Fudge Cupcake Murder (A Hannah Swensen Mystery)

This so-called "murder mystery" was my first introduction to the series and I only read it because my book club chose it. It was a fast, not too engrossing read that would be fine for a fifth-grader. It was too much like "Nancy Drew bakes" and I know I won't go out of my way to read anymore of Joanne Fluke's works.

I enjoy all Joanne Fluke books.
I Because they are light hearted.
2. They have great recipes.
3. You can relate to alot or the characters.
4. Because sometimes you just need a pick me up, give me a laugh type book to curl up with on a lazy day.
5. I would recommend her books to anyone who is not into heavy explicit murder type scene mysteries.

If you enjoy G rated small town murder mysteries with realistic conversation and likeable characters and a plausible plot you will enjoy this series. Reading this made me feel like I was spending the evening with friends...enjoyable and relaxing g after a long day.

This is a fun mystery that doesn't need blatantly overt sex or a lot of bloody scenes. The story is a light mystery that kept me guessing until the end. I recommend this book for young teens through adults. ENJOYABLE!

The Hannah Swensen series of books are an easy book to read, This is a lighthearted murder mystery that I can share with my teenage daughter. We have utilized several of the recipes included in the book and they are yummy. It is fun to read the book and then recreate the recipes. Will continue to follow the series.

I really love the Joanne Fluke series. I like the characters, the plots, LOVE the recipes and have to state that the cover art by Hiro Kimura is just FANTASTIC. The cover art is what drew (no pun intended) me to the series in the first place. Once I started, I read them all. I now eagerly look forward to the next in the series.

I especially like the changing dynamics between Hannah and her sister. It is realistic and multi-faceted.

Fudge cupcake murder by Fluke_ Joanne
This book is about Hannah and she's instructed others how to cook and finds a dead body in the trash.
Her whole family helps her to solve the clues, her sister and husband along with her mother.
They each have some funny things about them while her sister is pregnant. The body points to many others who could've done the nasty deed.
Love mystery of missing ingredient from the cake recipe from one who wanted to donate it to the cook book.
Recipes are included and this is an easy going book to read. Although a series they can be read by itself.
I received this book from National Library Service for my BARD (Braille Audio Reading Device).

Yep Hannah Swensen found another one! She just can't win for losing when it comes to finding dead bodies. And to make matters worse, her brother-in-law is the prime suspect. Everyone is counting on her to clear Bill and find the real killer ASAP.

I was really impressed with how well this book was written. Right up until the last little bit, I didn't really have a clue who killed the sheriff. I love mysteries that keep you guessing like that.

And not only is there a mystery as to who killed Sheriff Grant, but there is another one as well. Who is this man who is suddenly so found of her mother? I can't wait to read more about that in future books! And what about the mystery ingredient in the cupcake? I love food mysteries like that!

Fudge Cupcake Murder is the fifth book in the Hannah Swenson murder mystery series, and with this novel, you get two mysteries for the price of one! Of course, there is the requisite murder mystery, and as usual, it is Hannah herself who is unlucky enough to stumble across yet another body. This time the victim is Sheriff Grant, and one of the suspects is Hannah's own brother-in-law, Bill, who had been running against Grant for the sheriff's position. Hannah's sister, Andrea, begs Hannah to once again become involved in investigating a Lake Eden murder, and how can Hannah refuse? It's family!

Meanwhile, Hannah is also busy teaching a weekly cooking class and putting together a Lake Eden cookbook. She and her students are testing all of the recipes for the cookbook, but there is one that has Hannah stumped: Beatrice Koester is hoping that her mother-in-law's Fudge Cupcake recipe can be included in the cookbook, but the cupcakes have a "secret ingredient" that Mrs. Koester took to her grave! So, Hannah is on a mission to solve the mystery of the missing cupcake ingredient AND who killed Sheriff Grant.

