Hannah Swensen Mysteries
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Hannah Swensen Mysteries are books written by Joanne Fluke. So far in the series there are ten books, the tenth being not yet released, but there are still more planned.
Contents |
[edit] List of Works
- Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder (February 2000)
- Strawberry Shortcake Murder (February 2001)
- Blueberry Muffin Murder (February 2002)
- Lemon Meringue Pie Murder (February 2003)
- Fudge Cupcake Murder (February 2004)
- Sugar Cookie Murder (October 2004)
- Peach Cobbler Murder (February 2005)
- Cherry Cheesecake Murder (March 2006)
- Key Lime Pie Murder (February 2007)
- Carrot Cake Murder (March 2008 - upcoming)
In October 2007, Joanne Fluke will be writing Candy Cane Murder, the title novella in a new holiday mystery anthology. Candy Cane Murder will focus on this new story:
Everyone knows that one of Santa’s jobs is to decide who's been naughty and who's been nice. But not everyone who dons a Santa suit for the holidays is a good judge of character. In this case, a department store Santa at the Tri-County Mall makes a fatal mistake. Killing one of Santa’s helpers goes way beyond naughty and Hannah Swensen and her extended family are determined to catch Santa’s killer.
When Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder was re-released with a new cover art in hardcover as a special revised edition in September 2006, a short story entitled "Candy for Christmas" — telling the story of Hannah's investigation to discover the true identity of a teenage girl named Candy who has taken to sleeping under the Christmas tree in The Cookie Jar, and who makes delicious candies — also came with the original novel.
Also, a holiday-oriented romance anthology titled Sugar and Spice was released in November 2006, and contains a short story titled "The Twelve Desserts of Christmas" that features Hannah Swensen and the rest of her extended family in it.
[edit] Main Characters
Hannah Swensen: Hannah Swensen is thirty-something years old, has flaming frizzy red hair. She is the oldest of the three daughters---Hannah, Andrea, and Michelle---of Delores Swensen. After her father died, Hannah left Macalester College---where she had gone with the hopes of becoming a literature teacher---to help take care of her mother. Hannah lives in a condo suite, and she has taken in a stray orange-and-white cat named Moishe as her pet. Hannah is involved in a love triangle with two men, local dentist Norman Rhodes and detective Mike Kingston. Hannah is unsure of whom she loves more. She makes her living by owning and operating an independent bakery called The Cookie Jar, where she and her young assistant, Lisa Beeseman (nee Herman) make everything by hand. When Hannah is not baking or trying to keep away from the telephone so Delores cannot call her about how fast her biological clock is ticking, Hannah solves murder mysteries.
Andrea Todd: Andrea Todd is Hannah's younger sister, in a very happy marriage to Detective Bill Todd. Andrea is a few years younger than her sister, and has a great body and shiny blonde hair. Andrea has two daughters, Tracey and Bethany. The complete opposite of Hannah, Andrea cares an enormous deal about fashion and the current "in" clothes. Andrea and Hannah's sisterly relationship had been a bit strained, but after they worked together to solve Ron LaSalle's murder the two become much closer. Whenever Hannah starts on solving a murder mystery, Andrea is always very eager to help in any way she can.
Norman Rhodes: Norman Rhodes is Lake Eden's kind, humorous, and fun to be around dentist at the Rhodes Dental Clinic, following in his father's own career footsteps. Norman is in his early forties, and probably not considered as attractive when compared to Detective Mike Kingston. Norman's mother is Carrie Rhodes, one of Hannah's mother Delores's closest friends, and together, Carrie and Delores rambunctiously play matchmaker for Norman and Hannah. But what Hannah loves about Norman is his comfortableness, and how approachable he is when Hannah needs to talk to him. Hannah thinks of him as a big cuddly teddy bear. Norman is also often very eager to help Hannah out in an investigation, and he is immensely protective over her. Norman's biggest hobby---which has sometimes proven quite useful in Hannah's murder sleuthing---is taking photographs, and developing the negatives in his own darkroom. When Norman proposed to Hannah, she turned him down.
