of clever clues and fun adventures. The final solving of the mystery is very interesting and clever. And the recipes really look good. On a scale of 1 to 5, a hundred stars would not be enough for Joanne Fluke's part.

"The Dangers of Candy Canes" by Laura Levine:

While putting a huge, decorative neon candy cane on a roof, the person falls off because a shingle is loose. Was the roofer negligant in making sure the shingle was in place, or did someone deliberately loosen the shingle? Jaine is determined to find out. She goes on some interesting investigative adventures until she finds out who did it. The mystery solving was interesting.

This book was fun and funny. I had never read anything by this author before. By itself, this book would definitely have been 5 stars. Actually, a lot more than that. Five stars would not have been enough.

"Candy Canes of Christmas Past" by Leslie Meier:

Lucy, the main character, reflects on her first Christmas in Tinkers Cove, Maine as a young wife and mother. She makes friends with Miss Tilley and Sue Finch (and others). A glass candy cane makes Miss Tilley remember the death of her mother, which was many years ago. I will not say how the candy cane makes her remember, because I do not want to ruin the book for those who haven't read it. Lucy solves her first mystery that year: she solves the mystery of Miss Tilley's mother's death, even though it was many years ago. I enjoyed the mystery solving; it was really clever.

I love the atmosphere of this book. Lucy is taken back in time when she was a struggling new wife and mother. Her little boy, Toby, is sweet and adorable. Their house needs a lot of costly repairs. Even though those times seem hard and bad, those were actually the "good ole days". I know this because I have been reading the Lucy Stone series, and as the series progresses, and the kids get older, and Lucy and her husband are doing better financially, the atmosphere isn't quite as good and sentimental. But this story is more like one of the original books of the series, back when it was one of my favorite series.

On a scale of 1 to 5, a hundred stars are not enough.

This entire book as a whole:

This is one of the best books I've ever read. All 3 novellas were wonderful, clever, fun, interesting, and entertaining. If you like fun, warm, comfortable cozy mysteries, I highly recommend this book.

The holidays are upon us once again; and with them come a large array of holiday stories that will assist us in finding the holiday spirit within. None, however, may do the job as well as Joanne Fluke, Laura Levine, and Leslie Meier's CANDY CANE MURDER. Bringing their trademark mystery, humor, and yummy recipes to the table, this is one collection you'd be crazy to pass up.

CANDY CANE MURDER - By: Joanne Fluke - Hannah Swensen, owner and proprietor of Lake Eden, Minnesota's popular business, The Cookie Jar, is looking for a quiet holiday at home, curled up with her badly behaved kitty, Moishe, and a plate or two of her famous Chocolate Candy Cane Cookies. But when she's roped into playing an elf for Lake Eden's annual holiday gala, which includes a visit from Wayne Bergstrom - the owner of Bergstrom's Department Store - in the role of Santa, she realizes that her holiday dreams may be dashed. Bad enough that she's forced to squeeze into a tunic and tights that make her look hippy, but when she discovers a trail of miniature candy canes leading to Wayne's lifeless body at the bottom of a snow bank, Hannah is positive that her holiday shopping, and baking, will certainly be taking a backseat to an impromptu holiday investigation. One that could leave her in the midst of a very silent night. 5 stars.

THE DANGERS OF CANDY CANES - By: Laura Levine - Freelance writer, Jaine Austen, would give anything to simply go to sleep and wake up when the holidays are over, but her fish gut-loving kitty, Prozac, and her mounting bills are determined to keep her from indulging in such a luxury. Not to mention her dreaded Christmas trip to Florida to lounge around the pool with her parent's and her size two, bikini-clad cousin - along with her obnoxious family. The fact that Jaine is positive that she doesn't have enough money to buy even the tiniest gifts for her friends and family doesn't help matters much either. That is, until she strikes gold with a new case. When her client at Fiedler On the Roof roofing company is accused of murder, after a wealthy suburbanite takes a tumble off of his newly finished roof, Jaine is convinced that it had more to do with murder, and less to do with carelessness. Stepping into the world of Hysteria Lane, she begins to realize that the world of the wealthy is chockfull of nuts who have homicide on their mind, as well as quite a few hidden secrets that they would do anything to keep private. And if she doesn't watch her back, Jaine just might end up a stiff, even in the sweltering L.A. heat. Of course, if her investigation doesn't do her in, her "girlfriend" Angel, from the mentoring program she recently decided to volunteer with - aptly titled L.A. Girlfriends - is sure to give her a coronary. 5 stars.

