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Hannah Swensen #7

Peach Cobbler Murder

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Bakery owner and occasional sleuth Hannah Swensen finds herself the prime suspect when Shawna Lee, a co-owner of a rival bakery in Lake Eden, turns up dead.

360 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published March 1, 2005

832 people are currently reading
9182 people want to read

About the author

Joanne Fluke

134 books8,542 followers
Like Hannah Swensen, Joanne Fluke grew up in a small town in rural Minnesota where her neighbors were friendly, the winters were fierce, and the biggest scandal was the spotting of unidentified male undergarments on a young widow's clothesline. She insists that there really are 10,000 lakes and the mosquito is NOT the state bird.

While pursuing her writing career, Joanne has worked as: a public school teacher, a psychologist, a musician, a private detective's assistant, a corporate, legal, and pharmaceutical secretary, a short order cook, a florist's assistant, a caterer and party planner, a computer consultant on a now-defunct operating system, a production assistant on a TV quiz show, half of a screenwriting team with her husband, and a mother, wife, and homemaker.

She now lives in Southern California with her husband, her kids, his kids, their three dogs, one elderly tabby, and several noisy rats in the attic.

Series:
* Hannah Swensen

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Profile Image for James.
Author 20 books4,367 followers
August 10, 2017
Fluke steps up the series with Peach Cobbler Murder by focusing on core characters, tying up some loose ends from previous books, showing the power of strong and close relationships and setting what is hopefully the final competition between Mike and Norman for Hannah's heart.

The recipes sound delicious (but may be getting to be too strong of a theme in each book) and are integrating into the story more closely. Between these books and The Great British Baking Show, I am constantly surrounded by desserts lately!

Definitely a standout in the series so far!

About Me
For those new to me or my reviews... here's the scoop: I read A LOT. I write A LOT. And now I blog A LOT. First the book review goes on Goodreads, and then I send it on over to my WordPress blog at https://thisismytruthnow.com, where you'll also find TV & Film reviews, the revealing and introspective 365 Daily Challenge and lots of blogging about places I've visited all over the world. And you can find all my social media profiles to get the details on the who/what/when/where and my pictures. Leave a comment and let me know what you think. Vote in the poll and ratings. Thanks for stopping by. Note: All written content is my original creation and copyrighted to me, but the graphics and images were linked from other sites and belong to them. Many thanks to their original creators.
Profile Image for ☾❀Apple✩ Blossom⋆。˚.
967 reviews491 followers
April 26, 2019
"A lock is only as good as the door."



Meet (again) Hanna Swensen: a thirty-something single woman who owns a cookie shop and has the infuriating habit of finding bodies like they were pennies. This time, she really has the best intentions when, being a friendly neighbour towards the owner of the rival bakery on the other side of the road (who threatens to steal not only her business, but also her man - one of them, anyway) she decides to enter her shop in the middle of the night only to find her - you guessed it - dead. The investigation starts and - you guessed it - she finds a way to be involved in it yet again. Hanna, I love you but seriously, if I lived in your town I would avoid you like the plague. If anything, you are very bad luck!



Or maybe, just maybe, I will avoid you because you are literally the worst human being ever:

"Now's the perfect time to hit him with questions! Hannah's inner voice prompted. Opportunity had knocked. While Mike was at lot ebb, feeling sad about Shawna Lee's death, she could probe him about the murder investigation. [...] On the other hand, was it fair to take advantage of a man's grief? Hannah thought about it for a moment."

Mmm ahem, sweetie, no it isn't.



The same as it isn't fair to make fun of your mother who is crying in pain just because you don't like her boyfriend, taking advantage of someone who's going to prison by blackmailing the person into selling stuff at a ridiculous price, dating two men at the same time, gossiping about everything and everyone and so on... but hey, you do your thing as long as you catch the killer, because the end justifies the means... right? 🤔



Also, the real mystery in this book is not who did the deed, the real mystery is: where is Andrea's baby? I mean, she literally just had a baby and she talks about her like one time and we don't see her for the entire book while the mommy goes around snooping... 🤔 I mean, if she is half as bad as as Hannah as a person... that poor baby's future is not so bright 😂

Profile Image for Kat.
Author 14 books603 followers
January 10, 2024
It’s February in cold, snowy Minnesota. Hannah is back with her cat Moisha (who is being recruited to hunt all the mice in town in exchange for bags of frozen shrimp—I laughed so hard at these scenes), and unfortunately, there’s a new bakery in town, too, courtesy of Shauna Lee, Hannah’s rival for Mike’s affections. This one was quite hilarious, with plenty of jealousy over whose baked goods were superior, real life worries over what to do when it looks like a small town can’t support two similar businesses, and of course, the great cat scenes I count on Joanne Fluke to write.

