Hannah Swenson, owner and baker extraordinaire of The Cookie Jar, is changing up her normal routine to help out a dear friend. A fishing tournament is happening on Lake Eden and Sally needs help with the baking for all the contestants at her inn. Getting a room at the inn is a fun little treat for her and her sister, Andrea who has also graciously offered to help. When Sonny Bowman, the personality behind a popular fishing show and sponsor of the event, shows up, things begin to go adrift. Sonny is also known to be more a ladies’ man than his fiancé would like him to be. When he winds up dead in his boat, Hannah knows she needs to get to the bottom of who killed him. The list of suspects is long and complicated…from jealous husbands, an embarrassed fiancé, to his coworkers, there is a great deal to investigate. Hannah just hopes she can find the murderer without becoming the next victim.
CARAMEL PECAN ROLL MURDER is the 28th book in the Hannah Swensen Mysteries by Joanne Fluke. Many years ago, these books were what introduced me to the cozy mystery genre, and I have been heavily invested in this series ever since. The past few books haven’t been my favorite, but with this installment, I see a little bit of her older books coming back. The plotline kept me guessing and threw quite the twist at the end. There is a bit of a cliffhanger, so be prepared for that. I would love to say there is some more character development in this book, but sadly, there just isn’t. Fans of this series will know the love triangle that is Hannah, Mike, and Norman. Mike and Norman are still just “friends” as they have been since the beginning. I would love to see Hannah pick one and move on with life instead of being left in loveless life limbo.
As with the past few books, this is teetering on the edge of being a cookbook with a side of a mystery novella. Don’t get me wrong, the recipes look delicious, but I feel a little let down that the mystery part of the book is so short.
Diehard fans of the Hannah Swensen Mystery Series will enjoy CARAMEL PECAN ROLL MURDER. With a series this longstanding, it is like coming home again and visiting with friends.
Embracing a sweet escape from her usual routine at The Cookie Jar, Hannah gets asked for her help in baking pastries at the local inn for a flashy fishing competition with big prizes and even bigger names. But the fun stops when she spots a runway boat on the water and, on board, the lifeless body of the event’s renowned celebrity spokesperson . . . Famed TV show host Sonny Bowman wasn’t humble about his ability to reel in winning catches, and no one knew that better than his tragically overworked sidekick, Joey. Did Joey finally take bloody revenge on his pompous boss—or was Sonny killed by a jealous contestant? With goodies to bake and a mess of fresh challenges mixed into her personal life, it’s either sink or swim as Hannah joins forces with her sister, Andrea, to catch a clever culprit before another unsuspecting victim goes belly up . . .
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