I've eagerly awaited every Hannah Swenson book and was so happy to get a copy through NetGalley. While it did seem like there were more recipes in this one than before, which broke up the flow of the narrative, there were several that sounded really tasty. Joanne Fluke is always easy and fun to read and again, she is on my "can't wait until the next one" list.

I'm a big fan of Hannah Swensen and this is book 27 in the series. When sister Andrea has a loud fight with Mayor Bascome she becomes a suspect when he is found murdered. It's spring in Lake Eden and Hannah is busy baking for her Easter rush. All of my favorite characters are back and they all contribute to the investigation. This is another great entry into this cooking series and of course the book is full of yummy recipes. I received a copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

When you read one of Joanne Fluke's Hannah Swenson books, you aren't doing it for the mystery or twisty plot points. Basically you are going to Lake Eden, to visit with Hannah and her family and friends...and of course, the recipes. It's the equivalent of sitting in front of a cozy fire with tea and a cookie. As long as that's your expectation, you'll have a lovely visit with old friends. Rounding up from 3 and a half stars.

Triple choclate Cheescske Murder by Joanne Fluke is the 27th book in the series. I found this author many years ago and have read most if not all of her books. I love Hannah and her gang, but felt a little out of sync with all the recipes in this book. I would rather they be placed at the end of the book so as not to slow down my reading progress. I liked this book very much otherwise. I love the relationships that have developed over the series and the plots are interesting. I will continue to read Joanne's stories as long as she wants to write them. Thanks netgalley for the arc. The review is my own thoughts

Mayor Bascomb likes being a big shot in Lake Eden, ‘pulling strings’ to get friends out of a bind. When that doesn’t work out like he planned, he loses his temper and it’s a fierce one. This time he’s unleashed it on Andrea. She’s Hannah Swenson’s sister, Hannah being the cookie baker in town. Andrea can hold her temper for quite a while, but when Bascomb tells her she’s stupid, that’s the final straw. Hannah and Bascomb’s secretary are waiting in the outer office, and even they can hear the sound of Andrea slapping Bascomb so hard, his office chair overturns.

Bascomb wanted Andrea’s husband to overlook a drunken accident the mayor’s nephew caused. Bill wouldn’t in any case, but there was also a state trooper on hand who witnessed the aftermath. Andrea tried to intercede.

After a cooling off period, Andrea decides to visit Bascomb again and take a slice of Hannah’s triple chocolate cheesecake as a peace offering. Bascomb can’t fire Bill, but he can make their lives miserable. She’s shocked to find Bascomb dead in his office, but the greater shock is, she’s a suspect! Hannah is once again involved in murder.

Since Bascomb was generally disliked, had numerous affairs, and thought he was above the law, the suspect list is long. Will Hannah be able to find the killer once again?

This is book twenty-seven in the series. Hannah is staying at Norman’s house while her condo is being redone. Meanwhile, Michelle is at the condo. Hannah feels like she’s imposing on Norman but when she’s at the condo, she feels more like a visitor than at home. The long running love triangle between Hannah, Norman, and Mike has settled down although Hannah shows no sign of moving forward after the death of Ross.

I found two things annoying. Hannah has internal arguments between her suspicious mind and her rational mind. The other is Andrea is treated as if she’s incapable of doing the smallest tasks. There was no mention this time, but in previous books, you see that she’s a successful realtor. Now the family feels the need to praise her effusively for making a salad for dinner.

Readers will appreciate the opportunity to catch up on all the latest goings on in Lake Eden. Given Hannah’s curiosity, expect the action to keep going.

With Easter orders rolling in, Hannah has plenty of recipes to share—three cheese bacon ball (no bake), Stroganoff light (chicken instead of beef), triple chocolate cheesecake (milk, white, semi-sweet), Easter bunny whippersnapper cookies with mini jellybean toppers, cocktail quiche with puff pastry, chocolate Easter egg cupcakes, Blueberry danish, Easter jellybean nest cupcakes, cream cheese frosting plain, chocolate, or coconut, butterscotch marshmallow bar cookies, ham and spicy mac and cheese, sweet orange pie, whipped orange crème fraiche, also plain, plus a shortcut version, chocolate hazelnut toast cookies, peanut butter crisp cookies, hot cross buns, powdered sugar frosting, deli brunch bake, Easter bunny’s pie squares, hot chocolate and marshmallow cookies, apple shortbread bar cookies, corn salad, Peeps Easter cupcakes, and coconut and cherry-cranberry frosting. There’s also a baking conversion chart converting US measurements to metric and Fahrenheit to Centigrade or British Gas Marks.

