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Jan 22, 2012

Saadia rated it:

In terms of mystery plot and suspense, these stories are on the low end of the scale... Not too complex or suspenseful, and rather tame. That's all right, sometimes I don't want to know about ever more inventive and gruesome ways to kill a human being or about the deeply convoluted psychological depravities of twisted killers. Plain human motives like pain, greed, revenge, etc. are just fine. I don't need to try too hard to guess at the killer as I spend my time enjoying the fluffy lifestyl More...

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Dec 09, 2011

Mary rated it:

I like to read Christmas themed books this time of year, and willingly set aside some standards to read books from series I would not otherwise choose to read. However, I can't imagine how this one was published. Hannah has to be the most annoying character in current fiction. She even makes the recipes annoying with all her side comments. She has a business partner who not only continually holds down the fort while she runs around sticking her nose in other people's business, she actually encou More...

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Dec 10, 2010

Susan rated it:

Hannah Swenson owns a cookie bakery in Minnesota. She is also an amateur sleuth who has apparently solved other murders in previous books. This one, set around Christmas, involves a murder that happened at the Crazy Elf Christmas Tree lot. There were so many things about this book that annoyed me. First, the murder happens on page 5, but no one discovers the body until page 209. There is a lot of inconsequential fluff in between, mainly centering around the new types of cookies Hannah is selling More...

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Jul 11, 2010

Scarlett rated it:

Ok so one thing I have decided in this series' favor is the ongoing storylines. It's also kind of a downside, because I've read them out of order thinking they would be one-offs, and it's not like you need tons of backstory for them or anything, but I do like that there is an overarching storyline.

This one also has lots of recipes I want to try, including an entire Christmas dinner!

But seriously, Hannah is such a wet blanket sometimes. I mean I get that these are cozy m More...

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Oct 12, 2009

Becky rated it:

Life in a small town. It's all so complicated.

Hannah Swensen is the owner of the Cookie Jar, a delightful small town bakery. Hannah dates Norman, the local dentist. Norman and Hannah were once engaged, but due to her fascination with another local boy, Detective Mike, she broke it off. Now she dates both men, in a squeaky clean, crime-solving, sexless way. They don't mind, because they both love her (and her cat Moishe).

Now, Norman's mom, Carrie, and Hannah's mom, De More...

2 comments like (6 people liked it)

Oct 12, 2009

Marian rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

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Nov 19, 2009

Shaina rated it:

Last February, when I started working at Barnes & Noble "Cream Puff Murder" (Hannah Swensen Mystery, Book 11) had just been released and we had it everywhere in the store. The cover was so pretty that I kept meaning to read it, but never took the plunge. Then, we got in the newest addition to the series and I had to pick it up. The series just looked like a nice fun entry into the mystery genre. I mean, really, even if the story itself hadn't been that great, you at least got all the f More...

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Oct 07, 2009

Sarah rated it:

Another enjoyable Hannah Swensen book by Joanne Fluke. I'm thinking that as long as you like her style of writing, you won't dislike any of her books as it follows the same kind of storyline as the other previous books.

In this book, it's the Christmas season, and Larry, the guy that runs the Christmas tree shop has just been murdered. It's up to Hannah to discover who the murderer is, at the same time, coming up with lots of yummy recipes to cope with the Christmas rush!

T More...

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Oct 10, 2009

Darcy rated it:

This book was ok. It seems like they are getting more and more predictable and formulmatic. The characters are becoming characters of themselves. I was able to guess very early on who the murderer was.

I am very tired of the whole Mike and Norman thing. There is no way if this were to happen in real life that these 2 men would be so friendly and able to handle each other so well.

With each book Hannah seems to give over more and more control to Lisa at the Cookie Jar. More...