This is actually the seventh Hannah Swenson novel I have read (I read two in the middle before going back and starting again at the beginning), and I have enjoyed them all. This time out, I actually did have an idea of who the killer might be before it occurred to Hannah, as all of the clues seemed pretty obvious. Still, I find these books to be fun, light reading, especially given the addition of the recipes. Fudge Cupcake Murder includes ten total recipes, and with the exception of one, all are for cookies/dessert bars. (The one exception is something Hannah calls "Hole in One," but my family always called this "Egg in the Nest.") In addition to the Fudge Cupcakes (the surprise ingredient IS eventually revealed!), some of the recipes include Hannah's Bananas, Andrea's Pecan Divines, Corn Cookies, and Apple Orchard Cookie Bars. I would definitely recommend this yummy continuation of Fluke's Swenson novels!

Someone is murdered, and the secret ingredient for the fudge cupcake recipe is a mystery. Hannah is determined to solve the murder and still find time to find out the secret ingredient for the recipe before the Lake Eden cookbook is published. And if that is not enough, Hannah suspects one of her boyfriends, Mike, is cheating on her with pretty Shawna Lee.

The hominess, warmth, and coziness of this Minnesota mystery series is indescribable. Not to mention the superb mystery plots and lots of clues. I give 5 stars to a lot of books, because they deserve it. But of all the 5-star books, this Hannah Swensen cookie series is definitely the one I like most. There is only one other series I like as much as this one: Kate Borden's "Death of a Tart", "Death of a Trickster", and "Death of a Turkey".

I had read the first 4 Hannah Swensen books, then stopped and read many other mysteries. Then I decided it was time to come back and finish up the Hannah Swensen series. I just finished the 5th book (Fudge Cupcake Murder), and it was like coming home after a long absence! There are no words to describe how much I truly enjoyed this book. Now I will read the remaining books in the series.

This series is a model cozy mystery series. The pure pleasure, comfort, and satisfaction I get from these books are inexpressible, and I feel they are a gift from the heavens.

Ultimate enjoyment.

The mystery in this book starts with the murder of Sheriff Grant and Hannah's pursuit to clear Brother in law, Bill. The mystery was ok.

But, Hannah is a successful 30-ish woman and is being entirely too indecisive with Mike and Norman. She's been 'dating' both men for over a year, thru the first several books of the series, and never gone beyond kissing them. Also, both men are perfectly happy to sit back and 'share' dates with Hannah. Beyond prudish. There is a line between overly-prudish and erotic fiction, and Fluke isn't even beginning to toe at it.

I agree with the review that mentioned that Hannah should actually have a real relationship with either Mike or Norman before hoping that one of them will propose. Not realistic at all.

On the positive side, you will be drooling over the descriptions of the food. The subplots of Moishe and his senior crunchies, as well as the secret ingredient in the fudge cupcakes, were both more intriguing to me than the mystery and the dulling relationship twist.

Another very good very fun read! A fast paced "cozy" mystery/ detective story.

I never know what to say about a book on a well established series. If you have gotten past the 4th book of a series there is very little that anyone could tell me that would stop me from Redding the next book nor is there anything anyone could say which would make me more likely to read the next book.

Suffice it to say that if you have gotten this far this book meets the standards set in the earlier novels.

This is, yet again, a fun mystery from Joanne Fluke from the Hannah Swenson mystery series. The story is fun, the recipes sound wonderful, and the mystery is great. I realized whodunit early on, but it did not make me dislike the novel. If you have read her other works, you know what you are getting yourself into. You have to take this for what it is, a cozy lighthearted mystery. I give it five stars for the fun, funny, great characters and story.

Spoiler alert!

The other reviewers have given a good "recipe" of the plot so I won't do the same. Hannah Swenson can be entertaining and I've copied down some good recipes. But for someone who is supposed to be smart, Hannah Swenson can be incredibly stupid. She locates the murder weapon, a tire iron, is left alone with it for an apparently lengthy period of time while waiting for the murderer to return (knowing he's the murderer), but instead of putting it in her vehicle and taking off, she tries to buy it from the murderer. When the murderer realizes he's been outed, she runs off into the salvage yard with--not her car keys--but a bag of cupcakes.