Hannah is getting ready for Easter at the Cookie Jar, when she gets a panicked phone call from her sister Andrea that the Mayor Richard Bascomb has been murder and she is the prime suspect.

There are a lot of people that would have liked The Mayor out of office, political rivals, ex mistresses and a jealous wife.
With so many suspects Hannah is going to have put all her skills to work to get her sister off the hook and find the real killer in time for the Easter egg hunt.

I love Hannah and all her friends at the cookie Jar. I can’t wait for the next book in this series.

Triple Chocolate Cheesecake Murder is the newest release in the Hannah Swensen series from Joanne Fluke. I know with each new installment in the series I'm going to get a mystery and lots of new recipes, and in the 27th book in the series, readers are given 31 new recipes to drool over, along with the mystery of who killed Mayor Richard Bascomb.



I really enjoyed Triple Chocolate Cheesecake Murder. Hannah Swensen is at her sleuthing best with the help of Norman and Andrea. I will say I didn't like Hannah's new inner voice battle, and I felt like Andrea seemed to be weaker than she ever has been before in other books. Both honestly distracted me from the story a good bit. I really do hope these character changes were a one-time thing, as it was so at odds with the characters from past books.



I honestly wasn't that surprised by someone killing Mayor Bascomb. The man had cheated on his wife for years, and wasn't really a very nice person. Even with Andrea being the main suspect, Hannah knows her sister can help her once again solve a murder in their hometown of Lake Eden. The fact that Andrea's husband is the sheriff and couldn't have anything to do with the investigation, and for once Mike seemed to want Hannah's help, was actually refreshing for me. I liked they planned to share what they each learned this time to save Andrea, rather than work against each other. As Hannah is still dealing with so much from the loss of Ross, I almost wonder if Mike and even Norman aren't being extra cautious with her right now, and I have to say overall I liked, but really hope Hannah is back to the strong woman she has always been in the past soon.



Triple Chocolate Cheesecake Murder was heavier on food and recipes than on mystery, but the mystery was part of the story for sure. I figured it out pretty early in the book, but like the path Hannah, Mike, and their friends took to find the killer. This is a cozy mystery book, so yes, the story overall is light, and that is part of the reason I keep coming back book after book. I love the community that exist in each cozy mystery series, and the Hannah Swensen books are no different. While I did have some reservations with some of the character changes in this book, it was still a good story overall and I look forward to my next visit to Lake Eden.





Rating: 4 Stars (B-)

There are quite a few in this series this is the first one I read. I loved this book and I loved the characters and plot. I love desserts so this series I think will be perfect for me. Ian going back to read book 1.

I've head about Hannah Swenson for over 25 years now.... Its time for me to break up with her....

25 years of prude Hannah not deciding between Norman or Mike.... 25 years of everyone basically giving Hannah their family recipes for her to profit from.... 25 years of everyone kissing Hannah's ass....25 years of Hannah never screwing up a recipe or burning a cookie....

I will miss all of those recipes though....

Triple Chocolate Cheesecake Murder is a good book - its just like all of the others.. I've just outgrown the series.....and it will be missed

Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to read Triple Chocolate Cheesecake Murder. I am a huge fan of Hannah Swenson mysteries and I can’t wait until the next book is published. However, as the series continues the mysteries lessen and the recipes increase. As much as I enjoy the recipes, I would like more emphasis placed on the mystery.

As much as I like this series it was very distracting reading this on a Kindle. I had to keep skipping over the recipes to get to the next chapter. I think I would have enjoyed it better if I wasn't so distracted by the recipes at the end ot the chapters. They should be in the back of the book

It’s spring in Lake Eden and Hannah Swensen has plenty on her plate…hot cross buns to make, lots of Easter orders to fill at The Cookie Jar, a festive dinner at her mother’s penthouse and then comes the phone call from her sister Andrea that Mayor Bascomb is dead. He’s been murdered, and Andrea was involved in an verbal altercation with him earlier in the day. She’s a prime suspect!

As Hannah digs in to clear her innocent sister’s name and save her from arrest, she discovers there are plenty of candidates for hating the bullying mayor from his wife tired of the constant affairs, any number of mistresses, harassed colleagues, political rivals.