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Dec 08, 2009

Kristirutledge1 rated it:

Easy read...was first time I've read a book that had recipes mixed in ....Some of them made me hungry and made me want to get a little midnight snack. Reminded me of Jessica Fletcher....and the 'Murder She Wrote' TV series from years ago -- which I actually enjoyed very much - despite how corny it usually was. Hannah is the unofficial crime solver...just like Jessica was. But do people actually work all day ..then go home and cook a meal..and then bake a dessert from scratch --then agree to More...

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Nov 02, 2009

Julie rated it:

Another adventure-filled caper set in snowy Minnesota, starring cookie baker and mystery solver extraordinaire Hannah Swensen. The series is light, fun and doesn't take itself too seriously, so it's also quite believable, despite the rather incredible things that keep happening in this small, otherwise unremarkable town.

However, I was only able to give book 12 a 3-star rating for a couple of reasons. First, the writing seemed rather lower in quality than previous books, as if the wr More...

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Sep 16, 2011

Lori rated it:

Starting to lose my interest in this series... I admit that I read #12 ahead of #11, and I take it by the book and the reviews that I've missed something with Mike.

But the whole Mike/Hannah/Norman thing is too much. Like many other readers with reviews here have stated, Ms. Fluke is way out of touch with romance and small towns... unless she's remembering the 50s or 60s. And, unfortunately for me, the relationship triangle is sucking the enjoyment out of these books.

I'm t More...

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Jul 06, 2011

Sara rated it:

Supposedly this was the next book in the series but something has gone wrong. This book was a little confusing for me since a character that has been killed off a few books ago is introduced in this book. I don't know if it's a publishing error or what but I pre-ordered this book so I don't know.
The book is really cute as are all Joanne Fluke's books. They follow everyone's favorite baker Hannah Swenson who discovers another dead body. Well, in her defense Norman really found the body - sh More...

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Jun 26, 2011

Rachel rated it:

I don't know why I read these books, except that I read cookbooks too, and this is like a cookbook with a really bad mystery in between the recipes. I will have to try a recipe or two to see if they work, the mixing method is sometimes a little suspect to me. (Hannah often mixes baking soda into the wet instead of adding to the dry.)

Anyway, the book is part of a series set in small town Minnesota where I don't recommend you visit. New people in town are usually murdered, or they a More...

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Oct 28, 2009

Denise rated it:

In Plum Pudding Murder I liked the fact that Hannah is starting to think about the differences in Norman and Mike and how they treat her. For the first time she is realizing that Norman thinks about her happiness and comfort. She also realizes that Norman is faithful and that she cannot trust that Mike would be monogamous if she were to marry him. A new character is introduced, Bradford Ramsey, a person from Hannah's past and her sister Michelle's present. We are given the insight that Hannah ha More...

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Nov 23, 2011

Joy rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

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Feb 19, 2010

Janet rated it:

Anyone who reads will think I'm crazy...but 5 stars. I love the Hannah Swensen Mysteries!! Joanne Fluke is a genius, in my humble opinion. She has combined a murder mystery w/FOOD! She talks about and then provides the recipes in every book!! At the end of every chapter. Now, how can't I give her bonus points for that??!!

Besides that, these are about the easiest reads you will find. Offensive language, etc is almost non existent so I feel safe recommending it to others. They More...

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Jun 06, 2010

Laura rated it:

Light and Fluffy and fun! It was exactly what I was looking for in a cozy. This is generally a very comfortable series.

I skipped over book #11 since it wasn't available for download from my library, and I don't think I missed anything.

I particularly liked that Hannah actually seemed to be making some progress with her dueling suitors, and it is in the direction I'd choose for her. I wouldn't be surprised for this to all be undone in the next book, which would disappoi More...

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Dec 15, 2010

Gerry rated it:

A seasonal murder story set in Lake Eden, Minnesota where amateur sleuth Hannah Swensen has her thriving business, The Cookie Jar.

Hannah and her compatriots, and there are plenty of them, including her mother, are enjoying preparing for the festive season and on the way home from the preparations Hannah goes to collect a cheque from one of her customers. Unfortuantely he is discovered dead in his living room and so begins a hunt for the killer.

Hannah is involved in the s More...

