Strawberry Shortcake Murder by Joanne Fluke
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Cozy Murder Mystery, Amateur Sleuth
“An icy wind had kicked up, and the metal walls of the truck creaked and groaned with each gust. She wasn’t the type to be frightened at nothing, but Hannah couldn’t help thinking about what would happen if the killer had found out that she was searching Ruby’s outtakes for the sight of his cuff links.”
Hannah Swenson, baker and owner of The Cookie Jar, has been chosen as head judge for the first annual Hartland Flour Dessert Bake Off competition. In order to boost ratings, they have asked Hannah to bake a dessert on camera during the news every night before the competition as well. After the first night, fellow judge, Coach Boyd Watson was not making any friends. He has a good pallet but could use some tact.
“But feelings have no place in a competition like this. Either you win or you don’t. There’s no sense in sugarcoating it. If you don’t come in first, you’re a loser.”
When Boyd turns up dead in his garage that night, murdered from a blow to the head with a hammer from his own workbench, it seems like maybe someone else doesn’t like him either. Could it have to do with his judging on the competition or something else?
When police seem to have stopped looking for the murderer past his abused wife, Danielle, Hannah knows she must step in and find the actual murderer before they lock up her friend for a crime she didn’t commit. Her sister Andrea steps in to help out. They bonded after the last murder they solved together, since they don’t have much else in common.
“You didn’t think I’d let you tackle something like this alone, did you?” Andrea gave a smug little smile. “I’m not quite as good at snooping as you are, but I’m learning.”
Together Hannah and Andrea uncover an extortion problem in town. Does this have anything to do with Boyd’s murder? They will need to solve this problem as well before they can find out.
Book 2 in the series and I am loving it even more! These books are so easy and quick, even though this one was 307 pages I just breezed through it. And they are so light hearted for a murder mystery. They are a great cure for a book hangover. When you have been reading heavy stories and serious plots, these are just the thing to cleanse your palette and reboot your spirit. A book for many ages, there is no bad language, no sex; there is a murder, so some violence included but no gruesomeness, and there is reference to domestic violence. The characters are wonderful and I enjoy getting to know them more and more with each book. I absolutely love the recipes included throughout! I haven’t tried them all yet but the ones I have are wonderful. They add such a sense of fun to the story. I cannot get enough.
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