When Shauna Lee turns up dead, Hannah is a suspect, and has to find the real killer in order to clear her name. But since her rival had a habit of flirting with most of the men in town, not just Hannah’s boyfriend, and had other enemies besides, that leaves a long list of potential enemies. Many twists in this one, and an interesting mystery to solve. And the peach cobbler recipe… yum!
Profile Image for Hannah.
671 reviews59 followers
May 28, 2011
This book irritated me so much when I read it several years ago that I had wiped from my memory. It wasn't until I looked through my bookshelves that I realized I had forgotten to add it. Peach Cobbler Murder is my first from the Hannah Swensen series, and very likely my last. Usually I would give the earlier books a chance when I realize that I had picked up a later book in the series by mistake, but not here; if the 7th book was so hard to bear, what would the 1st be like, when the writing and characterization is potentially weaker? My sole reason for reading this book was because I was tickled that Hannah and I shared the same name. Even with nonexistent expectations, I found myself disappointed with everything from the characters to the story.

Hannah Swensen is one of the most unlikeable protagonists I've ever had the misfortune to read about. She's hypocritical, stuffy and doesn't seem to have a single ounce of common sense. I find it impossible to believe she's in her 30s; her attitude reminds me of conservative old ladies from the previous generation, and my own grandmother is probably more technologically advanced and forward-thinking than Hannah is. All Hannah does is whine, whine, whine! She seems to believe that the world rotates with her at its center. If she's not complaining about Shawna being an evil, scheming cow (God forbid she consider that the woman's also doing intelligent business), she's getting angry at Mike for not rebuffing Shawna. As a first time reader of this series, what shocked me most was the way she was dangling both Mike and Norman. I mean, for all her practically-Victorian morals, Hannah doesn't think anything of two-timing?

I barely remember the actual murder mystery element, because 90% of the book was taken up with Hannah's self-absorption. It definitely wasn't very interesting or well-plotted; I honestly didn't even care who did it. All I wanted was to get away from Hannah's dreary character.

Prior to chatting with fellow readers and reading other reviews, I had considered moving onto the next book just to see whether the extremely frustrating "love triangle" was resolved. But by all accounts, it continues to drag on for the next 7 books, and reading another 7 books filled with our extremely unlikeable heroine with her two cardboard cutout beaus would take superhuman courage. I'm going to admit to cowardice, so this is me washing my hands of this series.
Profile Image for Readaholic Jenn .
399 reviews156 followers
May 10, 2022
Another great book by Joanne Fluke. I absolutely love this series. The only downside is the Hannah love triangle. I just wish she'd marry Norman already. This book is another example of why Mike is a jerk.
Profile Image for Jo ☾.
252 reviews
March 1, 2016
For the most part these books are light, enjoyable reads but I'm really starting to get frustrated with the main character, Hannah. The love triangle with Hannah/Norman/Mike that has been going on for a year and 7 books now is really starting to become irritating. The fact that Norman and Mike get along so well, while both dating the same girl just isn't believable anymore. Not to mention the fact that Hannah freaks out every time Norman or Mike even glance at other women, yet here she is dating two men at the same time. Hypocrite much? Hannah being oh so perfect is also starting to get annoying. When she's not spouting off facts about random things or correcting other people's grammar, she's baking her perfect cookies and solving crimes because she's smarter than the police. It's just starting to get a bit ridiculous at this point.