I’ve been a fan of Ms. Fluke and Hannah Swensen for years, enjoying the mysteries, the recipes and the relationships. As Hannah is healing from the disastrous marriage to Ross, her interaction in this book with Norman is sweet and is developing naturally.

I do find the recent inclusion of Hannah’s internal dialogue intrusive and irritating. It seemed to pop up out of nowhere.

I also found the bond between Hannah and Andrea seemed out of sync with their previous relationship where Andrea was always portrayed as Hannah’s equal. In this book, Hannah seems to treat Andrea like a child. I hope they get back on a more even keel.

I look forward to the next offering from Joanne Fluke.

This book follows Hannah as she finds herself dealing with another murder and this time the suspect is none other than her sister Andrea. Hannah gets called in by Mike and Lonney to help solve the murder as the Sherrif Bill can't be envolved when it envolves his wife. Who killed Mayor Bascomb and why? Was it his wife Stephanie sick and tired of his cheating ways? Or was it a disgruntle girl he had a past relationship with?

I had some problems with this book while it was still the same mystery we've come to know with Hannah. This one had alot of crazy internal speak in her mind which made me think Hannah has gone crazy. Her cat and her haven't returned home or sold it or anything. I think Hannah needs to man up and either sell the condo or move out of Norman's house. Parts of this book was so cheesy. It made Andrea look like a moron who needs Hannah or she can't function without her.

This book was weird to say the least. It was missing something maybe it's Hannah's independence. Usually she just does what she wants and doesn't wait for other people to do it for her or guide her through her choices in life. So crazy!

It's always hard to come into book series in the middle, but even harder to come in at number 27. However, I wanted to read Joanne Fluke for a while, to see what all the hype was about, thus, I asked for it.
I survived the book. I survived tens of recipes of yummy stuff without rushing to the kitchen and trying to make them. But...
I got tired of the interruptions. I do understand that this is Fluke's signature style - inserting recipes into the narrative. However, there were just too many for my liking. Plus, all this coffee drinking (I thought I was bad with 2 cups a day. But these people are champions - non-stop coffee at any time of day). To top it all off with describing what they are cooking and are going to cook and serve... exhausting. I lost the track.
I lost the thought, the point, the suspense.
I finished this installment of Hannah Swensen adventure and decided that these are just not for me.

The latest in Joanne Fluke’s long-running Hannah Swensen mystery series finds Mayor Richard Bascomb himself murdered… and Hannah’s younger sister Andrea prime suspect in his slaying.

Mayor Bascomb had been pretty irritable in the days before his death. When Sheriff Bill Todd pulls the mayor’s nephew over for driving under the influence, the mayor gets upset at Bill for not letting Bruce go with a warning. Andrea goes to bat for her sheriff husband, but even her patience has its limits. When Mayor Bascomb’s insults cross the line, she slaps him so hard, he falls out of his chair, to the shock of both Hannah and the secretary waiting outside his office.

Several hours later, after Andrea has had time to cool down, she decides to go back to City Hall and apologize to Mayor Bascomb, bringing with her a slice of Hannah’s terrific triple chocolate cheesecake as a peace offering. Imagine her horror when she finds the mayor face down on his blotter, blood seeping from a head wound. She immediately calls Hannah, who leaps into action to protect her sister as well as, inevitably, to investigate the murder.

The list of suspects is longer than for any other case Hannah has previously looked into, as the mayor had plenty of people who wished him harm. Aside from political rivals, Mayor Bascomb was a well-known philanderer, whose long-suffering wife Stephanie is good friends with Hannah and Andrea’s mother, Delores. Could the murderer have been a callously discarded former lover, or a romantic rival still smarting from being rejected in favor of the mayor? Hannah must follow all the clues -- while working through her own complicated feelings regarding her late husband and the living men she still cares for -- in order to clear her sister’s name.

I found this latest case a puzzler till quite late in the book, when I said aloud, “oh no!” as I realized why the mayor had been murdered and most likely by whom. I also appreciated Hannah’s thoughts as she mulled over how the fallout from her unhappy relationship with Ross made her too scared to move on -- though clearly if she does, she ought to move on with Norman, who is the best person on the planet. I wasn’t too thrilled, however, by the casual way everyone treated Andrea striking a person so hard she knocked him out of his chair. There are certainly occasions where physical violence is warranted -- had he himself gotten physical with her, for example, or if he’d encroached on her personal space and was not put off by verbal warnings -- but losing her temper at insults as to her intelligence hardly cross the necessary threshold, in my opinion. Otherwise, another decent installment of the series that fans will eat up like one of the many Easter-themed delights described within.

