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Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder
(Hannah Swensen #1)
by
Discover the delicious mystery that started it all!
No one cooks up a delectable, suspense-filled mystery quite like Hannah Swensen, Joanne Fluke's dessert-baking, red-haired heroine whose gingersnaps are as tart as her comebacks, and whose penchant for solving crimes one delicious clue at a time has made her a bestselling favorite. And it all began on these pages, with a b ...more
No one cooks up a delectable, suspense-filled mystery quite like Hannah Swensen, Joanne Fluke's dessert-baking, red-haired heroine whose gingersnaps are as tart as her comebacks, and whose penchant for solving crimes one delicious clue at a time has made her a bestselling favorite. And it all began on these pages, with a b ...more
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436 pages
Published
(first published April 1st 2000)
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Jennifer Galloway
The worst thing about this book is it will make you want to eat cookies every time you read it.
Tracey
The writing is terrible throughout - bad enough that I missed that one. Good point. The author suffers from thesaurusitis.
Community Reviews
Showing 1-30

Start your review of Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder (Hannah Swensen, #1)

Jan 07, 2012
James
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
2-fic-cozy-mystery,
1-fiction
Fantastic new series... and now they have a TV series with Alison Sweeney. Nice! It was one of the first cozies I read with recipes and I had to test one or two out. :) More to come on this series... I'm anxious to finish all 20+ books!
...more

Ok, so... I'm officially in love with cozy mysteries, and there's nothing anyone can do about it. :P
I heart this genre so much; it walks the tightrope between good old-fashioned, small town, hardboiled noir and straight up cutie patootie-ness.
It's a great break from all the really sad, serious stuff going on around the world and in books, and is a gentle reminder of better days gone by.
Think summertime, a warm breeze passes you by as you're sitting under a beautiful old oak tree reading a comfo ...more
I heart this genre so much; it walks the tightrope between good old-fashioned, small town, hardboiled noir and straight up cutie patootie-ness.
It's a great break from all the really sad, serious stuff going on around the world and in books, and is a gentle reminder of better days gone by.
Think summertime, a warm breeze passes you by as you're sitting under a beautiful old oak tree reading a comfo ...more

I had been eyeing this book for a while, mostly because the cover amused me so. I finally picked it up when I was on one of my cosy mystery tears. Knowing it had been written in the 80s made the content a little less annoying. Unfortunately, the first book is the best of this sad lot.
However, having read all but the latest (Key Lime Pie Murder, which I am still debating whether or not to read) in the series, I have to say that the series is not that great. The latter books were written more rece ...more
However, having read all but the latest (Key Lime Pie Murder, which I am still debating whether or not to read) in the series, I have to say that the series is not that great. The latter books were written more rece ...more

The TL;DR version: This was one of the dumbest things I've ever read.
This was a stupid purchase – and a stupid thing to read, for that matter, but I did want something brainless in the middle of my Big Giant Fantasy Series. I got it. It is the first in the Hannah Swenson mystery series, which I didn’t know when I started it. I eventually caught on as the main character reacted to discovering her very first corpse. (She said something to the effect of not making a habit out of discovering bodies ...more
This was a stupid purchase – and a stupid thing to read, for that matter, but I did want something brainless in the middle of my Big Giant Fantasy Series. I got it. It is the first in the Hannah Swenson mystery series, which I didn’t know when I started it. I eventually caught on as the main character reacted to discovering her very first corpse. (She said something to the effect of not making a habit out of discovering bodies ...more


Oh HAIL to the NO!!
Did we really stop being monkeys to evolve into reading, thinking beings to read this shit?
Seriously:
A monkey could have written a better story.
A monkey could have solved this mystery without Idiot #1 and Idiot #2.
A monkey police officer wouldn't have made his untrained family member solve the crime for him.
In other words, when it comes to this book, we might as well go back to armpit-scratching and poo-throwing because it is that braincell-stealing dumb.

