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Author Biography |
Excerpt |
Praise |
Review 
Mass Market Paperback
Kensington ISBN: 0758206828 The holidays are the icing on the cake for bakery owner Hannah Swensen. Surrounded by her loved ones, she has all the ingredients for a perfect Christmas --- until murder is added to the mix . . . When it comes to the holidays, Minnesotans rise to the occasion --- and the little town of Lake Eden is baking up a storm with Hannah leading the way. The annual Christmas Buffet is the final test of the recipes Hannah has collected for the Lake Eden Holiday Buffet Cookbook. While Hannah is baking the day's goodies at The Cookie Jar, the evening's plans begin to jell. Start with the best Lake Eden culinary creations, add two of Hannah's "sometime" boyfriends, a pinch of her ready-to-pop pregnant sister, and a dash of her mother and a new significant other, an actual British lord, and what do you get? A recipe for disaster, but the juiciest ingredient is yet to come . . . The recently divorced Martin Dubinski arrives at the buffet with his new Vegas showgirl wife--all wrapped up in glitter and fur. His ex-wife, however, seems as cool as chilled eggnog. And when Hannah's mother's antique Christmas cake knife disappears, its discovery in the décolletage of the new --- and now late --- Mrs. Dubinski puts the festivities on ice. With everyone stranded at the community center by a blizzard, Hannah puts her investigative skills to the test, using the ingredients at hand: half the town of Lake Eden--and a killer. Now, as the snowdrifts get higher, it's up to Hannah to dig out all the clues--and make sure that this white Christmas doesn't bring any more deadly tidings . . . Contains over 50 delicious recipes for you to try. 
Like Hannah Swensen, Joanne Fluke grew up in a small town in rural Minnesota where her neighbors were friendly, the winters were fierce, and the biggest scandal was the spotting of unidentified male undergarments on a young widow's clothesline. She insists that there really are 10,000 lakes and the mosquito is NOT the state bird.
While pursuing her writing career, Joanne has worked as: a public school teacher, a psychologist, a musician, a private detective's assistant, a corporate, legal, and pharmaceutical secretary, a short order cook, a florist's assistant, a caterer and party planner, a computer consultant on a now-defunct operating system, a production assistant on a TV quiz show, half of a screenwriting team with her husband, and a mother, wife, and homemaker. She now lives in Southern California with her husband, her kids, his kids, their three dogs, one elderly tabby, and several noisy rats in the attic. 
"Wacky and delightful characters, plus tempting recipes from appetizers to desserts make this lighthearted offering sure to please the palate of any cozy fan.
--Publishers Weekly
"81 appended recipes (a record for the genre?) run the gamut from radish soup to candied pecans." --Kirkus
Nothing evokes the holidays like festive parties, delicious desserts, and…murder? In a letter to Santa, Hannah Swensen's niece asks for help for her aunt, who, she writes, "has found another body. She does that a lot." Hannah has indeed discovered a body in her sixth culinary caper, following LEMON MERINGUE PIE MURDER and FUDGE CUPCAKE MURDER. For Hannah, baker extraordinaire and part-time sleuth, this year the holiday season is turning out to be an especially memorable one.
For starters, Hannah, owner of the Cookie Jar bakery, is cooking up a storm for Lake Eden, Minnesota's annual Christmas buffet to be held that evening. She has also made Mike Kingston, a local detective and her sometime boyfriend, a batch of "hot" brownies as revenge for a misdeed. They're laced with jalapeño peppers, but after she delivers the fiery gift she's plagued with guilt about what is sure to be an explosive reaction from Mike. And as the author of the Lake Eden potluck cookbook and head of the committee in charge of selecting recipes, Hannah is expected to act as hostess at the Christmas buffet. Held at the town's community center, the buffet is the final taste test of the recipes Hannah has collected for the soon-to-be-published cookbook. (While you're reading, take note of the dishes mentioned. The story clocks in at 200 pages, but the second half of the book is bursting with recipes mentioned in the narrative.) The party takes a sinister turn when Hannah, searching for the thief who has made off with her mother's antique cake knife, ventures into the parking lot and makes a gruesome discovery. Brandi Wyen, a Vegas showgirl and new bride of local resident Martin Dubinski, has been murdered, and Hannah sets out to crack the case. In a nod to Agatha Christie's THE MOUSETRAP, a blizzard prevents anyone from leaving the community center --- including the murderer. Hannah's list of suspects, which she scribbles on a crumpled paper napkin, includes Martin's ex-wife, his disapproving mother, his infatuated secretary, and more than one Lake Eden man who seems to have made Brandi's acquaintance prior to her appearance at the Christmas fête. Aided and abetted by her two sisters, Hannah uncovers clues, juggles both of the romantic interests in her life, keeps the party running smoothly, and even manages to prevent her mother from finding out that the Regency-era cake knife she loaned Hannah for the evening doubled as the murder weapon. In SUGAR COOKIE MURDER, Joanne Fluke --- along with sharing more than 50 original recipes --- makes mystery and mayhem a bona fide holiday delight. By the evening's end, Hannah and her sisters prove their superior sleuthing skills and cap off the night with a special delivery. And Mike's reaction to the brownies? Not at all what Hannah expects. --- Reviewed by Shannon McKenna 
Hannah groaned as Edna's words sank in. "Mother's cake knife is missing?"