There were well over 20 recipes included, and while I was quite tempted by most of the baked goods, I ultimately decided to make a dinner dish, lightly edited here for space:

QUOTE
Stroganoff Light

½ cup minced onion
6 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (or equivalent)
2 cans cream of mushroom soup undiluted (one can is 10.5 ounces net weight)
1 can cream of chicken soup undiluted (one can is 10.5 ounces net weight)
2 cans mushrooms, undrained (stems and pieces will do just fine--4 ounces each can)
2 teaspoons finely minced of crushed garlic
1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream
1 8-ounce package brick cream cheese
1 teaspoon vegetable of olive oil
2 chicken bouillon cubes
24-ounce package of wide egg noodles, cooked
1 Tablespoon salted butter
Salt and black pepper to taste

Spray the inside of a 5-quart slow cooker with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray.

Place the minced onions in the bottom of your prepared slow cooker crock.

Place the chicken breasts on top of the onions.

Open the 2 cans of condensed mushroom soup and the can of condensed cream of chicken soup.

Place the soups in a large bowl and stir them together.

Open the cans of mushrooms, but don’t drain them. Stir the mushrooms and liquid into the bowl with the soup.

Cover the chicken with the soup and mushroom mixture.

For the slow cooker: Cook on LOW for 5 hours. This dish will hold for up to 9 hours on LOW.

One hour before you want to serve your Stroganoff Light, take out the chicken breasts and cool them for 10 minutes on a carving board. Then cut the chicken breasts into bite-size pieces.

Place the chicken pieces back in the slow cooker.

Add the crushed or minced garlic and the cup of sour cream.

Cut the 8-ounce brick of cream cheese into 8 pieces. Place the pieces in a small microwave-safe bowl and microwave them on HIGH for 1 minute. Then let the bowl sit in the microwave for an additional minute.

Stir the pieces of cream cheese smooth and add them to the crock of your slow cooker.

Mix everything together and put the lid back on the crockpot. Then turn the slow cooker up to HIGH. Your Stroganoff Light will need to cook for another 30 minutes.

While you’re waiting for your main dish to finish cooking, find a pot large enough to hold the water for your package of noodles.

Place the required amount of water in the cooking pot.

Add a teaspoon of vegetable or olive oil to the pot.

Add 2 chicken bouillon cubes, center the pot on a stovetop burner, and turn the burner on HIGH heat.

Once the water heats to the boil, stir the water again to mix up the chicken bouillon, and cook the noodles according to the package directions.

Once the noodles have cooked, drain them in a colander or a large strainer, in the sink.

Dump out the water in your cooking pot, add a Tablespoon of salted butter and return the noodles to your cooking pot.

Cover the cooking pot and set it on a cold stovetop burner. Stir the noodles to coat them with the butter.

When the Stroganoff Light has finished cooking, add the salt and pepper to taste and give it a final stir. You may add hot sauce at this point.

Makes at least 8 servings.
END QUOTE

This Stroganoff is only Light in that it uses chicken instead of beef, but I suppose one can cut calories wherever one may! I actually sent my husband to the store to get pre-chopped onions but since the only ones he could find came in a mirepoix, I threw the carrots in as well to add to the nutritional value of the dish (I had to remove as much celery as I could though because of my husband’s aversion.) Since I had this cooking on low for eight hours, the chicken came apart in the crock with just a fork, which makes this already easy recipe even easier.

This yummy, hearty meal feeds a crowd and reheats nicely as leftovers. As always I appreciate Ms Fluke’s dedication to breaking down each step so that novice cooks are guided throughout the process -- even as a decent home cook who isn’t averse to improvisation myself, I very much agree with her philosophy regarding clear instructions to help avoid mishaps.

Next week, we head to the east coast for the follow up to one of my favorite culinary cozy series debuts of last year, and cook up a decadent Mediterranean dessert while investigating a drowning. Do join me!

Joanne's books always make me hungry... I had to have a little sweet treat have the conclusion of this one 😋 Book 27 in the Hannah Swensen series has Hannah finding a way to clear her sister's name when she becomes a suspect in the mayor's murder. With typical Fluke cozy mystery charm an interesting series of events unfolds with a curious twist that I didn't see coming. And yet one question remains at the end of the book, will Hannah ever choose between Mike and Norman? Which one or, neither? And will she be able to move on and/or move home after her her brief and disastrous marriage?

