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Thursday, March 3, 2022

Book Review: Caramel Pecan Roll Murder by Joanne Fluke (Hannah Swensen #28)

Stars: 3 out of 5
Pros: Better than average entry for the series
Cons: Weighed down by poor editing (and the usual series issues)
The Bottom Line:
Fishing tournament
Brings murder victim to town
Hannah bakes for clues



Hannah Goes Fishing for a Killer

Every spring for years, I’ve gone for a visit to Lake Eden to see what is going on with Hannah Swensen.  This year, we are treated to a new case with Caramel Pecan Roll Murder.

A big fishing competition has come to town, which is a great thing for the Lake Eden Inn.  Since it sits right on Eden Lake, it is playing host to the competitors.  Unfortunately, the inn’s pastry chef is out due to a family emergency, so Sally, the owner, asks Hannah if she will step in and help out for the week.  With everything under control at The Cookie Jar, Hannah is only too happy to help out her friend.

The first morning, Hannah quickly discovers that the celebrity host, Sonny Bowman, is too handsome for his own good, and he knows how to take advantage of it.  Still, she doesn’t expect to find him dead out on the lake next to some caramel pecan rolls.  Who could have killed him?

If you are familiar with the series, you know what to expect here.  I’ll say, I did feel this was a slightly stronger entry in the series than the last few have been.  I’ll get to that in more detail in a bit.

If you are new to the series, I don’t recommend you start here.  The last few books have been pretty eventful in Hannah’s life, and there are some spoilers about those events, as there would have to be.  Additionally, this series is not as strong as it once was.  I suggest going back to the beginning to see why those of us who read it keep coming back to it.

So, let’s get a little more specific, shall we?

Because so much of the book takes place at the Lake Eden Inn, we don’t see as much of the normal crew as usual.  While I missed them, it found it was actually a good thing.  We didn’t have those all too familiar scenes to distract us from the murder.  It was actually more the focal point than we’ve seen in several books, which I appreciated.  Don’t get me wrong, there’s still plenty of food talk and repetitive discussion scenes between the characters, but it wasn’t as bad as usual.

The characters we do get to see are charming as always.  They aren’t full characters any more, but it is still fun to check in and see what they are up to.

The mystery itself was pretty good.  There were several viable suspects and some good twists along the way.

Unfortunately, the book needed a good polish before it was printed.  There were multiple times that characters said or did something that contracted something that we had watched happen.  I flipped back through the book a few times to make sure I wasn’t missing something, and I wasn’t.  Yes, the plot still makes sense in the end, but it was very annoying.  I get why it would happen when the book was being written, but those are the kind of things an editor should catch.

Of course, there are recipes.  Lots and lots of recipes.  While the focus is on desserts, we get an interesting sounding omelet recipe and a couple of soups.  As far as the sweets go, there’s the title recipe, some cupcakes, and multiple cookies.  My mouth was drooling as I read.  By my count, there are twenty recipes to enjoy once you’ve finished.

The book doesn’t do much to change what is going on in Hannah’s life, which isn’t a surprise.  The surprise, however, comes at the end.  I’m very curious to see where author Joanne Fluke is going to go with that.

Fans who have stuck with the series will find Caramel Pecan Roll Murder enjoyable.  As I said earlier, if you are curious about the series, I definitely recommend you start from the beginning to see why it has been so popular for so long.

Need more Hannah?  Here are the Hannah Swensen Mysteries in order.

5 comments:

  1. After the last book, I had decided to stop reading this series so did not plan to read this one. After reading your review, I go ahead and try it.

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  2. I have read all the hannah books about 10+ times each...until about cinnamon roll murder. Somewhere around there, they changed. I thought this book was far better than the last few, but it was still lacking. Contradictions all over! The story line jumped! Rosa explained letting Lily into a room, and then later we learn Rosa helped raise Lily! That was explained chapters later, by someone else, and Hannah never questioned Rosa about that. I'm guessing editorial mistakes there. The characters act differently, we don't see a lot of the usual characters, definitely a different writer. I'm actually sad because I SO enjoy the hannah books (even if things like dating 2 guys and no sex, and they are OK with that, is unrealistic), but they are disappointing of late.

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  3. I just can't get past all the coffee and cookies and desserts they are constantly having! It really gets old after a bit..I would EASILY weigh 500 pounds..sweets as a treat are fine, but not total diet...

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  4. The lack of editing really irritated me. I won’t be reading any further.

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  5. I quit after she married Ross. I was irritated by the Mike/Norman nonsense, but thought Ross was a cop out. Also, thought the books had too much repetitive filler just to make them long enough. It certainly didn’t add to the plot or character development. Now I read reviews after the books come out. Saves time and aggravation.

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