Pink Lemonade Cake Murder: A Delightful & Irresistible Culinary Cozy Mystery with Recipes by Joanne Fluke
Publisher: Kensington Books, Kensington Cozies
Genre: Mystery & Thrillers
Expected Publication Date: July 25, 2023

Pink Lemonade Cake Murder is the 29th book in the Hannah Swensen Mystery series by Joanne Fluke and can be read as a standalone mystery if you have not read the previous books.

I usually love the Hannah Swenson books and finish them in less than a day....but I found this one a little slow and hard to get into and keep my attention. I'm glad I finished it because I enjoyed the ending!

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Lake Eden is hosting a baseball tournament, complete with a local boy who did a short stint in the major leagues before coming home under a cloud of disgrace. The town has rolled out the red carpet for the teams and their guests, but No-No has muddied the length of it and angered many. When No-No turns up dead it's anyone's guess who'd finally had enough.

I read the first 20-ish books of this series and then took a break for a while, picking back up with the last book. Overall, I've been very disappointed with the direction the series has taken. I thoroughly enjoyed the first dozen or so books in the series, reading them one after another. Hannah was a fun character who had the ear of everyone in town and the hearts of most. Lisa was the perfect business partner, young and energetic and supportive of Hannah's curiosities when it came to local crime. I didn't even find the Mike and Norman debate off-putting for a very long time. Both are good guys and it's easy to see how a woman would have trouble deciding between the two.

Somewhere along the line things changed. I suspect there have been multiple ghost writers involved. I think someone else took over the writing of this series around book 16 or 17, and then after a few books (maybe 2-4, around book 18 or 19) another ghost writer took over. Unfortunately the series just lost something along the way. It feels like the writer is just not sure what to do with the stories anymore so the pages are filled with things like observations of door knocking patterns in every other chapter (each accompanied by a lecture about looking through the peephole before opening the door), people telling people things they already know (Hannah took the time to explain to Norman who Ross was as though Norman could have missed the fact that Hannah had gotten married), Delores questioning how Hannah knows it's her when she calls on her cell phone. And the recipes have lost something too. Many of them involve cake mixes! A baker wouldn't use cake mixes. There are also so many recipes. Early in the series there might be half a dozen recipes, in this book there are 28 recipes for everything from meatloaves to martinis.

Fluke has written some really fun books and created a world that many people know and love so I want to give her the credit she is due, but this book was not up to her standards.

Thank you to the author, the publisher, and to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.

Joanne Fluke does it again! Each time I read a new Hannah Swenson Mystery, I'm worried that it won't live up to the previous ones. However, book 29 (I believe), is still interesting and enjoyable from start to finish. This story involves Hannah's mother as the prime suspect, and I just loved it. Highly recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the digital ARC of this book in exchange for a review.

I’ve read every book in this series and I really want to give this high praise but…it’s not great. The series has turned into a cookbook with redundant dialogue and a snippet here and there of mystery. I will continue to read these for nostalgia purposes but it jumped the shark around the Ross drama timeframe, I’m sorry to say.

Thank you NetGalley and author for a copy of this ebook.

I absolutely enjoyed this!! This was my first read by this author but it won’t be my last.

An addition to the Hannah Swenson series is always enjoyable and this book is no exception. The series may be coming to the end of the road but the characters are just as interesting as they were when the first book was written

Mike has been a detective for Winnetka County for a good amount of time now. Is he getting burnt out? Hannah goes to the one person she knows Mike will listen to. While Mike takes a much-needed vacation, murder in Lake Eden does not. Can this most recent murder be solved without Mike? The latest Hannah Swensen Mystery is sure to please fans. With mouthwatering recipes and a cliff hanger of an ending, Joanne Fluke does not disappoint!

Thank you NetGalley, Joanne Fluke and Kensington Books for the ARC of Pink Lemonade Cake Murder. This is my personal review.
Hannah Swensen Mystery book number 28 is fantastic! I enjoy every book in this series and let me tell you this is one you have to read. I did not foresee the cliff hanger at the end of this book.
The Tri-County Summer Solstice Celebration is in town, and everyone is excited about the events that are happening. The MLB player in town for the community baseball tournament and some people are happy to see him while others are not so pleased. When his body is found by nonother than Hannah’s mother this starts the investigation to clear her name for the person who killed him.
The recipes in this book are so yummy!

