(Warning: Contains spoilers.)
This was refreshingly new for me to discover- I stumbled across it when I previously read A Plain Vanilla Murder (also cozy mystery, but centered around botany) and wanted something similar. It's a flavorful confection-themed mystery sprinkled with suspense and the tart wittiness of the heroine, Hannah, along with the residents of the small town Lake Eden. When Ron LaSalle, Lake Eden’s football star, is found dead next to Hannah Swensen (the owner of The Cookie Jar)’s sweets, she is forced to take action and go on a sleuthing mission to find the killer- because the reputation of her bakery is at stake. She has already had her hands full with the bakery and avoiding her insistently controlling mother, Delores, who seems to be pushing any divorced or single person her way and commandeering her life. It wasn't packed to the rim with suspects, but it was still complex and just when it seemed that the mystery was solved, another dead body would show up. Another twist surfaced when Coach Boyd Watson became a suspect. It didn't help that he was a wife beater and had abused Danielle several times, despite Danielle desperately trying to cover up for him by claiming that he always apologized after. However he couldn't remain a suspect for long because of Danielle's refusal to file a complaint against him for domestic violence. At the end it was finally made clear who the killer was- Judith, or “Queen Judith” as Hannah’s sister, Andrea, has named her. It was surprising considering that Judith hadn’t even been on the list- she’s posh, stuck-up, and very sophisticated. Although it explained what the "W" that they had found in one of their lead's notes stood for- the W in Judith Woodley.
10/10. I haven’t read any “cozy culinary mystery” books before (the genre I stick to is usually fantasy/fiction) but it was well-written. It’s suspenseful and page-turning but at the same time not gory. The Hannah Swensen Mysteries is a long-running series; 28 books in total so far; so there’s certainly an abundance of them. I did some online surfing and it looks like a lot of cozy mystery series are long, and it is perfect for binge-reading if you prefer that. There’s a wide selection if binge-reading exclusively one series isn't up your alley. It lives up to its name, cozy mystery, and I’m interested to see what else the genre has to offer.
Comments