CANDY CANES OF CHRISTMAS PAST - By: Leslie Meier - As Lucy Stone sits down to enjoy a Christmas with her ever-growing family, she is reminded of the year she first arrived in Tinker's Cove, Maine, some twenty-odd years ago. The year is 1983. As a city girl, she is shocked to find that, unlike New York City, Tinker's Cove lacks any interesting activities to keep her two-year-old, Toby, occupied for more than a few minutes. And with money tight, and her husband, Bill, working to refurbish their fixer-upper home, she contemplates simply giving up. That is until she meets Miss Tilley, the local librarian. Miss Tilley catches Lucy's interest when she begins speaking of her mother's suspicious death so many years ago, when she was found lying at the bottom of the stairs, atop a glass-blown candy cane on Christmas Eve. Miss Tilley has always believed that her father - now deceased - had something to do with the death of her mother, but never had any solid proof, or the ability to look into it, since she was a mere girl at the time. Lucy is determined to discover the truth about Miss Tilley's mother's death. But as she investigates more and more, she realizes that the suspects are piling up rapidly, and without much to go on, Lucy wonders if she'll ever be able to solve her first case. On the bright side, the more research she conducts, the more friends she makes, making her believe that somehow, some way, she'll be able to truly love Tinker's Cove - in time. 5 stars.

Over the years, I have followed the book series written by Joanne Fluke, Laura Levine, and Leslie Meier, devouring each new adventure they penned. Which is why I couldn't wait to unwrap this amazing new trio of novellas by some of mystery's most prominent authors. In CANDY CANE MURDER, Joanne Fluke brings Hannah Swensen and the gang to life in this mini mystery which includes twelve recipes that you'll be dying to try for the holidays. Her descriptions of a Minnesota Christmas, and the difficulty of getting some of the more popular toys for the holidays - in this case a Teeny - are humorous; while the wonderful scenes involving baking and holiday parties leave you itching to get all dressed up for a gala of your own. Laura Levine takes you on a humorous trip through L.A. as Jaine Austen gets ready to celebrate the holidays - hula style - in THE DANGERS OF CANDY CANES. Jaine's adventures as she encounters a neighborhood of crazies determined to win the annual holiday decoration contest leave you laughing out loud; while her encounters with a deranged, manipulative twelve-year-old named Angel, may just make you rethink signing up for a mentoring program anytime soon. Last, but not least, Leslie Meier leaves readers with a sense of nostalgia as her heroine, Lucy Stone, takes a trip down memory lane, recounting the first mystery she ever solved - one that involved a splash of history, mixed with a dab of murder. And, to add a little taste to the story, Meier even included two dessert recipes, giving the reader the opportunity to attempt fourteen different recipes for their holiday get-together's this year. You'll certainly be craving seconds after completing this delectable holiday trio!

Erika Sorocco
Freelance Reviewer

Even though I first got to it well after the holidays, "Candy Cane Murder" is a delight for all seasons. Joanne Fluke, Laura Levine and Leslie Meier are at the top of their games in this cozy lover's delight. Just be careful to reserve some reading time because you'll find yourself absorbed in all three clever novellas. I'm a real pushover for Christmas stories, so it was a special treat to see Hannah Swenson and Jaine Austen try to uncover these Yule-related mysteries. What fun! I'm less familiar with Lucy Stone, but she'll be on my future reading list too.

This anthology is the perfect read for all of us who think the Christmas season is just plain murder. Joanne Fluke and Leslie Meier contribute highly entertaining mini-mysteries, but my favorite part of the collection was--with all due respect to Publishers Weekly--Laura Levine's latest Jaine Austen adventure. "The Dangers of Candy Canes" was hardly "skimpy," but involving, fast-paced, and moving, without being overly sentimental.

All of these stories, however, are recommended for anyone wishing to try original twists on the standard murder mystery. It would be interesting to see the authors follow this up with further holiday-themed stories.

Laura Levine is who makes the book a true gem! All of her books are hilarious! Jaine Austen is a very funny character and it's the only story in this book that made me laugh out loud. I didn't really care for Fluke's story but Meier's story is pretty good. Definitely read this to get in the mood for the holiday season!!

I picked up this book because I have been reading all of the offerings in Joanna Fluke's Hannah Swenson murder mystery series, and CANDY CANE MURDER was the next one by publication date. However, this book actually contains three novella-type stories; in addition to Fluke's "Candy Cane Murder," there is "The Dangers of Candy Canes" by Laura Levine and "Candy Canes of Christmas Past" by Leslie Meier. I hadn't read either of the other two authors previously, but I was game to try them, and I saved the book so that I could read the stories at Christmastime. After finishing a few days ago, I have given my impression of each one below.

