Fudge Cupcake Murder
Hannah Swensen, Book 5

I Picked Up This Book Because: Continue the series.

Media Type: Audiobook
Source: Audible Plus
Dates Read: 10/11/24 - 10/13/24
Stars: 4 Stars
Narrator(s): Suzanne Toren

The Characters:

Hannah Swensen:
:
Mike, Norman, Lisa, Mother, Michelle (baby sis), Andrea (middle sis),

The Story:
It’s not a good sign that I just finished the book 3 days ago and I can’t remember who the killer is. I do know that Hannah and crew were good company on a road trip. It's an entertaining town and set of characters and that’s what I find most important. ( )

How cute! This is the kind of peaceful mystery series I grew up with, and it's easy to see why Fluke has such a strong following. Each book, set around the crime investigations of a Minnesotan baker and the lives of her family and friends, also contains several recipes that relate to the plot.

An adorable concept. The tough thing about this type of book, admittedly, is that several of the characters are recurring and unlikely to be revealed to be killers (although, having only read 1 of a series of 30, who am I to judge?). So I wasn't that surprised by the killer. But enjoyed the experience. Might return again to this world some day. ( )

This book had a much stronger mystery then the previous two! Loved the world and characters as always excited for the next book in this series!
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This book had a much stronger mystery then the previous two! Loved the world and characters as always excited for the next book in this series!
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I guessed who the murderer was about halfway through but I still really enjoyed this one. ( )

#8 in the series, so when the heroine finds the Sheriff dead in the dumpster. she just carries on and solves the mystery. The "cereal murderer" for halloween (box of cornflakes + a kitchen knife) was a cute touch. ( )

It’s October. Minnesota is getting cold. Hannah is teaching a baking class, trying to figure out the “secret ingredient” in a long-deceased town elder’s fudge cupcake recipe, and her brother in law is running for sheriff against the current sheriff. Then, the current sheriff turns up dead… with chocolate cupcake smeared on his shirt. Hannah is working to clear her brother in law’s name, and find that missing ingredient. The trouble is, everyone had a bone to pick with the old sheriff so the suspect list is a mile long. Also, Mosiha won’t eat the cat food the vet wants him to (been there) and only wants cheap “Kitty Crunchies.” How will Hannah get his vitamins into him? As usual, a delightful mix of baking, murder mystery, and fun small-town characters.

Please excuse typos/name misspellings. Entered on screen reader.
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I enjoyed this ending much more than the movie version. It made much more sense. The two guys is kinda fakey but still a fun read. ( )

Though the whole Norman/Mike thing is tiresome it wasn’t so dominant as to overshadow the enjoyment of everything else this book had to offer. ( )

I enjoyed this culinary wonder more than the other ones I have read lately (by another author). Hannah runs a cookie business and also does catering and teaches a cooking class. Good thing she is single. She also discovers the Sheriff's body in a dumpster. There are quite a few clues given so I did have the murderer figured out but a good read, anyway. Good recipes, too! ( )

It’s Hallowe’en and Hannah is running in all directions. She is so busy putting together a community cookbook, trying to avoid wearing a costume at her shop, working hard at enticing her cat to eat his senior food and take his vitamins, deciding if she’d rather be with Norm or with Mike, deciphering a secret ingredient that’s missing from an heirloom recipe, and dealing with her family that she hardly has time investigate a murder. But, of course, she does. This fun cozy is a fast and entertaining tale, and chockfull of great sounding recipes. ( )

Another fun little mystery with more easy recipes. ( )

Things are on the verge of change in Eden Lake, Minnesota. Hannah’s sister, Andrea, and her husband, Bill, are expecting their first child. It’s election time for the sheriff and Bill is running against Sheriff Grant. And, as always happens in an election year, Sheriff Grant is taking credit for cases closed by his officers so that he will look good to the voters.