(Yes, I admit I shoul ...more

I enjoy these types of fluffy cozy mysteries. The Cookie Jar setting was fun and included lots of cookie recipes too.
Enjoyed the character of Hannah Swensen and her snooping ways. The small town setting of Lake Eden was perfect. Hannah's orange cat, Moishe added another cozy addition.
The mystery is light, but the characters made it fun and enjoyable for a little escape.
Recommend to those who enjoy cozy mysteries and follow the characters through the series. This is a long running series and I'm ...more
Enjoyed the character of Hannah Swensen and her snooping ways. The small town setting of Lake Eden was perfect. Hannah's orange cat, Moishe added another cozy addition.
The mystery is light, but the characters made it fun and enjoyable for a little escape.
Recommend to those who enjoy cozy mysteries and follow the characters through the series. This is a long running series and I'm ...more

Is it difficult reading? No. Are the characters the best characters I've ever read? No. But what this series does have going for it is that all the books are a fun, light read. You could probably start reading any of these books as your first and you would have no trouble understanding the characters or the plots (some would find this a plus while others would see it as a drawback, I'm sure).
Hannah Swensen, the main character, while not as pretty as her sister Andrea, or her mother, for that mat ...more
Hannah Swensen, the main character, while not as pretty as her sister Andrea, or her mother, for that mat ...more

Apr 16, 2019
¸¸.•*¨*•♫ Mrs. Buttercup •*¨*•♫♪
rated it
liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
audiobooks
"Solving crimes certainly wasn’t as easy as they made it seem in the movies."
Hannah runs a cookie shop in a small town, and her main sources of worry are her mother, who constantly tries to match her with any widowed/divorced man in town, and her younger sister, who takes advantage of her state of single-woman-in-her-late-twenties making her babysit her daughter on a daily basis. Never in her whole life she would imagine that one day, right after opening up her cute, small, cookie shop, she wil ...more

Hannah runs a cookie shop in a small town, and her main sources of worry are her mother, who constantly tries to match her with any widowed/divorced man in town, and her younger sister, who takes advantage of her state of single-woman-in-her-late-twenties making her babysit her daughter on a daily basis. Never in her whole life she would imagine that one day, right after opening up her cute, small, cookie shop, she wil ...more

Find all of my reviews at: http://52bookminimum.blogspot.com/
2.5 Stars
You know how you know something isn’t good for you, but you’re still all like . . . .
Yeah. That’s pretty much this book. After all, it is the story of the local cookie shop owner who gets recruited by her brother-in-law (who just so happens to beBarney Fife a policeman) to help solve the first murder Eden Lake has ever had. I mean, I haven’t experienced something this ridiculous since . . . . . well, actually just about
...more
2.5 Stars
You know how you know something isn’t good for you, but you’re still all like . . . .

Yeah. That’s pretty much this book. After all, it is the story of the local cookie shop owner who gets recruited by her brother-in-law (who just so happens to be

I've read other books in Joanne Fluke's 'Hannah Swensen' series so it was interesting to backtrack and read 'book one' for the first time.

Hannah Swensen - a tall, attractive baker - leaves graduate school and returns home to Lake Eden, Minnesota for family reasons. Hannah decides to stay in town and opens 'The Cookie Jar' bakery and café. Hannah's mom and two sisters live in Lake Eden and often become involved in her amateur investigations.

This book features Hannah's mom Dolores - who owns an ...more

Cookie-maker Hannah is juggling life as a single baker with an opinionated cat and a mother who is determined to set her up with someone in their small town in Minnesota. When her dairy delivery guy turns up dead, Hannah has to help her brother in law, who just made detective, look for clues and solve the case. I love this cozy mystery series for the great recipes and fun quirky characters. I think I gain weight every time I read about Hannah’s cookies 😊 but it’s all worth it. This one kept surp
...more

I am a sucker for the quick, easy, light-hearted mystery novels and I really enjoy Joanne Fluke. The characters are fun and the "whodunits" are clever enough. Not surprisingly many of the situations the heroine finds herself in are a bit unlikely. But it's not meant to double your IQ, just entertain and all of her books do well at that.
...more

I should not have read other reviews of this book, before I did so I was reading along with only a slight nagging annoyance that I couldn't quite put my finger on. I'm not finished yet, but I will only be skimming the last 100 pages in order to find out who done it, I definitely won't be wasting my time with the other books in this series. Don't get me wrong, I love a cozy mystery & read lots of 'em, but why does the main character (if she’s younger than 35) always fall into one of two types in
...more

I'm going to give this 4 stars because Hannah figured out who the murderer was and her brother in law was up for a promotion with the sheriff's office if he caught the killer. I am glad it all worked out but I felt like Hannah was doing all the work. She needs to be a cop. I did like the end, too and hope she ends up with the man I like for her. I will definitely read more of these books just because they are a nice, light murder mystery to read. The characters are believable and easy to like. I
...more

