Fudge Cupcake Murder (Hannah Swensen Mysteries)
2 journalers for this copy...
Picked this up at my local ubs, Willow Tree Books.
From the cover -
For Hannah, life seems to be lacking a certain flavor lately. Maybe it's the local sheriff's election that's got her down. For years, Sheriff Grant's been the iron hand in town. But now, Hannah's brother-in-law Bill is giving the old blowhard the fight of his long, dubious career - and Grant's not taking it well, especially once the polls show Bill pulling ahead.
But before anyone can taste victory, things go sour. While Hannah's emptying the trash, she makes a very unappetizing discovery. Sheriff Grant's body in the Dumpster behind the high school where she's teaching her cooking class. And as if that weren't bad enough, the poor man still has fudge frosting on his shirt from one of her cupcakes.
The number one - and only - suspect is Bill, but Hannah's not swallowing it. Plenty of people had reason to hate Sheriff Grant. Soon, Hannah's dishing up scandalous secrets, steaming hot betrayals, and enough intrigue to keep the gossip mill at The Cookie Jar going through several pots of decaf. And the closer Hannah gets to the truth, the closer she gets to smoking out a murderer with a very nasty recipe for silencing people...
From the cover -
For Hannah, life seems to be lacking a certain flavor lately. Maybe it's the local sheriff's election that's got her down. For years, Sheriff Grant's been the iron hand in town. But now, Hannah's brother-in-law Bill is giving the old blowhard the fight of his long, dubious career - and Grant's not taking it well, especially once the polls show Bill pulling ahead.
But before anyone can taste victory, things go sour. While Hannah's emptying the trash, she makes a very unappetizing discovery. Sheriff Grant's body in the Dumpster behind the high school where she's teaching her cooking class. And as if that weren't bad enough, the poor man still has fudge frosting on his shirt from one of her cupcakes.
The number one - and only - suspect is Bill, but Hannah's not swallowing it. Plenty of people had reason to hate Sheriff Grant. Soon, Hannah's dishing up scandalous secrets, steaming hot betrayals, and enough intrigue to keep the gossip mill at The Cookie Jar going through several pots of decaf. And the closer Hannah gets to the truth, the closer she gets to smoking out a murderer with a very nasty recipe for silencing people...
Ok, first of all, to warn future readers. Do not do like I did upon starting this story, and go searching in the back of the book for the fudge cupcake recipe and scan it (all the while wondering why it is in the back of the book, unlike the previous one Lemon Meringue Pie Murder, where that recipe is right up in the front of the book where it begins the story). There is a secondary mystery in this book (second only to the murder), about a mystery ingredient in the fudge cupcakes. Don't do as I did, scan the recipe and wreck that mystery!
Having said all that, I enjoyed this mystery, although perhaps not as much as LMPMurder. Norman and Mike are absent for 3/4 of this story; Norman's off at a dental convention, and Hannah's mad at Mike, since as acting sheriff, he's suspended Bill while he's a suspect in the murder. In LMPMurder, I was able to spot a crucial clue near the end; in this one, it didn't seem as though all the clues came together to point to the killer till almost the end of the story. Still, an enjoyable time in Minnesota. Looking forward to reading the next book, Sugar Cookie Murder, which I have but won't be reading for a while.
This is reserved for a cozy bookbox that should be coming my way in a couple of months.
Having said all that, I enjoyed this mystery, although perhaps not as much as LMPMurder. Norman and Mike are absent for 3/4 of this story; Norman's off at a dental convention, and Hannah's mad at Mike, since as acting sheriff, he's suspended Bill while he's a suspect in the murder. In LMPMurder, I was able to spot a crucial clue near the end; in this one, it didn't seem as though all the clues came together to point to the killer till almost the end of the story. Still, an enjoyable time in Minnesota. Looking forward to reading the next book, Sugar Cookie Murder, which I have but won't be reading for a while.
This is reserved for a cozy bookbox that should be coming my way in a couple of months.
Released 11 yrs ago (7/29/2012 UTC) at Taneytown, Maryland -- Controlled Releases
CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:
Putting this in Affinity4books' Cozy Mystery bookbox. Hope the next reader enjoys!
Wow, a wishlist book found in a bookbox! Thank you so much for including it!
