Plum Pudding Murder

Christmas time in Eden Lake, Minnesota finds the community college students jumping off the edge of the parking lot. [They’re taking a ride on a slider, courtesy of the college’s shop class.]

And between the lovely green trees and his little shop, the owner of the Crazy Elf Tree Lot seems to be doing a booming business.

But when Hannah Swensen, owner of The Cookie Jar, finds Larry Jaeger dead, his business comes under scrutiny and, as the investigation begins, the list of suspects begins to grow when it becomes apparent that Larry was swindling the good folks who’d invested in his Crazy Elf Tree Lot business.

So which one of the disgruntled folks is responsible for the murder?

In this, the twelfth outing for the Eden Lake gang, all show more the expected characters are in place. Things are pretty much status quo for the little town where everyone knows everyone else and secrets are never kept for long. Hannah manages to find the body [again] and figure out who’s the culprit [again] by morphing from baker into town meddler cum busybody-investigator. [Maybe she should join the police department or get a private investigator’s license and up her credibility a notch or two.]

Or perhaps she could [finally] make a choice between dentist Norman and police detective Mike. For many readers, the Norman/Hannah/Mike triangle has definitely passed its shelf life. In the last several books in the series, Mike has been working hard at making himself particularly unlikable; perhaps readers are being primed for a choice in the near future?

Astute readers will easily identify the culprit as the story unfolds. It’s predictable and occasionally annoying, but it’s also a satisfying, undemanding read. And, as irritating as Hannah can be, there’s a pleasing sense of small-town camaraderie in these stories that’s hard to ignore.

And then there are all those recipes.

Fans of the series will find much to enjoy here.

Recommended. show less

Hannah is off her diet and no more mention of it. It's Christmas and Hannah is experiencing her first tree/cat meeting. This one was a Hallmark movie and they played it pretty close to the book. More suspicion of Mike and more niceness from Norman and an old flame resurfaces. I read some reviews of these books that were somewhat negative and wondered what the reader expected from a series. The second review complained about not enough explanation in a story to give her background on the characters...she had not read the series. The poor author trying to please a newbie who is going to read on book as a standalone and the faithful reader who has read every novel. It is a true balancing act between too much repetition and still giving show more enough information for the single book reader. Sometimes I feel like writer's can't win. These books are not intended to be great literature. They are comfort food or one of those never ending pots of soup that sat on the wood stove that is kept warm and every day changes slightly with new ingredients. Inexpensive, tasty not gourmet. show less

It's Christmastime again in Lake Eden, MN and Hannah Swensen is busy baking cookies to supply the Crazy Elf Tree Lot. Larry Jaegar and his fiance Courtney run the tree lot. It seems to be doing good business, but Mayor Bascomb tells Hannah that Larry is losing money. He's selling the trees too cheaply and Bascomb is worried he will lose his investment in the business. The books don't balance either. There are several people upset with Larry, but one person is angry enough to kill. Hannah and her sometimes-boyfriend Norman find Larry shot to death in the office at the tree lot. Was he killed over money? Or something else? Hannah and her friends are on the case again. What's Christmas in Lake Eden without a murder?

Plum Pudding Murder is show more the 12th book in the Hannah Swensen Mystery series. There are 20 books so far, with the 21st, Banana Cream Pie Murder, coming out on February 28th! To get the full background on all the main characters it might be advisable to start at the beginning of the series, but it's definitely possible to jump into things in the middle of the series and still enjoy the mystery. There is enough background sprinkled here and there so a new reader could follow and understand the book without having read all of the ones before it.

The Hannah Swensen series is my favorite cozy mystery series. I like the characters. They remind me of people I knew growing up in a small town. I am getting a bit weary of a love triangle with Hannah's two main love interests....Mike and Norman. In this book, that situation is in the background and not integral to the plot....but it is still there. Hannah needs to make up her mind and stop stringing them along. It really does seem like she is just hanging on so she isn't alone while waiting for a better man to come along. Mike is a bit of a jerk, and Norman is a push-over. Because I am still 8 books behind, I'm being very careful to not accidentally read any spoilers about what happens between Hannah and her men. I'm going to catch up with this series and find out ASAP.....I am really beginning to hope that they both dump her and she finds someone else better suited to her. If either Mike or Norman was what Hannah needed, she would have made a decision a long time ago. It's like a soap opera. I dislike her stringing two men along for 12 books..... but I can't stop reading because I want to find out what happens. So, while I roll my eyes each time she has both men making goo-goo eyes at her and complain that I'm getting tired of that subplot......I secretly really really want to know who Hannah ends up with. Maybe she will in the next book -- Apple Turnover Murder!

