As December turns Lake Eden into the North Pole, the heat is on in Hannah Swensen’s kitchen to honor two Christmas promises: baking irresistible holiday cupcakes and preventing murder!
While Hannah speeds through a lengthy holiday checklist, drama in town grows like Santa’s waistline on Christmas Eve. Her sister Andrea wants to stave off the blues by helping out at The Cookie Jar, Michele’s love life is becoming complicated, Lisa needs Hannah’s advice, and Delores has a Christmas secret she’s not willing to share. But nothing dampens the holiday mood more than the chilling mystery surrounding the man found near death in an abandoned storefront two doors down from Hannah’s bakery . . .
The befuddled John Doe can’t recall a thing about himself—except for his unusual knowledge of restoring antique furniture. With a smattering of clues and barely enough time to frost Christmas cookies, Hannah must solve a deadly puzzle that could leave her dashing through the snow for her life!
Release Date: September 29, 2020
Kensington Publishing
Hannah Swensen Series #26
Cozy Mystery
Review copy provided by publisher
Liza's Review:
Christmas Cupcake Murder was another fun cozy mystery in the Hannah Swensen series. As this story is set in the past, each of the favorite characters are in different places in the lives. I honestly enjoy getting to go back in time in Lake Eden to learn more about each of the characters.
Joanne Fluke gives her readers their annual Christmas mystery with Christmas Cupcake Murder. Generally, the Christmas mystery is a shorter story than her full-length books that come out in late winter/early spring. Christmas Cupcake Murder is definitely filled with lots of yummy recipes, but the mystery was much lighter than usual. I enjoy getting to spend time with so many of my favorite characters, but will say I felt like the timeline didn't quite fit based upon previous books. While it wasn't my favorite book in the series by far, I did enjoy the book overall.
The Hannah Swensen books were some of the first cozy mysteries I found and fell in love with when they were first published, and I still enjoy the books with each new release. While I didn't feel that Christmas Cupcake Murder was the strongest book in the series, I look forward to where Ms. Fluke takes her readers with future books.
Rating: 3 Stars (B-)
No comments:
Post a Comment