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Summary: Who Murders for Cookies?
Review: In the first book in the Hannah Swensen mystery series, we meet our sleuth, an owner of The Cookie Jar in Lake Eden, Minnesota. In her first case, she stumbles across the dead body of a long-time friend and delivery man for her bakery and feels the need to investigate his suspicious death. As her brother-in-law is a police officer, she finds that she has a lot more inside information (add to this fact that she lives in a small town) and she is able to piece together this mystery and solve the murder before too many people get hurt.I love all of the books in this series but felt that this book was a bit hard to follow. Being the first, I was glad that I kept reading the other books in the series as this one was a bit harder to "get into" than some of the other books. I enjoyed the character development in this book and felt that the relationships between the characters were more interesting than was the mystery. I found it difficult to keep track of all of the characters at the beginning, and found it somewhat annoying that in the dialogue they repeat each other's names quite often. Other than that, I enjoy the books and the yummy recipes included. Do not read these books on an empty stomach or you will quickly begin searching for some sweets! Enjoy! A Cozy Lover
Rating:
Summary: Who Murders for Cookies?
Review: In the first book in the Hannah Swensen mystery series, we meet our sleuth, an owner of The Cookie Jar in Lake Eden, Minnesota. In her first case, she stumbles across the dead body of a long-time friend and delivery man for her bakery and feels the need to investigate his suspicious death. As her brother-in-law is a police officer, she finds that she has a lot more inside information (add to this fact that she lives in a small town) and she is able to piece together this mystery and solve the murder before too many people get hurt. I love all of the books in this series but felt that this book was a bit hard to follow. Being the first, I was glad that I kept reading the other books in the series as this one was a bit harder to "get into" than some of the other books. I enjoyed the character development in this book and felt that the relationships between the characters were more interesting than was the mystery. I found it difficult to keep track of all of the characters at the beginning, and found it somewhat annoying that in the dialogue they repeat each other's names quite often. Other than that, I enjoy the books and the yummy recipes included. Do not read these books on an empty stomach or you will quickly begin searching for some sweets! Enjoy! A Cozy Lover
Rating: 
Summary: My mouth is watering for the next installment.
Review: Nothing like curling up with a great book & drooling through the pages. I could smell the cookies baking as I read along, trying to come up with my own killer, and laughing when I listened to her thoughts about her marriage-for-Hannah mother & envisioned Moishe's (her pet cat) antics when "Mom's" name arose. Hope to see Hannah back with the locals & new recipes. I'm busy in the kitchen now trying the cookies out.
Rating: 
Summary: I hope the series gets better
Review: Often times, the first book in a series is a little rough and in need of improvements. This series is no exception. The problem is that it needs a LOT of improvements in order for this reader to keep going with it. I have read other reviews that felt the book was unrealistic. "Cozy mysteries" often are somewhat unbelievable but the characters and story are what keep us reading. Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder was boring and actually rather annoying at times. First of all, the characters are one-dimensional. The main character, Hannah, is supposedly witty and outspoken. However, she came across as dull and not overly bright to me. As other reviewers pointed out, we rarely see her doing any baking so I wouldn't call this a culinary mystery at all. There was very little humor throughout the whole book. Any humor I found seemed more like people that were trying to be funny than people who actually were funny. I think I laughed once the whole time. The most memorable part of Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder is not the story or the characters but the annoying parts. Other reviewers have pointed out the tedious dialogue. If only two people are in a room, do they really need to address each other by name everytime they say something? I didn't know it was possible for dialogue in a book to sound staged. It is like watching a very poorly acted play. Also, the other people in the book are constantly complimenting Hannah to the point that I was wondering why they were all kissing up to her. Also irritating were the drawn out details. Who cares that she turned on her turn signal as she turned left onto the road? In a series like this, the books normally get more padded as you go. But that padding is usually something that pertains to the story or the characters. It sounds like Fluke knows what is supposed to go into a cozy mystery but just doesn't know how to put it all together. I will read the next book in the series only because I know that series like this one often start a little rough. Hopefully, things will improve but I'm not holding my breath.
Rating:
Summary: I hope the series gets better
Review: Often times, the first book in a series is a little rough and in need of improvements. This series is no exception. The problem is that it needs a LOT of improvements in order for this reader to keep going with it. I have read other reviews that felt the book was unrealistic. "Cozy mysteries" often are somewhat unbelievable but the characters and story are what keep us reading. Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder was boring and actually rather annoying at times. First of all, the characters are one-dimensional. The main character, Hannah, is supposedly witty and outspoken. However, she came across as dull and not overly bright to me. As other reviewers pointed out, we rarely see her doing any baking so I wouldn't call this a culinary mystery at all. There was very little humor throughout the whole book. Any humor I found seemed more like people that were trying to be funny than people who actually were funny. I think I laughed once the whole time. The most memorable part of Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder is not the story or the characters but the annoying parts. Other reviewers have pointed out the tedious dialogue. If only two people are in a room, do they really need to address each other by name everytime they say something? I didn't know it was possible for dialogue in a book to sound staged. It is like watching a very poorly acted play. Also, the other people in the book are constantly complimenting Hannah to the point that I was wondering why they were all kissing up to her. Also irritating were the drawn out details. Who cares that she turned on her turn signal as she turned left onto the road? In a series like this, the books normally get more padded as you go. But that padding is usually something that pertains to the story or the characters. It sounds like Fluke knows what is supposed to go into a cozy mystery but just doesn't know how to put it all together. I will read the next book in the series only because I know that series like this one often start a little rough. Hopefully, things will improve but I'm not holding my breath.
