Blackberry Pie Murder (Hannah Swensen Series #17)

by Joanne Fluke Narrated by Suzanne Toren

Overview

It's been a sleepy summer for the folks of Lake Eden, Minnesota. In fact, it's been a whole four months since anyone in the Swensen family has come across a dead body. And that means Hannah Swensen can finally focus on her bakery. . .or can she? Life is never really quiet for Hannah. After all, her mother's wedding is a little over a month away and guess who Delores put in charge of the planning? Yet just when Hannah believes her biggest challenge will be whether to use buttercream or fondant for the wedding cake, she accidentally hits a stranger with her truck while driving down a country road in a raging thunderstorm. Hannah is wracked with guilt, and things get even worse when she's arrested...for murder! But an autopsy soon reveals the mystery man, his shirt covered in stains from blackberry pie, would have died even if Hannah hadn't hit him. Now, to clear her name, Hannah will have to follow a trail of pie crumbs to track down the identity of the deceased, find a baker who knows more about murder than how to roll out a perfect pie crust--and get herself to the church on time

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly - Audio

05/26/2014
Veteran narrator Toren draws on her special gift for dialogue in the audio edition of the latest installment in Fluke’s popular series describing the adventures of Hannah Swensen, a smalltown Minnesota baker/sleuth. Toren does an effective job of moving the often over-the-top events along, but the highlight is her ability to capture the nuances of individual characters and the speech patterns and flavor of the region. Her turn as Hannah’s high-strung and high-maintenance mother certainly delivers palpable energy and enthusiasm, whether she’s fretting over the details of her upcoming wedding or visiting Minneapolis with her daughter to solve the sordid prostitution case at the heart of the story. Toren even takes pains to voice the distinctive meows of Hannah’s cat. She also handles the recipe segments at the end of each chapter with a pleasant conversational tone. A Kensington hardcover. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

01/06/2014
Early in bestseller Fluke’s witty 17th novel featuring bakery owner Hannah Swensen of Lake Eden, Minn. (after 2013’s The Red Velvet Cupcake Mystery), Hannah finds yet another dead body—that of the unidentified man she hit and apparently killed while driving on a highway during a summer rainstorm. Of course, it was an accident, but Hannah winds up arrested and arraigned. After one of her two suitors, dentist Norman Rhodes, bails her out, Hannah learns that the stains on the victim’s shirt are not blood but blackberry pie—and an autopsy reveals that he was dead before her car hit him. Hannah is now free to look for a killer, as well as look into the case of a runaway who has been missing for years. Tempting recipes at the end of most chapters, including one for fresh blackberry cookies, will appeal to anyone who loves to bake. Author tour. Agent: Meg Ruley, Jane Rotrosen Agency. (Mar.)

From the Publisher

Praise for Joanne Fluke's Hannah Swensen Mystery Series
 
“The mystery is page-turning AND the bakery treats are mouthwatering.” —Jules Herbert, B&N Reads on Caramel Pecan Roll Murder
 
“A good puzzle, lots of delicious recipes, and time spent with Hannah’s beloved fan-favorite cat, Moishe…Fluke reinforces her place as the queen of culinary cozies.” —Publishers Weekly on Caramel Pecan Roll Murder
 
“Naturally, there are suspects aplenty, but Hannah wants to make sure the Lake Eden police find the right one. Will her investigation place the plucky baker in danger? You betcha.” —Kirkus Reviews on Caramel Pecan Roll Murder
 
“Fluke’s fans call her ‘the queen of culinary capers’—and her stories have shown me just how cozy mysteries can be when food
 
is at the heart of them.” —Bon Appetit
 
“Fans of the long-running cozy series will enjoy the baking frame, the delicious-sounding recipes interspersed throughout the story.” —Booklist on Caramel Pecan Roll Murder
 
"The coziest cozies remain those by Joanne Fluke." —The New York Times Book Review on Banana Cream Pie Murder
 
“Fans of the beloved long-running series will revel in another encounter with the familiar cast of characters, all the while relishing the baking frame and the delicious-sounding recipes that are interspersed throughout.” —Booklist on Triple Chocolate Cheesecake Murder
 
“Another sweet-tempered outing filled with tempting sweets.” —Kirkus Reviews on Triple Chocolate Cheesecake Murder
 
“Don't miss this charming mystery, which will also satisfy your sweet tooth.” —Booklist, STARRED REVIEW for Christmas Cupcake Murder
 
“Dripping with sweet desserts and mystery!” —PopSugar on Christmas Cupcake Murder
 
“A lighthearted murder mystery that also happens to have some delicious recipes sprinkled throughout.” —Romper on Christmas Cupcake Murder
 
“Fun characters, delicious treats and a dash of danger abound in this super-sweet whodunit.” —Woman’s World (Book Club Pick) on Christmas Cupcake Murder
 
“Many delightful and mouth-watering recipes…Perusing these sweet treats is sure to have the reader salivating without even consuming a morsel!” —New York Journal of Books on Christmas Cupcake Murder
 
"Fluke demonstrates why she's considered the queen of culinary cozies." —Publishers Weekly on Coconut Layer Cake Murder
 
"Cozy mysteries don't get any cozier than Joanne Fluke's, and her latest in the Hannah Swensen series is no exception...The continued antics of Lake Eden's quirky characters make Coconut Layer Cake Murder a treat—everything a cozy mystery should be." —ForeWord Reviews
 
"Congratulations to Joanne Fluke for pulling us in once again into a world where food is plentiful, true friends are faithful, and someone is always there to help when problems come along." —The Food Channel on Chocolate Cream Pie Murder

Kirkus Reviews

2014-02-04
Lake Eden's favorite baker, Hannah Swensen (Red Velvet Cupcake Murder, 2013, etc.), finds herself on the wrong end of a police investigation. Dodging lightning on an icy road, Hannah finds herself facing a driver's worst nightmare: Her car hits something, and all of a sudden, there's a body lying on the pavement. Hours later, her mother's fiance, Doc Knight, delivers his terrible findings. The man she hit was alive when Hannah struck him, and he died on impact. Sheriff Bill Todd orders Hannah's arrest and fires Deputy Sheriff Mike Kingston for refusing to bring her in. Eventually, Hannah winds up in the Winnetka County jail, where she spends three days, surrounded by friends and family (and three nights covered in a fuzzy blanket supplied by boyfriend Norman Rhodes), before Judge Colfax grants her bail. Once sprung, amateur sleuth Hannah is faced with an unusual case. She knows who the killer is, but who's the victim? Armed with scant physical details—height, weight, approximate age and a diamond set in one of the man's teeth—Hannah sets out to find out exactly whom she killed. The investigation, of course, requires multiple dinners in Hannah's cozy apartment, where she and Norman, her mom and Doc, her sisters Michelle and Andrea (the latter is too mad at her husband, Sheriff Bill, to eat at home), and even Mike brainstorm over plates of Smothered Chicken and Oodles of Noodles as Hannah's cat, Moishe, and Norman's cat, Cuddles, play "chase." It's amazing how little a vehicular homicide charge changes Hannah's life in Fluke's good-natured 19th.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940171078744
Publisher:	Recorded Books, LLC
Publication date:	02/25/2014
Series:	Hannah Swensen Series , #17
Edition description:	Unabridged
Sales rank:	1,074,420

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