Sugar Cookie Murder (Hannah Swensen series Book 6)

As reviews have noted, this book is half story and half potluck recipes. Both are yummy. I enjoyed the leap into the reality of my kitchen of Hannah's characters tweaking, testing the recipes which I knew I'd have available. The names and flavors of the recipes were (even more than normal) a part of the main plot. As I skimmed through them in the "cookbook" section after finishing the story, I recalled them fondly from the story, and each one became a unique, "history" laden treat.Now I'm wishing I could also buy the hardback and am hoping copies remain available for a while; a hardback would allow the pages to fall open more easily than a small paperback, for reading or copying a recipe, all of which are easy, and above-board tasty enough even for a wild, hair-brained "cook" like me who rarely follows a recipe.The opening to the story was a yummy, ingenious capture, featuring Hanna's dream, not of Jeannie, but of a huge, mushroom-scented meatball which rolled out of her closet and paused at the foot of her bed to read her the riot act, every word and page.As usual, the plot spread out like melted butter, with the recipes, in a sense, becoming the setting, while the winter survival routines in Minnesota took a back seat this time (except in a few prime cases) to the surges of more recipes wanting to be added, with all those submitted "dying" to be included, and with all of them being prepared and tested at a Christmas gala.Shawna Lee showed up in early plot schemes and Hannah was allowed to project her dark-side seething toward Shawna, which took some of 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's habit. Poor Mother Dolores; she's such a well-staged, perfectly-designed character to be a scapegoat for heaping disgust and impatience upon, to allow readers a release in that common need.Mike was a Fluky fool when it came to seeing through the machinations of a woman like Shawna Lee. It was easy for me to snicker with Hannah's hate there, and cheer in hiding. But, I still can't help but feel sad for Dolores each time Moishe hisses at her and Hannah makes it so painfully clear that her Mother is one of the most unwelcome persons in her life. In my darker moments (I have plenty of those, too), I'd wonder if Fluke might culminate this series with Dolores as murder victim, or, more likely, murderess.Still, lots of followers of this series are probably busy women impatient with a mother's interference and neediness as the Mom grows older and feels less on top of her own life. Dolores is several steps above (below), though; she's been painted perfectly as a wrong Mom from the beginning of her career as mother.In this one, Big D was painted as a fool in love and we were given pleasantly surprising hints that Hannah could be protective of her mother in that area, yet Hannah didn't seem to actually care about Dolores, as much she was being protective of what was hers, as Hannah met Dolores's Regency Romance, the British lord, Winthrop II. (Is that the right #?) Was he for real? (Dolores did get a short, truly heroic scene in this one, for which even Hannah admired and thanked her.)Skipping onward and upward to the warm spots, I can honestly say I was hopeful for a delay of the murder, and was relieved that it didn't occur until the holiday event had gotten well into the phase of relishing many of the pot luck entrees. So much time and care by so many people had gone into the preparation of those recipes. 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 was smug-ly happy knowing that all these taste treats were at my fingertips in the second half of the book. And, since the story part was 200 pages, it really wasn't that much shorter than the other stories in the series. The half-and-half measure of plot to pot luck recipe collection was deceiving in making the plot appear too short. It was just right in my book, even though I admit that I may have been disappointed if I hadn't known ahead of time that half the book was dedicated to the recipe collection.From my perspective SUGAR COOKIE MURDER was an ingenious holiday offering, which would also be a satisfying read during off-holiday seasons. The abundance of descriptions of preparation and presentation of the food items was warming and yummy. Being snowed in under such high flavor was a great entertainment escape, especially for a reader who's a hermit and rarely attends holiday galas or any type of party gatherings, community or otherwise. I'm such a stick-to-myself I have a hard time going to family reunions; I enjoy family intimacy one-to-one. I don't do well in groups beyond 4 people. So, this book's a gift for me to "be" in this type of intimate community holiday event which is intensely difficult in real life, and to slide into recipes when I rarely have time or energy to actually cook from one. Many in this collection appear accessible even to me, given their simplicity, lack of hoards of off-beat ingredients, and sheer mouth-watering appeal.I love the way the recipes take such a strong role in the plot they not only become setting (as mentioned above), they almost become characters.I like the way the Cookie Jar community of Lake Eden condensed itself further from the small town boundaries, to the community center walls and parking lot, contained within that arena with food and a simple but thoroughly satisfying agenda of entertainment, most of it around the culinary concoctions, social interactions, and a school jazz band. It seems that Fluke has proven the point that small towns are very much NOT, as Brandi Wyen whines, boring; in fact they're the antithesis of that for people who aren't boring themselves.I wondered if an investment to prove his point might have been one of the reasons Fluke had the murder occur midway into the plot instead of staging it closer to the beginning, to prove 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 every small town charm, without making it too sweet or sentimental, interjecting plenty of spice and savory, even with the food expanding every-which-way beyond Hannah's basic but crafty cookies.After Fluke accomplished her goal of dramatizing the luscious luxury of Lake Eden regulars condensed into a caring community carnival in their center for a holiday bash, THEN this mystery diva 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.Like 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.As I've mentioned in prior reviews, Fluke is a genius, but she's so, so subtle. And that light touch enriches the reader satisfaction as we're fooled (while reading; but afterthoughts can be telling) into thinking her stories are mere confections for entertainment. How mere are confections? How potent is entertainment? Are those the questions?As a bonus for me, in this plot I noticed the best hints about whom Hannah will marry, and I'm now 99% certain I know. Prior to SUGAR COOKIE, I honestly had no clue, and enjoyed that state of perfectly balanced confusion. I'm almost ready, though, to read the book which does the deal. Maybe after I've relished the Peach in the series (which I have; see my review and Listmania).SUGAR COOKIE MURDER is a winner, a complex (much more than I would have imagined or anticipated), perfect gift to buy for yourself during any season when you need a lift into the inner warmth of a Minnesota winter holiday.The before, during, and after effect is better than Prozac.Take the small-town-sugar-pill! For whatever ails you, It's better for you than any type of "real" medicine.Linda G. Shelnutt

It was a sorta sad story. It was a page turner for sure. The who done it kept me turning the pages to find out who did it.