The mystery/murder in this case was predictable too. It started out really good, with another bakery opening up across the street from Hannah's, thus resulting in competition over customers but it went downhill pretty quickly due to Hannah. I just found her really hard to bear in this book and I hear it only gets worse in the next installment when Hannah adds yet another man into the mix.
1 review2 followers
August 19, 2010
I think I'm done with this series for good. Hannah is the most condescending and unlikeable heroine I can think of.

To start off, the murder was so formulaic and the murderer was obvious from before the book even started. Hannah's mother is dating a man who Hannah has a bad feeling about. As soon as I read that I knew it wouldn't be long before he either committed murder or was murdered himself.

Also, Hannah is just too unlikeable of a character for me to care about what happens to her. In this book she thinks that Mike is cheating on her and she is furious. And all her friends and family members agree that Mike is a no good cheater who deserves to be strung up and quartered. And yet no one mentioned that Hannah is dating Norman as well as Mike. She is so hypocritical I wanted to reach into the book and strangle her. Or at the very least knock some sense into her over large head.

Joanne Fluke is clearly using Hannah as a type of wish fulfillment. Hannah isn't pretty but two desirable men are going gaga over her to the point that they each swear their love for her and propose. She's a successful business woman despite never having finished college and an expert chef despite never having gone to cooking school. I know that both of those things are possible but it still irks me. She's smarter than everyone in town- including the entire police force but still hasn't figured out that she probably shouldn't meet suspicious characters alone because they will try to kill her.

Also, I've worked in bakeries before and I assure you that the way Shawna Lee and her sister run their bakery is way more realistic than the way the cookie jar is run. There are only two employees at the cookie jar and yet they manage to bake an entire inventory of products every day, take specialty orders, manage the customers and never sell day old cookies. I assure you that if a real bakery was run that way it'd be closed in less than six months.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Fred.
570 reviews95 followers
February 19, 2021

This book is included in Hallmark’s Murder She Baked TV series

Movies - Just Deserts, Deadly Receipt, Peach Cobbler, Plum Pudding, Chocolate Chip Cookie

The Cookie Jar, Hannah Swensen’s bakery in Lake Eden, Minnesota. A competor store opens, Quinn sister owners are found shot to death in the store. Hannah needs to prove she was not responsible & find the murderer.

Georgia Peaches is “their sweet-as-pie“ crime -and now it's up to Hannah to track down whoever had the “right ingredients” to whip up a murders.

Like “Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder” & other books in series, humor breaks the plot with cooking recipes at the end of some chapters........
Profile Image for Jennifer.
4 reviews1 follower
January 23, 2013
This is the fourth or fifth book in this series I've read, but I don't think I'll read another. I've never come across a more annoying main character. She has been stringing two guys along for well over a year, yet gets angry when one of them spends time with another woman. One of the guys arranges to have the heater in her truck fixed for her and she is busy trying not to get angry about it! She comes across as so superior to everyone around her and apparently the local police department are so inept they cannot solve a murder without her to tell them how. Just tired of the whole business...
Profile Image for Katie (spellboundbooks_).
509 reviews124 followers
August 16, 2023
3.5⭐️ 4/5🎧

I absolutely ADORE this series! It's the perfect little cozy mystery series that's not too serious and is great for a filler book when you are in a reading slump. I also love all the recipes that are shared throughout the stories - but it always makes me hungry for cookies. The audiobooks are fantastic (but be prepared to listen to "End of Disc 1" and so on while listening because it is an older series). The narrator is exactly how I would imagine Hannah to sound.

Hannah discovers YET ANOTHER body in this small town (it's actually quite funny to me that we are on book 7 and she has discovered EVERY SINGLE dead body in town). Plus the body she discovered was the body of her rival who opened a bakery across the street from her AND is possibly dating one of her boyfriends - yes, I said ONE OF. Homegirl has not one but TWO boyfriends - which I also find hilarious.

This is a LONG series and I am nowhere near the end of it yet but each one has been pleasantly fun and I haven't had a bad experience yet. But pretty much I am here for the small town drama and I WANT TO KNOW WHICH MAN HANNAH CHOOSES. (Personally, I am rooting for Mike because HOT COP duh - even if he's all like "stop investigating these murders that you do a better job of solving than we do" and Norman is a dentist and a mama's boy, cringe.)

