Plum Pudding Murder

When Larry Jaeger, the owner of the Crazy Elf Christmas Tree Lot, is murdered, bakery owner Hannah Swensen must sift through a wealth of suspects during the busiest time of the year--before a murderous Scrooge strikes again.

Summertime has finally arrived in Lake Eden, Minnesota, and Hannah Swensen, owner of The Cookie Jar bakery, is looking forward to warm, lazy days, eating ice cream, and sharing picnics with friends. But when a family reunion takes a deadly turn, it’s up to Hannah to find a killer . . . Hannah Swensen has a lot on her plate, baking up a storm for The Cookie Jar. But she’ll always make time for her business partner, Lisa, who’s preparing for a big family reunion. Everyone is delighted when Lisa’s long-lost uncle makes a surprise appearance. No one has heard from Gus in twenty-five years. Uncle Gus is immediately the hit of the reunion. He’s almost as popular as Hannah’s scrumptious carrot cake. But the next morning, as the whole family gathers for the group photo, one person is missing. Hannah offers to track down Uncle Gus, but her search leads to a shocking find. Over by the bar at the pavilion, she spots two slices of her infamous carrot cake, frosting-side down on the floor—and Gus’s corpse with an ice pick jutting out of his chest! A little snooping reveals that not everyone was celebrating Gus’s return. And when Hannah unearths secrets from Gus’s past, she discovers many more people with an axe to grind. Now Hannah’s got to sift through a long list of suspects to find a killer—even if it could mean a recipe for her own demise . . . Features Over a Dozen Cookie and Dessert Recipes from The Cookie Jar!

The Ginger Gold Mystery series is set in 1920s England. If you're a fan of historical 20th-century authors such as Agatha Christie and Dorothy L. Sayers, or contemporary authors like Rhys Bowen and Frances Brody, you're sure to like Ginger Gold!

First in the New York Times-bestselling mystery series: “A cleverly plotted cozy full of appealing characters and delicious cookie recipes.”—Publishers Weekly Take one amateur sleuth. Mix in some eccentric Minnesota locals. Add a generous dollop of crackling suspense, and you've got the recipe for this mystery series featuring Hannah Swensen, the red-haired, cookie-baking heroine whose gingersnaps are almost as tart as her comments and whose penchant for solving crime is definitely stirring things up. While dodging her mother’s attempts to marry her off, Hannah runs The Cookie Jar, Lake Eden’s most popular bakery. But after Ron LaSalle, the beloved deliveryman from the Cozy Cow Dairy, is found murdered behind her bakery—with Hannah’s famous Chocolate Chip Crunchies scattered around him—she’s determined not to let her cookies get a bad reputation, so she sets out to track down a killer. But if she doesn’t watch her back, Hannah’s sweet life may get burned to a crisp. “Culinary cozies don’t get any tastier than this winning series.”—Library Journal

The holidays are the icing on the cake for bakery owner Hannah Swensen. Surrounded by her loved ones, she has all the ingredients for a perfect Christmas--until murder is added to the mix. . . When it comes to holidays, Minnesotans rise to the occasion--and the little town of Lake Eden is baking up a storm with Hannah leading the way. The annual Christmas Buffet is the final test of the recipes Hannah has collected for the Lake Eden Holiday Buffet Cookbook. 'Tis the season for trimming the tree, caroling, baking cookies, and curling up by the Yuletide waiting for Santa to drop down the chimney. But in this festive collection of holiday whodunits, murder is also paying a visit. . . "Candy Cane Murder" By Joanne Fluke When a trail of candy canes leads to a corpse outfitted in a Santa suit on a snowy bank, Hannah Swensen sets out to discover who killed Kris Kringle. . . The yuletide season in Lake Eden, Minnesota, guarantees a white Christmas, delectable holiday goodies from Hannah Swensen's bakery, The Cookie Jar--and murder. As a shadow hangs over her friends' Christmas wedding, Hannah's determined to cook a killer's goose before anyone else gets burned. . . The Cookie Jar's busiest time of the year also happens to be the most wonderful time. . .for Christmas cookies, Hannah's own special plum pudding--and romance! She also gets a kick out of "Lunatic Larry Jaeger's Crazy Elf Christmas Tree Lot," a kitschy carnival taking place smack-dab in the middle of the village green. But then Hannah discovers the man himself dead as a doornail in his own office. . . Nothing's better on Christmas Eve than waiting for the stroke of midnight with a cup of eggnog and a plate of warm gingerbread cookies. But in this merry collection of holiday mysteries, murder is making its own special delivery. . . "Gingerbread Cookie Murder" By Joanne Fluke When Hannah Swensen finds her neighbor Ernie Kusak with his head bashed in and sprawled on the floor of his condo next to an upended box of Hannah's Gingerbread Cookies, she discovers a flurry of murder suspects that's as long as her holiday shopping list.

An oriental prince begins an affair in London with a girl of dubious reputation, to whom he gives an emblematic ruby that disappears along with the young woman. Hercule Poirot is summoned to retrieve it. Posing as a guest at the Lacey family home, the detective will share a traditional Christmas to follow the thieves' trail until he finds the valuable jewel.

Bakery owner Hannah Swensen has a dress to fit into and a date with her sister, Andrea, at Lake Eden's new health club, Heavenly Bodies. Dragging herself out of bed on a frigid Minnesota morning for exercise, of all things, is bad enough. Discovering the body of man-eating bombshell Ronni Ward floating in the gym's jacuzzi? Okay, that's worse. Nor does it help that there's a plate of The Cookie Jar's very own cream puffs garnishing the murder scene. Trying to narrow the list of Ronni's enemies down to fewer than half the town's female population, Hannah has her plate full. Trouble is, when it comes to cookies--and to murder--there's always room for one more. . . "Foodie fans will eat up Fluke's cozy. . . A fluffy mix of sweets and suspense." --Publishers Weekly "Entertaining and sprinkled with tempting recipes. It's a sweet treat of a novel." --The Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN) "A tasty treat." --Kirkus Reviews

USA Today Bestseller: A minister, a mynah bird, and a murder keep a sleuthing baker busy in this “fabulous” mystery with “mouthwatering recipes” (Publishers Weekly). Hannah Swensen has to admit life is pretty sweet. Things are going well in the romance department, and her bakery’s delectable confections are selling as fast as she can make them. Even her good friend Claire is head over heels with her new husband, Reverend Bob Knudson. If only they could find time to take their honeymoon! When Bob’s childhood friend, Matthew Walters, comes to town, it seems like divine intervention. Matthew, like Bob, is a Lutheran minister with a stubborn sweet tooth. Since he’s on sabbatical, Matthew is happy to fill in for Bob while he and Claire take that long-awaited honeymoon. It sounds like the perfect plan—until Hannah finds Matthew facedown in a plate of Devil’s Food Cake, a single bullet in his head. And the only witness is a bird who squawks “The wages of sin is death.” It will take some sleuthing for Hannah to sift out the killer… Features cookie and dessert recipes from The Cookie Jar, including Red Devil’s Food Cake and Carrot Oatmeal Muffins! “Fans will be eagerly awaiting the next installment.”—Booklist