Mike Kingston: Mike Kingston is a handsome detective from the Winnetka County Police, who recently moved to Lake Eden from Minneapolis after his pregnant wife, a nurse, was killed in a drive-by shooting. He is also Hannah's love interest, and, like Norman, he is very protective of Hannah. Because of his protectiveness Mike often attempts to advise Hannah to not investigate a new murder mystery, simply for her own safety. Although Mike is fully aware that Hannah will not listen to him, he warns her anyways. Many women in Lake Eden would like to have Mike as their boyfriend or husband. What Hannah loves most about Mike is how he makes her heart beat fast whenever he is around. Hannah was worried that Mike no longer loved her when he began cozying up with Shawna Lwee Quinn, the beautiful blonde Southern-transplant bombshell from Georgia turned to police station secretary. However, these suspicions thankfully turned out to be false. When Mike proposed to Hannah, she also turned him down.
Delores Swensen: The mother of Hannah Swensen, Andrea Todd, and Michelle Swensen, Delores is a widow. She is now pushing sixty years, but no one would ever be able to tell, for, according to Hannah, she "still looks great in a bikini." Similar to Andrea, Delores reads fashion magazines and likes to keep up with the times of fashion and makeup. Delores's matchmaking antics, usually by telephone, towards her oldest and still unmarried daughter often agitate Hannah. Delores positively despises being forced to admit her age to anyone, and simply refuses to do so. She once had a disastrous year-or-so long relationship with Lord Winthrop Harrington II.
Lisa Beeseman: Lisa Beeseman (nee Herman) is Hannah's twenty-year-old extremely hardworking and kindhearted baking assistant at The Cookie Jar. Lisa's kind mother has been dead for some time, and when her father Jack Herman started showing early signs of Alzheimer's, Lisa made the difficult decision to not attend college at stay in Lake Eden to take care of her father. Lisa recently married Herb Beeseman, Lake Eden's roads patrolling officer. Herb is the only son of Marge Beeseman, and since Marge and Jack dated in high school, Marge enjoys sitting with Jack, so Lisa has more time to enjoy herself. Like Andrea, Lisa is always ready and eager to help Hannah investigate a murder.
Bill Todd: The loving husband of Hannah's younger sister Andrea, Bill Todd is also a Winnetka County police officer, and Mike is one of his colleagues and closest friends. Due to the untimely and sudden murder of Ted Grant, Lake Eden's current sheriff, Bill was able to win the town election as sheriff of Lake Eden. Bill is the gentle father of two daughters, Tracey and Bethany. Similar to Mike, Bill often discourages Hannah from bringing herself into yet another murder investigation; Bill, however, does not seem as serious about worrying for Hannah's nonexistent uncertain safety while she is sleuthing around, for he knows his sister-in-law well enough to know that she can definitely take care of herself when she needs to.
Michelle Swensen: The youngest of the three Swensen sisters, Michelle is as of right now attending Macalester College, away from Lake Eden. Michelle seems to be somewhere in between the personalities of Hannah and Andrea; Michelle is knowledgeable well enough in fashion to have a clothes conversation with Andrea, but she also contains some of Hannah's less girly traits, as well. When Michelle first came back form college for two weeks during a summer for the 4th of July celebration, she began a tight friendship with Lisa Herman, because of their closeness in ages. Michelle is in an exclusive, very secretive, and sometimes long-distance relationship with Lake Eden local Lonnie Murphy. Because of college, Michelle is not often featured. But when she is, however, Michelle is equally readily eager to help Hannah investigate a murder.
Carrie Rhodes: Carrie Rhodes is Norman's constantly-worrying mother and Delores's best friend. Carrie and Delores first met when Delores set up a date between Hannah and Norman, and they have been close ever since. One thing these two quirky widows they share in common is their burning desire to marry off their children to each other. Carrie and Delores also run Lake Eden's antique shop, Granny's Attic, across the street from The Cookie Jar together. Carrie is always eager to help Hannah investigate murders by keeping her ears open on the town's gossip hotline for clues.
