Triple Chocolate Cheesecake Murder By Joanne Fluke

Publication Date: February 23, 2021

Publisher: Kensington Publishing Corporation

Pages: 352

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Rating: 4/5

This is the 27th book in Fluke’s Hannah Swenson series and it was a lot of fun. The book starts out with Hannah waiting for her sister, Andrea, outside the mayor’s office where Andrea ends up slapping him before running off. Andrea later brings the mayor a slice of Hannah’s incredible triple chocolate cheesecake as a peace offering but is shocked to find him bludgeoned to death. Of course Hannah immediately starts investigating and we follow along with her as she bakes, drinks coffee and solves the crime.

Most cozy mysteries are for a very specific audience since the writing is more carefree and the crime is secondary to the lives of the characters. The Hannah Swenson series is for an even more specific audience because the characters, the dialogue and the way of life in Lake Eden can feel older or even old fashioned. One reason I enjoy them so much is because of the strong sense of community and family in these books. But my favorite part is the baking and the crime solving. Hannah makes so many delicious sounding desserts and dinners that my mouth is always watering reading this series. Which is a good thing since all of the books contain recipes for almost everything she makes.

I really enjoyed the story of this one because there were a lot of suspects for who would want to kill the mayor and I enjoyed the process of Hannah narrowing down the list. I also really appreciated the resolution of this one and how it managed to expand the world of Lake Eden. Which is pretty impressive considering how prolific this series is.

If you have previously read a Hannah Swenson novel then I think you will find this a pleasant addition to the series. I jump around a lot in this series but I wouldn’t recommend starting with this one because it does spoil a pretty major event of the previous book. I look forward to making more than a few recipes in this book, especially since it is centered around Easter which is right around the corner!

~Cassie