3.5-stars rounded up because this series continues to stay cozy and cute while also adding in MC drama and town drama. If you like cozy mysteries and baked goods - definitely check this series out!
Profile Image for Nirel.
65 reviews
January 21, 2021
Hannah was almost starting to become slightly likeable in the last book but god she was irritating in this one. She’s so condescending towards everyone in the town but especially towards the other women. Rather than write Hannah some god forbidden character development, or at least let her become a better detective, Fluke makes every other character in the entire town dumber each book, and then sells it as off as dollar store feminism as Hannah smugly explains something obvious to the reader.

Also, are we supposed to be rooting for Mike? He says like 5 words the entire book. We know nothing about Mike except that Hannah is obsessing over the fact the he has another friend who happens to be an attractive woman. And of course an attractive woman can only ever be after one thing, which is every man in town. Never mind the fact that she openly has two boyfriends, both of whom she is serious enough about to be wondering about proposal for the past three books. And of of course she is never self-reflective to notice the hypocrisy of this...

Why is Mike even in to Hannah? They never talk to each other and when they do he is apologizing to her for dating to have another friend and then being sad when that friend dies. HOW DARE HE.

Like, Hannah, i know you think you’re the shit, but this man You supposedly love, just lost an old friend the same way he lost his wife, maybe you could stop stroking your own ego for 10 seconds and like, be there for him????? And yes, please just imply the grieving sister of said dead person is a SLUT every 10 words to justify this hypocritical jealousy you have. Mike and Norman would be better off running away together and leaving you to grow old with your own reflection since that seems to be the only person exactly up to your standards.

Also why do either Winthrop or Vanessa need an accomplice? It seems marrying old people in multi-year plots to steal their money wouldn’t be the most nurturing setting for criminal relationships...

I told myself I wasn’t going to give any of these 1 or 2 star reviews (even though they all read like those “life hack” videos on Facebook nobody asked for, needed, or wanted) because I’ve read 6 of them so obviously there is something that I like about them but I couldn’t hold back any longer.

Anyways, these books are horrible, i hate them, and I am going to absolutely continue reading them. These books are like the red shoes of mystery novels. I would like to stop dancing, but I simply can’t.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Brittany McCann.
2,712 reviews608 followers
September 18, 2024
Good riddance to Winthrop's ridiculousness.

Seemed like a convenient way to "take out" the competition.

I cannot wait for this terrible love triangle to end. Please let it be in the next book.

I wish there would have been a bit more about the wedding.

The mystery was alright.

Some awesome recipes in this one.

3 Stars.
Profile Image for Chaitra.
4,475 reviews
February 27, 2015
The only reason I'm marking this a 2 starrer is because I didn't expect anything better. I've begun to realize I don't really like Hannah. She's a hypocrite and a jerk and a really annoying grammar-nazi. I like Andrea. It seems half the time Hannah knows anything because Andrea called someone and got the goods on them. But she's not in this book much. Oh no, we need to spend pages and pages on Moishe being a good mouser or some such crap. I'm a cat owner and love my cat to pieces, but he's a cat. There's limits to what he can do. I think Moishe must be the first cat in literature I borderline hate.

I also like Shawna Lee, Vanessa and Winthrop. I guess I'm really not a good fit for this series. I may come back to it in a while, because I'm OC that way, but for now I'm calling it quits.
Profile Image for Mandy.
320 reviews415 followers
July 27, 2015
Hannah Swensen is superwoman in an apron. What an ending! Wow! I did not see that coming. This book was a great read. Had it figured out about two thirds of the way through.... still a great read. These books get better and better as I read them. Hannah still needs to become a cop, I swear she could run Lake Eden and The Cookie Jar at the same time.
Profile Image for Jessica.
68 reviews22 followers
August 26, 2019
I love and hate these books. I hate the love triangle but love Lake Eden. I think of quitting the series but I am about to buy the next. Hannah and I have such a dysfunctional relationship.
Profile Image for AlohaMyPikachu.
253 reviews6 followers
November 17, 2015
I tried to resist writing a review for this book as I knew it would only come out as a long rant. Unfortunately, I lost the battle with myself. Especially when I decided to read what other Goodreads members have said about this book.

