Gingerbread Cookie Murder [Hardcover]

Joanne Fluke (Author), Leslie Meier (Author), Laura Levine (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2010

"Gingerbread Cookie Murder" is written by Joanne Fluke. When Hannah Swensen finds her neighbour Ernie Kusak with his head bashed in and sprawled on the floor of his condo next to an upended box of Hannah's Gingerbread Cookies, she discovers a flurry of murder suspects that's as long as her holiday shopping list. "The Dangers Of Gingerbread Cookies" is written by Laura Levine. Jaine Austen has been enlisted to help with her parents' retirement community's play The Gingerbread Cookie That Saved Christmas. Playboy Dr. Preston McCay is playing the role of the gingerbread cookie when he 'accidentally' falls to his death during the final act. Now Jaine must figure out if one of the doctor's jealous lovers was capable of murder. "Gingerbread Cookies And Gunshots" is written by Leslie Meier. When Lucy Stone discovers the body of Rick Juergens, whose five-year-old son Nemo disappeared, she senses foul play. Crumbs from a gingerbread cookie Lucy gave to Nemo are found in the back seat of Rick's car. With the hours quickly ticking till Christmas, Lucy races against the clock to find a killer before he strikes again.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Fluke, Levine, and Meier each offer a yuletide whodunit treat in this entertaining follow-up to 2007's Candy Cane Murder. In Fluke's wry "Gingerbread Cookie Murder," Hannah Swensen of the Cookie Jar in Lake Eden, Minn., wants her neighbor Ernie Kusak to simply lower the volume on his too loud Christmas outdoor display, but she soon discovers Ernie with his head bashed in. In Levine's hilarious "The Dangers of Gingerbread Cookies," Jaine Austen's holiday stay at her parents' home in the Tampa Vistas retirement community is enlivened by the murder of elderly lothario Dr. Preston McCay, whose neck gets broken during his star turn in an amateur play called The Gingerbread Cookie That Saved Christmas. Rounding out the volume is Meier's less cheery but poignant "Gingerbread Cookies and Gunshots," about Maine reporter Lucy Stone's investigation of a four-year-old boy's disappearance. Recipes enhance two of the selections.
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Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Kensington (October 1, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0758234953
• ISBN-13: 978-0758234957
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.8 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #243,823 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Christmas in September!, September 29, 2010

By 

Gloria Mundi - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gingerbread Cookie Murder (Hardcover)

This highly entertaining trio of novellas would make a terrific Christmas gift--but not for anyone who hates the holidays. The plethora of dastardly murders presented here might give them ideas.

Joanne Fluke's "Gingerbread Cookie Murder" delivers not only recipes for sweet treats, but a cautionary tale about the dangers of too-flamboyant Christmas displays. (OK, that wasn't the actual motive for murder, but I'm sure it didn't help.)

Leslie Meier's "Gingerbread Cookies and Gunshots" is the most low-key story in the collection, a quiet, touching description of Lucy Stone's investigation involving a small boy's disappearance. Plus recipes.

Laura Levine's "The Dangers of Gingerbread Cookies," was my favorite entry. Prozac the cat is back, with snappier dialogue than ever. This tale of two "doctors" even has our feline heroine playing a crucial role in exposing--literally and figuratively--a killer. (Considering the expertise with which Prozac manages to cadge everyone's tastiest food throughout the story, it'd be interesting to see some of her recipes...) As always in Levine's Jaine Austen yarns, the obvious warmth and affection between Jaine and her family (which most definitely includes Prozac) is a warm touch for a cold fall/winter night. Even if Jaine's dad's efforts to play Junior Detective don't work nearly as well as her cat's.

All in all, this is a fine way for a mystery lover to get into the holiday spirit.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars three wonderful amateur sleuths, October 1, 2010

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Gingerbread Cookie Murder (Hardcover)

"Gingerbread Cookie Murder" by Joanne Fluke. Hannah Swensen and other condo owners are furious with neighbor Ernie Kusak for playing the music so loud he cannot hear the knocking on his door. When the police arrive and enter the apartment, Hannah joins them and sees Ernie's corpse. Another neighbor who had incidents with Ernie is the prime suspect but Hannah thinks otherwise; so she runs a parallel investigation to that of the cops. Joanne Fluke provides a delectable whodunit.

"The Dangers Of Gingerbread Cookies" by Laura Levine. Jaine Austen visits her parents at their Florida retirement village. The community play is The Gingerbread Cookie That Saved Christmas starring Dr. Preston McCay as the heroic gingerbread cookie. When he dies from a fall while performing, the police suspect Edna, a friend of Jaine's mother, as the killer. The cops believe her motive was she believed they were engaged as did two other women in the complex. Jaine investigates in order to prove Edna never killed the lothario. With plenty of humor and wit, McCay's final act makes for a fun novella.

"Gingerbread Cookies and Gunshots" by Leslie Meier. Lucy Stone is buying groceries when she spots four years old Nemo at the store. The child wants a gingerbread man, but his mother insists they cannot afford it. Lucy buys a cookie for the child, but is perplexed to notice his mom and stepfather own a Porsche. On the TV news,Lucy learns there is an Amber Alert out on Nemo who was kidnapped. Soon afterward, Rick, Nemo's step-father is found dead with his head bashed in. Worried about the boy, Lucy investigates the homicide and the alleged kidnapping. Lucy Meier writes a charming Christmas cozy.

These three wonderful amateur sleuths star popular protagonists who sweeten the Christmas season with fun homicide investigations.

Harriet Klausner

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Three-Way Holiday Fun!, October 19, 2010

By 

Mabel S. Kingsley (Akron, Ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gingerbread Cookie Murder (Hardcover)

I tried to wait at least until Thanksgiving to read this book, but couldn't hold out. I'm a major Joanne Fluke fan, and I couldn't resist her story. Won't bother with a recap since it's already been done. Suffice it to say that I loved the fact that a man who blares his stereo to kingdom come gets bumped off. (Something I've often wanted to do in my life with noisy neighbors.) Thought the ending was particularly clever. Also really liked Laura Levine's very funny story about getting caught up in a murder in her parents' retirement community. Her cat Prozac is a riot. And Leslie's Meier's tale of searching for a kidnapped boy, although not as light as the other two stories, was very engrossing and rounded out the collection nicely. Each story had it's own distinct tone and I thought all three worked very well together.