Customer Reviews

Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder (Hannah Swensen Mysteries)

5 star:		(71)
4 star:		(34)
3 star:		(21)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

Hannah Swenson's life is going well. Her cookie shop is successful, and she's content living a single life with her cat as company. But then she finds her delivery driver from the local dairy murdered behind her story. Assisting her brother-in-law, she starts investigating. But everyone seems to have an alibi and no motive.

This book was a complete delight from start to finish. I loved the small town Minnesota setting. Hannah's relationship with her family had me laughing and feeling for her at the same time. The other characters were enjoyable, too, and Hannah is a very likable heroine. Her cat adds charm to the story. I was hooked on the plot from the very beginning and was as frustrated as Hannah when she hit a dead end. Her cookies sounded absolutely wonderful, and I can't wait to try the recipes. Definitely don't read this book while hungry!

As soon as I can get my hands on the next book, I'm going to start reading it.

There's nothing more fun for a cozy mystery reader than to discover a new author with a fresh voice whose work one can look forward to for years to come. The reader gets to know the characters quickly and well, so well, in fact, that I found myself thinking, 'Wouldn't it be funny in the next book if Delores.......' Even the publisher's marketing is fun in that the book is a chubby little thing, kind of like the old Orphan Annie books of long ago. Younger readers won't recall these, but they will doscover the charm of the concept when they first see this book. Ther heroine/detective is Hannah Swenson, a well eductaed twenty-something who was called away from her doctoral program to return to Lake Eden, Minnesota to assist her mother after her father's death. Lake Eden is a town of 3,000 where, as one would expect, everyone pretty well knows one another, or can find out about each other through a grapevine that winds its way from kitchens to local clubs to church socials and to "The Cookie Jar", (cookie recipes included) a coffee shop owned by Hannah and operated with the dedicated assistance of a local teenager, Lisa. Hannah is challenged by first one homicide and then another, and she views solving the crimes as a way to help her detective brother-in-law get a promotion. As it happens, Hannah's whole family becomes involved in one way or another and the results are funny. Particularly funny is her mother, Delores, whose abundance of free time allows her to try and find a husband for Hannah who has never been married and lives alone with a fat one-eyed cat named Moishe. Either we are like Hannah or we know someone like her. She wears old sneakers and a sweatshirt. She's blunt, funny and kind, and she doesn't see herself as the object of anyone's great desire, but watch what happens. If you enjoy cozy mysteries, by all means read this one, and then wait impatiently for the next.

Hannah Swenson, the owner of a successful cookie shop called The Cookie Jar, is also a proficient amateur sleuth. When a popular local ex-football player is killed behind her shop, she is determined to find his killer. Will she succeed? Read to find out.

This is truly an outstanding novel. The setting is in the chilly autumn of rural Minnesota. The author does a magnificent job of describing the biting cold and the blowing snow of a prairie autumn.

The characterization is superb. The characters seem to leap right off the page and grow flesh and bones. They could be people in your own home town, friends and acquaintances of yours. Each one is carefully detailed to make them seem real and to draw the reader into their stories.

The plot is thrilling. The author kept me guessing until the last moment to find out the identity of the killer. The plot took several twists and turns leading me to dead end guesses repeatedly thus adding to the fun and building up to the shocking conclusion.

But the real star of this novel is the atmosphere. It's sheer coziness at its very best. One can smell the fresh coffee and taste the warm cookies as one shivers in the Minnesota wind. It's the perfect book to cuddle up with on a chilly autumn day and lose oneself in utter bliss. Also, many recipes are included so you can enjoy baking Hannah's delights as you wind your way through this thrilling mystery.

This book is a must read for any fan of cozy mysteries and just plain good story telling. This is a novel that will stay with you long after you close the pages. Highly recommended.

This collector's edition also contains a short story entitled, Candy for Christmas. This is the story of a young runaway whom Hannah finds in the deep cold of the Minnesota Christmas. Hannah sets out to learn the girl's story and to help her reunite with her family. It is a wonderful story filled with many of the same elements of delights found in the novel. It's inclusion in this edition is a real treat. It too contains many recipes to add to your enjoyment. So after your meal of mystery, don't forget the candy for dessert!

Smash B

I loved this book! Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder is a cute, quirky, and easy-to-read culinary mystery fit for anyone. I picked this book up when a friend told me of the series, and thought it sounded cutely interesting, so I bought the first five in paperback in the cheap-o section. Hannah Swensen is living the good life running a successful bakery called "The Cookie Jar" with a caring assistant named Lisa Herman and living in a nice condo with her lovable cat Moishe in small-town Lake Eden, Minnesota. But when Hannah discovers the body of Ron LaSalle, the beloved delivery man of the Cozy Cow Dairy Farm in his truck, his body surrounded by Hannah's famous Chocolate Chip Crunches, Hannah decides to do a little investigation of her own on the murder. With delightful and wacky characters like Hannah's only-trying-to-be-helpful sister Andrea, her mother Delores that's obsessed with finding Hannah a soulmate, and the new dentist Norman that Hannah becomes closer to, Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder satisfied all the things I wanted for a good cozy mystery, plus scrumptious and unusual dessert recipes. Read this book!