Let me start by saying that I've been with the series since the beginning. Up until Fudge Cupcake Murder I was 100% enjoying the series.

Despite the fact that other readers are hating Hannah, I still like her very much. Although after Peach Cobbler Murder, I'm thoroughly exasperated with her and now I'm more reading the books to see what will happen with the characters in a small Minnesota town rather than for the entertainment factor. Harsh but it's the truth.

My main gripe is the love-triangle that has been going on between Mike, Hannah and Norman. As I stated in my review for the previous book, I was on Team Mike up to that novel. The who sexy cop image was irresistible. Sadly, I switched teams because I could see that Fluke writes more leisure (and murder-solving) interaction between Norman and Hannah than she does Mike. any dimwit can see how well the two of them fit and that they get along so well. Hannah is rarely annoyed with Norman, or sent into a tizzy because he blows hot and cold like Mike. The two of them often team up to sleuth or just do activities with each other. The same cannot be said for Mike. The bottom line is, I've seen more of Norman than I have of Mike. What I see I see I love. He's perfect for Hannah. At this point Mike can go suck an egg.

In regards to this book, I was just absolutely disgusted. Not with the murder, but with the love triangle. I didn't guess the murderer in this book, but I'd been able to guess the killers for the past three books. I like the low-key sleuthing that Hannah and her sister do even though they're told to butt out. I have noticed for the last how many books that the end of each novel presents Hannah in a life-or-death situation, and I'm guessing someone told Fluke that this had to happen because it went from Hananah just helping to solve the crime to Hannah solving the crime and then finding herself at the mercy of the killer. I don't mind, but I wish they'd mix it up. Knowing whether Hannah will confront the killer or not kept me on my toes. Now I simply wait till the end and wait to see how Hannah will survive a madman.

I was also furious with Hannah because even though Mike still gives her the shivers, he demonstrates that he's still not ready to settle on one woman.

I know from reading other reviews that there is criticism about Hannah dating two men but being hypocritical when it is obvious that Mike is seeing another woman. I have to speak up and defend those criticisms by saying that Hannah has always been upfront with Mike and Norman about her seeing the two of them at the same time. Mike even asked Hannah to give him a chance to talk with her should Norman ever propose. What Mike was doing in this book seemed more than just dating another woman. From the way it was written, Mike was sleeping with another woman. Hannah has never slept with Mike or Norman, although I think she's come close with Mike. In addition to that, Mike kept claiming it was all innocent and nothing was going on. However, Mike's hummer was seen outside the other woman's apartment all night long. he had a key to her place and even stood up Hannah as her date to her partner, Lisa's, wedding because he was waiting to see this other woman to have a "talk". Come on now, do we all look like we just fell off the turnip truck? The big thing here is that Hannah has always been truthful about her dating life. Mike has not. Big difference. If someone can point out to me a flaw in my logic, I will humbly retract my words. until then, that's my way of thinking.

Moving along... For me the real kicker is the end of the novel when Mike proposes. He apologized for his recent behavior and pulls out a ring. For starters, his beginning speech just admits that there was in fact more going on with the other woman than he claimed. Which meant that Mike was lieing when he told Hannah he and the other woman were just "friends".

Okay, I admit that I could be way off base. I could also be taking the book too seriously. More serious than the author intended. However, this is what I took away from it and I feel really mad. At this point I can't stand Mike. I'm also very mad at Hananh for always biting back what she'd really like to say to Mike than telling him that his hot and cold attitude is not acceptable. It may be easy for me to say as this is fiction, and in real life we'd all probably bite our tongue. But I still want to see Hannah give a little back to Mike. She doesn't have to be a bitch about it, but telling Mike that he's being an ass would turn the flame on my ire down a bit.

The last thing I'll say on the Mike subject is that Fluke wrote something interesting near the end of the novel. Hannah mentioned that with Mike he was like a drug. It wasn't love but an addiction. I couldn't believe that when I read it. Hannah was all but realizing that what she felt for Mike was probably more lust and sexual attraction. I wondered if Fluke was going to have Hannah slowly realizing that Mike is not the for her...and then that thought got blown out of the water when Mike proposed to Hannah. Give me a break! Why write something like that? What was the purpose? Is it setting up something for the future? Fluff? At that point I was more mad than I'd been earlier. I just want to slap Hannah silly at this point.

