Fudge Cupcake Murder

Someone is murdered, and the secret ingredient for the fudge cupcake recipe is a mystery. Hannah is determined to solve the murder and still find time to find out the secret ingredient for the recipe before the Lake Eden cookbook is published. And if that is not enough, Hannah suspects one of her boyfriends, Mike, is cheating on her with pretty Shawna Lee. The hominess, warmth, and coziness of this Minnesota mystery series is indescribable. Not to mention the superb mystery plots and lots of clues. I give 5 stars to a lot of books, because they deserve it. But of all the 5-star books, this Hannah Swensen cookie series is definitely the one I like most. There is only one other series I like as much as this one: Kate Borden's "Death of a Tart", "Death of a Trickster", and "Death of a Turkey". I had read the first 4 Hannah Swensen books, then stopped and read many other mysteries. Then I decided it was time to come back and finish up the Hannah Swensen series. I just finished the 5th book (Fudge Cupcake Murder), and it was like coming home after a long absence! There are no words to describe how much I truly enjoyed this book. Now I will read the remaining books in the series. This series is a model cozy mystery series. The pure pleasure, comfort, and satisfaction I get from these books are inexpressible, and I feel they are a gift from the heavens. Ultimate enjoyment.

Finishing Lemon Meringue Pie Murder, I could not wait to start Fudge Cupcake Murder. How could anyone believe Ms. Fluke would disappoint? It's nearing Halloween in the small town of Lake Eden, Minnesota, Hannah's niece Tracy can't wait for trick-or-treating, and Hannah is teaching a fun cooking class at the Lake Eden school. Hannah is compiling an amount of recipes for the Lake Eden Cookbook, and receives a recipe for fudge cupcakec from Beatrice Koester, but then learns that Beatrice's mother-in-law wouldn't give up the secret ingredient that makes the cupcakes fruity and thick, and Hannah must experiment with other ingredients. After her cooking class, Hannah tries making cupcake test batches, and gives one to Sheriff Grant to try, and when Hannah is about to leave, she discovers Sheriff Grant's body in the dumpster, his shirt smeared with chocolate frosting from one of Hannah's cupcakes. And if that wasn't bad enough, Andrea's husband Bill is accused of murder Grant so he could become the new sheriff! Hannah vehemently investigates the murder once again to clear her innocent brother-in-law. Joanne Fluke has written another great Hannah Swensen mystery with funny characters, a stumping murder, and subtle clues, along with the hilarious subplot of Hannah's attempts to make Moishe, Hannah's lovable tomcat, eat his newly needed Senior Cat Food. Read this book!

If cozies are your cup of tea, you'll savor this latest entry in the popular Hannah Swensen series. It's charming, chatty, pleasant, and easy to digest. Adding to the fun are the several original (and quite good) cookie recipes and enough baking tips to warrant keeping Fudge Cupcake Murder on the shelves in the kitchen. --Marcianne Miller, author of The Artful Cupcake

Hannah's life is very full. Not only is she juggling the demands of running The Cookie Jar, but her brother-in-law is running for sheriff in a very tight race and she's trying to organize the recipes for the Lake Eden cookbook. One night, as she's taking the trash out after her potluck cooking class (a convenient way to test all the recipes to make sure they're right before the book goes to print), she finds the body of Sheriff Grant in the dumpster. Now Bill is suspended from work because he's a suspect, and Hannah must clear him by finding the killer before he drives the very pregnant Andrea crazy cleaning out their house. This also adds major complications to Hannah's relationship with Bill's partner Mike. Meanwhile, her mother is acting strangely, and she needs to get her cat to eat his senior cat food. And she's searching for the missing ingredient in Mrs. Koester's fudge cupcake recipe so it can make the book. Can Hannah juggle all these competing demands?Needless to say, there's never a dull moment in this book. There are a few times when the murder investigation seems to stall briefly, but the other sub-plots take up the slack. Frankly, I hardly noticed because there is so much else happening. The mystery does progress well, with an ending I figured out a little before Hannah, but not by much. All the characters we've come to love are back, and it's definitely a wonderful visit with old friends. This book contains 10 delicious sounding recipes. (A word about the title recipe. The first edition contains an error. It should read 1 1/2 teaspoons baking POWDER not baking soda. This will be fixed in all future editions.)Is it possible to get the warm fuzzies from a murder mystery? If so, this is the series to do it. If you like your murder served cozy, look no further then this fun series.

Another winner in the Cookie Jar mystery series. Hannah has her hands full! She's still in a quandry over two handsome beaus; her sister is still pregnant; her kitty, Moishe, is not happy; her Mother is, as usual, critical and has a secret; Mike, her brother-in-law, is suspect #1 in the murder of the Sheriff that happens to be who Mike is running against during a close election. Said Sheriff just ate one of Hannah's cupcakes minutes before he's murdered and thrown into a dumpster. Now, all she has to do is get her kitty to eat again, slueth with her expectant sister to get Mike off "suspension pending investigation"; figure out what her Mother is hiding; bake for her thriving business at the cookie jar while she tests recipes and puts together a Lake Eden Cook Book whose deadline has been pushed forward by three months! The recipes are excellent and all you cookie party gals will find the new Hannah Banana cookie delicious! Now, don't read the recipes first; she gives a really good clue in the beginning, as to the secret ingredient missing from the Fudge cupcake recipe entry and it was fun to figure it out with her.