cherry cheesecake tastic
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i love this series and this book doesnt disappoint. the only thing i didnt like was that the murder ddint really take place til u were about 200 pages in and then all the suspects were elimnated pretty quickly. as to who will hannah pick as her main man, still keeping you hanging, maybe we will find out in key lime pie murder or maybe not!!!!
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V-rooming Red & Spicy From Cover to End
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Pick, pick, pick. Push, push, push. "Make your choice, Hannah!" All the characters were snapping down their two cents and hooting like owls, "who, who, who."
Hannah-the-carrot-top showed her colors and lassoed me into the story by the brilliant way she turned off the tension of making an immediate decision about Mike and Norm's dual marriage proposals. And their response to her "proposal" (in my book) was perfect, as was their response to Ross, Hannah's new love interest, before and after Ross garnered his rivals' friendship by giving them parts in the movie "scene."
The scene of needing an emergency entre for a brunch being catered for the movie cast and crew was handled with lip-smacking panache, and sugar-glued me into the story for keeps. After the planned entre had been literally "dumped," Hannah stepped in with grandma Ingrid's fruit-pocket-french-toast-casserole, drawing out the prep process in drooling detail as Edna and several of the women pitched in around Hannah to save the brunch. That culinary drama gave a reading enthrallment factor on par with Goldilocks Catering's extensive in-plot kitchen machinations.
I was intrigued by the complex (and juicy) weaving of the title confection (cherry cheesecake) into the story, prior to the prologue murder scene being plopped into the ongoing action. As I did in SUGAR COOKIE MURDER, I enjoyed the half-book build-up to the murder event. This allowed the development of the sweet and tangy scenes of the small town percolation to seat nicely before the character warmth went entertainingly sour as suspects were contemplated and death chilled the mood. Also, in this half-book murder-pop plot-timing, the clues have been brought in with a subtle, sneaky hand, and the reader has the option to lay back and enjoy the small town maneuvering instead of applying a magnifying glass to every scene in the early parts of the book. I did the lay back read first, then reviewed the first half of the book after finishing the read, to catch the clues which I had ignored while soaking up the purity of fun prior to the dark descent of human perversion.
Enjoyed the barn scene with Hannah's surprising knowledge of farms and barnyards based on her childhood visits to grandparents. That type of knowledge brought an entertainingly earthy contrast to the college scene memories brought up by Hannah's relationship with Lynne and Ross. After dark, Hannah and Andrea had snuck into Winnie's barn and tromped around the muck and penned cows (and a bull), looking for clues. The scenarios Hannah came up with on what might happen in the bull's pen were a hilarious contrast to what actually came to pass, with the reality winning the ribbon for fun and realism, leaving the imaginary scenarios in the cow pies, a few of which could have twisted a Fluke into a King.
Genius has a way of weaving through even the lightest, most entertaining art. Yet, Fluke is smart enough to fuel her growing audience by keeping the Knapp light and bright, with dark and dreary used with a balsamic touch. This way she fully satisfies the cozy audience while giving a richer flavor for those whose magnifying glasses are humongous and heavy. Ugh. Where's my hydraulic crane?
CHERRY CHEESECAKE MURDER is the first of Joanne Fluke's Hannah Swensen series to hit the New York Times Bestseller list. Congratulations, Joanne!
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Cosy reading
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Hannah Swenson is back! This time Hannah's sister, Michelle, has helped arrange for Lake Eden to be used as a location for a film shoot. During filming, the director Dean Lawrence shoots himself whilst demonstrating a suicide scene from the film...the fake gun was switched for a real one, but who was responsible??
This story line for this novel allows a number of new characters to be introduced into Lake Eden, including Hannah's old flame Ross Barton. This was quite refreshing but meant that some of the more common plot lines, such as Hannah's love triange with Norman and Mike, were a little side-lined. It also took quite a while for the murder to take place (200 pages into the book) which is a change from the usual structure.
If you have enjoyed other Hannah Swenson books, then you would probably like this one, a comforting, homely book with the usual stock of cookie recipes.
I'm hoping that the next installment (The Key Lime Pie Murder) will pick up some of the plot lines from previous books! If you haven't read this series before, you are better off starting with 'The Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder' and working your way through.
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Hollywood Comes to Lake Eden
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Living in a small town has certain advantages and disadvantages. Right now, Hannah Swensen would list among the disadvantages everyone knowing her business. Ever since both town dentist Norman and police detective Mike proposed to her, she has been getting lots of phone calls from people telling her whom to marry. The phone calls start even before she leaves for her shop, The Cookie Jar, early in the morning. All that gets set on the back burner when Hollywood comes calling. Director Dean Lawrence chooses Lake Eden as a location for the independent movie he's making, using many of the locals as extras or giving them bit parts. Hannah's niece Tracey lands the part of the main character as a child, and even Moishe finds a roll as the movie's cat. Hannah is shocked to discover old college friends among the cast and crew. The script's writer is Ross Barton, a man Hannah had secretly had a crush on back then. When they begin spending lots of time together, the rumor mill starts up and both Mike and Norman are seeing red. The movie is not without controversy, however. Mr. Lawrence wants to move a statue to film one scene, and the sculptor's sister will have none of it. He is generally rude to the locals and hits on every woman in sight. He's demanding of those under him. At least he does love the cherry cheesecake Hannah made especially for him and jumps at the idea of using mini cherry cheesecakes in one scene. Then the unthinkable happens. Dean Lawrence is demonstrating a scene for an actor who is having a hard time grasping how he should play it when the prop gun goes off and Dean is killed. There's no way it was an accident and little likelihood is was suicide, so the police begin to investigate. Never one to ignore her curiosity, Hannah begins her own investigation. But was it a local or someone from the movie? There's certainly no shortage of suspects or motives to sift through. This series has developed a loyal fan based because of the characters, and this book will be sure to please them. The entire cast is their usual charming selves and spending time with them is always fun. Tracey really gets a chance to shine in this book. She may not behave like a normal seven year old, but watching her campaign to get the part in the movie was wonderful. As always, Moishe manages to steal every scene he is in. That cat has a mind of his own and it shows. Many readers are getting tired of the Mike/Norman/Hannah love triangle. They will find this book disappointing. While I realize the on going story line is completely unrealistic, I also find it fun and really don't care. It provides lots of laughs in the first two chapters and several more over the course of the book. The only strike against this book is the pacing of the story. While we seen the murder in the prologue, it doesn't take place in the story until after the half waypoint. While there is still plenty going on to keep the reader entertained, it begins to drag before the murder takes place. Once Dean dies, the story picks up the pace again and leads to a cleave solution. I do wish the murder had come sooner and the sub-plots woven in after it happened, however. This book features ten new recipes. I've only tried the title recipe (that's right, I'm finally trying them). Trust me, if you like cheesecake you need to get the recipe. It's worth the price of the book alone. This series has always been light and fun, and the eighth book continues that tradition. It's best to start with the early books because the half the fun of the series is the characters and the more you know about them the better you appreciate them.
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