Cream Puff Murder (Hannah Swensen Mysteries) [Hardcover]

Joanne Fluke (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 24, 2009 | Series: Hannah Swensen Mysteries

Winter in Lake Eden, Minnesota, is the perfect time to curl up by a cosy fire with something - and someone - sweet. But while bakery owner Hannah Swensen can provide herself with the confections, cuddling will have to take a back seat to sleuthing when her sometime-squeeze becomes a murder suspect...With the launch party of her mother's novel around the corner, Hannah has a dress to fit into and a date with her sister, Andrea, at Lake Eden's new health club, Heavenly Bodies. Dragging herself out of bed on a frigid Minnesota morning for exercise, of all things, is bad enough. Discovering a dead body floating in the gym's Jacuzzi? Okay, that's worse. Nor does it help that there's a plate of The Cookie Jar's very own cream puffs garnishing the murder scene. The fact that they were purchased by none other than Hannah's part-time flame, Detective Mike Kingston, is simply the icing on what's shaping up to be one very messy cake...Mike may be the prime suspect in the murder of man-eating bombshell Ronni Ward, but he's by no means the only one. Ronni, a fitness instructor at both the Sheriff's department and Heavenly Bodies, made a nasty habit of throwing her own heavenly body at every man, eligible or not, who crossed her path. Plenty of Lake Eden's ladies won't miss Ronni, including her ex-fiance's former girlfriend, the angry mother of one of her would-be conquests, and even the mayor's wife. Could any of them have wanted her gone badly enough to make it happen? Mike's recruited Hannah to find out, and, as any suspended, suspected detective would, he's micromanaging her every step of the way...Between trying to narrow the list of Ronni's enemies down to fewer than half the town's female population and resisting the urge to remove Mike from the running by throttling him herself, Hannah has her plate full. Trouble is, when it comes to cookies - and to murder - there's always room for one more.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

It was inevitable that Hannah Swensen’s sweet lifestyle was going to catch up with her. That time has come in this eleventh entertaining cozy featuring the cookie baker: she must go on a diet. Hannah starts working out at a health club and vows to stop tasting the scrumptious treats she prepares every day for the Cookie Jar bakery in Lake Eden, Minnesota. Stress mounts when Hannah discovers the body of a fitness instructor floating in her club’s Jacuzzi. The acerbic trainer was universally loathed by women and liked by most men (including the staff of the local police department) for her flirtatious ways. In a reversal of the usual procedure, this time one of Hannah’s boyfriends, Detective Mike Kingston, recruits her help in solving the mystery, as he and his fellow cops are potential suspects. Hannah and her other boyfriend, dentist Norman, go to work to solve the mystery with dubious and conflicting suggestions from all of the real detectives. As usual, Fluke intersperses delectable recipes and reveals plenty of new personal details about her eccentric and likable cast of characters. --Judy Coon

Review

"Foodie fans will eat up Fluke's cozy.... A fluffy mix of sweets and suspense." - Publishers Weekly "A tasty treat" - Kirkus Reviews" --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Kensington Books; First Edition edition (February 24, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0758210221
• ISBN-13: 978-0758210227
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (70 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #397,307 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Joanne Fluke is the New York Times bestselling author of more than 20 novels. Like Hannah Swensen, she was born and raised in a small town in rural Minnesota, but now lives in sunny Southern California. She is currently working on her next Hannah Swensen mystery and readers are welcome to contact her at the following e-mail address, [e-mail], or by visiting her website at www.MurderSheBaked.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars More "cozy" than mystery, March 14, 2009

By 

Holly Kincaid "Book addict" (Indiana, USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cream Puff Murder (Hannah Swensen Mysteries) (Hardcover)

I have been a fan of this series since the beginning and have faithfully read each and every one of them as they are published. It's one of my favorites and I look forward to settling in with Hannah and her friends and family as well as having a mystery mixed in for good measure.

This one was different for me. The first 100 pages or so I was really enjoying the book. Definitely a "cozy" story since no murder had been committed yet. I was appreciating getting caught up with the characters from the previous novels and zipped right along. Around page 110 things started deteriorating. The mystery portion was introduced and I thought it was fairly weak. Lots of unrealistic situations occur to the point of spoiling it. All cozies have bits of reality that you have to ignore, but this one pushed it past acceptable. All of the police department's detectives are unable to work the case for some reason or another, so they decide to have a cookie shop owner run the police investigation? It's one thing for a mystery to revolve around a person sticking their nose in where it doesn't belong, its another thing to have us all swallow that four different police officers recruit an amateur and let her solve the mystery. A detective is brought in from the big city and even she lets Hannah take the lead and do all the investigation. Just too over the top for me.

By the time the last 100 pages came around, I was finding it hard to stay with the book. I wasn't motivated to finish other than out of loyalty to the series and a personal desire to finish every book I read.

I did like the Mike/Norman/Hannah situation and was glad to see some movement in that story line. I also got a real kick out of Moise (Hannah's cat) and the mystery of the disappearing food. I actually liked that mystery better than the main murder in the novel.

I'll keep reading these since they have been so good so far, but I am hoping for better in the future. If you have never read this series, I would recommend going back and starting with the very first one. Since so much of this book is dependent upon characters, it would be really helpful to have all the previous background -- won't stand alone very well.

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Hannah Tries to Lose Weight and Gain Clues, February 24, 2009

By 

Mark Baker (Santa Clarita, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Cream Puff Murder (Hannah Swensen Mysteries) (Hardcover)

Hannah has two weeks to lose enough weight to fit into the dress that her mother bought her to wear for a book launch party. That means a strict diet and joining Heavenly Bodies, the new gym out at the mall. With Andrea cheering her on, Hannah might actually make her goal.

On the down side, membership at Heavenly Bodies means interacting even more with Ronni Ward. One of the instructors at the gym, Ronni has made enemies out of every woman in town with her constant flirting. Still, Hannah is shocked to find Ronni floating face down in the gym's Jacuzzi. To make matters worse, sometimes boyfriend Mike is a suspect in the case. Since Mike is suspended until things are resolved, he is becoming irritating. Can she solve the case before Mike drives her completely crazy?

Let's be honest, there are a couple of things in this series that are highly unrealistic. And this book does nothing to change that. Mike and other police officers are actually trying to run their investigation through Hannah. Realistic? No. But it does provide for some very funny scenes. As in Murder, She Wrote, I ignore it and move on. The Mike/Norman triangle certainly doesn't seem to be going anywhere either, although this book makes it very clear who she should chose.

Now that I've noted those items, I must confess I still enjoy these books. The cast of series regulars always makes me smile. This is another great visit with old friends. For that reason alone I will keep reading the series. The mystery could have been stronger earlier, but it still captured my interest and kept me guessing until the end. I count something in the neighborhood of 20 recipes that made my mouth water as I was reading.

Like the chocolate Hannah is always prescribing, this series is a cure for any problem. This is another light, fun read.

19 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Please just stop, April 6, 2009

By 

Pandy - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cream Puff Murder (Hannah Swensen Mysteries) (Hardcover)

Joanne Fluke needs to just stop - her books are all exactly the same. I am so disappointed in how this series has turned out. Hannah doesn't act like a 30 year old, but like a celibate 50 year old. Not making up her mind about Mike or Norman is completely annoying and both men have ceased to be fleshed out characters and are now just caricatures.

After reading the last book and finding it dull, I decided to give her one more chance with this novel. I am now finished with this series. It doesn't go anywhere, it's boring, and it is completely unrealistic (even by cozy standards)