When a body turns up during the Tri-County Summer Solstice Celebration, Hannah can't afford to strike out as she begins a dangerous investigation into the murder of a retired professional MLB player.

Pink Lemonade Cake Murder is the latest Hannah Swensen Mystery novel full of mystery and delicious recipes and I’ve been left feeling quite frustrated and a little disappointed. Lately it feels as if this is a different author. While the murder happened in the early parts of the book, it was all fluff and hubbub until a shock reveal - quite abuptly, to be left on a weird cliffhanger. I did feel that this probably could have been a novella and been a little higher rated.

This was a miss for me.

Hannah Swenson is at it again! In this one, Hannah finds herself investigating a murder after she finds her mother standing over the body. Since her mother is then the prime suspect, Hannah enlists Norman and her police friends help her solve the case. As always, this is a lighthearted mystery filled with delicious recipes!

Joanne Fluke has brought us back to Hannah's world. This time, it is the Tri-County Summer Solstice Celebration bringing artists, athletes, and marching bands. One of those in attendance is a retired MLB player whose reputation is less than desirable. Even worse is when his body is found and Hannah's mother is their number one suspect since she was found holding the bat that killed him. Will Hannah, Norman, and the gang be able to clear her name all while keeping Mike away so he can rest and recuperate? As Hannah tries to cross off each suspect from her list, is she getting one step closer to solving the case or another step closer to the killer?

Joanne Fluke lets us hang out with Hannah and her friends and family. We get to see how everyone is doing. It is like catching up with old friends with a mystery and some yummy recipes thrown in. You keep turning the page to see what is going to happen next and find out how to make some of the treats that are mentioned throughout the story.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I would like to thank NetGalley and Kensington Books, Kensington Cozies for this privilege.

I had a very hard time not just walking away from Pink Lemonade Cake Murder, I would give it zero stars if I could. A former MLB baseball player is killed under the bleachers at the community baseball tournament and Hannah is on the case. I started reading the Hannah books in order, but quit a few in after one that wasn't great. I was hoping PLCM being written in 2023 would be more current with the times in terms of what is and isn't acceptable, but that was not the case...three high school aged girls are repeatedly shamed for the way they were dressed by every adult that discusses them. Multiple chapters start with Hannah getting some baked good out of her "industrial oven" and placing it on the "bakers rack." I'm not sure how Hannah makes any money because she is constantly giving away her merchandise and spends all her time in the back room answering the door. Way too much time is devoted to her looking through the peephole to make sure it's not someone sinister. I was most surprised to discover that even after skipping a sizeable number of Hannah novels that the weirdly chaste "love triangle" between Hannah, Mike and Norman is still going on. Hannah now lives platonically with Norman in the house they designed. The dialogue throughout is tortured and cringey. 100% tell in the most awkward, unnatural way and no show.

PINK LEMONADE CAKE MURDER

If this were the first book I had read in this long running series, I may not have finished. At the very least, I may have listed in long detail the improbabilities, the many ridiculous situations and the repetitions that occur over the course of this book. The events of this book could only occur and appear “normal” in the world of Hannah Swenson and Lake Eden, which seems to be in some sort of 1950’s sit com snow globe. Sadly, this is not a very good book; it just goes on and on and makes little sense. That said, I have read every book in this series and am invested in these characters and Lake Eden. It saddens me that the books aren’t as good as they once were but I cannot NOT read each entry and will continue to do so because I want to see where life will take each of these characters and will Hannah ever make a choice between Norman and Mike. This book is only for fans of the series.

Thanks, NetGalley, for an advanced copy of this book. I was not required to write a positive review and the opinions stated are solely my own.

How mouth watering is this cover! The recipes in the book look just as delicious and I can’t wait to try them. However, this series has gotten kind of blah over the last few years. It might be time for the author to end the series.

This is the twenty-ninth book in series the and I am having a hard time wanting to stick with it. Since book twenty-two, Hannah has lost a lot of her backbone and I have found the writing lacking. It just doesn’t flow well and the book has more recipes and less plot.

