Blueberry Muffin Murder (Hannah Swensen #3) by Joanne Fluke

Blueberry Muffin Murder

(Hannah Swensen #3)

by Joanne Fluke

Paperback, 310 pages

Published February 1st 2003 by Kensington (first published February 1st 2001)

Goodreads synopsis: 

Preparations are underway for Lake Eden, Minnesota's annual Winter Carnival--and Hannah Swensen is set to bake up a storm at her popular shop, The Cookie Jar. Too bad the honor of creating the official Winter Carnival cake went to famous lifestyle maven Connie Mac--a half-baked idea, in Hannah's opinion. She suspects Connie Mac is a lot like the confections she whips up on her cable TV cooking show--sweet, light, and scrumptious-looking, but likely to leave a bitter taste in your mouth.

Hannah's suspicions are confirmed when Connie Mac's limo rolls into town. Turns out America's "Cooking Sweetheart" is bossy, bad-tempered, and downright domineering. Things finally boil over when Hannah arrives at The Cookie Jar to find the Winter Carnival cake burnt to a crisp—and Connie Mac lying dead in her pantry, struck down while eating one of Hannah's famous blueberry muffins.

Next thing Hannah knows, the police have declared The Cookie Jar's kitchen crime scene off-limits. She's a baker without an oven--and the Carnival is right around the corner. Hannah's only alternative is to cook up a plan to save her business--by finding the killer herself...

***

4.5 stars

This is the third book in the Hannah Swensen series by Joanne Fluke.

This has to be one of my all time favorite guilty pleasure series. I tend to not read this series in order so I am reading the books as they appeal to me. This one is one of her first when she was just establishing the series and building her Lake Eden world.

I enjoy when we get introduced to old friends of Hannah’s. That makes the story so much more rich. When a popular cookbook and tv personality gets murdered in Hannah’s cookie shop, things only get more interesting. The dynamics between Mike and Norman are stronger in this book. Usually in the later books, the connection is nothing more than friendship but here you can see how both men are interested in her and want to build something with her.

I wasn’t the biggest fan of the Connie Mac character. She acted all sweetness and light but was just a bear underneath it all. I almost wish she had lived longer and through a few more of the books just to put the finger under all the community giving them more of a motive to off her.

Definitely a story I enjoyed and look forward to the next Fluke book I come across!

Also, if you love a good cozy mystery, definitely check this one out. What a fun read!