Christmas Caramel Murder by Joanne Fluke

 

Christmas Caramel Murder by Joanne Fluke - 210 pages    

The holidays have arrived, and Hannah and her good pal Lisa have agreed to provide all the goodies for the town’s annual production of A Christmas Carol. But before anyone can say “Bah, humbug!” a Santa-sized sackful of trouble ensues. Like the fact that Lisa’s husband will be playing Mr. Claus to his ex-girlfriend Phyllis Bates’ Mrs. Claus. Or that before the curtains even go up Phyllis is found dead in the snow—wearing a costume that the real Mrs. Claus would put on the naughty list. Soon after the suspects pile up faster than snowdrifts in a blizzard, while a merry murderer remains on the loose. With clues even harder to find, it might take a visit from ghosts of Christmas past to wrap up this mystery in time for the holidays . . .

This is my first cozy mystery book since I decided to read something out of my normal genre of horror/thriller.  This book was ok; it's like a Hallmark murder mystery, I can see why some like them.  In addition to the mystery the book includes several delicious sounding recipes for sweets.

Christmas Cake Murder

Christmas Cake Murder
By Joanne Fluke
270 pages

This book takes us back to a time before Hannah was Lake Eden's "Cookie Lady" and shows us how she came to start solving mysteries. I really enjoyed this one because it broke the repetitive mold that some times authors get in when they have over twenty books in a series. It would be nice if she could carry on for a little longer in this manner to show how Hannah meets more of Lake Eden's residents for the first time.

Raspberry Danish Murder

Raspberry Danish Murder
 By Joanne Fluke
 374 pages

As the search continues for Ross, Hannah begins to doubt herself and her new husband, and when PK, Ross's assistant is poisoned Hannah and the crew must figure out if it was intended  for PK, or if Ross was supposed to be poisoned.

So I really didn't see this ending coming and now I kind of have to read the next one even though I tell myself to quit with the long series.

Heather's March Reads

Kiss of the Rose Princess by Aya Shouoto
 Vol. 7 180 pages
 Vol. 8 178 pages
The final showdown begins between Anise and her father who is more than he appears to be.

Clamp School Detectives by Ray Yoshimoto
 Vol. 1 192 pages
 Vol. 2 192 pages
 Vol. 3 192 pages
A little series of cute short mysteries being solved by bored rich children!

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo
 213 pages
 Some of the tips and techniques go a little too far with de-cluttering but I have a lot less junk piling up because I can't figure out if I need/want it or not.

Fire Touched by Patricia Briggs
 342 pages
 Mercy puts Adam and the pack in another difficult situation, this time against the homeland of the fae. With some help from new friends and old Mercy again pulls off the impossible to stop an all out war between the wolves and fae that would make them the targets of all humans.

Wedding Cake Murder by Joanne Fluke
 304 pages
 Hannah finally says yes to marriage and everything seems perfect until one of the judges in the Food Network Bake Off turns up dead in Sally's walk in freezer. Now Hannah needs to solve the murder while competing for first place and helping plan her wedding.

Vampire Academy 352 pages
Frost Bite 352 pages
Shadow Kiss 464 pages
 by Richelle Mead
 Set in the boring back woods of Montana we are introduced to a world of vampire killing, light lovey dovey stuff, teen angst, and sarcasm galore. I can't wait to get to the next three books.

Gingerbread Cookie Murder by Joanne Fluke, Laura Levine and Leslie Meier

Gingerbread Cookie Murder by Joanne Fluke, Laura Levine and Leslie Meier, 361 pages

Gingerbread Cookie Murder is a collection of three Christmas murder mysteries by three bestselling authors.  What could be better this time of year than a cup of cocoa and some Christmas mysteries?  This is a good book to get a sampling of these three popular authors.  I had never read anything by Joanne Fluke, and I found the first story by her quite enjoyable.  An added bonus, mixed between the chapters are Christmas recipes.

December Books 2014

Blood of Olympus 502 pages by Rick Riordan
 Our heroes are still trying to make a deadline to stop Gaea from destroying the world. More hardships as well as humor are thrown their way and all the heroes must prove what they are made of.

Vampire Knight Vol 14 187 pages Matsuri Hino
Vampire Knight Vol 15 187 pages Matsuri Hino
Vampire Knight Vol 16 187 pages Matsuri Hino
Vampire Knight Vol 17 189 pages Matsuri Hino
Vampire Knight Vol 18 189 pages Matsuri Hino
Vampire Knight Vol 19 191 pages Matsuri Hino
 Okay so this is where the story gets weird and confusing. Kaname wants to end all purebloods lives including his and Yuki's so he starts killing them all. Yuki starts the night class again with some of the old night class and new members. Big battles happen and more confusion ending with Kaname's heart in a furnace to make hunter weapons and Yuki ending up with Zero and two kids.

Shifting Shadows 450 pages Patricia Briggs
 This book has the best of Mercy's world all rolled into one volume. Reader favorites and new, never published before stories.

The D.U.F.F. 277 pages by Kody Keplinger
 This one makes me glad I am done with High School and didn't know anyone like some of the people in this book.

Clariel 382 pages by Garth Nix
 Set six hundred years before "Sabriel" we see upsets in the magical community that flow over to the non-magical. We meet some old friends and discover some new along this new path in an old kingdom.

Apple Turnover Murder 292 pages by Joanne Fluke
 Hannah's old assistant professor is in town as her sister Michelle's advisor and Christmas guest. During the Christmas talent show he turns up dead and get what the dirty rotten womanizer deserves.

Plum Pudding Murder 303 pages by Joanne Fluke
 Crazy Larry is doing dirty business during Christmas in Lake Eden and it's up to Hannah to find out who knew enough to want to kill him.

Devils Food Cake Murder 322 pages by Joanne Fluke
 Rev. Bob and Claire finally get a honeymoon and an old friend comes back to hold the fort down while they are away. when he turns up dead it is up to Hannah to uncover the secrets of why he was killed. Meanwhile Norman goes out of town and comes back with his ex-fiance who drops a bomb on their lives.

Cinnamon Roll Murder 363 pages by Joanne Fluke
 During the Lake Eden jazz festival the Cinnamon Roll Six, the band hired to play, has a horrible wreck. Now Hannah has to figure out if the bus driver was murdered or if it was truly an accident as well as find out who killed the keyboard player in the hospital. We find out Dr. Bev is a lying conniving witch and the whole town pitches in to help break up Norman and Dr. Bev.

Red Velvet Cupcake Murder 323 pages by Joanne Fluke
 The evil Dr. Bev is back in town and engaged to a new man but still hitting on anything she thinks she can manipulate. Not surprisingly she winds up dead and it's up to Hannah to find the killer and clear her own name!

Blackberry Pie Murder 339 pages by Joanne Fluke
 A stranger shows up in town pinned under the bumper of Hannah's cookie truck. Now she needs all the help she can get to figure out who he was and stay out of jail for vehicular homicide.

Poison Study 427 pages by Maria V. Snyder
 One of my favorite series, this is the first book, has everything you could want. Magic, spies, politics, intrigue, and creepy bad guys getting what they deserve.

Magic Study 392 pages by Maria V. Snyder
 Yalena travels to her home to meet her family for the first time since she was kidnapped fourteen years ago. From there she travels to the Citadel to learn how to control her magic and all hell breaks loose as usual when Yalena is around. Murders, mistrust, and uncovering the past run rampant through her life in a country where she is supposed to be free.