Hannah, Andrea, Mike, Norman, and the rest of the gang are working together to solve another murder along with the disappearance of Hannah's husband, Ross. I was more interested in the murder mystery than I was with her finding out what happened to Ross. I guess I never bonded with that character after all the back and forth with Mike and Norman. Hannah is a great character - it would be suitable for her to have a strong, constant male counterpart rather than all the comings and goings of male suitors. Loved the recipes... they are always so delicious. I'm interested to see how Ms. Fluke wraps this installment up. A quick, fun read.

The past few Hannah Swensen novels have been a bit of a disappointment to me. Ihave loved them ever since I discovered them, about 10-12 books ago, but they were becoming so predictable that I just didn't enjoy the stories as much anymore. This one is making steps in the right direction. I really couldn't put it down and it just seems like Joanne Fluke put more effort into this one to make it feel more like the old Hannah books. It's still a quick read and family friendly (two of the main reasons I personally love these books for my fluff reading) but she made things a tiny bit more difficult to figure out, especially with so much going on in the story. There's little violence (it is still a murder mystery), little to no swearing, and no sex so they're safe for all ages. If you're a fan, definitely give it a shot, and if you're not, try this one for some cozy mystery reading.

I would like to thank the publisher, author, and Netgalley for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

This used to be one of my favorite series, but the last couple of books were not good. This one was better than the last, but still not up to the earlier books level. I'm not sure what is going on and I'm hoping that later books will reveal something to make these books worth it. A couple of parts didn't make sense. When the candy part was first mentioned, Hannah made it sound like they had been discussing the candy and I don't remember it being mentioned before. Then when Hannah decided who she thought the killer was, seemed very confusing and not likely.

The Book is the latest of a long series. Thankfully, I have read and loved the entire series prior to Raspberry Danish murder. I knew something was up with Ross the moment he stepped into Hannah's life. Call it reader's intuition, if you will. Joanne Fluke has a way with words that forces you to think outside the box to solve the murder before she does. I thought Pinkie did it the entire time! Won't mention if I was right or not. My students would love this series, as it's clean of vulgarity, sexual content, and doesn't even contain insinuations of that nature.

In this book we follow Hannah Swenson as she attempts to go through her days without her husband Ross who has taken off and Hannah wonders everyday if it was something she did. When P.K. winds up dead in Ross's car after eating tainting candy. Who killed P.K. and why? Also where is Ross is he gone for good?

This book had so much weirdness to it. First of all it didn't read like a normal Hannah book I felt like the author was using names too much when talking directly to one person about one person sure say their name once but repitive was crazy. Then there was the annalogy's with the pears, oranges etc. She kept dreaming about fruit and screwing up her marriage. Of course the conclusion was so much worse.

Otherwise it was good book not great but good I'd rather read about Norman and Mike angle than read about Ross disappearing which only got creepier as it continued and found myself wondering if she mad a colossal mistake in her marriage. I can only hope with time Hannah can get all the answers she deserves without loosing her mind in the process!

I love a book with a great twist, and this one surely delivered! The book starts out with a murder and ends with a cliffhanger! The mystery in this book was so well thought out and written, I wasn't able to guess the killer until Hannah did. I love how Hannah was not " nice" in this book. She was testy and on edge, you could almost feel her struggle from dealing with Ross disappearing. All the twists and turns through this book makes for a sinfully good reading experience!

Hannah Swensen is back in this installment of the long-running Cookie Murder series.
Unlucky in love as always, Hannah is down in the dumps-sort of- as her new husband continues to be missing. With a light mystery and lots of yummy sounding recipes, this is a fun and fast read with a surprise twist ending you may or may not have seen coming,

Another wonderful offering in the Lake Eden / Hannah Swenson series.
Worried about her missing husband, Hannah is thrown for a loop when his assistant id murdered in Ross' car. The sleuthing group are concerned that's there's a connection and investigate every possibility. They solve the case that seemed to be dead ended and were shocked by a revelation at the end. I can't wait to see where it leads.....you know she isn't going to accept it and roll over.

I have been waiting for this book for what seems like forever! What happened to Ross has been the burning question. I won't spoil it for you but we do get part of the story in Raspberry Danish. Hannah and her friends and family are back in fine form baking, sleuthing and sharing recipes. Oh, what recipes they are, too. I think I gained pounds just reading them. If you're a fan of the Hannah series, you'll enjoy this episode. If you haven't read them, jump right in. Now I'm waiting for the next book to hear the rest of the "Ross" story.

