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Christmas Cake Murder

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Christmas Cake Murder by Joanne Fluke
Have read most all of other books in the series, can be read as standalone also.
This one starts out when Hannah is just in college and they've lost their dad. Delores, their mom is taking it bad spending a lot of time in bed, napping.
One day her friends come up with a suggestion that might help get her going again. Only she'd be able to handle the huge event.
She accepts and we learn about how it all came together and what she has to do to make the event a huge accomplishment.
What I like also is that Essie has notebooks of stories she had written and it's played out by other characters. Love getting two stories in one book.
Love hearing how the cookie shop started-had no idea after 25 books.
Like hearing of the regular day when their dad was alive and how he'd spill food on his clean shirt-reminds me so much of my husband also.
There are many components to the Christmas Ball and a cake parade is one of them, sounds so yummy and colorful.
Loved lerning new things: spray Pam in spoon before measuring molasses! it won't stick!
Quite the mystery surrounding Essie, glad it got solved! Conversion tables at th eend of the book.
Recipes included after every other chapter that relate to the topics in those chapters.
Received this review copy from Kensington Books via Netgalley and this is my honest opinion.
#ChristmasCakeMurder #NetGalley

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Christmas Cake Murder by Joanne Fluke is the 23rd book in the Hannah Swensen series, and an enjoyable read. This book goes back in time before opening of The Cookie Jar. It's Christmas time, and Hannah agrees to help with the Christmas Ball to honor Essie Granger. Hannah is determined to learn all she can about Essie, but when fiction become fact, Hannah is determined to find answers. I found this book interesting, I enjoyed getting a look at how The Cookie Jar started. Looking forward to reading the next book in the series. I recommended this book and series for cozy book lovers. Recipes included.

I received this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

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I will always read Joanna Fluke, there I have said it and I no longer feel guilty. I have read and reviewed all of the books and the past couple have been the brunt of some critical reviews. Christmas Cake Murder falls into the “let’s say the same set of facts over and over and over” it makes me wonder if for this short novel (novella) Joanne was told it has to be over 200 pages and she went back through and added in the same points so that the reader would not forget that Essie is in the hospice wing of the hospital but only because she has a broken hip, is not terminal but just cannot climb the flight of steps to the two rooms she occupies in the hotel. This is not a spoiler and will also not be the last time you hear about this.
The recipes in this one like all of the others look super easy and delicious. Many made my mouth water. A fun easy read in all, but I wish there was more Murder and intrigue.

I received an ARC from the publisher and chose to write a fair and honest review.

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A Christmas Cake Murder by Joanne Fluke is the latest in the Hannah Swensen mystery series.
Fluke takes us back in time to how Hannah came to start the cookie shop. It is also before Moishe and her love triangle.
It is a quick read and will get you in the mood for Christmas.
There is of course, a mystery, along with humor, and some yummy recipes.
I enjoyed the story though it was different then any of the others in this series and I have read all of them. I feel that Fluke is back as I have been some what disappointed in the last couple books.
I was given an ARC from Netgalley for an honest review.

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Lovers of the Hannah Swenson murder/recipe series will certainly be in for a real treat with Joanne Fluke's lasted release in the series, Christmas Cake Murder.

This book veers from Fluke's usual mystery as it opens with our heroine Hannah Swenson still in college, her sister Michelle and her friend Lisa in High School, her sister Andrea pregnant with her first child and sadly with Hanna's dad's recent passing. During the story we learn how Hannah moved from a college student to a bakery owner. A great backstory idea I might add!

Intertwined is a story about a Lake Eden elderly resident, Essie Granger. She has fallen on hard times and the whole community comes together to create a fundraiser called the Christmas Ball which is a party she had attended years ago. They also try to duplicate a Christmas Cake Parade in which there are multiple cakes with candles walked around the room....see all the yummy recipes which are gathered in the book for holiday baking ideas.

Essie had dabbled in writing years ago and Hannah finds her notebooks and begins to read them and hence begins the Christmas Cake Murder,

As with all of Fluke's books recipes are attached to many of the chapters, a few I will be trying for sure. Oh, and reader beware! DO NOT READ THIS WHEN YOU ARE HUNGRY!

The Christmas Cake Murder is a fast-paced enjoyable cozy mystery waiting to be read with a cup of hot chocolate and some yummy cookies.

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I really enjoyed THE CHRISTMAS CAKE MURDER by Joanne Fluke. I had never read any of Fluke`s novels before but now can`t wait to start from the beginning and read them all.

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Thanks to Netgalley, Kensington Books and Joanne Fluke for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are 100% my own and independent of receiving an advanced copy.

So you know when it is a Saturday afternoon, it’s quiet outside and you’re in one of those moods when you just want to curl up in front of the TV. A Hallmark movie or some such comes on and for the next two hours you surrender yourself to pure saccharine. Ahhh bliss…

First let me say - you have to be in the mood for this type of novel or don’t bother. It is formulaic, the writing accessible, the characters stock. Usually set in a small town where everyone knows your name. They are always super happy, not a serious care in the world, supportive - a real community. There will be a mystery to solve, but nothing violent and sans any twisty turns. Don’t look for high literature, descriptive flowy scenes, deep and thoughtful statements on life. You know what you are getting.