DNF at Page 380 because of these dumb excerpts:
"She sat down in her chair with the shawl on her lap and handed Hannah the tickets with her left hand. “If you’ll open the folder, you’ll see that Benton’s plane didn’t land until twelve-seventeen. I assume that this will clear him as a suspect?”
Hannah examined the tickets. “Yes, it will. I’m really sorry that I had to bring it up and I hope that I didn’t upset you too much. It was just that the circumstantial evidence against Benton seemed overwhe ...more
"She sat down in her chair with the shawl on her lap and handed Hannah the tickets with her left hand. “If you’ll open the folder, you’ll see that Benton’s plane didn’t land until twelve-seventeen. I assume that this will clear him as a suspect?”
Hannah examined the tickets. “Yes, it will. I’m really sorry that I had to bring it up and I hope that I didn’t upset you too much. It was just that the circumstantial evidence against Benton seemed overwhe ...more

Hannah Swensen is a busy woman who is running Lake Eden, a popular bakery in Minnesota. When she is not creating culinary delights, her mother is trying to fix her up. Hannah isn't ready to settle down, and even if she is, she definitely does not want her mother's help. Hannah is devastated to discover a local delivery man dead, so she is determined to find the killer.
It is not as simple as creating delicious new recipes. No, every time Hannah thinks she has a bead on the murderer, yet another s ...more
It is not as simple as creating delicious new recipes. No, every time Hannah thinks she has a bead on the murderer, yet another s ...more

A few months ago, I went to the walk-in clinic because I was feeling miserably sick. They told me the wait would be at least 3 hours. I wasn't about to sit there and read the same out-dated magazines for 3 hours, so I snuck out and picked up this book at Walmart. I normally don't choose mysteries, but I figured anything with the words "chocolate chip cookie" in it had to be worth reading. I devoured this book just like I would a cookie, because it really was a fun and quick read. (I had already
...more

Aug 30, 2010
Dawn Michelle
rated it
liked it
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Dawn Michelle by:
Kay Bolen and my Mommy
Shelves:
books-read-in-2010,
cozy-mystery-read
Read~August 30, 2010
3 1/2 Stars
In a way, I was hoping to NOT like this book, because I so do NOT need to be starting another series. Sigh. There goes another wish ungranted, because....
I really LIKED this book. The characters are hilarious, the story/mystery is fun and challenging and the recipes are..pardon the pun..to DIE for!!! ;-)
Hannah is a delightful heroine, and the cast of characters that come along wi6th her and equally delightful! AND, I didn't know "who-dun-it"!!! YAY YAY YAY!!!! ...more

The very likeable Hannah, bakery and pastry shop owner, begins her investigative career because she knew and liked the victim. It's a plus that it helps her policeman brother-in-law's actual career. All the secondary characters are pleasant making this an enjoyable read. Match-making mothers provide some gentle humor. I'll be reading more of this series.
...more

Another wannabe detective. Another piece of tripe. I don’t know what I was expecting when I borrowed this audiobook from the library. The synopsis should have said it all.
Hannah Swensen is the most popular baker in Lake Eden. Hannah bakes the best cookies in town, and everyone makes sure to tell her this throughout the whole book. Not like Hannah needs their compliments, because she thinks she’s the Cookie Queen as well. She even goes far as to complain about the caterer’s cookies at the bigges ...more
Hannah Swensen is the most popular baker in Lake Eden. Hannah bakes the best cookies in town, and everyone makes sure to tell her this throughout the whole book. Not like Hannah needs their compliments, because she thinks she’s the Cookie Queen as well. She even goes far as to complain about the caterer’s cookies at the bigges ...more

This book started the great Hallmark TV series “Murder She Baked”.
‘Murder She Baked’ Books and Movie Comparison List
Hallmark’s Murder She Baked TV series
The sweet lovely Hannah Swensen of Lake Eden, Minnesota, runs The Cookie Jar, a coffee shop “serving and selling” goodies.
She finds Ron LaSalle, the Crazy Cow Dairy man, dead in her alley. Then Nat Turner, the bank loan manager everyone hates, found dead.
Hanna & Det. Mike Kingston investigate suspects - they find a Styrofoam cup with pi ...more
‘Murder She Baked’ Books and Movie Comparison List
Hallmark’s Murder She Baked TV series
The sweet lovely Hannah Swensen of Lake Eden, Minnesota, runs The Cookie Jar, a coffee shop “serving and selling” goodies.
She finds Ron LaSalle, the Crazy Cow Dairy man, dead in her alley. Then Nat Turner, the bank loan manager everyone hates, found dead.
Hanna & Det. Mike Kingston investigate suspects - they find a Styrofoam cup with pi ...more

Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder is the coziest of cozy murder mysteries. Hannah runs a bakery called The Cookie Jar, and when a murder rocks her small town of Lake Eden, she jumps in to help her policeman brother-in-law solve the murder. In between her often tactless questioning of suspects and digging around where she shouldn't, she bakes cookies and dishes them out to every person she meets.
The mystery itself is interesting enough, though the solution isn't clever so much as Hannah just badgers ...more
The mystery itself is interesting enough, though the solution isn't clever so much as Hannah just badgers ...more

Mar 25, 2018
Darinda
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
mystery-cozy,
own
Hannah owns a bakery in a small town. After the town's local dairy deliveryman is late one morning, Hannah goes to check on him. She finds him in the cab of his truck, shot dead. Hannah does some sleuthing on her own to discover who is the killer.
The 1st book in the Hannah Swensen series. This book also includes recipes for the yummy treats Hannah serves at her bakery.
A quick and easy read. Great for fans of cozy mysteries. Especially ones with a small town setting and lots of food talk. ...more
The 1st book in the Hannah Swensen series. This book also includes recipes for the yummy treats Hannah serves at her bakery.
A quick and easy read. Great for fans of cozy mysteries. Especially ones with a small town setting and lots of food talk. ...more

You know what?!? I picked this book up on a whim and I definitely enjoyed it. It's one of the first cozy mysteries that I've read and I loved it. If you're a foodie I would recommend picking this up. The author includes recipes for all of the food she talks about considering that our main character owns a cookie shop. Hannah is a great character. I loved her sense of humor and independence. She definitely handled her own in this case. As far as the conclusion of the case, I didn't really see it
...more

The only reason I read the book in its entirety is because I was traveling and had nothing else to read in English. Aside from the flimsy plot and even flimsier characters, the thing that irked me most about the book was when the author tried to dress up her writing with mixed metaphors and other weak attempts at plumping up the lackluster text. "She was going to have a shiner the size of the Grand Canyon," and "She looked at the chisel-faced anchorman" ???!! Yes, I know what she meant, but I ca
...more

If only the whole thing was focused more on the 'whodunit' and less on the 'cookies'; it could have been good rather than okay!
...more

Only my legendary stubbornness got me through this book. I should have quit while I was ahead.
The book felt super disjointed. Hannah bemoans being the 'ugly sister,' hints at some brains (just shy of her doctorate, unless I misunderstood?), and hands out free cookies like she hopes to give the entire down diabetes.
Heck, the entire town might already have diabetes the way they flock to her cookie shop.
Anyway, so a murder happens and Hannah's idiotic brother-in-law convinces her to help him sol ...more
The book felt super disjointed. Hannah bemoans being the 'ugly sister,' hints at some brains (just shy of her doctorate, unless I misunderstood?), and hands out free cookies like she hopes to give the entire down diabetes.
Heck, the entire town might already have diabetes the way they flock to her cookie shop.
Anyway, so a murder happens and Hannah's idiotic brother-in-law convinces her to help him sol ...more

Hannah Swensen of Lake Eden, Minnesota, runs The Cookie Jar, a bakery & coffee shop “serving and selling” delicious goodies.
She finds Ron LaSalle, the Crazy Cow Dairy man, dead in her alley. Then Nat Turner, the bank loan manager everyone hates, is found dead.
Hanna & Det. Mike Kingston investigate - they find a Styrofoam cup with pink lipstick? Most suspects have a alibi. An unexplained town bus. loan? Leads to a unexpected Architectural & antique home? The murder character is “fuzzy” until the ...more
She finds Ron LaSalle, the Crazy Cow Dairy man, dead in her alley. Then Nat Turner, the bank loan manager everyone hates, is found dead.
Hanna & Det. Mike Kingston investigate - they find a Styrofoam cup with pink lipstick? Most suspects have a alibi. An unexplained town bus. loan? Leads to a unexpected Architectural & antique home? The murder character is “fuzzy” until the ...more
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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 sch ...more
While pursuing her writing career, Joanne has worked as: a public sch ...more
Other books in the series
Hannah Swensen
(1 - 10 of 27 books)
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3 trivia questions
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“IT was the time of day when Lake Eden residents decided it was too late for a breakfast cookie and too early for a lunch cookie.”
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“Minnesotans who bought scenic art usually avoided winter scenes. Hannah didn't find that surprising. Minnesota winters were long. Why would they want to buy a painting that would constantly remind them of the bone-chilling cold, the heavy snow that had to be shoveled, and the necessity of dressing up in survival gear to do nothing more than take out the garbage?”
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