Hannah, meanwhile, is working on the Eden Lake charity cookbook. She has a copy of Beatrice Koester’s mother-in-law’s fudge cupcake recipe, but one of the ingredients is listed as the “secret ingredient.” And Hannah is trying different additions as she makes batches of cupcakes, trying to find the recipe that tastes “just right.”

When Sheriff Grant wanders through The Cookie Jar’s kitchen, Hannah gives him one of the fudge cupcakes she’s made. And it isn’t long before she finds his body, his shirt smeared with fudge frosting from the cupcake she’d given him earlier.

So, who did in the sheriff? Bill becomes the prime suspect, but any of the other officers who’d had credit for their work unfairly snatched away by the sheriff might be just as likely to have done the deed.

The fifth installment in the Hannah Swensen series finds all of the expected characters moving in and out of The Cookie Jar. Eden Lake anchors the story with its strong sense of place; Hannah, as usual, finds the body and inserts herself into the investigation. But as the story unfolds, the twists and turns in the plot take it in unexpected directions, giving the mystery a bit of substance. A less-serious mystery involving the unidentified cupcake ingredient is a perfect counterpoint to the murder mystery. Now, if Hannah could show just as much determination in deciding between Norman and Mike . . . .

Fans of the series are sure to enjoy this quick-read story. And, of course, there are all those recipes. [But could we please have some fancy cookies that DON’T have oats in them?]

Recommended. ( )

Easy reading, holds you, pacing is just right. ( )

Easy reading, holds you, pacing is just right. ( )

Continuing with my Hannah Swensen Mystery binge audio reading. While the charm of the stories is not as delightful as my first encounter, I do still enjoy the sibling banter between Hannah and Angela, the community and small town life aspects of the stories. What I really liked about this one is there are two mysteries to solve: the expected murder mystery and a bonus culinary mystery. There is nothing more intriguing, IMO, than a closely guarded family recipe that lists a "secret ingredient". While I had no difficulty in solving the murder mystery - and listened as Hannah once again uselessly exposing herself to the risk of yet again finding herself in a murder's cross-hairs (so to speak) - the culinary mystery was a fun head scratch-er! I had a couple of ideas and was pleasantly surprised when the secret ingredient was finally revealed after numerous baking attempts by Hannah and Lisa, her Cookie Jar partner. On the downside, Hannah's love life drama is starting to grate on me.

Overall, another fun visit to the murderous sleepy town of Lake Eden. ( )

Election time and Sheriff Grant's office is being challenged by Hannah's brother-in-law, Bill. Grant isn't particularly happy but it seems that Lake Eden citizens are ready for a change. Bill is in the lead and all is looking good.

When Hannah finds Grant's body in a dumpster on the high school campus where she is teaching a cooking class, things start looking pretty grim for Bill. It also looks bad for Hannah, as Grant has the remnants of fudge frosting on his mouth and shirt. Frosting from cupcakes that the sheriff was eating before he was murdered.

Bill may be the prime suspect, but Hannah thinks otherwise and sets out to prove her point. Along the way she discovers scandals, betrayals and the stuff you'd expect to see in the gossip rags. Lake Eden is just as bad as the big cities when it comes to politics.

I am still reading this series in sequence and thoroughly enjoying it. Also the delicious recipes that are included in the book. ( )

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). ( )

My first read by this author. A light mystery. I enjoyed the recipes and relationship aspect of thsi book more than the murder mystery. A good quick read. ( )

I may have exhausted my enthusiasm for this series. Figured it out on page 197. And I'm getting tired of Hannah's inability to decide between Norman and Mike. ( )

This is the fifth title in the Hannah Swenson series, and another great read for culinary cozy fans. Sheriff Grant has ruled Lake Eden with an iron fist, making plenty of enemies along the way. Hannah’s brother-in-law has decided to run against the sheriff, in the upcoming election. Just as the polls begin to move in Bill’s favor, Hannah makes a startling discovery. She has been teaching a cooking class at the local high school. After cleaning the cooking stations, Hannah takes the trash out behind the school. She discovers Sheriff Grant’s body in a dumpster. Hannah knows Bill is innocent, but he is on leave and cannot interfere with the case. The town now has a dead sheriff, his deputy accused of the murder, and a “real” killer on the loose! This case makes more sense, as Bill is "forced" to allow Hannah to gather evidence. There are some clever red herrings in this one and the suspect list is a long one! ( )