But in the mood I was, and Fluke delivered, yet again. Pure escapism and I loved every bit of it.

If you are familiar with the Hannah Swensen series, you will feel right at home. We go back in time to when Hannah has left school and returned to Lake Eden to help console her mother, after her father recently passed. Hannah is baking up a storm and realizes that this might be her path after all. You get to witness the opening of “The Cookie Jar”. If you can’t tell from the titles of these novels, baking is very much a part of each and every one. Hannah has a passion for baking and as a bonus, each chapter has her amazing recipes that you make yourself, at home. The premise this time is that they are trying to recreate the Christmas Cake Parade. Essie, an elderly woman beloved by all, has had an accident and is laid up. She has also fallen on hard times but has been too proud to say anything. She remembers the Christmas Ball fondly and would love to see it one more time. This will be a great project for Hannah’s mother to get involved in to get her back in the swing of things. Hannah has been tasked with baking all the cakes for the parade. The whole community will need to pitch in to get the old Hotel ready for the ball. While getting some things from home for Essie, Hannah comes across these boxes full of pages of what looks like a manuscript. It turns out Essie was writing a book! This is where the mystery comes in. I don’t think I’m spoiling anything when I tell you everything works out amazing for everyone. All the ends are neatly tied up and I wouldn’t have it any other way. In fact, I’m counting on it.

I don’t think there is anything wrong with a little fluff in my life. It is what I love about reading. There are so many different types of books out there, each like a different dessert that Hannah makes, and if it tastes good - don’t we all enjoy it? Who cares if it is a cookie, cake, meringue, brownie - bring it on. The best things about reading is - no calories!

Fluke has done great job, yet again, with this latest instalment. I enjoy spending time with daughters who love mothers, mothers who are nothing but supportive, friends that care for each other and a community that reaches out to help those in need. It’s a world I like to live in, even if it is just for an afternoon. So if that is what you are in the mood for - this one takes the cake! (I know, I know, I couldn’t resist)

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I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This book was fantastic; learning how Hannah started The Cookie Jar was very exciting. Learning more about Delores, Michelle, & Andrea was interesting too. And we all know Hannah can't go anywhere without there being a murder. Very well written and entertaining as all of Joanne Fluke's books are. Enjoy!

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Joanne Fluke writes a fun, short, and easy read about the beginning of Hannah’s knack for solving mysteries. We get to visit Lake Eden before The Cookie Jar was a reality, get an introduction to the many cast of characters we have come to know and love, and see how Hannah solves her first mystery. We even get a mystery within a mystery? But you’d have to read the novel to find out how. It’s a perfect novel for longtime fans of this series to see how it all began, as well as introduce new readers to all the fun.

And, of course, there’s recipes!!

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I absolutely love this series! It’s by far my favorite cozy mystery series ever and I loved reading about how it all started for Hannah and The Cookie Jar! Can’t wait for the next!

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Joanne Fluke and Hannah Swenson provide some of my favorite reading. Hannah is as familiar as an old family friend but she manages to get into so many adventures, you'll wonder if trouble follows her around. With her friends and her sister to help, she solves some of the most puzzling mysteries. This one takes her from reading crime mysteries to solving them. Joanne Fluke's characters are fun and her stories exciting without giving me nightmares. I'll keep reading them as long as she keeps writing them.

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This book goes back in time to when Hannah had returned home from dropping out of college and was living with her mother. The best part of the book was that there was no Russ, Norman, or Mike. I know that sounds bad but I think Ms. Fluke might have written herself into a corner and isn't sure how to get back out so instead she time warps. What was a bit grating in this prequel installment was that everyone agreed with everything everyone said, to the point of pretty much repeating it back verbatim, and things moved way too smoothly and quickly with no problems. It was Minnesota Nice on overload. However, I keep reading these books partially because they are very low key and nice. People are generally well intentioned and if they aren't then usually they are the killer or victim. The stories are easy to read and the recipes are tasty.

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I really loved this prequel to the series. It's wonderful how all of the details from everyone's earlier lives are worked into this story - Hannah's father's recent death, Lisa's mother still living, the story of how Delores (and her daughters) were left well off by Lars, etc. - and how The Cookie Jar came to be. I also really enjoyed Essie's story - it added intrigue and excitement and was so interesting! I haven't been a fan of some of the plotline in the last few books in the series, so it was also nice to have a story about all of our friends without having to think about those issues. I would definitely recommend this for Hannah Swensen fans.

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I was a little concerned when I saw that this was actually a prequel to the rest of the series. However, I thought I would give it a try. I will say that I did enjoy this story. It isn't exactly Hannah finds a body and then Hannah finds a killer. There is a story within the story. I enjoyed finding out how Hannah was able to start the Cookie Jar. It was fun to see Michelle in high school. This story helped to flesh out more of the characters that I love in the following books. It was also written before Hannah is smitten with not one but two suitors. This series is always fun and the stories are a quick and enjoyable read. The recipes supplied are and added bonus. I received a copy through Netgalley. I review was not required.

