Sugar Cookie Murder (Hannah Swensen Series #6)

disappointed

I expected more of a story line and not so many recipes in one book. I think the recipes should be put in a cook book , that was just too many, it took up half of the pages, other wise I like the Hannah Swenson series

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Nice short read.

This one was shortie but a goodie. It begins to tie up the loose ends from previous books. And the foreshadowing makes you anxious to grab Peach Cobbler Murder. By the you'll love Tracey even more.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Standard Hannah Swensen but enjoyable

#6 in the Hannah Swensen murder mysteries. What's different about this book, is it takes place almost entirely in one evening in the community center during a Christmas potluck. Brandi, a Vegas showgirls who married one of the locals after 5 hours, is found dead in the parking lot, of course by Hannah and of course, with Hannah's mother's cake knife in her chest. This was a quick read, enjoyable but predictable. The only problem is there are SO many characters in the book, and it's hard to remember who is who from past mysteries.

Nancy Drew Grown Up

These books are fun reads. After going through all of the Harry Bosch series, I find the lightness refreshing - even if a murderis involved - and the recipes have managed to keep me busy on the weekends trying them!!!

Sugar Cookie

Book 6 was a cute and quick read. It was nice to see some new characters added along with some of the old ones. Hannah and her sisters really go all out on this one.

Wonderful read!

Joanne Fluke is a great author. Every book in her series is one that you hate to put down. I tend to finish one and dive right into the next in the series. The endings are rarely predictable and the story line is very interesting. She includes some very interesting and yummy recipes for each book as well. Great book!

great murder mystery with super recipe

great fun to read and curl up with very fun series and enjoyable

Stick with the formula!

This is one of my favorite series but this one was sorta dissapointing. I don't want to give away the ending, but it was very blahhhhhh and was ironic that it could call itself a murder mystery.

Minnesota & Mistletoe. Holiday-Wreathed Lock-Down Blizzard

SUGAR COOKIE MURDER was an ingenious holiday offering, which would satisfy off-season as well. Being snowed in under high flavor was great entertainment escape. I enjoyed the leap into the reality of my kitchen of Hannah and friends tweaking, testing recipes, the names and flavors of which paraded through the plot. As I skimmed the ¿cookbook¿ section, I realized I¿d be able to fondly recall titles from the story. Each title promised a unique, ¿history¿ laden treat, sans off-beat ingredients, easy enough to conjure in real life even for a wild, hair-brained cook who rarely follows a recipe. As usual, the plot melted out like heated butter. Since Mike was a Fluky fool when it came to seeing through Shawna Lee, Hannah was allowed to seethe her dark-side toward the ¿lady,¿ which may have taken the heat off Hannah¿s mother. In this one the early morning phone call from Dolores didn¿t even get a hiss from Moshie, though it did get spits of steam (well chewed down) from Hannah. I was relieved that the murder didn¿t occur until the holiday event had extended well into relishing the pot luck entrees. I had visions of Sugar Plums going sour as characters¿ mouths watered in vain. Instead, each recipe was mentioned and described as it was placed onto the banquet tables. I enjoyed Lake Eden¿s Cookie Jar town being condensed into the community center walls and parking lot, with satisfying entertainment flowing through the culinary concoctions, social machinations, and a school jazz band. Fluke proved the point that small towns are very much NOT boring, as Brandi Wyen had whined. Lake Eden was the antithesis of that for people who weren¿t boring themselves. I wondered if Fluke set the murder midway into the plot to dramatize that Hannah¿s ¿Cookie-Jar-Town¿ didn¿t need murder and detecting to make it an interesting, satisfying read. (Is there a contrast to Sinclair Lewis here?) Fluke perfectly piled on small town charms, without being too sentimental, interjecting plenty of spice and savory, expanding every-which-way beyond Hannah¿s basic but crafty cookies. After Fluke had the charm simmering, she popped the murder and sizzled it perfectly (on ice), with a twist in the resolution which returned full circle to her original point of dramatizing The Good Life and The Good People. In a Partridge in a Pear Tree denouement, a new baby was brought into the fold as a delicious ¿line dance,¿ floor-pacing was performed poshly without practice, in the maternity ward hallway. Fluke¿s light touch can fool readers (while reading but afterthoughts can be telling) into thinking her stories are mere entertainment confections. How mere are confections? How potent is entertainment? Some of the best hints came out here about which beau Hannah might favor. I¿m now 99% certain I know. Prior to SUGAR COOKIE, I had no clue, and enjoyed that state of balanced confusion. SUGAR COOKIE MURDER is a winner, a complex (more than I would have anticipated), perfect gift to buy for yourself any time you need a lift into the inner warmth of a Minnesota winter. The before, during, and after effect is better than Prozac. Take the small-town-sugar-pill! For whatever ails, it treats better than many medicines.

Deliciously Fun !!

I loved this book! Sugar Cookie Murder is the first book I have read in the Hanna Swenson Murder Mystery Series and now I'm hooked! The author made me feel as if I were wrapped in a flannel blanket sipping hot cocoa in front of the fireplace while the snowfakes fell outside my window. Hanna Swenson seemed to be a dear friend visiting for the holidays telling me her down home gossip while sharing some delicious winter recipes! What a warm and fuzzy book! P.S. I've tried 7 of the 50 recipes and they were easy and fabulous!

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Good book, but

This was a great read, but I was very disappointed to discover, at half way thru the book, that it ended at 200 pages. The other half of the book was all recipes! I love recipes, but was hoping to find more to read instead of more to cook.

Another Great Hannah Swenson Mystery

THis is the best in the series yet, with more subtle humor and the same great characters. THere are over 80 recipes in this one. Hannah Swenson seeks to find a murderer who used her mother's antique knife as a weapon. The ending surprised me. An excellent read.

delicious lighthearted mystery

Hannah Swenson owns the Cookie Jar Bakery in Eden Lake, Minnesota. Currently she is working her buns off (pun intended) to get ready for the Christmas party and food competition at the community center. Hannah is compiling a book of recipes that the townsfolk are renowned for. Everyone seems to want to be included in the cookbook so Hannah is struggling not to ruffle any feathers by showing every dish entered at the party. She also looks forward to spending time with her date police investigator Mike Kingston.--- Hannah knows that Martin¿s new wife Brandy Wyn Dubrinksi will make his mother Babs and his former spouse Sherry uncomfortable. However everyone gasps when they see Brandy as she is wearing a $25,000 mink coat that Martin just bought her. While Hannah toils in the kitchen she notices that the door to the back parking lot is ajar. She goes outside only to find Brandy dead with her mother¿s jewel encrusted Regency serving cake knife in the victim¿s chest. Hannah begins searching for the real killer.--- There should be a warning not to read this book on an empty stomach because the descriptions of food throughout the novel and the recipes at the end will send the pickiest eater on a gorging frenzy. This warm cozy amateur sleuth tale is well plotted and has a sweet eccentric small town support cast, but the main ingredient remains Hannah as she takes another bite out of crime. SUGAR COOKIE MURDER is a delicious lighthearted mystery.--- Harriet Klausner

No text was provided for this review.

No text was provided for this review.

No text was provided for this review.

No text was provided for this review.

No text was provided for this review.

No text was provided for this review.

No text was provided for this review.