Peach Cobbler Murder

Joanne Fluke weaves a wonderful tale of murder, love, and (maybe) betrayal, spiced with humor, and, of course, mouth-watering treats. There is just the right amount of recipes in this book (I felt the previous book had too many recipes at the end, shortening the story).The story progresses swiftly, the characters are well defined, and there are many twists, as just as you are sure one person must be the murderer, you find another person who may be even more likely to have done it.Another murder from a few years ago and over 1000 miles away is woven in with the main story, adding to the excitement, and to the suspect list.Joanne does an excellent job of wrapping up every loose end and providing closure to every situation that came up, except the enjoyable ongoing struggle of will it be Mike or Norman who wins Hannah's heart.This was a very satisfying and enjoyable read.

We all know the trouble with so many "murder series" is that although we love the characters - the plots and actions often get just plain "stale!" Well, "Peach Cobbler Murder" - the fifth book in Joanne Fluke's "Hannah Swensen Recipe Murders" proves that her readers needn't worry about this author! "Peach Cobbler Murder" is probably one of the best books in the series! It is delightful!Likewise, Hiro Kimura's cover art brilliantly showcases Joanne Fluke's work as usual. What a terrific artist!Hannah and Lisa face grim competition in the form of Georgia transplants, Shawna Lee and Vanessa Quinn, when the two southern belles open up a bakery directly across the street from their own shop. They are barely making a profit and news of their competitions' exquisitely decorated shop, does nothing to alleviate Hannah's fears.Her fears are even more compounded when she realizes that she faces competition not only with her bakery, but with her heart. Mike is increasingly seen in the company of Shawna Lee!Hannah tries to focus on the business and puts her energy instead into Lisa's wedding and worrying about her mother's new romance. And as always, she turns to and depends on good, faithful, best friend, Norman - who while he may not be as passionate or as good looking as Mike, has always been steady and true. I like them both so much that I hope that Hannah never has to choose!But suddenly - all in one night, Hannah's competition is "snuffed out!" The mayhem and the murder that Fluke "cooks up" makes this one of her best books yet! An excellent and fun book with scrumptious recipes!

The Magnolia Blossom Bakery, with it's shining new equipment, a beautiful Magnolia Tree mural on the wall, Pink & White decorations and they're having contests, giving away hundreds of dollars worth or pastries each day.Hannah Swenson thought it was nice to have another bakery in town, if it wasn't owned and run by Shawna Lee Quinn and her widowed, rich sister Vanessa, and wasn't located directly across the street from "The Cookie Jar", her bakery.As her profits dropped she started to worry about possibly going out of business. But she wanted to keep it from her partner, Lisa, who was getting married to her policeman boyfriend Herb soon, and doesn't want to worry her.Hannah knew that Shawna was trying to take her boyfriend, Mike away from her, but she's more furious at her attempt to bankrupt her business. Afterall, with a rich relative who didn't mind loosing money on the venture, Shawna could hold out for a long time, even if her bakery goods weren't as tasty as Hannah's.But even Hannah didn't want the rivalry to end the way it did, when she found Shawna Lee in the kitchen of the Magnolia Blossom, shot dead.Who would want to kill Shawna Lee? Well, maybe Hannah, which is why she went to the top of the list. And when Mike starts acting strange in the invesatigation, Hannah knows she's going to have to clear her own name or loosing the Cookie Jar is going to be the least of her problems.Highlights:Norman Rhodes - dentist - one of Hannah's boyfriends. This character has grown throughout this series from someone I thought was going to end up as a murderer or victim in the early books. In one of my earlier reviews I had said I wasn't sure if he was supposed to be a continuing character. With his non-boyfriend of the heroine name. (Sorry all you Norman's) to his father's very nasty secret which made him a prime suspect in the first book, I've always felt he was an expendable character, but that the author has written him so well, that he's become an indespensible character.Norman's groundhog day gift to Hannah.The Mystery: Great. I love the intertwining of charcters which go back over several books in the series.Hannah's friends and family. Close-knit, you can almost feel the warmth and love between all of these characters.The recipes: Back where they belong at the end of the chapters and the recipes in Joanne Fluke's books are the best of any series. I actually have baked a lot of them.Lowlights:Mike. What happened to him? Not only is he a jerk throughout this book, but I didn't buy the ending with him and Hannah at all. I don't think he would have done it that way. Although, Norman's reaction is perfect for his character.This book decided it for me. It's NORMAN she needs.Shawna Lee Quinn. I was sorry she was the victim. I liked her, she was in love with Mike and followed him to Lake Eden, and was trying to win him from Hannah. She wasn't the brightest bulb in town so it doesn't surprise me that putting Hannah out of business would seem a good idea to her. I actually think she and Mike would have been a good coupleLove the book, the mystery, the people, the recipes. A perfect combination, what more can a mystery reader ask for?

Joanna Fluke is a great writer I happened to stumble on one of her books at books a million and I was hooked I need all 31 in the series I’ve read about 1/2 of them so excited to finish reading them

I bought some of these books in hardcover many years ago and once I purchased my first kindle I slowly starting buying them for the Kindle. I now have the entire set on my Kindle and I am reading them again, and I just love her writing. I have to say that the movies made based on some of these books are different than the book and I enjoy the book more than the movies. They are longer and more things happen than in the movies. I love Hannah and Norman together but I don't know if they will get married? Onto the next one to see what happens next!!! 5 stars for this author!!