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 … 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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4 stars to Joanne Fluke’s Carrot Cake Murder, the tenth book in the “Hannah Swensen” cozy murder mystery series, a series which was made into several fun TV movies called “Murder, She Baked” starring Alison Sweeney and Cameron Mathison. The series continues to delight readers, providing at least 15 to 20 recipes that sound delicious and look fairly easy to make. I recommend you give all three a try — the book, the movie and the food!
Story
As set up in the previous book, Hannah’s protege and part-owner of their shared Lake Eden Bakery, Lisa, and her new husband Herb, traffic cop extraordinaire, are having an extended family re-union on Eden Lake. One of their long-lost relatives, Gus Klein, randomly shows up and begins to cause trouble like he did when he was a child some thirty-five years ago. But this time, his trouble earns him an ice pick to the heart — what some say is cold justice payback! There are tons of suspects in this murder mystery all connected to Herb and Lisa’s family, and at this point in the series, Detective Mike Kingston (1 of Hannah’s 2 primary love interests) no longer pretends to stop Hannah from trying to investigate, he encourages it. With both her sisters’ and mother’s, as well as her other primary love interest, dentist Norman Rhodes, Hannah begins digging up all the dirt she can. Gus is not as wealthy as he claimed, and is only back in town to run some final scam, but it turns out to be his last one. Hannah rounds up the suspects and proves alibis one-by-one until she’s left with the one person she had a gut instinct about along the way… luckily, she’s saved by Mike just before the killer tries to knock her out too.
And for some extra fun on the side, Hannah spends a lot of time with Norman making us all root for him to win her heart, only to throw a little monkey-wrench into the plan at the end when Ross, the other paramour from a few books in the past, sizzles back into town wanting to see her as soon as possible. Well now what’s Hannah going to do… not only will she have 3 men to juggle but her mother just got a book romance book published starring… her own daughters. Lake Eden is gonna be hopping in book 11!
Strengths
1. Hannah is a really fun character. She has so many great traits and a couple of flaws but it all makes her so real. She is sometimes a little too rude / direct, sometimes a little flaky and sometimes just too independent for her own good. But she is also charming, pretty, a great baker and a very accomplished woman.
2. Author Fluke knows how to integrate so many families and keeps it connected throughout each book in the series. It’s great to see / hear so many faces popping up from prior books that you really feel like you’re part of the story.
3. The mystery has some intrigue and complexity to it for a cozy. There’s at least 5 to 6 possible suspects and you have a few twists and turns that keep you guessing.
Suggestions
1. Hannah’s love triangle and now quadrangle… ugh, heart-breaker… but we really need her to let someone go. I like both Mike and Norman, but I see Norman as the better match for her in the long-run. I also like Ross and am curious to see what happens in the next book. But 3’s too much. I’m not trying to hold my girl back, but she hasn’t done more than kiss any of them and has this much trouble trying to figure out who is right for her??? What’s gonna happen when it gets steamier???
2. Love the recipes but they’re starting to take over the book. I’d like to limit it to 10 per book so you are enjoying the mystery more than the cooking. Don’t get me wrong, I love desserts, but I can’t cook everything she throws out there!
Final Thoughts
The cozy mystery has a certain kind of reader base. You’re not gonna find major romance or suspense, or even a lot of thrilling murders. It’s light and fun… with a few gut punches to keep you paying attention. The Hannah Swensen series has been fairly consistent thru ten books. So if you’re a cozy fan, and you like to stay with the same bunch of characters, you should be reading this series.
As far as a Joanne Fluke mystery, this book was formulaic. Ut was an okay read, but not as good as her earlier works. There is a twist toward the end that leaves you wondering what the heck?
I like all the books that Joanne Fluke has written…
Marge Beeseman’s brother one day just upped and disappeared, like a thief in the night. Thirty years later Gus Marges brother shows up. Maybe he came back for the family reunion by why wait thirty years? Two days later Gus is found dead, He’d been stabbed. All eyes are on Jack Lisa’s father when a tale from thirty years ago is brought up of the two having a knock out drag out.
I loved the ending of book ten. It felt more action packed and suspenseful. But for some reason my book, it’s the hardback reprint of Carrot Cake Murder, I felt like it had a lot of spelling, misused, typo issues. Is there a such thing as a peace officer or was it supposed to be police officer. They were talking about evidence and how mike couldn’t disclose it to Hannah since she wasn’t a peace officer??
Another great read from Joanne Fluke.
I love this series. Light reading and lovable characters.
Another visit to Lake Eden with Hannah and the gang. Easy reading as usual. A good diversion after the craziness of the holidays because it doesn’t require much brain power. If you’re looking for depth of plot or character, cozy mysteries probably aren’t the genre for you, but if you’re looking to be entertained with fluff and fun and you’re willing to suspend disbelief, you’re in the right place. This mystery had all those latter qualities wrapped up in a satisfying little mystery. I had my (correct) suspicions fairly early on but still enjoyed the process of reaching the reveal and the setting was unique enough to keep the story fresh. I’ll be curious to see where the final chapter leads Hannah going forward.
Who knew family reunions can be deadly? Hannah’s partner Lisa is hosting a family reunion at the lake when her long lost uncle shows up and then is promptly murdered. Hannah has alot going on between work, a cat with a attitude problem and Mike’s new playmate but she’s always got Lisa’s back. Solving this murder becomes tricky when secrets come out and the suspect list includes almost every one who knew Uncle Gus. Wasn’t to happy with the last few paragraphs of the book.
Everyone is surprised when Uncle Gus shows up to the Beeseman/Herman family reunion. No one has heard from him since he left Lake Eden 30 years ago. But the next morning, Hannah finds him murdered. Which relative wasn’t all that happy to see him? This is a strong entry in the series that will absolutely please the series’ fans.
I have read all these books, never been disappointed.