Fudge Cupcake Murder [Review]

Stats:
#5 in series
304 pages [Paperback]
Published 1 Feb 2005


Synopsis:
Bakery owner Hannah Swensen just cant keep her hands out of the batter when murder stirs things up in Lake Eden, Minnesota, leaving the sheriff dead, a deputy accused, and a killer on the loose.

For Hannah, life seems to be lacking a certain flavor lately. Maybe its the local sheriffs election thats got her down. For years, Sheriff Grants been the iron hand in town. But now, Hannahs brother-in-law Bill is giving the old blowhard the fight of his long, dubious careerand Grants not taking it well, especially once the polls show Bill pulling ahead.

But before anyone can taste victory, things go sour. While Hannah's emptying the trash, she makes a very unappetizing discovery: Sheriff Grants body in the Dumpster behind the high school where shes teaching her cooking class. And as if that werent bad enough, the poor man still has fudge frosting on his shirt from one of her cupcakes.

The number one and only suspect is Bill, but Hannahs not swallowing it. Plenty of people had reason to hate Sheriff Grant. Soon, Hannahs dishing up scandalous secrets, steaming hot betrayals, and enough intrigue to keep the gossip mill at The Cookie Jar going through several pots of decaf. And the closer Hannah gets to the truth, the closer she gets to smoking out a murderer with a very nasty recipe for silencing people


My Thoughts:
Maybe it's the crazy cat lady in me, but I love when Fluke focuses on Moishe. I thought the Moishe substoryline was just hilarious :) It reminds me of something my Bella would do.

I wasn't surprised that Mike was put in a bad light in this book, in fact, I was hoping that would happen. Although I do want to shake Hannah and tell her not to be fooled by his looks, which seems to be her big plus for him. Looks don't last forever, Hannah! Go with Norman!

As far as the murder, this one was probably the craziest one yet. I wasn't sure what was really going on until it actually happened. I think I probably overthought it though :)

AND I loved that the main recipe was a mystery for nearly the whole book. I was thinking maybe the secret ingredient was mayonnaise or sour cream.

Recipes in this book include: Andrea's Pecan Divines, Apple Orchard Cookie Bars, Hannah's Bananas, Boggles, Cashew Crisps, Cherry Winks, Corn Cookies, Fudge Cupcakes, Hole in One, and Surprise Cookies.


Previous Review:
Lemon Meringue Pie Murder by Joanne Fluke [here]

[Counts toward my TBR Pile challenge: here]

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