Tracey Todd: Tracey Todd is Hannah's adorable blonde six-year-old niece; Tracey is Andrea and Bill's first daughter, the second being baby Bethany. Tracey is known all around Lake Eden for her immense cuteness---her pretty blonde hair and blue eyes already show early signs of her mother Andrea's beauty---amazing intelligence for a child her age, and her skills as a child actress: Tracey appeared as the younger version of the main character in Crisis in Cherrywood, the movie which was filmed in Lake Eden. Tracey is very aware of what is going on between the adults around her and can instinctively tell when Hannah is pondering investigating another murder.
[edit] Novels
The following summaries are from the book jackets.
Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder: Discover the delicious mystery that started it all!
No one cooks up a delectable, suspense-filled mystery quite like Hannah Swensen, Joanne Fluke’s dessert-baking, red-haired heroine whose gingersnaps are as tart as her comebacks, and whose penchant for solving crimes — one delicious clue at a time — has made her a bestselling favorite. And it all began on these pages, with a bakery, a murder, and some suddenly scandalous chocolate chip cookies. Featuring a bonus short story and brand new, mouthwatering recipes, this limited edition of the very first Hannah Swensen mystery is sure to have readers coming back for seconds.
Hannah Swensen already has her hands full trying to dodge her mother’s attempts to marry her off while running The Cookie Jar, Lake Eden, Minnesota’s most popular bakery. But once Ron LaSalle, the beloved delivery man from the Cozy Cow Dairy, is found murdered behind her bakery with Hannah’s famous Chocolate Chip Crunch Cookies scattered around him, her life just can’t get any worse. Determined not to let her cookies get a bad reputation, she sets out to track down a killer.
Who would have the sheer audacity — and the motive — to kill the most punctual delivery man Hannah ever had? Topping the list is the high school football coach. What exactly was his wife doing, making the rounds with the milkman? Could Max Turner, owner of Cozy Cow Dairy, have had a secret he didn’t want to share with his top employee? The more Hannah snoops, the more suspects turn up. Why has Lake Eden’s most prominent prodigal son, Benton Woodley, just resurfaced? And what about the mysterious Mr. Harris who seemed interested in buying the property next to the dairy, but then disappeared? This is one murder that’s starting to leave a very bad taste in Hannah’s mouth. And if she doesn’t watch her back, Hannah’s sweet life may get burned to a crisp.
Filled with a healthy sprinkling of humor and a delightful assortment of nuts, Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder serves up a great new mystery series and introduces a delicious, down-home sleuth that mystery readers will surely savor for years to come.
Strawberry Shortcake Murder: In her debut mystery, Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder, intrepid amateur sleuth and bakery owner Hannah Swensen proved that when it comes to crime, nothing is sweeter than a woman who knows how to really mix it up. Now, the flame-haired, tart-talking (and baking) heroine is back, judging a contest where the competition is really murder.
When the president of Hartland Flour chooses cozy Lake Eden, Minnesota, as the spot for their first annual Dessert Bake-Off, Hannah is thrilled to serve as the head judge. But when a fellow judge, Coach Boyd Watson, is found stone-cold dead, facedown in Hannah's celebrated strawberry shortcake, Lake Eden's sweet ride to fame turns very sour indeed.
Between perfecting her Cheddar Cheese Apple Pie and Chocolate Crunches, Hannah's snooping into the coach's private life and not coming up short on suspects. And could Watson's harsh criticism during the judging have given one of the contestants a license to kill? The stakes are rising faster than dough, and Hannah will have to be very careful, because somebody is cooking up a recipe for murder...with Hannah landing on the "necessary ingredients" list.
Blueberry Muffin Murder: Bakery owner Hannah Swensen is back — and the cookies are crumbling — as acclaimed author Joanne Fluke serves readers another helping of murder, mayhem, and mouthwatering mystery... With charming characters, a quaint small-town setting, and exciting plot twists, Blueberry Muffin Murder is a tempting treat that will leave mystery readers hungry for more.
