Five books in, and I finally make the dish listed in the title! The titular fudge cupcakes also provide an interesting culinary mystery that Joanne Fluke handles beautifully, with intriguing clues that had me guessing right until the end as to what the mystery ingredient might be. I very much admired this mystery within a…
Okay, wow, this one is a little different from the previous books. For starters, our heroine Hannah Swensen is not the one to stumble across the body, a habit that her mother Delores despairs of in the context of attracting a marriage proposal (because, in a case of Mom-logic that I find insufferable but…
So really, I’m at the point where I’m feeling like the Hannah Swensen mysteries are a bit like a grown-up version of the beloved Nancy Drew books. Our heroine is smart and charming, has a strong supporting cast, and the dialog sparkles with gentle humor. The mystery itself is solid and the romances sweet.…
Wow, I continue to be impressed by Joanne Fluke. Most series have even a wee bit of sophomore slump with the second entry, but Strawberry Shortcake Murder not only extrapolates from the events in the first book to bring us a compelling murder mystery but loses none of the wit and verve of the debut.…
Welcome to Lake Eden, Minnesota, where the temperatures are low, the community close-knit, and the cookies, well! The cookies—as baked by our heroine Hannah Swensen for her cafe—are to die for. Metaphorically at least, though Hannah’s discovery of the corpse of her milkman with one of her chocolate chip cookies clutched in his hand certainly…
There are few things I enjoy more than the changing of the seasons. When the leaves start to turn, I dream of roaring fires and snowflakes falling from the sky. I make sure my favorite blanket is within reach of my armchair and that the reading lamp is in working order. My fireplace may be…