It's Christmas in Lake Eden, Minnesota, and Hannah Swensen is busy baking. It's the annual Christmas buffet where the final tests of the recipes for Hannah's collection for her book Lake Eden Holiday Buffet Cookbook.The party is going good, until Martin Dubinski shows up with his brand new wife, Brandi Wyen - showgirl? stripper? Or something else that he married after a 4 day courtship in Las Vegas.Everyone is surprised at Martin's sudden marriage, especially his ex-wife Shirley and his mother Babs. They had both thought Martin might be going to remarry Shirley. They weren't too thrilled to see Brandi wearing a $25,000 fur coat and an even more expensive engagement ring.Things start getting really exciting when a blizzard starts and everyone is stuck at party, and then Hannah stumbles over the body of Brandi, stabbed with an antique cake knife, in the parking lot.Since no one had left, Mike Kingston (one of Hannah's boyfriend) and the detective on the scene, decides that the killer must still be there and for once, he let's Hannah do some investigating on his behalf, as they try to solve the crime before anyone finds out that a murder has been committed.Hannah slowly whittles down the suspects until, the digital photographs Norman has been taking of the food and the guests for Hannah's cookbook, lead to the clue that finally solves the crime.Highlights:Hannah's relationship with her two boyfriends, the super sexy cop, Mike Kingston and the not so sexy, but awfully nice dentist Norman Rhodes. I want Hannah to make up her mind about which one she really wants, but then again, I don't because they're both great.Hannah's and her sisters. The almost bursting pregnant Andrea, who's married to Bill, the new sheriff and who can't wait to help Hannah and her investigation. It beats trying to find a horse and riding around for an hour or two to try and bring labor on, which is what's she's been considering. Michelle, the baby sister who is sort of dating police officer Lonnie is always willing to help as much as she can.Their mother Delores, and her new boyfriend, (the suspiciously acting) Winthrop. I can't figure out if he's really suspicious or if Hannah and her sisters think he's suspicious because they can't imagine anyone wanting to date their mother.Old characters. The one thing I love about this series is that characters from previous books are always reappearing in the new books. They may only be there for a paragraph or so but it's nice to see them. Perfect example is Vera and her Silver Fox. And the widows of murder victims in two previous books.Hot Brownies. Hannah's reaction to Mike's constant references to Shawna Lee Quinn's incredible brownies, which are really hot (great). Hannah decides to give him some real "Hot Brownies."Lowlights:Old characters. Although I love the continuity of returning characters, there isn't a lot of explanations, they're just integrated into the storyline and what I loved about Vera and her Silver Fox would mean nothing to someone who hasn't read the previous book. (But I wouldn't want this to change, I think you should always read series books in sequence).This book is 341 pages long and I thought, wow, this should be great. Unfortunately, the book ends on page 168. I don't look at the back of the books before I read them, so the end came so sudden I wasn't expecting it. 169-341 are the recipes.I love the recipes in Joanne Fluke's books, but this is almost a cookbook itself. I like the way the recipes were always at the end of the chapter that they were mentioned. In this one they're all together at the back of the book. At first I thought they weren't including any recipes in the book, because they weren't where they usually were.It's a small personal preference. I think a lot of people will love the way the recipes are set up and the amount. Joanne Fluke has enough recipes from all her books, she maybe should think about creating a separate cook book.Great book. Can't wait for the next one.

Very good easy read for a lazy Sunday afternoon at the beach especially with the cold weather in the book also a lot of great recipes for all occasions.

I have been working my way through the Hannah Swenson series and have on the whole enjoyed the previous books, but this just isn't in the same league. For a start it is billed as 352 pages and you would expect, given that it is a cozy mystery, that you would get a 352 page story. You don't, half the book is the story and half the book is a cook book of recipes which never translates well to an e-reader. Secondly the story is not really a mystery at all, it is just a story (and not a very good one at that) about a party at which a death happens to occur. There is no depth to the characters or the plot and when the culprit was revealed I thought there was going to be a twist but no, that was it. Just a massive let down. It is a shame as it has put me off the series. I will persevere with the next in the series in the hope that this one was a rushed request from the publisher to get a book out for Christmas but I'm getting the feeling that the series is running out of steam.

I am currently working my through the Hannah Swenson series on my kindle. Initially I was wary about getting this book as I had been a little put off by some of the reviews. However I am so pleased that I went onto read it as I do think I would have been missing a chunk of the story when I moved to the next book (Peach Cobbler murder).All the books in this series are fairly light hearted detective stories and do not take themselves too seriously. There is a lovely set of recipes in each book and I actually thought the inclusion of the additional recipes in this book was a nice touch, given the story is about the compilation of a community cook book.All the measurements are American i.e. measured in cups but these are now readily availble in the UK as are conversions on the internet and I think this adds to the charm.Overall happy with my purchase

Not so much a mystery as a cookery book. I had enjoyed the previous books in the series even though I had skimmed through the recipes at the end of each chapter. I wish I had read the reviews before downloading as I wouldn't have bothered. The 50% of the book which was not recipes, was padded out with waffle . All it did was make me dislike Hannah even more than before, she really is an unlikeable character, Norman would be way too good for her.

Finished reading this book last night. Another great addition to this series. More like a novella this one as at the end there were oodles of recipes.

not as strong as her other books was a bit deflated reading this one. Have followed this authors books for a while and will continue to do so. Good bedtime reading