Preparations are underway for Lake Eden, Minnesota's annual Winter Carnival — and Hannah Swensen is set to bake up a storm at her popular shop, The Cookie Jar. Too bad the honor of creating the official Winter Carnival cake went to famous lifestyle maven Connie Mac — a half-baked idea, in Hannah's opinion. She suspects Connie Mac is a lot like the confections she whips up on her cable TV cooking show — sweet, light, and scrumptious-looking, but likely to leave a bitter taste in your mouth.
Hannah's suspicions are confirmed when Connie Mac's limo rolls into town. Turns out America's "Cooking Sweetheart" is bossy, bad-tempered, and downright domineering. Things finally broil over when Hannah arrives at The Cookie Jar to find the Winter Carnival cake burnt to a crisp — and Connie Mac lying dead in her pantry, struck down while eating one of Hannah's famous blueberry muffins.
Next thing Hannah knows, the police have declared The Cookie Jar's kitchen crime scene off-limits... She's a baker without an oven — and the Carnival is right around the corner. Hannah's only alternative is to cook up a plan to save her business — by finding the killer herself. But there are more suspects in this case then there are ingredients in Hannah's Multiple Choice Bar Cookies.
There's Connie Mac's assistant, Janie, who's been MIA since the night of the murder — and a local photographer who got fed up with the home-making diva's incessant demands. Not to mention all of Connie Mac's disgruntled employees, including a driver she callously canned, and her unhappy attorney, Alan Carpenter. Hannah's starting to realize that she may have bitten off more than she can chew — and that solving this crime won't exactly be a piece of cake.
Lemon Meringue Pie Murder: The residents of Lake Eden, Minnesota, are planning to paint the town red, white, and blue to celebrate the Fourth of July — but the fireworks are already going off at Hannah Swensen’s bake shop, The Cookie Jar...
Hannah Swensen thought she’d finally discovered the recipe for a perfect life. But her sometime beau Norman Rhodes tosses a surprise ingredient into the mix when he phones to tell her he’s just bought a house from local drugstore clerk Rhonda Scharf — which he plans to tear down in order to build the dream home he and Hannah designed. It seems the plan has been cooking for quite some time, and Hannah’s shocked. Especially since her ring finger is still very much bare.
The good news is that the soon-to-be-torn-down house is full of antiques – and Norman has given Hannah and her mother first dibs. They uncover some gorgeous old furniture, a patchwork quilt… and Rhonda Scharf’s dead body. Not exactly what they were looking for. A little more sleuthing turns up the half-eaten remains of a very special dinner for two — and one of The Cookie Jar’s famous lemon meringue pies. It’s obvious Rhonda was expecting someone for dinner — perhaps one of the men she was secretly dating. Now it’s up to Hannah to turn up the heat — and get busy tracking down clues. Starting in her very own kitchen...
Fudge Cupcake Murder: For bakery owner Hannah Swensen, life in Lake Eden, Minnesota, seems to be lacking a certain flavor. It's not that she doesn't enjoy teaching a weekly "Potluck Cooking Class" at the community outreach center. Or that she's not excited about her sister Andrea's bun in the oven — watching the very pregnant Andrea try to sit on a stool at The Cookie Jar is worth it every time.
Maybe it's this year's sheriff's election that's got her down. For years, Sheriff Grant's been the iron hand in town. But now, Hannah's brother-in-law Bill is giving the old blowhard the fight of his long, dubious career — and Grant's not taking it in stride, especially once the local polls, and The Cookie Jar gossip, show Bill pulling ahead.
But before anyone can get a taste of victory, things go sour. Just as Hannah's emptying the trash, she makes a very unappetizing discovery: Sheriff Grant's body in the dumpster behind the high school where she's teaching her cooking class. And if that weren't bad enough, the poor man still has fudge frosting on his shirt from the cupcake she gave him earlier. She'd been trying to find the secret ingredient left out of the recipe. Now she has a more important mystery to crack.