Rating: 
Summary: This is only the beginning!!
Review: The book was a pleasurable read.........Hannah Swenson, 30 year old unmarried lady, and owner of a coffeeshop/catering business called "The Cookie Jar", is a great character...filled with wit and charm....oh, and what a baker she is!! Living in a small Minnesota town of Lake Eden with her cat, Moisha, she discovers the body of Ron, a young man who often makes her deliveries of goodies to her customers....he was found sitting in his truck with a bullet hole in him.... It's highly unlikely that any policeman would ask a civilian for help in a mystery, but that's what her brother-in-law, the sheriff did....in spite of that, it was a cute read with good dialogue and likeable characters..........Loved how Hannah's mom was always trying to play "matchmaker".....am looking forward to more reads and more tasty cookie recipes to try!
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Summary: A charming cozy.
Review: THE CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE MURDER is the first in a series by veteran mystery/suspense writer Joanne Fluke. Fans of cozies will be delighted with this book, and the recipes are an added bonus. Ms. Fluke has written many fine suspense novels as Joanne Fluke and Chris Hunter and also writes Regency romances as Kathryn Kirkwood and contemporary romances as Gina Jackson. As Jo Gibson she has written numerous young adult thrillers.
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Summary: Too Many Characters Spoil the Book...
Review: There are a lot of problems with this book starting with too many characters to keep track of. I found myself having to back up every few pages just to figure out who some of these people were. I know it's set in a small town but, we really don't need to meet everyone at once. I'd also like to know how Hannah earns any money. She gives away more cookies than she sells! Hannah also needs a romance. It's hinted that there might be one in her future but, I was reading this book NOW and would have appreciated a little romance. Another problem is that her cop brother-in-law asks her to interview and help out in a murder investigation. Oh yeah? Do the cops in your community ask you to investigate for them? On the plus side, the cookie recipes all sound delicious. I haven't tried any because I was busy reading the book.
Rating:
Summary: Too Many Characters Spoil the Book...
Review: There are a lot of problems with this book starting with too many characters to keep track of. I found myself having to back up every few pages just to figure out who some of these people were. I know it's set in a small town but, we really don't need to meet everyone at once. I'd also like to know how Hannah earns any money. She gives away more cookies than she sells! Hannah also needs a romance. It's hinted that there might be one in her future but, I was reading this book NOW and would have appreciated a little romance. Another problem is that her cop brother-in-law asks her to interview and help out in a murder investigation. Oh yeah? Do the cops in your community ask you to investigate for them? On the plus side, the cookie recipes all sound delicious. I haven't tried any because I was busy reading the book.
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Summary: The Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder is a RealTreat
Review: There's nothing more fun for a cozy mystery reader than to discover a new author with a fresh voice whose work one can look forward to for years to come. The reader gets to know the characters quickly and well, so well, in fact, that I found myself thinking, 'Wouldn't it be funny in the next book if Delores.......' Even the publisher's marketing is fun in that the book is a chubby little thing, kind of like the old Orphan Annie books of long ago. Younger readers won't recall these, but they will doscover the charm of the concept when they first see this book. Ther heroine/detective is Hannah Swenson, a well eductaed twenty-something who was called away from her doctoral program to return to Lake Eden, Minnesota to assist her mother after her father's death. Lake Eden is a town of 3,000 where, as one would expect, everyone pretty well knows one another, or can find out about each other through a grapevine that winds its way from kitchens to local clubs to church socials and to "The Cookie Jar", (cookie recipes included) a coffee shop owned by Hannah and operated with the dedicated assistance of a local teenager, Lisa. Hannah is challenged by first one homicide and then another, and she views solving the crimes as a way to help her detective brother-in-law get a promotion. As it happens, Hannah's whole family becomes involved in one way or another and the results are funny. Particularly funny is her mother, Delores, whose abundance of free time allows her to try and find a husband for Hannah who has never been married and lives alone with a fat one-eyed cat named Moishe. Either we are like Hannah or we know someone like her. She wears old sneakers and a sweatshirt. She's blunt, funny and kind, and she doesn't see herself as the object of anyone's great desire, but watch what happens. If you enjoy cozy mysteries, by all means read this one, and then wait impatiently for the next.
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