I will most likely continue with the novels. I'm invested at this point and I want to see if Fluke will eventually make Hannah choose. However, if this gets to feel like a Betty, Veronica and Archie Andrews situation, I'm done. Or at least, it might be awhile before I pick up another Hannah Swenson novel.

I still recommend these books. However, if you've read this spoiler review and hate love triangles, I'd say just read the first three and stop. You'll thank me for it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Erica Chaillot.
745 reviews18 followers
July 28, 2021
Enjoying this series. The love triangle is getting a little tiresome, but the plots are good. I am choking to continue reading them.
Profile Image for Melanie.
412 reviews15 followers
September 13, 2017
Oh look at me! I'm Hannah, a female who needs to be married to be happy! I can date two people at once but if a guy does the same I will behave like a seven year old! Okay, I'm done with these stupid books that behave like women are supposed to live in the 1800s. This dummy has been dating two guys for over a year and has barely kissed them? Ridiculous! I hate her so much!
Profile Image for Julie.
2,004 reviews630 followers
February 7, 2017
I don't often read cozy mysteries with a dessert theme because it always makes me crave food I can't eat (I'm on a limited sugar/carb restricted diet for medical reasons). But I make an exception for the Hannah Swensen series. There might be a lot of cookie-talk in the books because Hannah owns a bakery...but the series is so fun to read, that I don't mind reading about all the foods I can't have. Most of the recipes included in the books are desserts (I've made a few yummy selections for my family), but there are also usually some main courses and appetizers included as well.

Peach Cobbler Murder is the 7th book in the series. The Basics: The Cookie Jar is in financial straits when a new bakery opens up just across the street. Shawna Lee Quinn and her sister Vanessa run the Magnolia Blossom Bakery. Hannah can understand business...competition is the way things work. But, she doesn't have to like Shawna Lee flirting with Mike Kingston, local cop and one of Hannah's love interests. Hannah's business partner Lisa is getting married and Shawna Lee never shows up with the cobbler for the reception dessert table. Mike is a no-show as well. Later that night, things go from bad to worse when Hannah discovers Shawna Lee dead in the Magnolia Blossom Bakery. Hannah finds herself a suspect in the murder. Can she prove that she didn't kill Shawna Lee? And...who did?

I enjoyed this book, as I have the rest of the series. The mystery is engaging, not too obvious and the pacing is good. The recipes looked quite yummy as well. Hannah continues to be caught between two love interests though.....she can't make up her mind between Mike the Cop and Norman, a local dentist. After reading 7 books with her still being wishy-washy (especially after reading the last chapter in this book), I hope that Hannah is either going to choose one very very soon or just dump them both and get a new love interest. I have avoided reading any reviews of books later in the series as I don't want any spoilers. There are 20 books in this series....with a new book coming out in February. So I have a lot of reading to do! :) The books are fun, quick reads so don't be intimidated by the thought of 20 books.....they really are fun to read, light-hearted, and fast paced enough to keep a reader's attention from the beginning to end of the series. While it isn't completely necessary to read the books in order, some of the character interactions and relationships would be better understood by starting with book 1. But, someone could jump in at any point in the series and have enough background information to understand events just fine.

I'm moving on to book 8 now to see if Hannah gets any closer to answering the Mike/Norman conundrum. My goal is to catch up with this series. Only 13 books to go...ha ha!

Peach Cobbler Murder was made into a "Murder, She Baked'' movie on the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Channel. I enjoyed the movie -- but there were a few changes in the plot. Sometimes I'm not quite sure why they change plot points when they adapt a book for film. The changes were not huge....just minor differences here and there. None seemed like they were really necessary changes though. But, the directors know that business much much better than I do.....I just enjoyed the movie and told myself to stop comparing the book to the movie. The book is always better than the movie version....that doesn't mean that the movie can't be enjoyable! There are 4 Murder, She Baked movies based on the Hannah Swensen series. I highly recommend them! Very well done and enjoyable, even if there were changes made to Joanne Fluke's story.

