Culinary cozy mysteries are increasingly popular, and few do it better than Joanne Fluke. Her newest novel combines food, a family reunion, murder...and a few recipes.
Hannah Swenson, a bakery owner in rural Minnesota, is having a busy summer. Business is brisk and she's helping her partner, Lisa, plan a big family reunion. Things start to get really hectic when Lisa's long-lost uncle makes a surprise appearance. No one has seen or heard from him in 25 years, but old animosities quickly reappear. What's more: Hannah's cat, Moishe is acting strangely and she's having trouble keeping the two men in her life from competing with one another.
Uncle Gus
Some family members doubt that this person is really even Gus. It would be easy for someone else to impersonate him after all of these years. However, at the reunion, he is the life of the party...and a big fan of Hannah's carrott cake. Everyone is surprised when he doesn't show up for the group photo the next morning--surprised and concerned.
Hannah Investigates
After Lisa's family asks Hannah to see if she can find Gus, Hannah discovers two pieces of her carrot cake icing side down in the park pavilion. Beside the cake she finds something much more upsetting--the lifeless body of Uncle Gus with an ice pick sticking out from his back.
A little probing by Hannah and her friends reveals that Gus had more than a few secrets and that his reason for returning to Minnesota was something other than missing his family. The most disturbing part of the mystery is her suspicion that the murder must be a local resident. The distinctive ice pick was only available as a souvenir of a local merchant. It's very unlikely that an outsider would have one.
Carrot Cake Murder, the tenth installment in the Hannah Swenson series, is a fun, summertime mystery, ideal for taking to the beach. Fans of the series will have a chance to catch up with most of the regular characters and Hannah is still trying to decide between her two suitors. The recipes are a bonus and include Viking Cookies, Red Velvet Cookies, Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake, and, of course, Hannah's Special Carrot Cake.
About Joanne Fluke
Joanne Fluke is a native of rural Minnesota, who now lives in sunny Southern California with her husband, kids, dogs, and cat. She is currently at work on her next Hannah Swensen mystery, Cream Puff Murder, due out in March of 2009. You can read more about Fluke on her Web site, murder she baked.
Related Articles
- Dark Tort by Diane Mott Davidson
- Murder Most Frothy by Cleo Coyle
- A Catered Valentine's Day by Isis Crawford