The recipes in Plum Pudding Murder are all holiday dinner or party related, ranging from entrees and side dishes to desserts and biscuits.

Plum Pudding Murder and 3 other Hannah Swensen stories have been made into movies by Hallmark Movies & Mysteries channel. The movie version of this book differs from the book a little bit, but not much. The Hannah Swensen movies are fun to watch! Cozy mystery fans will definitely enjoy all four of them. But, as usual, the books are better than the movies.

Joanne Fluke has also written several thriller/suspense novels. For more information on the author and her books, check out her website: www.murdershebaked.com show less

Maybe I’m not allowed to review this, having never had plum pudding! But I was intrigued by the idea of zany Christmas baking and murder mysteries when I saw the library had this. And oh, the recipes! This is a sweet book, set in cold, snowy Minnesota, where Hannah bakes cookies and helps her sister find Christmas trees. I was salivating after just the first two recipes, for cheesy biscuits and molten chocolate cake. Yum!

Puppy and Kitten adorability is at five overstuffed tabby cats mangling a Christmas tree. LOVED the cat in this one. Holiday cheer is at five snowflakes as well. This was SUPER holiday-focused. And although this one is not very romance-based (which is okay, it’s not billed as a romance), it gets super bonus points show more for all the FOOD. I think I literally gained five pounds just reading all those recipes. YUM!!! So many cookies! Definitely reading more of these while wrapping presents and when it’s time to decorate the tree!

Please excuse typos/name misspellings. Entered on screen reader. show less

As a previous Hannah Swensen book fan, I enjoyed the story and the characters...nothing too exciting or new. I wish the author would help Hannah decide which of the two men she is going to marry. It is driving me crazy to have the back and forth game going on soooooo long. Now without giving away the ending, there is going to be another love interest if I read the last pages correctly. Sorry, it is getting old.

The recipes look really good this time and I have actually made plans to try a few of the cookies out with my family. Great job on choosing recipes this time.

Please wrap up the threesome thing and let us move on!

☊ The Plum Pudding Murder by Joanne Fluke, read by Suzanne Toren, a mystery with recipes

??.5 rounded up to 3

Recipe for Plum Pudding Murder:
1 thirty something amateur detective, co-owner of a cookie shop named Hannah Swenson
1 thirty something dentist, kind, thoughtful, perfect husband material, named Norman
1 thirty something handsome detective, unthoughtful, wandering eye, but handy when in danger, named Mike
1 married business partner at said cookie shop, named Lisa
1 bossy mother known as a “buttinsky” named Delores
1 younger sister married to another detective, named Amanda
1 younger sister, college aged, named Michelle
1 con artist, murdered by an unknown woman in the prologue
1 fiancee of said con artist who is worried about the show more books, named Courtney
various and sundry other suspects, friends and detectives

Toss Norman and Mike together, making old friends who are friendly rivals in a love triangle formed by sprinkling in Hannah, who can never choose between them. Fun if you don’t mind a love triangle that has lasted through a series now into the double digits, but not so much if you have had your fill of love triangles in many, many books and movies.

In a separate dish, combine the con artist’s big time scams with a long line of disgruntled and even ruined men and women for a bevy of possible suspects.

In a third dish, mix in Deloris’ new night school class to which she drags Hannah, the mysterious string of excuses suddenly given by Norman’s mother everytime he or her best friend, Deloris, ask her to do something together.

Combine the above mixtures into a cozy mystery with a number of scenes involving food, primarily desserts, but plenty of meals thrown in and recipes after many of the chapters. It is never difficult to pinpoint the murderer fairly early on, but that’s a common feature for cozies, and one many readers enjoy.

I found this less interesting than the other one I just read because I am not keen on love triangles, particularly ones that continue over so many books, and I picked this up already in the double digits. It’s find to listen to while driving or gardening, but not riveting enough for me to sit and read. That said, in a desperate attempt to see if Hannah ever wakes up and makes the correct choice on a husband I am listening to the latest one, and am happy to report that that one, Blueberry Pie Murder, has a few different things going for it in terms of who the suspects are, but so far, no signs at all of any resolution on the relentless love triangle. show less

What perfect timing. A Christmas season mystery. It's obviously part of a series with well established characters and can still be read without feeling lost. Actually, I felt right at home. And if I try even half of the recipes included, I will have to watch my waistline.