Stars: 3 out of 5
Pros: Hannah and the rest of the cast; mouthwatering recipes
Cons: Very slow plot
The Bottom Line:
Hannah goes to court
Finds another dead body
Cooks up solution
Judge Not, Least You Be Murdered
One of the first series I started reading when I started reading
cozy mysteries was Joanne Fluke’s Hannah Swensen series. It even got
me baking for a few years before I got lazy and stopped again. I
always look forward to each new book in the series, although the series does
seem to be declining. Unfortunately, Double Fudge Brownie Murder, the newest in the series, isn’t the
strongest.
If you are new to the series, Hannah owns The Cookie Jar in
the small town of Lake Eden, Minnesota. Despite it being a small
town, she is always stumbling upon murder victims, usually next to her latest
culinary creation. Each book is filled with recipes as well as
clues, and this book resolves a mini-cliffhanger from the previous book in the
series.
Doc has a surprise for Hannah’s mother Delores. He’s
decided that they should elope to Vegas for their wedding with Hannah, Andrea,
and Michelle along for the vacation. The only other addition to the
party is Doc’s best man. It’s a wonderful vacation that gives Hannah
the room to face what is coming.
Because when Hannah returns to Lake Eden, it’s time for her
trial for vehicular manslaughter. Despite the fact that her lawyer
is still telling her that she has nothing to worry about, she can’t help but be
nervous, especially when Judge Colfax asks for a pre-trial meeting. While
waiting for that meeting, Hannah hears a thump from his chambers and goes in to
find the judge dead next to one of her double fudge brownies. Since
she was about to stand trial in his court, the police consider Hannah a
suspect. Can she find the real killer and clear her name?
So what is my problem with this book? Pacing. As
much as I love these characters, I do read the books for the mystery. Here,
the mystery doesn’t come close to starting until the second quarter and even
then it never progresses quickly thanks to lots of talk about cooking. Yes,
this series always has lots to do with cooking, but here I felt like it
overwhelmed the mystery. In the end, it does reach a logical ending
with a suspenseful final scene.
However, the characters are still wonderful. After
so many books in the series, it’s hard not to feel like these characters are
old friends, and each visit does give me a chance to see what is happening with
them. I laughed a few times and generally enjoyed spending time with
them.
There has been a long running love triangle in the series,
and it looks like that particular plot is winding down. I won’t say
any more about it but to say I like the direction it is heading. I’ll leave it for you to discover just what
that might be.
And, yes, there are recipes. By my count, there
are 23 of them in this book plus a couple of variations and frosting recipes,
and all of them sound good enough to make you drool. Really,
deciding to give up sweets right before this came out was so stupid. And
all the recipes provide enough detail that even a novice baker like me can pull
them off. It’s almost enough to make me want to bake again. Almost.
Double Fudge Brownie Murder is a book that fans of the series will want to read to catch up with
favorite characters. However, it is not a book to entice new comers
to start reading about Hannah.
Looking for more delicious food with a hint of murder? Check out the rest of the Hannah Swensen Mysteries in order.
I just read my first book by Fluke last year and really enjoyed it. While I think this isn't the next one I'll pick up due to the late starting mystery it still sounds like a fun read. I'm glad to know the love triangle seems to be getting resolved! I can only take so much of that!
ReplyDeleteI have read and loved this series for years, so this was a particularly hard review for me to write. But that means you've got plenty of great books to read in this series.
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