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Nov 13, 2009

Heidi rated it:

Another good Hannah installment. However, I'm now more aware of some of the irksomeness of Fluke's tendency to use some of the same phrases and descriptions over and over. If I were to read the books back to back, I'd probably start to get very annoyed. As it is, a few months in between helps me endure that little bit of annoyance.

I loved that Hannah was finally starting to see that Mike is not very trustworthy. Yet she's still an idiot where he is concerned. I'm serious--if we go 2 More...

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Aug 31, 2010

Liralen rated it:

It's a cop-out, but the Hannah Swensen mysteries really only need a lump review:

For some reason, I keep reading these when they show up at the library. I don't know why. Do I enjoy them? Sure. They're trashy murder mysteries that don't always make sense. I can huff at them in irritation when the main character does, or thinks, something especially stupid. They involve recipes.

Actually, the books are formulaic enough that they themselves were written by recipe.

More...

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Jan 29, 2012

Marti rated it:

I chose this book at a library sale as much for the recipes--28 of them--as for the story. They sound delicious, and I plan to keep this paperback, and try them out. Strangely, the book I read before this had a main character with two men--one of whom was married--interested in her, and this one is the same that way. I like to bake, but I cannot imagine doing it on the scale that Hannah Swensen does. Of course, it IS her livelihood. The story concerns the murder of a local seasonal business More...

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Oct 21, 2011

Laura rated it:

I think I'm officially tired of this character and her completely unbelievable life. The recipes bumped it up to a 2.

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Dec 19, 2009

Maura rated it:

Another fun, light-hearted read - this one differs from others in the series in that Hannah doesn't discover the body until almost halfway into the story. This one is a little weaker than others in the series; the plot is more obvious than usual and the majority of the action is confined to cooking and baking. It's more a cookbook where a little murder mystery was thrown in between the recipes. However, the recipes are as mouth-watering as always and it's fun to keep up with the social lives More...

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Oct 18, 2010

Grey853 rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

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Jul 29, 2011

Sandybear76 added it

Yum. during the Christmas season, Hannah is very busy baking cookies for her shop and for the new business in town - Crazy Elf Christmas Tree Lot, which is more of a place to be than a place to buy a tree. Larry, who owns the Crazy Elf Christmas Tree Lot, has amusement rides, toy shop, an ornament shop and, of course, a Crazy Elf Cookie Shop. Hannah makes a delivery to Larry and suggests new cookies for his shop. There are recipes after most of the chapters and lots at the end of the book. New c More...

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Sep 27, 2009

Alissa rated it:

13 books in and Hannah's mysteries are getting a little thin. Fluke has finally introduced characters not from Lake Eden, since it wouldn't be credible for people in the town to keep dying. This seemed to have more recipes than usual. Also it was weird to read a christmas mystery in October. I would've thought the publisher would have pushed the pub date to November at least.
Also, after 13 books I'm really tired of the Mike vs. Norman debate. It's just not as fun as Evanovich's love trian More...

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Oct 26, 2010

Rebecca rated it:

These are always such fun, though there's not much to say about them that I haven't already said. I'm always dying to try the recipes, though to be honest, I've only had one home run out of about ten tries (my secret ingredient sandies). I'm going to try the 'plum pudding' in here, though without plums or raisins--peaches and dried blueberries for me. I suspect it will be like a British summer pudding, which is fabulous.

Anyway, I just wonder how long the author can keep up the love t More...

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Jun 11, 2010

Mary rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

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Nov 13, 2009

Susan rated it:

Christmas is the busy season for Hannah Swensen's cookie store, and she realizes that she forgot to pick up payment for a large batch of cookies she's sold to Larry Jaeger at the Crazy Elf Christmas Tree Lot. But when she goes to pick up the check, she and one of her boyfriends, Norman, find Larry's dead body. Putting together clues as she works at baking cookies, Hannah is the only one (excluding the alert reader) to figure out who the murderer is--which doesn't help her when she's along with More...

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