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This book takes us back all the way to the beginning of The Cookie Jar and how Hannah Swenson's shop and sleuthing began. I loved it. We get to know her family and town in an entirely new way. We get really experience the butterflies and beginnings of how The Cookie Jar came to be. We understand who she really was at this time in her life and the heartbreaks that led to her coming home when she did and how her life changed direction. For an author to be able to reel you in and share all the feels with you even though you know what comes in the future isn't easy but Joanne Fluke certainly makes it look like it is. I absolutely loved this book and highly recommend it.


Thank you to Joanne Fluke, NetGalley, Kensington, and Penguin Random House Publishing Services for the chance to read this book and share my honest thoughts and opinions with others.

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Thanks to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book. This is a prequel to the series - Hannah has come home from college after her disastrous relationship with a professor that she mentions in the later books. Her father has just died, and Dolores is in despair. Her two friends come to visit and give Dolores a task that she cannot refuse to do - organize a Christmas ball for their old friend Essie. Essie has been living in a hotel without heat or electricity (wow!) and fell and broke her hip. Now she's in the hospital. Hannah, Melanie, Lisa and Dolores go to her hotel room and get her favourite clothes and items for the ball, and find a pile of notebooks filled with her handwriting. Essie tells them she was writing a novel and that they can read the notebooks. In it is the story of a young pregnant woman running away from New York and finding a new home in Minnesota. She running from the mob and they have killed her husband.

Dolores talks to Hannah about whether she wants to return to university to get her doctorate, and Hannah says she doesn't, what she wants to do is to open a bakery. Hannah is taken to a bakery that recently closed by her mother who tells her that the money she and her husband had budgeted for her education could now be used to rent the bakery. She also shows her a used truck (now her cookie truck) and shows her a beautiful condo where Hannah still lives. It was fun learning how Hannah came to start her business. I enjoyed this story very much, and am looking forward to reading one that tells us about Ross!

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So happy to get back to the storyline before the last two books. This is a prequel. I am a little confused wasn’t Hannah college love Ross not Brad?

What I liked:

I like that this is a prequel.
Nice to get back to the old story lines.
Not tons of romance- no love triangles.
The recipes look good.
The story inside the story was good.

What I did not like:

This still felt stilted. Not so sure someone else isn’t actually doing the writing.

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Christmas Cake Murder by Joanne Fluke is the twenty third installment in Hannah Swensen mystery series and I must say even though I loved previous book this one has left me cold.

Hannah's father has just passed away and her mother is having a hard time dealing with it so Hannah gets help from the local ladies to engage Dolores in organizing a ball in honor of Essie, the local lady who is in hospice care, to take her mind of her sorrow.
When Hannah stumbles upon Essie's old notebooks where she had written a story about young woman escaping dangers on New York streets.
Interesting beginning and I like story within the story but I am sorry to say that this didn't deliver.
Murder doesn't happen almost till the end of the book and I found dialogue somewhat stilted and unnatural.
Also there are a lot of facts being repeated over and over. All in all this book is nothing that I got to expect from the author.

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I've never been so glad to go back in time in a series! Christmas Cake Murder takes us back before Hannah's ill-fated marriage, before Norman and Mike are introduced, and before the true loves of Hannah's life; Moishe and the Cookie Jar. While Christmas Cake Murder is the 23rd book in the series, it is the prequel that sets up Hannah's life in Lake Eden.

Hannah, along with her mother, find themselves at a crossroad after the death of the family patriarch. While Hannah originally intends to help her family navigate the first holiday season without her father, Hannah begins to embrace her passion for baking and opens up to the idea of leaving her master's program to live in Lake Eden. Along the way, although it's pretty deep into the story, Hannah stumbles upon her first mystery (that we know of). There's a fun story-within-the-story concept and even though the book felt like less of a mystery than other stories in the series, I absolutely loved this glimpse into the past.

I've read all the books in the series and I just haven't loved the recent stories involving Ross nearly as much. There was also a notable dip in the quality of the storytelling. While the mystery is a bit light, the Hannah I know and love has returned in Christmas Cake Murder, along with a better quality of writing, and I couldn't be happier! I'm very thankful to have received this book early in exchange for an honest review.

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Hannah Swanson has dreams of opening her own bakery. She is helping her mother with the baking for the Christmas Ball, for a beloved neighbor Essie. Essie has fallen and broken her hip. She's in the hospital and would her Christmas wish is the reacreation of the Christmas Ball. When Hannah and her mother go to collect some of Essie's belongings they find old notebooks. In the notebooks is a story of love, loss, and adventure. The notebooks turn out to be Essie's life. When Essie is shot at during the Christmas Ball, Hannah is on the case to figure out why. I loved this book. It was a cozy mystery.

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