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3.59 AVERAGE
3.59 AVERAGE
A solid little read with a few problomatic elements sprinked throughout that really didn't age well that really take you out for a few moments, like the line in the last chapter about it always being best to keep the fact that a respected community member beats his wife a secret because it will make children sad. That kind of off putting stuff comes up more than once throughout in regards to multiple subjects and is not great, but I decided to focus on the story in regards to my star rating instead of that because luckily those types of opinions were not present too much throughout the book. The mystery had some good turns and the solution didn't feel like it came out of nowhere like the last one. I liked that the book focused a lot more on building the relationship between the sisters, and I hope the two love interest characters will be resolved quickly. If every book in this series tries to convince me that Mike is a decent option for her when he can barely muster up the energy not to be condescending towards her in regards to mystery solving (something we have not been shown he can even do at this point really) I'm going to be annoyed.
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
mysterious
slow-paced
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Disclaimer: I have been reading and reviewing for over a decade, and in that time, I have grown and changed a lot. My views in the following review reflect the person I was when I wrote them and may not reflect who I am today - for better or for worse. While I would love to be able to reread and update my reviews to reflect who I am today, I think my time is better dedicated elsewhere. If you choose to read this review, please bear in mind this attitude.
After the treat of Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder, I decided to plunge ahead with number two in the Hannah Swensen series.
The first annual Hartland Dessert Bake-off is being held in Lake Eden with Hannah Swensen, the owner of The Cookie Jar, acting as head judge. But the initial round is barely over before one of the judges, Coach Boyd Watson, is found in his garage bludgeoned to death. The first suspect is his wife, Danielle, whom he had been abusing for years. But Hannah does not believe that her friend could possibly have killed her abusive husband and starts an investigation to find out who killed Coach Watson.
Good:
In the last book, Hannah investigates a murder because her brother-in-law, a "good" detective, asks her for help (because Hannah heard a lot of gossip? Please). That was a terribly poor reason to investigate, and Joanne Fluke must have realized that because she gives Hannah a much more plausible reason for investigating this murder. Having Hannah investigate to clear her friend's name is much more logical and requires less suspension of imagination (which isn't bad, but if overused...).
The mystery is a good one and has plenty of twists and turns. Just when you think Hannah has the identity all figured out, a new obstacle is placed in her way. We see how Hannah uses deductive logic (some of which I don't agree with, but them I am quite skeptical) and photography to unearth clues of the killer's identity. The killer is certainly not the first one you might suspect.
It was pleasant to see Hannah and Andrea work together in this mystery to find the killer. The two sisters have a good relationship and rapport with each other and seeing them interact so well is very "cozy".
Other fun characters are Lisa and Norman. Lisa is a sweet character that you just can't help but like. While her boss is investigating the crime, Lisa is willing to come in early, work late and go the extra mile for her boss. And it is always interesting to learn more about the townsfolk of Lake Eden. Norman is a good humored dentist with a pleasant personality. Definitely a good friend for Hannah!
Although brief, I enjoyed how Hannah taught Craig English Literature. She made it so interesting that I was intrigued (and I have no aptitude or interest in English Lit!).
And one of the most important reasons to buy this book is for the seven delicious recipes. I enjoyed how Joanne integrated each one into the plot and am definitely making plans to try them out (but be warned as you read--you will be hungry!).
Bad:
I don't know if there was any one thing that made this book worse than the last, but, somehow, I found it less pleasant than Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder. The things that bugged me about this entry were multiple little quibbles:
1. Four year old Tracey talks like she is about ten.
2. Lucy is such an unlikeable bad character that you have to look at the front cover to make sure it doesn't say "Nancy Drew" on the front.
3. Mike, the sexy hunk, that just happens to be dating Hannah, the average woman, is aggravatingly arrogant and caustic and certainly not appealing to this woman at all.
4. Hannah is not beyond stealing, breaking and entering into someone's home, lying, and pretty much anything all to solve a crime. And all she gets is maybe a slap on the wrist while the cops, Bill and Mike, look the other way and snatch up her tainted evidence. Definitely would not happen in the real world.
5. When a certain woman does not make a dental appointment, it takes almost 100 pages before people think that something might be wrong (i.e. the woman is dead). The moment Norman called saying the woman did not make her appointment, I thought, "She's dead". It seems ludicrous that Hannah and Andrea took almost a whole day to come to the same conclusion.
6. I started noticing what other reviewers had mentioned about how Joanne Fluke includes a characters name in a dialog very frequently ("Andrea, what did you do with the sugar?" "I don't remember, Hannah" "Could you look again, Andrea?" "Of course, Hannah"). Some of it makes sense, but others sound clunky.
7. Instead of describing something in a narrative, Joanne will have characters describe in dialogue what they are seeing/doing.
8. It's amazing how much time Hannah and Andrea can take off from their respective workplaces to solve a murder. Wish I had that flexibility at my workplace.
9. I don't know how Andrea could eat a huge lunch of Stroganoff and then down three fattening Pecan Chews and still be oh, so slender (a size 5 or something from what I recall). When you get down to it, Andrea should be the size of a blimp with the number of cookies that she downs in a day. In fact, I don't see how most people in Lake Eden aren't the size of Betty (aka a size 26, a disparaging comment that is mentioned each time that she is) in this book with the number of cookies that Hannah passes out.
