A Yummy Treat!

It's Tri-County fair time and Lake Eden, Minnesota, is buzzing with more than mosquitoes. Hannah Swensen, owner of The Cookie Jar, is hot on the trail of a killer whose perfect carnival prize would be getting away with murder...

It promises to be a busy week for Hannah Swensen. Not only is she whipping up treats for the chamber of commerce booth at the fair; she's also judging the baking contest; acting as a magician's assistant for her business partner's husband; trying to coax Moishe, her previously rapacious feline, to end his hunger strike, and performing her own private carnival act by juggling the demands of her mother and sisters.

With so much on her plate, it's no wonder Hannah finds herself on the midway only moments before the fair closes for the night. As the lights click off, she realizes that she's not alone among the shuttered booths and looming carnival attractions. After hearing a suspicious thump, she goes snooping - only to discover Willa Sunquist, a student teacher and fellow bake contest judge, dead alongside an upended key lime pie. But who would want to kill Willa and why? Before long Hannah is sifting through motives and a list of suspects which include a high school student Willa flunked, the hot-blooded brothers of a disqualified beauty contestant, a rodeo cowboy, a baking competitor who failed to win her yearly blue ribbon, and the college professor Willa was dating.

As fair week draws to a close, Hannah cranks up the heat, hoping that the killer will get rattled and make a mistake. If that happens she intends to be there, even if it means getting on a carnival ride that could very well be her last...

Title: Key Lime Pie Murder
Author: Joanne Fluke
Series: Hannah Swensen, Book 9
Published: March 1, 2007
Publisher: Kensington Publishing
Pages: 352
Genre: Cozy Mystery- Culinary

Key Lime Pie Murder is the latest release in the Hannah Swensen cozy mysteries by Joanne Fluke. It’s a fluffy, PG-13 cozy mystery that has plenty of truly yummy recipes included in the book that I can’t wait to try! Especially the popovers, the peach bread, the orange cake, the Mock Apple Pie, and the blonde brownies. Wow did you just hear all the tummy rumbles? I think I would like the Deep-Fried Candy Bars too but all that sugar would make me sick.

There are no less than seven recipes in every mystery (50 in Sugar Cookie Murder) but I’ve only made a few (even though I do have copies of all the recipes). The ones I have made from the previous books are still getting rave reviews from family. But that’s enough about the food in the books, the mysteries themselves aren’t all that bad either. The romance is more of an old-fashioned type that you don’t see very much of today which can be a bit infuriating at times but the actual mystery itself is well thought out and flows throughout the book. I have to admit that I have read better "cozies" but I always look forward to the next Hannah mystery (which will be a novella called Candy Cane Murder due out in Oct.). Until then I guess I’ll just have to wait to find out if I’m right about Delores’ (Hannah’s mother) secret!

Hannah Swensen Series
1. Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder (2000)
2. Strawberry Shortcake Murder (2001)
3. Blueberry Muffin Murder (2002)
4. Lemon Meringue Pie Murder (2003)
5. Fudge Cupcake Murder (2004)
6. Sugar Cookie Murder (2004)
7. Peach Cobbler Murder (2005)
8. Cherry Cheesecake Murder (2006)
9. Key Lime Pie Murder (2007)
10. Carrot Cake Murder (2008)
11. Candy Cane Murder (2008) (in Candy Cane Murder)
12. Cream Puff Murder (2009)
13. Plum Pudding Murder (2009)
14. Apple Turnover Murder (2010)
Sugar and Spice (anthology)

First Paragraph: At precisely eight forty-five on the second Monday morning in June, Hannah Swensen took a number from the deli- style dispenser mounted on a pole next to the secretary's desk and plunked herself down in one of the nondescript chairs in the nondescript waiting room to wait her turn.

Source: Library loan, hardcover

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