"That's what I said." "And you looked on the dessert table?" "That's what I said, too!" "All right. Don't panic. It's got to be here somewhere." "Where? I looked everywhere!" "Take a deep breath and let it out slowly," Hannah advised, taking a moment to do exactly that. "When is the last time you saw it?" Edna did exactly what Hannah said, inhaling and exhaling slowly. It was proof of how upset she was, since Edna rarely took anyone's advice about anything. "It was on the dessert table when I carried out the second crock of meatballs. I remember thinking how pretty it looked under the lights." Hannah glanced at the elaborately carved wooden container on the kitchen counter. "Maybe someone put it back in the chest?" "Nope. I checked that right off. That box is as empty as Redeemer Lutheran on the Sunday after Jordan High's homecoming game." Hannah bit back a laugh at Edna's description. It was true that most people celebrated a bit too much on homecoming weekend and not that many had the urge to get up early on Sunday morning and make it to church. "I'm sure you're right, but . . . I just have to check for myself." Hannah walked over to the box and raised the lid. It was empty, just as Edna had said. "Sorry, Edna." "That's all right. I checked it twice myself." Both women leaned up against the counter to think about the seemingly insurmountable problem at hand. They were so quiet Hannah could hear the kitchen clock ticking as the minute hand moved up a notch. "Do you think someone could have used it for something else?" Hannah finally asked, after another notch had clicked off. "I mean, picture this . . . someone in the buffet line needs another knife for the turkey, or whatever. They're about to go back to the kitchen to get one when they notice Mother's knife on the dessert table. So they take it and use it and . . ." "And they leave it on the entrée table!" Edna interrupted, somehow managing to look doubtful and hopeful at the same time. "Exactly right. It could have happened that way." "That means we'd better check the other buffet tables. I don't want your mother to know it's missing until we know for sure. Will you do it . . . um . . . you know . . ." "Surreptitiously?" Hannah supplied the word she thought Edna was trying to say. "That's exactly what I mean. I'm so upset, I couldn't think of the polite word for sneaky." A cake knife the size and commanding presence of her mother's antique silver heirloom couldn't hide for long on any of the other tables. Just to be sure, Hannah lifted platters and checked under bowls and centerpieces, but she really hadn't expected to find it, and she wasn't surprised when it didn't turn up. "You didn't find it," Edna said, reading Hannah's expression when she returned to the kitchen. "I'm afraid I didn't." "Your mother's going to kill me. You know that, don't you? We've just got to find it before she realizes that it's missing." Edna sat down on a kitchen stool, thought for a moment, and raised her head to look at Hannah. "Do you think someone stole it?" "In Lake Eden?" "You're right. Nobody here would do something like that." "Chances are it's just misplaced, and that means it has to be around here somewhere. Why don't you take a look to see if anything on the tables needs replenishing. I'll stay here and go through every cupboard and drawer in this kitchen." "Good idea," Edna said, taking the top from a huge Tupperwear container shaped like a dress box. "While I was out there looking for the cake knife, I noticed that some of your Christmas cookies were gone. Can't say as I blame the folks that took 'em early. Your cookies are prettier than the ones they show in the magazines." "The pretty part is Lisa's doing. She decorated them. All I did was bake them." "They're tasty, too. Sweet and crunchy, with the taste of butter in every bite." "You ate one?" Hannah was surprised. When Edna managed a potluck dinner, she waited to eat until they'd carried the food back into the kitchen. And unlike Hannah, who sometimes couldn't resist sampling something yummy, Edna wasn't the type of person to eat dessert first. "It was a Santa with one leg broken off. If I'd put it on the platter that way, sure and shootin' some child would have had nightmares about it." Edna headed for the door, but she turned back for a final comment. "I've got a bad feeling about this, but I'm going to keep my fingers crossed." Once Edna had left to restock the cookie platter, Hannah searched systematically, determined to go through every cupboard and drawer. Edna buzzed in and out, putting out more food where it was needed. Then she began to get out the rest of the desserts and prepare them for presentation. Hannah met Edna's eyes several times while the older woman was cutting cakes and pies in even slices and arranging platters of cookies and cookie bars. Each time Edna's eyebrows elevated in a question, Hannah shook her head. The missing cake knife was still missing, and Hannah's hope that she'd find it stuck away in a drawer or mixed in with other serving implements was dwindling faster than an ice cube in a mug of steaming hot coffee. It took awhile, but at last Hannah knew she'd left no metaphorical stone unturned. She'd been so thorough, she would have sworn on a stack of bibles that her mother's cake knife was not in the Lake Eden Community Center kitchen. Hannah headed for a stool at one of the center work islands. She had to tell Delores the bad news before she discovered it for herself. There was no way Hannah would shirk that duty, but she did need time to think of