Joanne Fluke also writes suspense novels in addition to the Hannah Swensen cozy series. To find out more about the author and her books, check out her website here. And if you like cozy mysteries, check out the Murder, She Baked movies on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries!
Profile Image for Brooke ♥booklife4life♥.
1,198 reviews98 followers
February 28, 2017

Find this review, plus more, on my blog: Booklikes OR Blogger

Basic Info

Format:
Audio
Pages/Length: n/a
Genre: Cozy mystery
Reason For Reading: Idk right now!

At A Glance

Love Triangle/Insta Love/Obsession?:
Training.
Cliff Hanger: No
Triggers: n/a
Rating: 2.5 stars

Score Sheet
All out of ten


Cover: 6
Plot: 6
Characters: 1
World Building: 5
Flow: 5
Series Congruity: 7
Writing: 7
Ending: 6

Total: 5

In Depth

Best Part:
Hannah's issues.
Worst Part: Low life taking the dead's shit!
Thoughts Had: How petty.

Conclusion

Continuing the Series:
Yes
Recommending: Sure

Short Review: So let me get this the fuck straight Hannah, you think to yourself.... "Why hasn't either of the TWO FUCKING MEN I'M DATING AT THE SAME MOTHERFUCKING TIME asked me to marry him! ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?! Then later on you become this petty bitch about his relationship with someone else! SERIOUSLY!? How dense can you be, for real Hannah, for real. Plus she was being super petty about a fucking cobbler, i get that the girl was taking all of Hannah's business, but sheesh. Them taking the shit from the other store was hardcore low.

Misc.

Book Boyfriend: NORMAN WAKE UP HANNAH
Best Friend Material: Pass.
Profile Image for Lindsay .
1,022 reviews43 followers
April 9, 2016
I don't know why I keep reading books from this series. The character Hannah is a goody and a player (she has two boyfriends!) and everyone loves her. Doesn't sound very realistic to me. Give me a character who has some attitude. And I'm confused as to why no one in the books weights a few hundred pounds because all they do is eat cookies!


In this book, a new bakery opens up and it taking all of Hannah's business. And then the person who runs the shop dies, and while the description of the book makes it sound like Hannah is the main suspect, there's actually a ton of suspects and no one really thinks she did it. For a mystery, it was decent enough, but I really think I might have to start passing on this series. They just don't make me think. Just make me hungry for cookies.
Profile Image for Tonya.
138 reviews69 followers
March 11, 2022
I really enjoyed this one. On to the next soon.
Profile Image for Mayda.
3,829 reviews65 followers
January 14, 2020
The good news is that Lisa is getting married. The bad news is that a competing bakeshop has opened near Hannah’s shop and stolen most of her customers. Hannah is fearful that if her regulars don’t return, she will have to close. But there is worse news to come. A deceitful person is out to scam someone close to Hannah, and she puts herself in harm’s way. While the plot may be predictable - readers know that Hannah won’t die no matter what fix she finds herself in - the book does end with a bit of a surprise. Still, readers of this series who like the characters and the recipes will certainly enjoy this installment.
590 reviews11 followers
May 24, 2024
I am reading this series in order, and this book is outstanding! It was a very good mystery story, and I absolutely enjoyed the character development once again. I want to stress that it is very important to read each of the books in their proper order if you want to get most enjoyment. I don't want to be a spoiler, so I am afraid to give more details. I'll just say that this book pleased me in every way!
Profile Image for Christa.
2,218 reviews583 followers
February 5, 2020
Peach Cobbler Murder is a great addition to the Hannah Swensen Series, and was one of my favorites of the series so far. There is lots of action in this one and the storyline kept me entertained. I loved having Hannah, Andrea, and the rest of the normal cast of characters all back for another mystery. The developments in Hannah's personal life in this one were very interesting.
Profile Image for shannon✨.
1,723 reviews53 followers
April 13, 2023
2.5 stars

Another enjoyable read but it was just a tad bit too predictable. Also, I hope the love triangle will finally come to an end in the next one.
Profile Image for Emmy.
54 reviews
August 3, 2025
one of my favs in the series so far… we had a bit of a weak streak there for a while
Profile Image for Luffy Sempai.
783 reviews1,088 followers
March 7, 2016
I had a brief moment of weakness when I read what was written at the end, and I wanted to double the book's score. Then I remembered how numb I felt going through the endless boring and mundane chapters that make up this quite curious book. Like other books in the series, this one especially is too long and it does outstay its welcome. I thought that if the author had to tarry and dally it should have been at the wedding. But that didn't happen.

