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3.42 AVERAGE
3.42 AVERAGE
Kind of a mess of a book. It’s really a novella more than a real book - the entire second half of the printed book is a cookbook and recipes, so it’s half the length you think it is when you pick it up. I’m not super mad about this, though - I want to try one of the cookie or cake recipes (and the recipe for eggnog looks pretty good too).
None of the characters are super likeable - I did read it as a standalone novel, not its proper place as the sixth in a series, so perhaps some of the characters’ more redeemable qualities are covered in better detail in earlier books. In this one, the main character Hannah immediately starts off by being jealous of another girl involved with the guy she likes. She’s so jealous, in fact, that when he tells her he likes this girl’s brownie recipe, she decides to make him a “better” brownie recipe that actually just has jalapeños in it to teach him some kind of vague lesson about approving of other women’s cooking. The guy is also terrible, at one point trusting Hannah with the keys to his precious car, only to tell her to find a guy to drive it for her if she needs to use it.
I did like that pretty much the entire book took place over a couple of hours of an event - them solving the murder pretty immediately was interesting, and made sense for how it was a quicker read. I did think the plot was a little contrived - a lot of things went right for the characters to be able to solve the mystery, and they also had help from a few sources that didn’t feel super realistic, the chief offender being the murder victim conveniently being from a nearby town even though she was introduced as being from LA, and their finding her high school yearbook in the community center library in order to connect her to another man who’d attended the event.
It’s a nice quick holiday read, but I don’t know I’ll feel a need to read any of the books in the series - unless any of the recipes turn out to be delicious!
None of the characters are super likeable - I did read it as a standalone novel, not its proper place as the sixth in a series, so perhaps some of the characters’ more redeemable qualities are covered in better detail in earlier books. In this one, the main character Hannah immediately starts off by being jealous of another girl involved with the guy she likes. She’s so jealous, in fact, that when he tells her he likes this girl’s brownie recipe, she decides to make him a “better” brownie recipe that actually just has jalapeños in it to teach him some kind of vague lesson about approving of other women’s cooking. The guy is also terrible, at one point trusting Hannah with the keys to his precious car, only to tell her to find a guy to drive it for her if she needs to use it.
I did like that pretty much the entire book took place over a couple of hours of an event - them solving the murder pretty immediately was interesting, and made sense for how it was a quicker read. I did think the plot was a little contrived - a lot of things went right for the characters to be able to solve the mystery, and they also had help from a few sources that didn’t feel super realistic, the chief offender being the murder victim conveniently being from a nearby town even though she was introduced as being from LA, and their finding her high school yearbook in the community center library in order to connect her to another man who’d attended the event.
It’s a nice quick holiday read, but I don’t know I’ll feel a need to read any of the books in the series - unless any of the recipes turn out to be delicious!
I liked how this one was a bit different and I really liked the setting of this story.
It took way too long to get to the mystery portion of the story and recipes took up like a third of the pages, leaving something to be desired as mysteries (even cozy-mysteries) go. Hannah and her sisters spent most of that remaining page real estate running around like chickens in a snow storm (sorry/not sorry...the setting is Minnesota and there is a blizzard in the story) and the resolution fell flat.
This was a quick enjoyable read that was basically a continuation of book 5.
A wonderful Christmas read in the Hannah Swensen series!
For full review: https://katiegreviews.wordpress.com/2020/07/04/review-sugar-cookie-murder-by-joanne-fluke/
For full review: https://katiegreviews.wordpress.com/2020/07/04/review-sugar-cookie-murder-by-joanne-fluke/
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Sugar Cookie Murder by Joanne Fluke (audio book)
The plot was slow paced and barely held my attention. I will say, there were some cute/funny quotes and interactions between characters that I did enjoy. Overall, a fine book, just not for me as I prefer plot focused stories which was lacking here.
lighthearted
mysterious
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
40% of the book is recipes. The mystery was so straightforward there was no suspense at all. Hannah goes around recapping the murder as she interviews suspects and then figures it out within an hour. So boring! Mike is horrible and dense and I want Hannah to let him go. Disappointing entry in the series.