PLUM PUDDING MURDER
Joanne Fluke
Kensington
Mystery
ISBN: 9780758210241
As usual, Joanne Fluke’s intrepid sleuth and baker extraordinaire, Hannah Swensen, is busy, busy, busy. Christmas is only 10 days away, and with the holiday fast approaching, she has a lot to do. As the one elected to cook Christmas dinner for her family and friends, it seems like her to-do list doesn’t have an end.
Also taking up much of her time is her bakery, The Cookie Jar, the store where Hannah sells her cookies and other sweet delicacies. Thankfully, business is booming, and this year she and her partner, Lisa, have a contract to deliver cookies to the Crazy Elf Christmas Cookie Shop. People can’t buy the cookies fast enough, and the shop is selling out on a daily basis. That’s when Hannah comes up with the idea for something new to offer: Minnesota Plum Pudding. While plum pudding doesn’t typically contain plums and is just about as popular as the tired, dry fruitcake your Aunt Betty sends to you every year, Hannah decides it’s time for her to come up with a tasty, fruity version of an old standby.
As if Hannah doesn't have enough to do, she somehow gets conned into attending a business course at the local college with her wily mother, Delores, where she runs into an old flame. If there’s one thing Hannah doesn’t need, it’s another man in her life. At the moment, she is still dating policeman Mike and dentist Norman and trying to keep it light on both counts. When Norman, Mike and Delores all come to Hannah concerned about Norman’s mother, Carrie, who is ditching friends and family, lying and behaving strangely, what else can Hannah do but to promise to help them get to the bottom of her recent actions?
And then there's Moishe. While Hannah would like to enter into the Christmas spirit by having her first tree in years, furry pal and champion mouser Moishe doesn't like this big green thing that has invaded his territory, and he is not shy about letting it be known. How in the heck will Hannah decorate her tree when the cat refuses to let it remain in a vertical position?
All of these concerns dim somewhat, however, when the shady businessman who owns the Crazy Elf Christmas Tree Lot, Larry Jaeger, is shot to death. Talk about putting a damper on the season. Remaining undaunted, Hannah keeps pressing forward and adds solving the murder to her ever-growing to-do list.
She has some real sleuthing ahead of her, though. There seems to be no end of suspects in the murder of the oily businessman. Could it be his ex-wife, Dr. Love, whom he hasn't seen in 15 years; Courtney, Larry's fiancée, whom he had been using for her money, among other things; or Mayor Bascomb and the other investors in the Crazy Elf Christmas Tree Lot? It's hard to say. A dishonest man can make enemies quicker than Hannah can make cookies.
PLUM PUDDING MURDER is another delightful installment in Joanne Fluke's already successful Hannah Swensen mystery series. There is just something cozy and comforting about spending the holidays with friends and family. Also included are a plethora of recipes both Christmas and otherwise. Get ready to enjoy such treats as Holly Jolly Coffee, Christmas Cheese Rounds, Easy Cheesy Biscuits and Hannah’s entire Christmas dinner menu.
--- Reviewed by Amie Taylor
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