The number one suspect is none other than Bill. In fact, he's the only suspect. But Hannah's not swallowing it. Plenty of people had reason to hate Sheriff Grant, starting with all the deputies whose cases he stole during election years just so he could take the glory. Even his long-suffering wife Nettie isn't blame-free. Rumor has it the Grants were doing some serious feuding and had a skeleton rattling around in their closet. Soon, Hannah's dishing up scandalous secrets, steaming hot betrayals, and enough nastiness to keep the gossip mill at The Cookie Jar going through several pots of decaf. And the closer Hannah gets to the truth, the closer she gets to smoking out a murderer with a very nasty recipe for silencing people. Will Hannah be able to stand the heat when someone wants her out of the kitchen... for good?
Sugar Cookie Murder: The holidays are the icing on the cake for bakery owner Hannah Swensen. Surrounded by her loved ones, she has all the ingredients for a perfect Christmas — until murder is added to the mix...
When it comes to the holidays, Minnesotans rise to the occasion--and the little town of Lake Eden is baking up a storm with Hannah leading the way. The annual Christmas Buffet is the final test of the recipes Hannah has collected for the Lake Eden Holiday Buffet Cookbook.
While Hannah is baking the day's goodies at The Cookie Jar, the evening's plans begin to jell. Start with the best Lake Eden culinary creations, add two of Hannah's "sometimes" boyfriends, a pinch of her ready-to-pop pregnant sister, and a dash of her mother and a new significant other, an actual British lord, and what do you get? A recipe for disaster, but the juiciest ingredient is yet to come...
The recently divorced Martin Dubinski arrives at the buffet with his new Vegas showgirl wife — all wrapped up in glitter and fur. His ex-wife, however, seems as cool as chilled eggnog. And when Hannah's mother's antique Christmas cake knife disappears, its discovery in the décolletage of the new — and now late — Mrs. Dubinski puts the festivities on ice.
With everyone stranded at the community center by a blizzard, Hannah puts her investigative skills to the test, using the ingredients at hand: half the town of Lake Eden — and a killer. Now, as the snowdrifts get higher, it's up to Hannah to dig out all the clues —and make sure that this white Christmas doesn't bring any more deadly tidings...
Peach Cobbler Murder: With The Cookie Jar, Hannah Swensen has a mouthwatering monopoly on the bakery business of Lake Eden, Minnesota. But when a rival store opens, tensions begin to bubble...
As she sits in her nearly empty store on Groundhog Day, Hannah can only hope that spring is just around the corner — and that the popularity of the new Magnolia Blossom Bakery is just a passing fad. The southern hospitality of Lake Eden's two Georgia transplants, Shawna Lee and Vanessa Quinn, is grating on Hannah's nerves — and cutting into her profits.
At least Hannah has her business partner Lisa's wedding to look forward to. She's turned one of Lisa's favorite childhood treats into a spectacular Wedding Cookie Cake. And Lisa's aunt will be bringing her famous Peach Cobbler to the reception. But Hannah starts to steam when she finds out that Shawna Lee has been invited — and is bringing her own Peach Cobbler.
Hannah doesn't like having the Georgia Peach in the mix, especially when both Shawna Lee and Hannah's sometime-boyfriend, Detective Mike Kingston, are no-shows to the wedding. Hannah has suspected that Mike is interested in more than Shawna Lee's baking abilities. So when she sees lights on at the Magnolia Blossom Bakery after the reception, she investigates — and finds Shawna Lee shot to death.
Everyone in town knew The Cookie Jar was losing business to the Magnolia Blossom Bakery — a fact that puts Hannah at the top of the initial list of suspects. But with a little help from her friends, Hannah's determined to prove that she wasn't the only one who had an axe to grind with the Quinn sisters. Somebody wasn't fooled by the Georgia Peaches and their sweet-as-pie act — and now it's up to Hannah to track down whoever had the right ingredients to whip up a murder...
Cherry Cheesecake Murder: Hannah Swensen and her bakery, The Cookie Jar, bask in the glow of Hollywood glamour when Main Street becomes a movie set. And although tensions simmer as the cameras roll, no one expects the action to turn deadly... until it's too late...
