Book Review: Strawberry Shortcake Murder by Joanne Fluke (Hannah Swensen #2)

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Hannah, Andrea, and the recipes

Cons: Too little of the supporting cast and a plot too much like book one.

The Bottom Line:

Plot too familiar

But characters are still fun

Recipes are great

Come Back for a Second Helping of Murder

Hannah Swensen is back in Strawberry Shortcake Murder and ready for more action. When her friend Danielle Watson calls and asks Hannah to come over, she is surprised to find that Danielle's husband Boyd has been murdered in their garage. The police suspect Danielle because of Boyd's abusive history. But Hannah is convinced that she's innocent and starts her own investigation. While staying a step ahead of the police, Hannah finds blackmail, town secrets, and a second body. But can she find the killer before he or she decides Hannah knows too much?

I was slightly disappointed with this book. I saw several plot points coming long before they did. Also, I would have liked to see more of Hannah's family and friends. These wonderful characters helped make the first book for me, but they had a significantly smaller roll here.

Still, the overall mystery and motives were great. And I loved seeing the relationship between Hannah and her sister Andrea mature. These two provided some great laughs and smiles. The setting, Minnesota in December, was so vivid it made me shiver from cold. And it includes 7 more delicious sounding recipes including some I wished were in the first book.

I recommend Strawberry Shortcake Murder and am looking forward to the next in this wonderful series, hopefully with a little more character development for the wonderful cast of supporting characters.

You'll be left wanting to read more in the Hannah Swensen Mysteries in order.