CANDY CANE MURDER
This is a typical Fluke murder mystery. As always, it is main character Hannah who discovers the body, this time of "Santa" (surprisingly, this does not occur until Page 37 of what is only a 173 page story). And as usual, Hannah and her friends (including both sisters, Andrea and Michelle) investigate the case. I did enjoy this story, and even though some plot elements were more obvious, Fluke added in a nice little twist to the end. There are also 10 total recipes, many of them holiday-themed (e.g., Christmas Date Cookies, Candy Cane Bar Cookies). However, I have to note that having Hannah constantly put herself down because of her weight is becoming quite tiresome.

THE DANGERS OF CANDY CANES
This story is told in the first person by Jaine Austen (no relation!), amateur sleuth. She is a young single gal in LA working as a freelance writer. One of her clients is accused of murder, and Jaine tries to help by finding the real killer. She finds herself uncovering details of holiday decorating wars...and more. A side plot involves Jaine trying to do something positive by becoming a "Girlfriend," a sort of big sister to a young girl in need, but this does not proceed quite as planned. This story is a bit silly at times, but I still found it to be an enjoyable read.

CANDY CANES OF CHRISTMAS PAST
Unlike the first two stories in the book, this one has a serious rather than a comic tone; to my surprise, I actually enjoyed it the most. The story begins with a Prologue set in the present day: Lucy and Bill Stone are shown happily spending their first Christmas as grandparents with their whole family in their beautiful New England home. But then Lucy flashes back to 1983, when she and Bill first moved to the dilapidated farm house in Tinker's Cove, Maine. Bill has left his lucrative job in New York City to work with his hands, and Lucy finds herself struggling with a toddler and another baby on the way while in primitive conditions. Luckily, she is befriended by Miss Tilley, the local librarian. She discovers that when Miss Tilley was a young child, her mother died on Christmas eve under somewhat mysterious circumstances. Lucy sets out to help Miss Tilley solve this "cold case" and put her mind at ease at last. Two recipes are included at the end of this story (Christmas Spritz Cookies and Sand Tarts).

Overall, I enjoyed all three of these stories. It seems a bit of an odd collection given that the first two are more light-hearted in nature and the third is more of a drama. Still, if you enjoy the "cozy" mystery genre, I would recommend this book.

If I could give half stars this would be about a 3.5 star book.

The Fluke story was atypical it dragged on at some points and was filled with recipes. Do not get me wrong I like the Hannah Swensen books but Fluke likes to beat a dead horse if you get what I mean. A good percentage of the content was recipes and the story was slow going. It was nice to see Hannah solve a mystery quickly but this in my opinion was the weakest and most boring story of all the stories. The funny thing is out of all three series I usually put Fluke in the middle and Meier in last place. I give this one 2.5 stars

The Levine story was my favorite. Personally out of all three hoeronies Janie is my favorite. Despite the fact a murder takes place her books are always quick paced, light hearted, and funny. I was disappointed not to see Lance or hear from him while Janie was in the tub or read any emails from her parents but the story was cute and funny. A solid 4 star

The Meier story frustrated me somewhat. Why does Lucy put up with Bill who can be rather rude and chauvinistic. However, this story seemed to stick closely to a typical Christmas story and had more of a feel good Christmas story to it. It also revealed how Lucy met her Tinkers Cove friends. It was a backstory that really helped me to understand Lucy better. I give this one 3.5 stars.

I have read all of the Janie Austin books but I am working on the Sugar Cookie Murder and just finished the Christmas Cookie murder. So if your not caught up with the series of books there may be some spoilers in the stories.

This would be a great book for a Christmas present for those who love cozy mysteries. It's a collection of three short novellas by three well-known cozy writers and the stories are all about Christmas. I read this mostly because I absolutely love Joanne Fluke and her Hannah Swenson mysteries, and this story called Candy Cane Murder is a good one. We have all our favourites here - Hannah and her sisters, Norman and Mike and of course, Hannah's mother. Like all her stories this one is a page-turner. The story is all about when a local guy dressed as Santa is found dead outside the inn with candy canes everywhere. Of course, Hannah needs to find the killer. The second story is called The Dangers of Candy Canes and is written by Laura Levine. I have not read Laura Levine before, and I don't think I'll make the attempt after reading this book. I found it silly and Jaine Austin (her heroine) is too ditzy for my liking. I did enjoy Ms. Leslie Meier's Candy Canes of Christmas Past though, and I think I will read more about her heroine Lucy Stone. In this book, set at Christmas in 1983, Lucy is trying to solve a decades old murder for a friend of hers in her new home of Tinker's Cove, Maine. I really liked this, and I will definitely add Ms. Meier's name to my to-be read-list.