This is the 26th book in the Hannah Swensen series by Joanne Fluke and I never find myself getting bored. The mysteries are well written and engaging and this book is no exception. Hannah and her family and friends work to solve a slightly different mystery in this book. Fortunately this time Hannah and her mother, Delores, along with Norman's mother, Carrie, find Joe Smith before he passes away. This book involves them solving the mystery of his lost memory. It makes for a very heart warming holiday tome.
Hannah's underlying desire to help those in need is showcased in this novel. Between the town events and charities and her desire to help Joe determine his past, Hannah's wonderful personality shines. As a reader you cannot help but feel you want to be right in the mix of things, sitting in Hannah's living room or the Cookie Jar chatting right along with all of the cast of characters. Hannah's strong friendship with Norman is readily apparent and you can feel how torn she is between his support and the physical draw of Mike. Her sister, Andrea, is struggling to find her identity with a baby at home. She feels strained having a baby, as she doesn't have the strong maternal connection for a child at this age, and struggles with the guilt of hiring her nanny. Something many women experience as they raise their children and realize some people are better connected at different stages of their children's lives.
This is all in addition to the wonderful sweets Hannah bakes at her Cookie Jar store. It's hard not to find your mouth watering as you read the delicious recipes. For those who are avid bakers the recipes are included in each chapter.
All in all the characters and the storyline is definitely believable and one the reader can immerse themselves in while reading the story.
Christmas Cupcake Murder by Joanne Fluke
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
It is always a treat to read about Hannah and the Swensen clan. This book actually takes place earlier in the timeline of the books before Delores and Carrie have opened the antiques shop. The normal cast of characters are present though, Doc, Norman, Mike, Andrea and Bill all help Hannah solve a mystery in this installment. The family and friends are very believable and you want to join in on there gatherings and meals. This book showcases Hannah's benevolent and caring side as well as her baking prowess. It is always wonderful to visit Eden Lake, MN and I cannot wait to read the next book set there.
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Challenge Prompts
The Challenge Prompts I will use this for are:
- Library Love #LibraryLoveChallenge Book #11
- Literary Escapes #LiteraryEscapes MN
- Alphabet Soup Author Edition #AlphabetSoupAuthorChallenge
- Finishing the Series #FinishingTheSeries2021 series 7 caught up on series
- Virtual Mount TBR #VirtualMountTBR2021 Book #13
- Back List Reader #Backlistreader Book #16
- Calendar of Crime #CalendarOfCrime2021
- Cruisin thru Cozies culinary 2
- Cloak & Dagger #CloakDaggerChal Book #10
- Craving for Cozies Book #8
- Around the Year in 52 Books #21. A book whose title and author both contain the letter "u"
- 52 Book Club #the52bookclub2021 #43 A Character With A Pet Cat
- The Unofficial Magnus Archives Challenge #TMARC21 #50. Gertrude: author/MC has a cat
- Nerd Daily #NERDREADING2021 #33. HOLIDAY EVENT THEMED
- Bookworm #26.) Read a book for under $5
- Magic in the Books Book 7 #7 Book with a happy ending
- Pick your Poison #25-4 A book borrowed from the library
- Medical Examiner Challenge 0 Toe Tags
- Beachcomber Challenge
- Crime Scenes
- Row 4
- Street or sidewalk
- Weapons
- Row 2
- Rock, brick, blunt object
- Detectives- Hannah/Norman/Mike/Andrea
- Victims- Joe
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