There's no such thing as privacy in Lake Eden, but Hannah never thought things would go this far. Everyone has been telling her what to do ever since she got not one but two marriage proposals. The votes are evenly divided between Detective Mike Kingston and town dentist Norman Rhodes.
Movie mania soon shoves Hannah's marriage dilemma into the background and even gives her cat a shot at stardom. The Cookie Jar serves as snack central with Main Street rented out for the week. Hannah is stunned to see producer Ross Barton, an old college buddy who is now handsome, famous, and single. She stirs lots of fresh gossip whipping up treats for cast and crew, including demanding director Dean Lawrence's favorite: cherry cheesecake.
Everything's on schedule until Dean demonstrates a suicide scene with a prop gun that turns out to be all too real. Hannah's on the case in a flash. There are plenty of suspects to go around, starting with the lead actress Lynne Larchmont — one of a slew of female visitors to Dean's trailer — whose husband Tom is financing the film. Then there's Tom Larchmont himself, forty years his wife's senior, and smitten enough to be motivated by jealousy. Ross Barton was constantly keeping Dean out of trouble... could he have had enough? Local Winnie Henderson publicly threatened to kill Dean to stop him for moving her brother's statue. And what about male star Burke Anson? He's argued with Dean about something mysterious the morning of the murder.
As filming continues, Hannah shifts through the clues, hoping against hope that the person responsible for Dean's death is half-baked enough to have made a mistake. When it happens, Hannah intends to be there — ready to rewrite a killer's lethal script with the kind of quirky ending that can only happen in Lake Eden.
Key Lime Pie Murder: It's Tri-County fair time and Lake Eden, Minnesota, is buzzing with more than mosquitoes. Hannah Swensen, owner of The Cookie Jar, is hot on the trail of a killer whose perfect carnival prize would be getting away with murder...
It promises to be a busy week for Hannah Swensen. Not only is she whipping up treats for the chamber of commerce booth at the fair; she's also judging the baking contest; acting as a magician's assistant for her business partner's husband; trying to coax Moishe, her previously rapacious feline, to end his hunger strike, and performing her own private carnival act by juggling the demands of her mother and sisters.
With so much on her plate, it's no wonder Hannah finds herself on the midway only moments before the fair closes for the night. As the lights click off, she realizes that she's not alone among the shuttered booths and looming carnival attractions. After hearing a suspicious thump, she goes snooping–only to discover Willa Sunquist, a student teacher and fellow bake contest judge, dead alongside an upended key lime pie. But who would want to kill Willa and why? Before long Hannah is sifting through motives and a list of suspects which include a high school student Willa flunked, the hot-blooded brothers of a disqualified beauty contestant, a rodeo cowboy, a baking competitor who failed to win her yearly blue ribbon, and the college professor Willa was dating.
As fair week draws to a close, Hannah cranks up the heat, hoping that the killer will get rattled and make a mistake. If that happens she intends to be there, even if it means getting on a carnival ride that could very well be her last...
Carrot Cake Murder: In the midst of helping Lisa organize family events, entertainment, and food for her and Herb's family reunion on the shores of Eden Lake, there's a murder, and Lisa enlists Hannah Swensen's crime-solving expertise. In the course of interviewing Claire Rodgers, owner of Lake Eden's dress boutique, Hannah and her sisters decide that Claire has delayed announcing her engagement to Reverend Knudson, the Lutheran minister, quite long enough. And if Claire and the Reverend are too nervous to tell his congregation, they'll just have to "help." While baking, running her coffee shop, and sleuthing, Hannah finally learns Norman's secret, Mike delivers a big surprise, Delores delivers a startling announcement, and even Moishe adds to the mix with a predicament of his own. Despite it all, Hannah manages to triumph and catch the killer with the help of her friends and extended family.
[edit] External links
- Murder, She Baked: The Official Hannah Swensen Mysteries Site
- Joanne Fluke Interview on TheMysteryReader.com