Then, while hiding in a junk car, listening for the sound of footsteps on gravel to indicate the approach of the murderer, she somehow misses the sound of heavy equipment approaching. It's ridiculous that someone can miss the sound of car moving equipment and then be completely stunned when the car mover scoops up the car in which she's hiding. Had she stumbled across a tree root, it would have been a perfect rendition of the incredibly dumb girl in horror movies that everyone in the audience yells at not to be so dumb.

Then, when Mike the handsome cop arrives and stands immediately below her elevated hiding place, he somehow misses the leather jacket that floats down from above (which Hannah tossed down to get his attention), gets hit in the head with a fudge cupcake but doesn't look up and only becomes suspicious that something is afoot when he gets bonked with a second cupcake. Honestly! How dumb and blind can one supposedly brilliant cop be?

And Hannah's approach to romance needs serious work. She's blindly attracted to Mike for his looks and sex appeal, even though he treats her like a silly girl, cautioning her in a clearly paternalistic and condescending manner (more than once) to "let the professionals handle it," the murder investigation, which he has done in each and every book. The only thing missing was a pat on the head. A dozen pages later, Hannah's mooning about, wondering if Mike will propose, despite the fact that she knows he's condescending, knows he's still mourning his deceased wife, knows he's not interested in commitment.

Hannah is supposed to be level-headed, no-nonsense and bright. What she apparently really embodies are all the old cliches about women--willing to overlook the handsome man's personality flaws, dreaming about proposals of marriage, getting into tight corners (in this case, a junk car about to be squashed to bits in a junk yard car crusher) because she just doesn't think logically and relying upon the big strong men in her life to rescue her. It would be different if Hannah recognized the dichotomies of her life; at least there would some depth there, but she doesn't. The characters in this series simply are not progressing.

Hannah Swenson has found another body. This time Sheriff Grant has been murdered. Then her sister Andrea, who is eight months pregnant with her second child, calls to tell her that Bill, Andrea's husband, has been suspended. He is a Deputy and was running for Sheriff against Sheriff Grant. Mike, one of the men Hannah dates, put Bill on administrative leave until he could be cleared from the murder.
Andrea and Hannah decide to begin investigating to clear Bill so that he will get back to work. He is driving Andrea crazy at home. He keeps cleaning and organizing and ends up throwing a lot of Andrea's things away.
Hannah owns and runs with her partner Lisa the Cookie Jar. They are preparing for Halloween and Hannah doesn't know how she ever did it without Lisa. Lisa helps the investigation by letting Hannah be gone a lot. Also, Lisa and Hannah are trying to determine the missing surprise ingredient for Alma's Fudge Cupcakes. Unfortunately she died without telling anyone the surprise ingredient and her son Ted wants to add it to the recipe book Hannah is compiling from recipes of people from town. She is also running a cooking class that is trying out all the recipes to catch errors and decide which recipes should go into the book.
There is also the fact that not only does Hannah date Mike from the Sheriff's office, but she also dates Norman, a dentist. During most of the book Norman is out of town. The tension Hannah feels about not knowing which one she likes better really adds to this book.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and highly recommend it and all the other books in this series. The recipes are always great, too. Who doesn't like a mystery filled with food? Important Note: please check out the author's website: [...] before trying the Fudge Cupcake recipe as there is a typo in the ingredients.
The small town she has created in this book is great. There are so many different characters but they interact so well. I felt as if I had really visited Lake Eden when I finished this book.
Hannah, her mother, and her sister Andrea are great characters. She has done a great job in creating them and the many mother/daughter and sister strifes. It is all so believable and enjoyable.
Hope you try this book and series, I don't think you'll be disappointed.