small town minnesota – Cuddle Up With a Cozy Mystery

Triple Chocolate Cheesecake Murder review

March 4, 2021 Tari Hann

This is the twenty-seventh book in this series, one of the longest-running cozy mystery series that I’ve read. Joanne Fluke had a real winner on her hands when she started the Hannah Swensen series, that’s for sure along with more yummy recipes than anyone could ever imagine. For awhile, the later books didn’t seem to have the right feeling, vibe or even the right-sounding conversations to them, but this book was right back there where I’ve always felt like Hannah books should be. Just comfortable, not stilted dialogue and still all the usual neighborly town things going on.

When you read one of the Hannah Swensen series, it’s like the old “don’t go to the grocery store hungry” thing, only it’s “I wouldn’t read one of these books while hungry if I were you.” ::wink::

My Goodreads review:

Triple Chocolate Cheesecake Murder by Joanne Fluke
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It’s always great to get back to Lake Eden and characters I’ve come to think of as old friends. This time, the most unlikely person was the suspect in the mayor’s death…Andrea! And of course, that made Bill have to step away from it leaving Mike and Lonnie to investigate with their now-asked-for help from Hannah. Michelle sometimes stepped in to help, since she’s involved with Lonnie.

I loved that this book started with some real interest and action too. Usually (and I adore that silly Moishe kitty, don’t get me wrong) it’s Moishe waking Hannah and Hannah thinking it’s someone in her dream. It started off with a stronger than usual story and kept it all the way through. You have to be used to this series to realize that along with a little mystery, you get a heaping helping of neighbor talk and some of the yummiest-sounding recipes you’ll ever come across. It’s all part of the charm though, and this book had the feel of the earlier books that I came to love so much.

There was a really good twist that I had started suspecting at one point. As always, it was well-explained by everyone with a wrap up at the end. The showdown was rather peaceful although it could have taken a bad turn. I’m sure Bill and Andrea were two of the most relieved people when the mystery was solved.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book provided by the publisher via NetGalley, and my opinions are my own.

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Coconut Layer Cake Murder review

February 28, 2020 Tari Hann

It’s hard to believe that this is the twenty-fifth book in the Hannah Swensen series by Joanne Fluke, a native of Minnesota herself. I’ve always loved the firsthand descriptions given of the various seasons in Minnesota. It sometimes makes me want to be there in the winter, but only if I could get hauled around and not drive in the snow lol. I don’t know how she comes up with all the deliciousness or great titles, but I always pretend I’m enjoying whatever goody Hannah is cooking up. There are plenty of amazing recipes in this book. Maybe one of these days I’ll getting around to making some of them!

My Goodreads review:

Coconut Layer Cake Murder by Joanne Fluke

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

After reading the latest books in the series from about 22 on as arcs, I’d started thinking that someone else might have been doing the writing, because it wasn’t really up to how it used to be in the earlier Hannah books–the conversations were too simple and they used each other’s names way too many times to be natural. But since I just finished book 3 not even a week ago, I felt like it was recent enough to make a good comparison, and honestly this one was almost back to the style of the older books. There was still lots and lots of cookie talk and conversation…but hey this is Lake Eden, a small town that when I started reading these books, I’ve just learned that we get a lot of the people’s personal lives. It might not read like a regular cozy which focuses mostly on the mystery, but it’s awfully typical of small towns where there really isn’t much to talk about except someone’s health, the latest gossip, the weather or yummy food.

Speaking of yummy food, there were tons of great sounding recipes in the book. I have yet to make any of them in the series, but they sure sound good while I’m reading. It’s like I’m eating them in my mind and not gaining weight lol. The mystery did seem a little dragged out with how they had nearly half the police force sitting out the case, since it involved one of their own. But I wasn’t completely sure about who the killer was until Hannah came up with it. There was no cliffhanger ending to this book and to be completely honest, I hadn’t even remembered that there was one. I’m hoping that the future books are taking this path toward being more like the older ones.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book provided by the publisher via NetGalley, and my opinions are completely my own.

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Eggs on Ice–review

April 16, 2019 Tari Hann

This is the eighth book in the Cackleberry Club series by Laura Childs. I had never read any in the series before, but I think someone could easily pick up this or maybe any of the other books and not be lost. It would be nice to know the back stories of the characters, so I definitely plan to start reading this series from the beginning. I felt like I could the main characters by friends by the time the book was finished. I love the idea that the Cackleberry Club diner has an adjoining book store and a yarn shop too.

My Goodreads review:

Eggs on Ice by Laura Childs

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Even though this was the first in the series that I have read, I felt like I was quickly able to know who was who among the regular characters, and definitely by the time the book ended, I felt like I knew them and wanted to visit again. I definitely want to start reading from the beginning, but this shiny, new copy at the library just tempted me so much, I had to borrow it. The Cackleberry Club diner and its adjoining book store and knitting store sound so cool!

I actually did figure out who the killer was, but when that happens (few and far between lol), I enjoy reading along and seeing how soon the characters will pick up on it. The showdown was really good. Toni’s husband Junior had lost his trailer in a fire and was storing all his tools in Suzanne’s car. I think Suzanne was probably very thankful she still had those tools in her car when it came to confronting the killer. This was a Christmas themed book, but I can read about Christmas any time of the year. Kindred sounds like a fun place to be at Christmas, minus the murders of course!

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Christmas Cake Murder–review

November 4, 2018November 4, 2018 Tari Hann

This is the twenty-third book in the Hannah Swenson series by Joanne Fluke. This is one of the first series that got me started reading cozy mysteries, and I also love the movies on the Hallmark Mystery channel that were based on the characters.

This one starts in the past when Hannah was first opening the Cookie Jar. It was fun to read about Andrea and Bill when they were nearly first married and expecting their first child, and before Andrea became a real estate agent. The mystery was quite a bit different from usual, but not in a bad way.

My Goodreads review:

Christmas Cake Murder by Joanne Fluke

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this little trip back in time to when Hannah Swenson made the decision to open her bakery. It was interesting to see what her life was like before she had the Cookie Jar, or her cat Moishe.

To bring Delores out of her depression over her husband’s death, her friends asked her to put together a Christmas Ball for one of the community’s most beloved members, Essie Granger. In going through Essie’s things, Hannah found some notebooks that told an interesting but unfinished tale of a young woman on the run from a hit man. She had been pregnant and the story ended abruptly as the baby started to come. At the ball, when an attempt on Essie’s life was made, Hannah knew they had to put the pieces of this puzzle together and find out who wanted to kill the sweetest woman in town…and why. Did it have anything to do with those notebooks?

The story was quite a bit different from the usual Hannah Swenson I’m used to reading. It did move a little slowly at first when there wasn’t much action going on, but at least the story was interesting enough and filled to the brim with the most delicious-sounding food and desserts! I keep saying I’m going to try one of these recipes some day! I liked the side story that Essie wrote too. It ended up with a very sweet ending, just like this book had! Even though Christmasy thing told about in the book was the Christmas Ball, the book was still very heart-warming and perfect for the magical holiday season.

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