Carrot Cake Murder (Hannah Swensen Mysteries) | 
 enlarge | Author: Joanne Fluke
Publisher: Kensington
Category: Book
List Price: $22.00
Buy New: $10.00
You Save: $12.00 (55%)
New (38) Used (26) Collectible (9) from $8.94
Avg. Customer Rating:  27 reviews
Sales Rank: 15471
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 288
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.1
Dimensions (in): 8.4 x 6.1 x 1.3
ISBN: 0758210205
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780758210203
ASIN: 0758210205
Publication Date: March 1, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand NEW Hardback as shown..Speedy Service&delivery... (nt 88 )
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Book Description
Summertime has finally arrived in Lake Eden, Minnesota, and Hannah Swensen, owner of The Cookie Jar bakery, is looking forward to warm, lazy days, eating ice cream, and sharing picnics with friends. But when a family reunion takes a deadly turn, it's up to Hannah to find a killer... Between baking up a storm for The Cookie Jar and unraveling the mystery of her cat Moishe's recent strange behavior, Hannah Swensen has a lot on her plate. But she'll always make time for her business partner, Lisa, who's in the midst of preparing for a big family reunion. Everyone is delighted when Lisa's long-lost uncle makes a surprise appearance. No one has heard from Gus in twenty-five years--and his arrival has everyone buzzing with excitement. Uncle Gus is immediately the hit of the reunion, telling tales of his great success and flashing money for all to see. He's almost as popular as Hannah's scrumptious carrot cake, which is also Gus's favorite dessert. But the next morning, as the whole family gathers for the group photo, one person is missing. Hannah offers to track down Uncle Gus, but her search leads to a shocking find. Over by the bar at the pavilion, she spots two slices of her infamous carrot cake, frosting-side down on the floor--and Gus's corpse with an ice pick jutting out of his chest! A little snooping reveals that not everyone was celebrating Gus's return. And when Hannah unearths more secrets from Gus's past, she discovers even more people with an axe to grind. Now Hannah's got to sift through a long list of suspects to find a killer--even if it could mean a recipe for her own demise... Includes 12 original dessert recipes for you to try!
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| Customer Reviews: Read 22 more reviews...
 Pure Fun ! ! June 24, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I love the series - each one seems to be better than the last - and the recipes - I've tried many of them from the different books in the system - so far they have all recieved raves from not only family but from fellow teachers. Thanks for the wonderful recipes! ! !
 Probably more like 2 1/2 stars -- good enough plot that I kept reading June 17, 2008
2 out of 4 found this review helpful
But -- a lot of the book I found silly and/or irritating.
I thought the main character, Hannah, was kind of a prig, and her romantic triangle a bit too prim and proper for this day and age and a woman who is clearly well out of her teens.
And -- although I am a major cat lover -- there was WAY too much about Hannah's cat in this book. Who really wants to listen to descriptions of the cute things a cat did, unless the cat is your own cat! And I never did understand the cat tree this cat received as a present, despite an extensive description. I read the cat scenes because I kept thinking the cat had something to do with the plot.
I also think this would be a very bad book to read if you were on a diet, because there are a lot of descriptions of food and recipes -- not in the appendix, but mixed right in there with the book. I found this annoying and distracting from a pretty good plot.
The book needed a copyeditor, including one who would do some fact checking. A character flies from the Central Time Zone to Eastern Standard Time, and there's a conversation about what time is it there. Well, if it's almost 2 pm, it's almost 1 pm in CST, but the character acts as if she's talking to someone in Mongolia. Additionally, the author has already told us that this character is eating pizza so early in the day the parking lot at the restaurant is practically empty -- which is not likely to be the case around 1 pm! I think the Californian author was thinking of PST rather than CST.
Still, the plotting was pretty good, and it's light reading. I'm just glad I was given the book and didn't spend my own money on this.
Carrot Cake Murder June 9, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
I always wait for the next Joanne Fluke book to come out to see what Hannah Swensen and her sisters are going to do next and to see if she makes a decision between Norman and Mike. It is a good clean fun book and I really enjoyed reading it. The combination of mystery,food and fun are great. The recipes in the book are an added plus.
This Book Was Just OK June 4, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I've read every book in the series so far & have enjoyed reading them. BUT, I have to agree with some of what the other reviewers have mentioned.
-The Mike/Norman thing is getting pretty old now.
-Every time someone visits someone, they have to serve cake/cookies. I'm surprised the characters don't all weigh 300 lbs! Way too much emphasis on bakery goods!
-The characters constantly telling Hannah, "I have to talk to you." They all tell Hannah stuff, but not the police. They come to her to ask if they should mention certain things to the police. Right!
-Even Mike thinks he needs Hannah to help him. Hannah might as well get a part-time job as an investigator - that way, the book won't seem so unrealistic.
-The most perfect/smartest/prettiest girl in the world - Tracey - is an annoying character. If she were more like a real kid her age, she could be a valuable character in the book series.
-Like in most mysteries, the characters always have to drive over to someone's house to ask a question instead of simply calling.
-Asking Hannah to make Red Velvet Cookies because they might make an Alzheimer's patient remember things. Oh, please.
I figured out the murderer early on. It was too obvious. Hard to imagine anyone killing someone for the reason that was stated.
Hopefully, the next book is better.
Carrot Cake Coziness May 27, 2008
6 out of 13 found this review helpful
In a cozy little town in Minnesota, three dynamic sisters dwell. Hannah, the oldest, has the cooking talent of a French gourmet chef. Andrea, the middle sister, has striking and dazzling beauty. Michelle, the youngest, also has the beauty that Andrea inherited from their stunning mother. All three sisters are savvy and lively.
Lake Eden, Minnesota is a cozy little town that I would love to live in. Characterization in this book is so vivid that you feel you personally know these people. There are characters that I feel I know and love. For example, Jack Herman is an example of a man that all men could look up to - a wonderful husband/father/person. Lisa Herman, his daughter, is a talented partner in "The Cookie Jar" coffee shop, a loving wife, an immaculate housekeeper, and has the best dad in the world. Luanne Hanks is a wonderful person that I highly admire - an honest hard worker, a loving and dedicated mother, and just an extremely noble person all around; she will one day make some lucky man a superb wife. Two winners who are after Hannah's heart: Mike, the so-gorgeous-words-can't-describe police and Norman, the cuddly and sweet dentist. These are just random examples of citizens in this town that I want to live in! But I got to know these characters over the whole series. Each book does stand alone, so it is okay to read them out of sequence, but I prefer to read them in order.
In this particular book, there is a family reunion for a week at Eden Lake. Lots of people are there, playing games, having activities, eating, socializing, etc. One of the family members ends up murdered. Hannah is determined to find the killer. She and her sisters are dynamic as usual. Norman is his usual cuddly self. Hannah's adventures are fun and the book flows smoothly. I absolutely loved it!
Joanne Fluke has more writing talent than Hannah has cooking skills; than Andrea, Michelle, and their mother Delores have beauty; than Mike is breathtakingly gorgeous . . . I think you get the point. I cannot describe how good this book is (along with the entire series). This book is so cozy and so superb, it is hard to put down. It is over 300 pages, but it goes by very quickly because it is so good. I have 2 favorite cozy mystery series that tie for my number 1 spot: this particular series and Kate Borden's Peggy Jean Turner series. This book, "Carrot Cake Murder", is fantastic and magnificent, as is the entire series. I will sing their praises all day long. If you haven't read any of the books in this series, you don't know what you are missing.
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