Customer Reviews

Gingerbread Cookie Murder

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

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.

"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

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.

Once again, Joanne Fluke, Laura Levine, and Leslie Meier have come together to give us a triple dose of Christmas murder starring their respective series sleuths. Ms. Fluke leads off the book with the title story which finds Hannah Swensen solving the death of her neighbor. Was Ernie killed because of his obnoxious and loud Christmas display or is something else afoot? Next comes "The Dangers of Gingerbread Cookies," which finds Ms. Levine's Jaine Austen visiting her parents in Florida only to have the star of the retirement community's Christmas play fall to his death. Finally, Ms. Meier presents "Gingerbread Cookies and Gunshots" as Lucy Stone attempts to find a kidnapped boy and bring him home for Christmas.

I realize it's a bit early to fully indulge in Christmas, but this collection certainly helped get me ready to start listening to Christmas music and decorating. All three stories are delightful and will please the authors' fans. I regularly read Joanne Fluke and Laura Levine, and their stories perfectly fit in with the series. While I don't read Leslie Meier, her story made me consider giving her series another try. All three main characters are fun, and all three stories move forward at brisk paces. Of course, when each story only gets about 100 pages, there isn't a lot of extra room.

As a plus, two of the authors included recipes. Leslie Meier has two at the end of her story, and Joanne Fluke includes twelve. All of them had my mouth watering.

If you are a fan of any of these authors, get a copy of this book and see if you don't find something new you'll enjoy. And if you want a hint of danger this Christmas, this book will be perfect for you.

Flukes story was the usual offering plenty of recipes and the story dragged out a bit. Hannah once again finds a body this time it is her neighbor and solves the murder pretty quickly. However, the killers identity is easy to figure out early on so I found the rest of the story to be fluff. 3.0 Stars.

Levine's story was the winner here. Funny and quick paced. Janie is visiting her parents for Christmas and when a Tampa Vistas resident is killed Janie tries to solve the murder without her parents knowing. As usual Levine shines in these offerings. Her writing is exactly what a cozy should be. Levine also has a talent for inserting humor in the appropriate places. Considering a murder mystery espically one that takes place during the holidays can be a downer the humor is not only appreciated but needed. 5 stars.

Meier's story was odd. She did not bring her A game here or her fact checker she mixed Elizabeth Smart up with Jaycee Dugard. I found Meier's offering to be a little odd. Lucy is whining about being broke and not being able to spend the holidays with her whole family and becomes obsessed with a local boy named Nemo who has odd parents. This obsession only intensifies when Nemo goes missing. This tale was hard to believe espically the ending. Meier also indicated something was amiss with Sue but did not resolve that storyline. I was disappointed in this offering and this is the weakest story in the book. 2 stars.

"Gingerbread Cookie Murder" by Joanne Fluke - 5 stars

This novella, was to me by far the best of the three. It deserved more than just 5 stars. The story was so cozy. I enjoyed the goodies, the coffee, and the unexplainable coziness that is in the Hannah Swensen novels. And I appreciated the recipes.

Hannah's neighbor has won the 8 million dollar lottery. Will he and his ex-wife get back together?

Hannah once again is determined to find the killer. Who murdered him and why? This mystery is interesting, fun, and all the pieces fit together.

I enjoyed the cold Minnesota snow and cold weather. I also enjoyed all of Hannah's baking and that cozy Christmas feeling.

"The Dangers of Gingerbread Cookies" by Laura Levine - 5 stars

Jaine visits her parents in warm, sunny Tampa for the Christmas holidays. The seniors at the retirement home are putting on a play. A boring, not-too-good of a play that Jaine has to suffer through.

Jaine's visit with her parents is interesting and colorful. Those seniors are interesting, Jaine loves fudge, and her cat, Prozac, takes center stage.

Someone is murdered, and Jaine (with her protective father monitoring her every move) is determined to find the killer. There are lots of interesting suspects.

"Gingerbread Cookies and Gunshots" by Leslie Meier - 5 stars

This was my second favorite novella. I love the Lucy Stone novels because they are so cozy and homy. I can feel her warm and loving home with her kids and husband. Even though she has one child who has no love at all (Elizabeth), but her other three children are loving, warm, normal kids.

A child is missing, and Lucy is determined to find the perpetrator. She is determined and bold and goes on some dangerous (and interesting) adventures to find the perp. There are some interesting characters in this book.

I love the Lucy Stone books because I love cozy, domestic home/family life. Even though I do work, I love coziness and hominess. I love being with my kids/family, and I love doing domestic things such as grocery shopping, cooking, celebrating holidays/birthdays, attending class parties and school concerts. Lucy Stone books make me feel right at home.

Lucy was very correct on page 281 when she called Elizabeth a selfish little witch.

