Book Review: Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

[3 stars]

Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder Amazon US PB Amazon US HC Amazon Canada PB Amazon Canada HC
Joanne Fluke
Class/Genre: Mystery Amateur Sleuth Woman Main Character Cozy
Series: Hannah Swensen # 1
Kensington Pub. Corp. (Trd), April 2000, $20.00 320 pp.

Thirty-year old Hannah Swensen lives in Lake Eden, Minnesota, a town with a winter population of about three thousand residents. Though her mother lives near her, Hannah likes living in her own condo shared with a one-eyed cat, Moishe. Hannah enjoys being single and resents her mother’s efforts to fix her up with seemingly every bachelor in the state. Hannah owns and operates the Cookie Jar, a combination coffeehouse and catering service. Her business is thriving but dramatically increases when Hannah discovers the murdered body of dairy delivery person Ron La Salle in the parking space behind her shop.

Hannah’s brother-in-law Winnekta County Deputy Sheriff Bill Todd asks her to help him solve the case. He knows she is a good sleuth and he feels he will get a promotion if they succeed. The enthusiastic Hannah dives into the investigation to uncover the identity of a killer. However, unlike a cat, Hannah does not have nine lives and if she gets too close she might lose the one she has.

Readers will need to make a quantum leap of faith that a law enforcement official will ask a civilian to help on a homicide case. That flaw permeates a well-written novel as Bill continuously encourages his sister-in-law Hannah to make inquiries that place her in danger. The story line is fats-paced and the fully developed characters except for Bill (who places career ahead of loved ones) are all likable. Throughout the tale are recipes for cookies as expected from a “culinary” mystery. Joanne Fluke shows she is no fluke as an author of amateur sleuth tales, as the novel is quite interesting, but needs a different means for Hannah to enter the investigation.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner