Sunday, February 2, 2014

Blackberry Pie Murder by Joanne Fluke, Kensington Publishing

The Swensens are very familiar with murder, “All three Swensen daughters were silent for a moment…..the troubles that the Richardson family had endured. It had started when Jennifer had run away from home…Wes Richardson had fatally shot himself…six months to the day…”

The Swensens at one time or another were always discovering dead bodies, and the local newspaper had written an article about it. “It’s been over four months since a member of the Swensen family had sniffed out the body of a murder victim…” The Editor seemed to have a knack for writing humor into his articles. The Swensens did not make light of his humor.

Hannah Swensen who owns a bakery shop, The Cookie Jar, needed to pick up her truck from the mechanics. She had her friend Lisa ride with her to the garage and made a promise to her mother, “What is it?” Hannah asked…I want you to promise me you won’t find any dead bodies on your way out to Cyril’s garage.” In the heavy rain, Hannah hits a man, “”…despite her promise to her mother….she’d found another dead body. And this time it was even worse because she’d killed him herself!”

Hannah is arrested for vehicular homicide and discusses with her sister Michelle, “I need to know who that man was and what he was doing here in Lake Eden.” From this point, Hannah, her family and friends are determined to find out who this man was.

Once Hannah is released from jail on bail, she continues working at The Cookie Jar creating recipes and helping plan her mother’s second wedding. Meanwhile, Jennifer returns home after more than 10 years of deserting her family. Does Jennifer’s reappearance have anything to do with the man whom Hannah hit?

Ms. Fluke’s mystery novel is a very good read. Even with Jennifer’s homecoming, you do not know why she returns until the end. Hannah’s mother, Delores is a fun character. She is indecisive about making final details regarding her wedding.

There are 25 recipes Hannah shares with us throughout the story. I felt the recipes were a bit much and should have been placed at the end. It seemed to distract my reading flow. I recommend this novel to lovers of mystery novels with a twist.


(I received this book free from Kensington Publishing for review purposes)

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