Hannah Swensen’s new husband, Ross, has gone missing and she has no clue where to find him. To make matters worse Ross’s assistant is killed and there is confusion about whether someone was trying to kill Ross and P.K. ended up dead or was P.K. the target. This plot line allows the principal characters to investigate P.K.’s death while looking for Ross without alerting the community to the fact that Ross is not out of town on assignment. As usual there are recipes following most chapters.

I have read all the Hannah Swensen Mysteries and enjoyed the time getting to know the characters, the relationships and the community at large. Since beginning in 2000, when Joanne Fluke first created Lake Eden and The Cookie Jar, she has carefully spun her story-telling web, effectively capturing our imagination time after time. The writing in this entry is not quite as crisp as it has been in previous books, but it is still good reading. And, if you have become as attached to these characters as I have, all that matters is that Ms. Fluke keeps writing.

The Raspberry Danish Murder
Joanne Fluke
Available: February 27, 2018
Hannah Swensen and all of Lake Eden seem to survive yet another murder, another winter, and another onslaught of new cookie recipes in the most recent installment in the series. While the overall murder plot was terrific and there’s a great cliff hanger at the end, how many times do we have to hear about everyone’s knock? Or about Mike’s appetite? Does Hannah even create recipes anymore or is Michelle going to take that all over?
What I loved: Moishe and Cuddles are the stars of each and every book and the whole bit with the programmable vacuum? Adorbs. I thought the recipes were out of this world but I missed Lisa & Herb and just not enough Andrea..
What I didn’t love: Icky Ross is still a topic in these books and probably will be for a few more to come. Yuck… Isn’t it time for Michelle to finally graduate college? She’s been in college since like book 2 of the series and unless she’s going for her Ph D. I think its time to have her move on. Of course she can settle down, live with Hannah, work at The Cookie Jar and never marry Lonnie, but its time she joined the real world where she was paid for her work and paid for things like gas, insurance, rent….
What I learned: Minnesota car dealers arrange for insurance for you too? I’m jealous.
Overall Grade: B

Raspberry Danish Murder was better than the previous Hannah Swenson book but still seems very odd compared to the rest of the series.

Is there a ghostwriter writing these books now? It seems every character name is overused. I don't remember early in the series Hannah constantly addresssing her sisters or Norman by name in every statement during a conversation like this:

"If we stop to eat we can have a break Hannah"
"That sounds good Michelle"
"I thought so too Hannah" etc. Very stiff and formal dialogue.

Also a lot of repeating the same information over and over and over. As if the reader needs reminding every two paragraphs or so.

This particular book has Hannah telling Michelle that a character is beginning to develop feelings for her. Michelle's response: "You mean you think that he might be falling in love with me?" Oh honey. This just means he may like you as more than a friend, not that he is head over heels in love with you all of a sudden. I kind of feel like the ghostwriter here may be a man, the dialogue between Hannah and any other female in these last 3 books is just too stiff and not at all natural.

Again this book finds Hannah very upset that Michelle and Mike can eat whatever they like and not Gina weight. When did Hannah get so inwardly nasty? She has some downright nasty thoughts in this book.

At least we have Hannah realizing she knows nothing about Ross, the man she married. Married! She even admits she didn't question why no one from Ross' family came to the wedding.
Looking back on it now I realize I have no idea how many relatives Ross has or where they live.

I know I loved him and I think he loved me. But...I'm beginning to think that I really didn't know Ross very well at all! ya think?

Another example of amateur dialogue: Hannah arrives home to see her answering machine light blinking.
The red light was blinking and the numeral five was displayed. That meant five people had called while she'd been at work.
No, it doesn't. It means five people left messages but thirty people could have called. Do we really need a lesson in messages?

Finally my favorite from this book. Hannah frets that maybe she snores and that's why Ross has left her. Seriously. This is what Hannah Swenson has been reduced to. A dumb ditz that worries her husband had left her with no word because she snores.

In the end Hannah realizes Ross has lied to her about pretty much everything but she decides to give him the benefit of the doubt because "that's what a good wife would do". Ok Hannah.

This story was at least better than #21, and thankfully Ross is still gone for most of it. But there is a scene where Hannah's mother Delores accuses her of flirting with Norman while her husband is still missing. A big jump from previous books where Delores was forcing Norman on Hannah in every paragraph.

I hope that whoever is writing these books gets let go, and we get our old Hannah back. In this book we find out Hannah only has a little over three hundred dollars in her banking account. But if the cookie shop is turning no profit how is Hannah employing Michelle, Lisa, Aunt Nancy and a whole host of others that do work for her while she's out sleuthing for free?

Hannah Swenson, owner of the Cookie Jar Bakery is still waiting for word on her missing husband Rose. She decides to immerse herself in work and starts cranking out Thanksgiving and other holiday treats and bakes up a mean raspberry danish. She intends to share some with her husband’s assistant, P.K., at KCOW-TV, but P.K. ends up dead. Now that Hannah thinks of it, PK has been using Ross’s office and even driving his company car. Was Ross the real target of the killer? And where is her anyway? Is he hurt somewhere, being held against his will, is he dead? Or is he a killer? I love this series because it’s so comforting, it’s like visiting old friends every time I read one of the books

Hannah Swensen is still reeling from the disappearance of her new husband, Ross Barton. He disappeared without a trace, leaving no explanation. When Ross' former assistant at KCOW-TV, P.K. Alesworth, is killed after eating poisoned candy that was left on Ross' desk, Lake Eden police start to investigate to find out if Ross might have been the intended victim, Hannah and her crew, of course, decide to also investigate. Turns out, there are a lot of discrepancies in the things Ross told Hannah about his past and his family. She is unsure if Ross is in danger and fled to avoid others getting hurt, or if he's just an outright cad. Was Ross involved in something dangerous? Or did the murderer intend to kill P.K.?

Well, first off, I am going to say that I enjoyed this book. Raspberry Danish Murder is the 22nd book in the Hannah Swensen series. I've read them all. And I love the characters! I've even baked many of the recipes from the books. :) When I got my review copy, I started reading immediately....and didn't stop until I finished the book. I waited an entire year to find out what the heck happened to Ross so I devoured this book in one sitting. But, I do have to be honest and say that the feel is still a bit off. The last three books in this series seem to be different. The personality and behavior of some main characters are changed. The writing style and dialogue seem to be amateurish at times. The writing is just not up to Joanne Fluke quality. The books just seem.....different. That's the best word I can come up with. Not bad.....different. My best guess is that the new books might be written by a ghost writer. I can't be sure.....but it's just the feeling that I get. This newest book was tweaking my inner editor. There is some poorly written dialogue, overuse of characters' names and cookie names, too much repetition and over-explanation. For example, several times characters discovered new evidence in the case and went to share that evidence with other characters, repeating the entire story about finding said evidence all over again. Or repeating character names within dialogue when it's obvious which character they are addressing. It doesn't seem like natural conversation. Nobody repeats a friend's name over and over again during a casual discussion. That's just poorly written dialogue. Now....did that damage my enjoyment of the story? No, not really. I feel the book could use another edit and some tweaking before publication....but.....it's Lake Eden, Hannah, and all the characters I love from this series I've been enjoying since the first book came out in 2001......I can overlook some issues.

The mystery mixes the search for information about Ross and the investigation into the murder of P.K. so there is always something going on. There is also a lot of baking and cookie munching, as usual. The crime wrap-up and the ending are a bit abrupt, but the ending does answer a lot of questions. Not all of them, but several important ones. I will be eagerly awaiting the next book!

Is this book the best in the Hannah Swensen series? No. Is it still an enjoyable read? Definitely! I love this series. I read every book, and I watch the Hallmark movies, despite the fact they don't follow the books. And, I will continue to read this series until it reaches the final book.

There are lots of yummy recipes included between chapters in this book, as usual. I definitely feel a danish baking session coming on soon! :) Mmmmm....raspberry danish!! But not all of the recipes are for desserts. There is also pizza dip, asparagus rolls and other non-sweets. :) nom nom!

At the very end of the book, there is an exceprt from Winter Chill, a thriller also written by Joanne Fluke. She has written several suspense/thriller novels. Maybe I can read those novels to tide me over until the next Hannah book comes out!

**I voluntarily read an advanced readers copy of this book from Kensington via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**

I've been waiting all year for the next book in this, my favorite series, to find out what has happened to Hannah's husband Ross and to hope for a happy ending for her. It was so far not to be, but it was an engrossing story and a pleasure to spend time once again with Hannah, Norman, Mike, Michelle and the rest of the cast at The Cookie Jar. When Ross' assistant, P.K. is poisoned with candy which had been left in Ross' desk Hannah and the police are not sure who was the intended victim - was it P.K. or Ross? The investigation is not going well, but along the way Hannah finds out that Ross had left her a great deal of money stashed away. When the culprit is revealed it is not linked to Ross but to P.K. himself and the story ends with Mike giving Hannah the bad news that Ross has gone back to his previous wife. Hopefully the next book in the series will give Hannah better news. This is a wonderful series peopled with great characters, a taste on Minnesota in the winter and, most of all, delicious recipes to try for yourself.