a way to phrase the message that wouldn't immediately result in the death of the messenger. Delivering bad news had never been one of her skills. Hannah tended to blurt things out, a bit like jerking a bandage from a wound rather than inching the tape off. She didn't think she was quite as outspoken as Edna, but people weren't that far wrong when they accused her of having no tact. The pantry door was open slightly and Hannah noticed that the light was on. She hadn't bothered to check the pantry, because she'd assumed that no one had used it. Since it was a potluck dinner, everyone had brought in fully cooked dishes. Edna and her helpers had simply kept things warm or chilled, depending on the dish, until it was time to serve. Hannah's mind spun, imagining a possible scenario. Someone who'd brought in a dessert suddenly realized they'd forgotten to sprinkle powdered sugar over the top. Rather than such home to get it, the frantic cook stepped in the community center pantry hoping to borrow some. Had that person also picked up the antique cake knife, intending to use it to slice her dessert? It was certainly possible . . . and perhaps unlikely, but still possible. Rising quickly, Hannah hurried to the pantry and opened the door. A quick scan of the neatly stocked shelves disproved the theory that had seemed plausible only moments ago. The cake knife was nowhere in sight. Hannah was about to turn off the light and step back out into the kitchen when she noticed that the dead bolt on the door to the parking lot wasn't locked. Hannah opened the door and took a step outside. Through the blowing snow, she could see the icy hulks of parked cars. This was the delivery entrance and since it opened onto the parking lot, it would be a perfect escape route for a thief. If someone really had stolen her mother's antique knife and ducked out to the parking lot through this door, they'd be long gone by now. A blast of cold wind carrying icy needles of snow made her shiver. Hannah was about to step back into the warmth of the pantry when she noticed something bulky on the ground between two of the parked cars. It looked furry, like some sort of animal, but it was too small for a bear, and too large for a dog. Curiosity trickled, gathered force, and grew into a mighty waterfall. There was no way Hannah could turn around and go back inside without finding out what kind of animal was in the parking lot. She headed out at a trot, glad that she was wearing her all-purpose footwear, the moosehide moccasin boots that were so politically incorrect with people who'd never even seen a moose . . . or smelled one, for that matter. Hannah's sweater was dusted with flakes of snow by the time she got close enough to see. She bent over to examine the large lump of fur, and reached out to steady herself on the nearest car. The animal she thought she'd seen had been made into an expensive fur coat that Martin's new wife was wearing. The only other animal in sight was the reindeer sugar cookie that was broken near Brandi's feet, along with the pieces of a Christmas tree cookie, and a bell decorated in red and green icing. Brandi must have taken several cookies from the dessert table and come out here to eat them. The big question was, did she also take the antique cake knife? Hoping that she'd just slipped and fallen, Hannah reached down to tap Brandi on the shoulder. "Brandi? Do you need help getting up?" There was no answer and Hannah began to frown. This didn't look good. "Brandi?" she called out again, shaking her a little harder and wondering if she should go for help. The former dancer wasn't moving, but she could be faking it. If Hannah left her alone and Brandi had the cake knife, she might make a run for it with the valuable antique. Hannah knew that it was dangerous to move someone who had undetermined injuries. Accident victims had died from the ministrations of well-meaning bystanders who had tried to move them without backboards and stabilizing collars. Hanna certainly wouldn't risk moving Brandi, but she'd taken a first aid class in college and she knew there was a pulse point just under the jawbone on the side of a person's neck. The collar of Brandi's coat was in the way and Hannah pushed it back. This caused the coat to fall open and Hannah gave a strangled gulp as she caught sight of Brandi's chest. Hannah felt for a pulse, even though her rational mind told her it was useless. No one could live with a wound that deep. She'd just straightened up, dizzy and slightly sick to her stomach at the sight of the blood that had been soaked up by the expensive fur, when the pantry door banged open and she heard Edna's voice. "Hannah? Are you out there?" "I'm here." "Did you find the knife?" Hannah glanced down at her mother's valuable antique knife, buried to the hilt in Brandi's too-perfectly-proportioned-to-be-natural chest. "I found it." "Thank the Lord," Edna shouted out gratefully. "Bring it here before your mother realizes it's missing." Hannah considered that for a moment. The urge to jerk the knife out of Brandi's chest and head for the kitchen at a run was strong. But equally strong was the awareness of her civic duty. Brandi didn't stab herself, and that meant murder. And disturbing a crime scene by removing the murder weapon was a big no-no. "Sorry Edna . . . I can't bring it in." "Why not?" "Because Brandi's got it." And with that said, Hannah turned and headed back to the kitchen to explain… Click here now to buy this book from Amazon.com. |
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