Although I enjoyed the story and the characters, for somebody who just 'happens' upon a dead body and might even be categorized as an amateur sleuth, Hannah follows this case with the tenacity of a dog with a bone. She asks questions and follows leads as though she's assigned to the case instead of someone who's just supposed to keep her ears open and pass along any information to her brother-in-law (who really IS assigned to the case). Since moving back home, Hannah's reconnection with her family and the opening of her business, The Cookie Jar, are both wonderfully written, humorous, at at times exasperating. This series has potential, but let's hope that the author scales back a little bit on Hannah's involvement in future cases. For someone who has no law enforcement experience, she's just too involved to make it believable.

Unlike my usual dietary and book habits, where I devour cookies and books like a demon possessed, I will be passing up a second one of Joanna Fluke's cookies. The characters were either believably dull or just unbelievable. The main character, Hannah, a cooker proprietress runs circles around her law enforcement trained brother law making him seem like a dolt. I couldn't believe Hannah went through extraordinary efforts to get a coffee cup out of dumpster and made a big deal about preserving the fingerprints but just waltz into a suspect's (and big surprise...later murder victim) home and just touches everything that would be evidence without a thought to fingerprints. And you could see the romantic interest storyline coming a mile away. Thanks again Joanna, but I'll save a few calories and some money and look elsewhere for a good read.

The books in the series are a nice light read. The mysteries won't leave you scratching your head for very long unfortunately and frankly speaking as a person in the same age range as the main character, she is very dated. You can tell an older woman is writing a young character. Kinda reminds me of the clothes my mother would buy me or something, just not quite right for my age. As one example, Mike the heart throb love interest is described as having a mustache, um no one since Tom Seleck on Magnum P.I. has made a woman swoon while sporting a mustache. All in all the series is pleasant and fun, just keep telling yourself the books were copy righted from 1980-1985 instead of in the 2000's that should help make the characters seem more realistic and less cliche.

This was my first culinary mystery ever and I am really glad to have stumbled on this hybrid of murder and cooking, as it was the perfect fusion of two totally random reading topics. Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder is Joanne Fluke's 1st mystery in the series and I strongly suggest starting from the beginning. It is followed by Strawberry Shortcake Murder, Blueberry Muffin Murder, Lemon Meringue Pie Murder, Fudge Cupcake Murder, Sugar Cookie Murder, Peach Cobbler Murder and finally the Cherry Cheesecake murder. As on can see there is a while rainbow of delectable culinary treats combined with scavenger hunts for clues, guilty suspects and perfecting the next batch of cookies. And may I also add that as silly as the books sound, they are delightful in their own light, with colorful lovely cover art and some really delicious recipes inside. I made sure to get all the books so that I can read them in order without waiting around.

The main protagonist, the small town sleuth and our main heroine is Hannah Swensen. As the proud owner of her own bakery and coffee shop in Lake Eden she makes up new cookie recipes, tries to avoid her mother's phone calls, and always has the funniest allegories about her fat orange cat, Moishe who sounds like my own orange stinky fur ball, Pacey. Hannah is single, strong minded and drinks a lot of coffee as she gets tangled up in a local murder, her chocolate chip cookies at the crime scene and the killer on the loose, ready to strike out again. She stumbles into helping her sister's husband Bill who is the local Sheriff into finding out who killed Ron, the local delivery man because no one the small cozy town dislikes him and the sooner she finds the motive the sooner she finds the killer.

This was a cozy, light and easy on my busy head book. This can be read in one or two sittings, but I never rush myself as I like to take time with my books, and then of course I feel the need to bake all the recipes included for treats such as Chocolate Chip Crunches, Ginger Crisps, Pecan Chews, Black & Whites, Chocolate Covered Cherry delights, Sugar Cookies and Lemon Bars. I enjoyed meeting all the characters of Lake Eden, as Hannah patiently snooped around, but I felt that she did more work than the sheriff! If this was a real life case, I would have deemed him lazy as she solved more clues than him.

Overall this was a lovely, breezy and entertaining read as everyone who came into contact with the Cookie Jar could have been guilty. I must say that all my theories about the killer bit the dust, but I hit one nail on the head, yeah well that's for me to know and for new readers to find out. Great story with no boring moments but I just wish the characters were fleshed out more, but I bet the following books will take care of that. I can't wait to sink my teeth in the next books, as I love strawberries. Enjoy this double treat, I know I did.

I spotted this book as a passerby in a bookstore. I actually did judge a book by its cover..both front and back! I thought this was an excellent book. It keeps you in suspense until the very end. It also will test your sweet tooth! Every cookie or dessert mentioned in the book; the recipie is provided for you so you can actually make the deliciously described treats yourself! Will follow this series until the end!!!

I'm a mystery junkie, and I have to admit, this sounded good. But though the writing is fairly smooth and the character and setting are interesting, I just didn't buy it.

I couldn't see why anyone would let themselves be questioned by a baker with no authority nor why Bill would let her interview HIS suspects. He came off as a complete doofus.

Hannah as a character became quite annoying. She was sticking her nose into everyone's business, giving unwanted advice, deceiving people, and breaking law after law (stealing evidence, covering up crimes, breaking and entering...). Personally, I think she should stick to her baking.