Until this story, Stella wasn’t mentioned and now she is keeping Mike away from an investigation because he’s feeling burnt out as a cop. Bill is taking investigative direction from Hannah. Come on, this is nowhere in the realm of realistic nor in keeping with the line of writing prior to the first Ross book.

This doesn’t feel like the same writer. I’ve voiced this before. So, I’ll leave this series. It was good until book twenty-two.
I was given and advanced readers’ copy from Netgalley and these are my opinions.

I have very mixed feelings about this latest installment. This series has sentimental value to me as I started reading it when first published with my grandmother. I love Hannah, Mike and Norman and keep reading to see if their love triangle will finally be resolved. 29 books in and I’m still left disappointed & frustrated. This particular book just seemed off & like it was an entirely different author writing it. The conversations were simple, but with a repetitive forced dialogue that distracted me.

The murder actually happened early on in this book but the investigation was lacking. With Mike on leave they looked to Hannah to solve the case. Really? After 20+ years of being detectives they couldn’t figure out how to run a case without Mike? It took out the entire pull & push banter between the police force & the Sleuther that help keep a mystery interesting.

And the ending? I don’t like how it ended on a weird cliff hanger. And after so many books why has the cliffhanger all of a sudden been introduced these last 2 books.

Overall I will most likely continue reading, praying that this series finally has a conclusion and happy ever after. I’m not sure how much more I can take with writing like this though and a book more full of recipes than plot.

I'm torn about this book.

Part of me is just so annoyed and even a little bit disgusted with this book (more to come) but then there's one heck of a cliffhanger so now I totally need to read the next one..

Hannah Swenson books are awesome for the recipes and if you're looking for a cozy murder series. I just get so annoyed with the simplicity of the dialogue and actions sometimes...

Highlights from this installment in no particular order -
- What is up with these people and their obsession with peepholes? Seriously - about a tenth of the storyline is about peepholes.
- Is it a Midwestern thing to tell absolute strangers that the family doctor put your daughter on birth control pills?
- Delores' obsession with her grand-cats - she has actual living grandchildren who make appearances in the series every 3-4 books or so - how about you put down the champs and go spend some time with them?

Maybe disgusted isn't the exact word, maybe it is - but the entire undercurrent of slut shaming teenage girls for what they were wearing really ruined most of this book for me. Its summer. In Minnesota. People are allowed to be in a car in a bikini swim top and a short skirt. But the way people in this book reacted you would have thought a band of nudists burned the flag in the middle of town.

But like I said before, the recipes are awesome.

Will Hannah choose between Norman and Mike while baking cookies and solving mysteries? Only time will tell and I will keep reading each new book.

I had a hard time reading this book. I wanted to stop so many times. Joanne Fluke was the first cozy I ever read she is the reason I have this desire to read them. I turn to be in Lake Eden on a new adventure and solve the crime right next to Hannah. But lately, I don't want to pick up her books. I am unsure what is going on with her writing but it's time for a change.
It seems like Hannah is up to her old tricks, solving crimes and selling cookies at The Cookie Jar. In this last book, it seems that it centers more on Hannah's more geared to romance instead of worrying about murder but there is a little of that but this time it's Delores who stumbles on the body of a baseball player who she has threatened to kill. So as she becomes suspect number 1 Hannah is on the case. Mike is out at the lake to take a much-needed vacation on the heels of threatening to leave Lake Eden. So with him gone her sidekick is Norman and her team of busybodies. She sort of stumbles on the killer and is put in danger. In the end, the killer really doesn't make any sense and seems confusing to me.

Hannah Swenson and crew have been favorite characters of mine since book one. I loved Hannah’s independence in the first book and the stories were a good cozy mystery. This book left me with a different feeling. The book felt forced. There were some chapters that seemed to be focused on making a recipe. The main storyline really wasn’t strong throughout. There were often times the recipes were misplaced and other times they were forced. There was a lot of potential to make this storyline amazing but the ball was just dropped on this one. I’m hoping the next book will allow Hannah and Norman to progress with their relationship and the main focus of the story will be the mystery and not small talk with Andrea in the shop

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington for allowing me the chance to review an advanced copy. Hopefully the spelling errors will be corrected before print.