I had to gag on page 358 when Lucy was congratulating herself on raising such nice children. Yes, she did raise three nice children, but she also raised one heartless witch. Other than Elizabeth ruining this novella, this was a pretty good story. The coziness and hominess of Lucy's home and homelife was the best part.

Christmas is coming, and the cookies --- and bodies --- are piling up across the country in this smorgasbord of murder mysteries.

In the first story, "Gingerbread Cookie Murder" by Joanne Fluke, Hannah Swensen gets burned after she doesn't hear the oven timer. Two dozen reindeer cookies in her Lake Eden, Minnesota condo are ruined, but it isn't her fault. Ernie Kusak, an inconsiderate lottery-winning divorcee, is not a good neighbor. He flaunts his wealth, plays deafening Christmas music all hours of the day and night, and puts on a dazzling holiday laser show that has all the tenants wanting his head.

After Ernie is discovered in a pool of blood in front of his refrigerator with his head bashed in, the list of suspects is almost as long as the list of ingredients for Hannah's Magic Chocolate Caramel Cookie Bars. A whimsical mystery and a dozen mouth-watering recipes, complete with a baking conversion chart, make "Gingerbread Cookie Murder" a sweet treat.

In Laura Levine's "The Dangers of Gingerbread Cookies," Jaine Austen leaves Los Angeles with her cat Prozak to spend Christmas at her parents' Tampas Vistas retirement community. Jaine expects to enjoy the holiday with her mom and dad in the Florida sun. Because of her credentials writing toilet bowl ads, she is enlisted to help with a community theater production of the play "The Gingerbread Cookie that Saved Christmas."

The play's starring role is given to playboy Dr. Preston McCay, who has a suspicious nature and a cast of jealous senior sweethearts. The show is also McCay's final curtain call after falling to his death. But is the geriatric playboy's passing an accident or intentional? After one of McCay's admirers is accused of his murder, Jaine must roll up her sleeves to catch the killer. This playful mystery, with its light-hearted tone and cast of quirky characters, is lots of fun, even though it doesn't rely on recipes to cook up a yummy story.

In "Gingerbread Cookies and Gunshots" by Leslie Meier, Lucy Stone --- a busy wife, mother, grandmother, part-time reporter and feature writer --- hopes for a peaceful Christmas with her family in Massachusetts. Funds are tight, and after her grown children tell her about their plans away from home, Christmas is looking anything but peaceful --- or jolly.

But Lucy stops feeling sorry for herself after she hears about the kidnapping of a four-year-old boy named Nemo Anderson, to whom she gave a gingerbread cookie the day before. She gets involved in the investigation after discovering the body of Nemo's father. The most serious of the three gingerbread mysteries, "Gingerbread Cookies and Gunshots" is a story about the importance of family and the real meaning of Christmas.

This assortment of different yet satisfying stories dishes out the tasty goods that are sure to please mystery lovers.

--- Reviewed by Donna Volkenannt (dvolkenannt@charter.net)

I love "cozy" mysteries and I love Christmas novels, so a combination of both usually results in me spending a few quiet hours on the family room couch engrossed in this type of book. With the temperature actually beginning to drop and the winds picking up, it didn't feel too early to begin my annual trek through Christmas-themed books. While I read Joanne Fluke, the other two authors in this collection are new to me.

Content of this book:

1) "Gingerbread Cookie Murder" by Joanne Fluke - 125 pages, including recipes
2) "The Dangers of Gingerbread Cookies" by Laura Levine - 123 pages
3) "Gingerbread Cookies and Gunshots" by Leslie Meier - 102 pages, with two recipes

Each novella is the continuation of the mystery series written by each author, but they can stand alone if you aren't a fan. Since I haven't read anything by Ms. Levine or Ms. Meier, I am proof positive that these can be enjoyed without all the background. All three are perfect reading for fans of the genre, though "Gingerbread Cookies and Gunshots" has a slightly more serious tone that most cozies. All are nice length to read in an evening and will put you in the mood for the holiday season to come or to provide a break from the activity of the season and just relax for a bit.

If you are fans of these authors, definitely pick this up and enjoy. If you don't know them all, it will give you an opportunity to sample their stories without the commitment (time or dollars) to a full-length book. Based upon reading Ms. Levine's contribution, I just purchased the first two books in this series for my Kindle --

I have read several books by Joanne Fluke, and this one was the first I stopped reading. The stories were trivial and the characters way less than interesting. I wanted to find something to like, but I finally decided that I simply did not care "who dunnit," and quit. I hope that this isn't a harbinger of future books by Joanne Fluke. Sadly I say, caveat emptor. Even if you've liked previous books by Joanne Fluke, this one may disappoint.

Joanne Fluke's books have become less interesting the last few years. Her story here is okay, but the Norman part is stale and boring. Laura Levine's story was worth some laughs and typical of her work. Leslie Meier's story was actually heart warming , the feeling I hope to find in a holiday story. All three are short stories. One should not expect the same development of plot that can be found in novels.