This recipe needs to be changed,

I have loved Hannah, her family, nd the townies since I first read "Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder". I knew right away the books were easy reads...lots of fluff and nothing I would ponder after I shut the book on the final page. A Hannah Swenson Mystery has a recipe much like the goodies baked in Hannah's bakery. The ingredients: Hannah, her two boyfriends, Mike and Norman, her annoying mother and puritan sisters, Moishe her kitty, recipes throughout the story, and a murder victim found with the dessert of the day nearby. Mix the ingredients well until Hannah still waivers between both boyfriends (although the men don't mind sharing), no one turns a head over Hannah investigating and finding things the cops don't, and Moishe has some kind of kitty drama. Bake until golden brown: Hannah finds the murderer right before something terrible happens and narrowly escapes death...all within just a few pages. Now I don't mind most of this recipe...really it is a cozy murder and its going to be based on formula. However, the thing that bothers me is that nothing ever changes...Hannah never grows in her relationship with one of the men and the men never tire of being part of a love triangle. No one smokes, cusses, or has sex. You can't even hint that anyone in town does any of those things because the town if full of a bunch of prudes. I don't need those things in my books, but I also don't like how unrealistic the world is portrayed. The books are fun, they are cute and until the last few, they have been well worth my time to read. Fluke would go a long was with appeasing her weary readers if she would just resolve the Mike/Norman/Hannah issue one way or another. This is one recipe that has just gone stale. ( )

Great cozy mystery. Perfect book to curl up with in the recliner with a big cup of hot chocolate. In this book, Hannah's business partner, Lisa is having a huge family reunion with family coming in from all over. Long lost Uncle Gus shows up and is welcomed back into the family fold. All is well until he is found dead. Hannah gets right on the case and finds out all is not as sweet as everyone thought. Uncle Gus had some serious enemies within the family. It's up to Hannah to find out who killed Uncle Gus... ( )

Another tasty treat from Ms. Fluke. Her Hannah Swenson series is a winner, and I know I really enjoy it. This is a particularly strong book this time. And we have all that we have come to expect from Ms. Fluke-great characterization, a killer plot and a neat little mystery to solve. As well as lots of quite delicious recipes. I read this series because I love Hannah and her friends and family so much, but I truly enjoy the stories too. I am sad because I am caught up now in this series, and now have to wait for the next book which is to come out sometime early next year. This book is set at the Lake Eden resort and Hannah is involved with her business partner Lisa's family reunion, when a long-lost family member returns to the family fold, and then is found dead. Hannah must figure out what has happened, and she does so with the help of her sisters and Norman. This is a great cozy series! ( )

As usual this series never disappoints me! I Love my "friends" at Lake Eden. :)

The only things stopping this from being a 5 rating was that there were quite a few typos which made me nuts.. ( )

Hannah Swenson owns and operates the Cookie Jar, a small bakery in a tiny town called Lake Eden, Minnesota. She also solves mysteries. Carrot Cake Murder is about as light and fluffy as Hannah's Lemon Fluff Jell-O (recipe on page 174). Everybody is really, really nice in Lake Eden...even the bad guys and murderers are more quirky and annoying than downright unpleasant. Hannah herself is squeaky clean--she juggles two boyfriends, but if she does anything more than bake cookies for them and kiss a little, we never know.

If you like cats and cookies, if you don't like bad language or graphic sex, this is the book for you. Oh, and although I don't bake, I bet the recipes scattered throughout the book (there are 21) are phenomenal. I met Joanne Fluke when she was being driven around town by an author escort to sign stock in bookstores, and she came armed with a gift of the most divine--almost literally divine, mind you--chocolate chip cookies I've ever tasted in my life.