10. The ending is reminiscent of something from a children's mystery story (the stereotypical face-off and learning all the missing details of the mystery--been there, grew out of that).
Overall:
The first book in a series is usually the best, but it will often have "first-time" author flaws. The second book in a series is not usually as good, but the writing is often much better. This is probably the best way to categorize my feelings toward "Strawberry Shortcake Murder". On one hand, the writing is clearer (although still far from perfect) and the story tighter, but the cute character flaws from Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder, Hannah's illegal solving antics, and the conclusion reminiscent of a child's book have now begun to get annoying. Perhaps, I should have let my stomach settle before going for seconds.
The first annual Hartland Dessert Bake-off is being held in Lake Eden with Hannah Swensen, the owner of The Cookie Jar, acting as head judge. But the initial round is barely over before one of the judges, Coach Boyd Watson, is found in his garage bludgeoned to death. The first suspect is his wife, Danielle, whom he had been abusing for years. But Hannah does not believe that her friend could possibly have killed her abusive husband and starts an investigation to find out who killed Coach Watson.
Good:
In the last book, Hannah investigates a murder because her brother-in-law, a "good" detective, asks her for help (because Hannah heard a lot of gossip? Please). That was a terribly poor reason to investigate, and Joanne Fluke must have realized that because she gives Hannah a much more plausible reason for investigating this murder. Having Hannah investigate to clear her friend's name is much more logical and requires less suspension of imagination (which isn't bad, but if overused...).
The mystery is a good one and has plenty of twists and turns. Just when you think Hannah has the identity all figured out, a new obstacle is placed in her way. We see how Hannah uses deductive logic (some of which I don't agree with, but them I am quite skeptical) and photography to unearth clues of the killer's identity. The killer is certainly not the first one you might suspect.
It was pleasant to see Hannah and Andrea work together in this mystery to find the killer. The two sisters have a good relationship and rapport with each other and seeing them interact so well is very "cozy".
Other fun characters are Lisa and Norman. Lisa is a sweet character that you just can't help but like. While her boss is investigating the crime, Lisa is willing to come in early, work late and go the extra mile for her boss. And it is always interesting to learn more about the townsfolk of Lake Eden. Norman is a good humored dentist with a pleasant personality. Definitely a good friend for Hannah!
Although brief, I enjoyed how Hannah taught Craig English Literature. She made it so interesting that I was intrigued (and I have no aptitude or interest in English Lit!).
And one of the most important reasons to buy this book is for the seven delicious recipes. I enjoyed how Joanne integrated each one into the plot and am definitely making plans to try them out (but be warned as you read--you will be hungry!).
Bad:
I don't know if there was any one thing that made this book worse than the last, but, somehow, I found it less pleasant than Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder. The things that bugged me about this entry were multiple little quibbles:
1. Four year old Tracey talks like she is about ten.
2. Lucy is such an unlikeable bad character that you have to look at the front cover to make sure it doesn't say "Nancy Drew" on the front.
3. Mike, the sexy hunk, that just happens to be dating Hannah, the average woman, is aggravatingly arrogant and caustic and certainly not appealing to this woman at all.
4. Hannah is not beyond stealing, breaking and entering into someone's home, lying, and pretty much anything all to solve a crime. And all she gets is maybe a slap on the wrist while the cops, Bill and Mike, look the other way and snatch up her tainted evidence. Definitely would not happen in the real world.
5. When a certain woman does not make a dental appointment, it takes almost 100 pages before people think that something might be wrong (i.e. the woman is dead). The moment Norman called saying the woman did not make her appointment, I thought, "She's dead". It seems ludicrous that Hannah and Andrea took almost a whole day to come to the same conclusion.
6. I started noticing what other reviewers had mentioned about how Joanne Fluke includes a characters name in a dialog very frequently ("Andrea, what did you do with the sugar?" "I don't remember, Hannah" "Could you look again, Andrea?" "Of course, Hannah"). Some of it makes sense, but others sound clunky.
7. Instead of describing something in a narrative, Joanne will have characters describe in dialogue what they are seeing/doing.
8. It's amazing how much time Hannah and Andrea can take off from their respective workplaces to solve a murder. Wish I had that flexibility at my workplace.
9. I don't know how Andrea could eat a huge lunch of Stroganoff and then down three fattening Pecan Chews and still be oh, so slender (a size 5 or something from what I recall). When you get down to it, Andrea should be the size of a blimp with the number of cookies that she downs in a day. In fact, I don't see how most people in Lake Eden aren't the size of Betty (aka a size 26, a disparaging comment that is mentioned each time that she is) in this book with the number of cookies that Hannah passes out.
10. The ending is reminiscent of something from a children's mystery story (the stereotypical face-off and learning all the missing details of the mystery--been there, grew out of that).
Overall:
The first book in a series is usually the best, but it will often have "first-time" author flaws. The second book in a series is not usually as good, but the writing is often much better. This is probably the best way to categorize my feelings toward "Strawberry Shortcake Murder". On one hand, the writing is clearer (although still far from perfect) and the story tighter, but the cute character flaws from Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder, Hannah's illegal solving antics, and the conclusion reminiscent of a child's book have now begun to get annoying. Perhaps, I should have let my stomach settle before going for seconds.
This series of mysteries is very simple and fun. The main character owns a cookie shop and the book is full of recipes for desserts. I'm going to have to try the Hawaiian Flan (pineapple custard). Anyway, the mysteries are good without being totally convoluted.
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No