Stars: 5 out of 5
Pros: Enchanting characters in a decent mystery
Cons: Pace slows a little in the middle; Hannah doesn't
share all clues with police
The Bottom Line:
Murder at the fair
Magic, mayhem, and some pies
Delicious and fun
Murder on the Midway
Welcome back to Lake
Eden , Minnesota, for Key Lime Pie Murder, the ninth entry in Joanne Fluke's Hannah Swensen mystery series. Hannah owns
her own cookie shop and when she is not baking up a storm she is solving the
latest homicide, much to the dismay of sometimes boyfriend, police detective
Mike Kingston.
The Tri-County Fair has opened in Lake Eden ,
and it promises to be a busy week for Hannah. Her cookie shop is providing
cookies for the chamber of commerce booth, her two sisters and one niece are in
various contests, and Hannah has agreed to step in as the third judge for the
baking contest.
And it's through the contest that Hannah meets Willa
Sunquist, a student teacher almost done with her schooling. She seems like a
bright, engaging woman, but she hints at secrets in her past. The mystery
surrounding Willa is only compounded when Hannah finds her dead on the midway
just after closing one night. The list of suspects is actually rather long. But
who hated Willa enough to kill her?
These books are an equal mix of charm and mystery. We get
doses of Hannah's life as well as the crime at hand. There is a good mix of the
two, although the mystery does stall ever so slightly around the middle with
the introduction of yet another sub-plot. Yet this last sub-plot actually
turned out to provide an important piece of the puzzle.
My bigger complaint was Hannah's bad habit of not sharing
info with the police. That seemed more of an issue this time around then in
previous books, or maybe I just noticed it more. Either way, she seems to
purposefully keep the information from the police, a habit that would get her
in serious trouble in the real world.
It's best to read these books in order because when you do
it feels like catching up with old friends. And, if you care about what is
happening in their lives, you'll enjoy the many sub-plots that run through the
book. Ms. Fluke manages to keep her characters real, which adds to the
enjoyment. Along the way, we get lots of great character moments.
The character moments provided some of the best laughs of
the book, especially the scenes where Hannah continues to face her two suitors,
the previously mentioned Mike and dentist Norman Rhodes. This is the most
unrealistic story line of the series, but I love watching the love triangle
continue to unfold.
As always, there are more recipes as well. This go around,
we get 16 of them. I've already tried the title recipe, and it's delicious. The
others sound just as promising. And with the increased number of recipes comes
an increased discussion of cooking. But I've come to enjoy these scenes as
well.
Even though this is a murder mystery, Key Lime Pie Murder is a throw
back to small town life and a more innocent time. If that appeals to you,
you'll love this series.
Looking for more? Check out the Hannah Swensen Mysteries in order.
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