Peach Cobbler Murder felt different because minor characters in past books were given larger roles, so there was both unfamiliarity and continuity. Both murderer and murdered were familiar. The victim was one for whom I cared maybe too much and I was sorry that it was her who had been offed. I was even more concerned when I knew at the book's revelation time that it was all for naught. In a way the most important characters were those that stayed in the background. Winthrop, Vanessa, and her sister Shawna. That triangle of mysterious connotation could have provided some fateful pathos but I felt the author didn't rise to the occasion and didn't improve what I feel was a weak effort.

But I cared about the raw potential of this book, and now that we're into the third paragraph proves it that I did care. I couldn't solve the murder but I feel the police really should have. They checked only the alibi of the wedding guests between the wedding and the reception. I thought it beggared belief that both law breakers and enforcers didn't equip themselves with cleverness in their respective crime related activities.

I didn't like the protracted role of Dolores. It looks like I'm competing with Moishe for being the person who dislikes Dolores the most. Which is ironic as I don't like the ingrate Moishe either. I wish we were in medieval times when cats were flamed alive for the entertainment of fair goers. Hey, they didn't have Disney (-world, -land, Pixar, Lucasfilm etc) back then. I won't get into what the interaction between Moishe and Hannah means, as we could all guess and be right. It probably symbolizes the struggle of daily contacts between one human and another. But I could do without these tiresome protraction and waste of time whenever that dratted cat is mentioned. That's not going to happen as there is surely a market for these type of scenes. I just don't want Hannah to appear like a delusional pet owner who's already under the yoke and is a slave to that cat. I even don't know who is the bigger pussy here.

I'm alarmed, and the score reflects this, but I am dismayed by the lack of Andrea in the book. She's my favorite character here, and though from Hannah's point of view Andrea is the superficial one, I think it's the other way round. True, Hannah is the cleverer and shabby one, but Andrea is the one with more generosity and is the virtuous one. It adds to the character arc that Hannah now possesses more tact. But her romantic life, which supposedly is an ongoing progress, lacks life and realism. It felt jarring how Mike, Norman and Hannah went from acquaintances to...well you'll see. Next chapter of next book!
Profile Image for Megan (BookWifeReviews).
1,564 reviews54 followers
September 9, 2019
Why do I keep reading this series?? Seriously why? Hannah is a moron. She runs into things she has zero business running into. Mike is an ass that she always seems to forgive because he’s a great kisser. Norman is kind of amazing but also an idiot for wanting Hannah. I think my issue is that she expects both men to propose to her even though she isn’t exclusive with either one! What kind of man would do that? Well we freaking find out that both these men are that idiotic.

Oh also I HATE the way she answers the phone!!! Who just assumes it’s their mother. She is such an idiot. Omg. I think I hate this about her most of all.

I don't think I could possible say idiot too many times.. I don't know another world that totally encompasses each and every character. I want to say I wash my hands of this series but I know I’ll continue. In fact, I've already started the next book and It’s a train wreck and I can’t look away.
Profile Image for Taimi Värva.
89 reviews4 followers
February 14, 2022
Nii tore muhekrimi, naeruturtsatused on tagatud! Mõrv ise on teisejärguline - lugu sobib täpselt neiks õhtuteks, kui päev täis ajugümnastikat on möödas ning su väsimatu ja püsimatu üheksane on pideva vadinaga juhtmed kokku jooksutanud ja kõrvade vahele enam muu ei haaku.
Oo, ja need retseptid! Ma küll ei mõista, mis teema on ameeriklastel suhkruga, et seda nii tohututes kogustes tuleb kasutada. Aga retseptid said välja kirjutatud (-2/3 suhkrut) ja lähevad proovimisele.
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