The latest installment in the Hannah Swensen series finds Lake Eden Mayor Bascomb, a notorious cheater and scammer, dead in his office after having a very heated exchange with Hannah’s sister Andrea. Unfortunately this makes her the prime suspect.

Andrea says she did go back to the Mayor’s office but to apologize and give him a piece of Hannah’s Triple Chocolate Cheesecake where she found him dead. With husband Bill unable to help with the murder investigation, it is up to Hannah to try and clear her sister’s name.

Hannah goes into case solving mode to try and find out what really happened. But with so many residents who live in town and others who have left who the Mayor has offended throughout the years, (including his wife), Hannah must begin the long process of eliminating suspects.

And while this investigation is going on, Hannah herself is very busy preparing for the Easter season at her cookie shop, The Cookie Jar. She has been experimenting with not only new cookie ideas, but cupcakes as well.

More importantly though, Hannah is still trying to come to grips with her husband’s murder and all that entailed while still unable to live at her condo where the murder took place. She is like a nomad moving from her mother’s apartment to her friend Norman’s house. Her life seems to be in quite a turmoil and now with the pressure to help her sister she feels as if she is in a fog.

Hopefully her head will clear long enough to solve this murder or she could be the killer’s next victim.

Once again, Joanne Fluke has written a wonderful cozy murder mystery with characters we all love and look forward to reading about to find out where they are headed next. And this book comes just in time for bakers everywhere looking for some new recipes! Sometimes it’s just nice to read a good old fashion who done it which features mouth watering recipes we can try once we catch the killer!

Thank you #NetGalley #Kensington #JoanneFluke #TripleChocolateCheesecakeMurder for the advanced copy.

I’ve loved this series and always enjoy reading about the characters we’ve come to know so well. I was hoping for more progress on the love triangle, but maybe that will come along in the next book. I’m not quite sure sure what I think about Hannah’s dialogue with herself, and kind of hoping that’s downplayed in the next book. This is not my favorite in the series, but still enjoyable reading.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions are my own.

Triple Chocolate Cheesecake Murder by Joanne Fluke is the 27th A Hannah Swensen Mystery. This is not a book that can be read on its own (new readers would be lost). Hannah Swensen is currently living at Norman’s since the death of her husband, Ross. Hannah and Moishe are not ready to face the condo and the memories it holds. Mayor Bascomb is upset with Andrea’s husband, Bill because he arrested his nephew who was driving drunk. Bascomb has threated Bill’s position and Andrea has taken offense. She decides to chat with Mayor Bascomb and try to make him see reason. Unfortunately, Andrea ends up losing her temper after Bascomb makes some derogatory comments. That night, Andrea takes a piece of Hannah’s triple chocolate cheesecake to Mayor Bascomb to apologize for her actions (which will have readers laughing and applauding) and finds him murdered in his office (I am surprised it took this long). Triple Chocolate Cheesecake Murder is easy to read with steady pacing). This book can easily be read in a couple of hours. Hannah Swensen and all our favorites are back for another adventure. There is plenty of eating, coffee drinking, cooking, baking, and cat cuddling in this cozy mystery. Hannah is worried about Moishe because he cannot return to their condo. He gets upset each time they approach it. What is a cat mama to do? Hannah is busy baking up Easter treats at The Cookie Jar. The death of Mayor Bascomb has a multitude of suspects (how did this man get elected). The investigation takes a backset to cooking, baking, eating, coffee drinking, and chatting. The mystery is simple and can easily be solved early in the story. I prefer a more complicated mystery, but this whodunit does suit the book. I do feel that the last several books in this series are not on par with the earlier ones (like someone else is writing them). There is repetition of information and there are more recipes than content. Recipes are included for the various dishes whipped up in this tale. Triple Chocolate Cheesecake Murder is a story for fans of the series who want to know how Hannah is faring after the death of her husband and wish to catch up with gang in Lake Eden. Triple Chocolate Cheesecake Murder is a lighthearted culinary cozy with a surfeit of suspects, a fearful feline, a distraught sister, a scrumptious cheesecake, and a murdered mayor.

Another favorite by a great author. This is one of my favorites.. The plot of the story was very well written. The author really draws the reader in as you read. I felt like I was an unnamed character in the story.