Barb's Book Reviews: Review of "Christmas Cupcake Murder: A Hannah Swensen Holiday Mystery with Recipes" by Joanne Fluke

This 26th book in the Hannan Swensen series is a flashback to the baker's early days as owner of 'The Cookie Jar' bakery in Lake Eden, Minnesota.

In this story Hannah and her friends and family try to help a homeless man with amnesia. The book can be read as a standalone.

*****

Hannah Swensen is always at her bakery, 'The Cookie Jar', before the crack of dawn - to prepare the goodies that will be sold during the morning rush. It's Christmas season, and Hannah is inspired to create new delectables for the festive time of year.

Hannah's morning preparations are interrupted by a knock on the shop's back door, where Hannah finds a homeless man who's cold and hungry.

The man asks for food in exchange for work, and Hannah immediately seats him at the work station and joins him for coffee and German chocolate cupcakes. It turns out the unfortunate fellow can't remember his name or much about himself, but he's polite and non-threatening, and Hannah feels compelled to help him.

As the story unfolds the 'John Doe' ends up in the hospital, suffering from an infection, malnutrition, and exposure to the cold.

Doc Knight determines that the amnesiac suffered a blow to the head, possibly due to foul play, and this makes Hannah and her crew even more anxious to discover his identity.

Hannah's helpers include her mother Delores;

sister Andrea;

dentist friend Norman;

detective friend Mike;

and other people in town.

Various members of the group frequently get together for breakfast; lunch; dinner; or more often just coffee and cookies.....and discuss clues they've gleaned about John Doe. (These folks eat sweets all day. No real person could consume this many desserts and cookies and cupcakes and be healthy.)

Slowly the amnesiac remembers that his mother liked to bake and make parties; that he lived near a lake; that he knows how to restore furniture; etc. The crew uses these hints to try to get John Doe back home where he belongs....hopefully without endangering his life. It's fun to see Hannah put together the evidence and solve the mystery of John Doe's identity.

Hannah bakes and cooks all through the book, and recipes are included.

The story is thin but if you like a slight tale with lots of delicious snacks, you'll enjoy this book.

Thanks to Netgalley, the author (Joanne Fluke), and the publisher (Kensington Books) for a copy of the book.

Recipes in the book include:

German Chocolate Cupcakes