Among the few active series of cozy mysteries I'm following, this one, and to be more precise, this book, is the one who steps up a gear. Indeed, no other books I've read had the guts to kill off the town Sheriff. To sum it up, Sheriff Grant is murdered and the heroine, Hannah's brother-in-law is suspected due to lack of alibi. He's suspended from work, by Hannah's beau, Mike. This is interesting. It would translate well to the screen as a television movie. Or as an animated series, if it were all up to me.

Like a classic hero, Hannah has well defined quests. She has to cater to the culinary needs of her geriatric (and methinks, highly detestable) cat. Secondly, she must solve the identity of the secret ingredient in a recipe that has a publishing deadline. Also, the main quest is that of course, the murder has to be solved. A minor quest, that of the precedents of Harrington, is not uncovered here. It will, no doubt, be in the next book, which I'm dying to read.

Hannah has green fingers it seems, for her workplace has the grapevine running through it lustily. This solves the need to juggle her work and her sleuthing. Detectives interrogate suspects, but Hannah talks to friends. That's what it looks like. The gradual progression in the case was more intriguing, interesting and intricate than ever before. There are no annoying characters this time. The author shows us new situations and uses barely used words. All of them were appealing to me. If the book was a hundred pages leaner, I'd rate this four stars or more. I liked the climax. For someone so quick, Hannah really put her life in jeopardy by taking a senseless risk. I'm amused at how casually Hannah and Andrea discuss her involvement in the case, forgetting that it's life-threatening at all times. I should have guessed the identity of the murderer, as it didn't take a genius to know. But I forgot who was who and I guessed a bit too late. Until next time. ( )

I really enjoy this series as while you are reading you get some good recipes along the way. This book finds Hannah’s sister Andrea on bed rest while very pregnant. The sheriff who’s up for reelection and it is up to Hannah and Andrea to determine who had it out for him. They find themselves needed to clean Andrea’s husband who’s running for Sheriff. We also catch a glimpse of a relationship bonding between Mike and Shawna Lee Quinn and it has Hannah’s temper all over the place. A great enjoyable cookie mystery! ( )

Fudge Cupcake Murder is an enjoyable read like all of Joanne Fluke's novels. They are easy to read and entertaining, the perfect thing to read at the end of a long day work. ( )

Okay, I’ll admit it, I’m a sucker for a cozy mystery series. You give me someone with a fluffy occupation stumbling onto a mystery where she or he manage to outwit the police and solve the crime and I’m all in. Be they housewives, mystery bookstore owners, southern sisters, or small town bakers I love them. I have an infinite ability to suspend disbelief.

I stumbled upon the Hannah Swensen mystery just recently. I know they’ve been around forever and that’s good for me because there’s a nice big back catalog. This is a nice traditional cozy series. None of the murders take place “on screen” and you’re never really worried about the central characters safety. And you get cookie recipes. How can you go wrong.

The one thing I am having a problem with with this series is I can’t quite picture Hannah in my head. I’ll get a picture and then the description of her doesn’t match what’s in my head. I don’t blame the author I know it’s just me but I just can’t get it. So, if anyone is reading this series and has a actress in mind I’d really appreciate a note.

I did like the outing, it seemed reasonable for Hannah to be involved (not that that matters much to me) and I love Hannah’s sister and mother.There’s an fun side mystery involving the secret ingredient in the titled Fudge Cupcakes. I do wish she’d get off the stick and pick one of the two men she bounces back and forth between but I know this should last a bit longer. I have yet to try any of the recipes but I will say they all sound yummy and they look really easy.

Don’t go into these expecting challenging writing or even mystery. They are a little formulaic but the character are charming and I have a fun time when I read them and sometimes that’s all I need in a book. ( )