I love Joanne Fluke’s books and her characters in them. This book has such yummy recipes in it, I feel I may have gained 10 pounds just thinking about the deliciousness. Hannah has a lot of pressure on her in this story with half of the forced knocked off the case. Will she be able to pull it off? It was fun to follow her thought process and of course to see how her friends would help her out. All this while still baking and cooking. I wish I had Mike’s metabolism. Wow, that guy can put some food away. It’s hilarious how they know him so well. I enjoyed my time with Hannah, Norman, Michelle, Lonnie, Andrea, Bill, Mike, Delores, Doc, and of course Cuddles and Moishe. I can’t wait to hang out with them again. I received this book from NetGalley, but my opinion is my own.

Coconut Layer Cake Murder by Joanne Fluke is a cozy mystery of the first order, liberally sprinkled throughout with sweet recipes already tried and true. Hannah is still recovering from her cheating husbands death and has just seen her doctor/stepfather to confirm her pregnancy. Turns out there is nothing to confirm. His diagnosis is stress. His prescription is a vacation with her mother, his wife. Not sure he isn't the one getting the vacation. They are off to LA to help Hannah's good friend pack for her return to Lake Eden. She's bought a townhouse and she's almost ready to roll. After just a couple of days of rest and relaxation she is recalled to Lake Eden because of a murder, well really, the accused murder, Boone, a member of the local police force and her younger sister's boyfriend. Much of the force has been told to back off because of proximity to the accused so it is up to her and her brother-in-law, the sheriff, to figure the whole mess out.

Cozy mysteries are cozy because the murders are not gruesome and the reader knows most of the people in the book so it is like going home. This is just that. The gang's all here and they all agree: no way did Boone kill anyone. True, her was there at the bar the night before; he did take her home after she got into a fight with her boyfriend and he took off; he did pass out on her couch and discover her body the next morning, but what does any of that prove? Hannah's right here with all the help she needs, including several people who aren't supposed to be helping at all. Does she solve the crime? Need you ask? Cozy mystery at its best. I recommend it.

I received a free ARC of Coconut Layer Cake Murder from Netgalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions and interpretations contained herein are solely my own. #nergalley #coconutlayercakemurder

There is so much that is problematic about this book - while I am glad to be over the whole Ross debacle [mostly anyway], it is like Hannah has seriously lost her mind and is acting like she is 12. WHO acts that way on an airplane? WHO acts like they've never heard of LA or that its a huge city? WHO says thank you while thinking in their mind that they are doing it just as they were taught [WTHECK was that about? It happens several times in the book and I just ended up shaking my head as my eyes were already sprained from all the rolling they did]? And I have even mentioned how EASY this murder was to solve [though I wasn't 100% sure about the why, I figured it had to be that. And I had this figured out as soon as Lonnie told his story. Seriously].

Sigh.

I was asked several times while reading this [and exclaiming over and over just how ridiculous it was], WHY was I reading it and the answer is simple. I really love every character in these books. All of them. Except Hannah. And Delores [though her marriage has softened her some and she is easier to take now]. So I read them to see what ALL the characters except Hannah are up to. Hannah, quite simply, makes me crazy. She does the DUMBEST things. And truly doesn't learn from them. It is so infuriating. And I SWEAR TO GOD IF SHE DOES NOT PICK NORMAN AND PICK HIM SOON I WILL LOSE MY EVERLOVING MIND. [#teamnormanforever] The end of this book gives me hope that this may happen soon. I may throw a party when it does. Seriously.

I may or may not keep reading these - she has another one coming out this year and I have been contemplating giving the series just one more chance. I do love Lake Eden [even if the author writes it as everyone who comes from a small town is a freaking moron] and the people that live there. So we will see. It isn't like they are hard reads you know? [Sigh].

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Coconut Layer Cake Murder by Joanne Fluke is book twenty five in the Hannah Swensen series.
Michelle, Hannah's younger sister, needs her help in clearing her boyfriend, Lonnie, for a murder. Lonnie is on the Lake Eden police force so Mike is not allowed to be the case.
Hannah knows Lonnie is innocent and sets out to find out who is framing him and why. All the signs point toward Lonnie making him the perfect suspect..
There are plenty of plot twists that have you guessing to the end. You also get humor and some yummy sounding recipes.
I was given an ARC by NetGalley and the publisher for an honest review.

Hannah is called to help her sister’s boyfriend, Lonnie, prove his innocence when a high school friend is murdered. In this 25th installment, there is no longer question that Hannah is smarter than all of the police officers in Lake Eden. Even Mike, who warned Hannah off investigating in the early books, is now deferring to her expertise.

It is fun to revisit the residents of Lake Eden, but this late in the series there is not much more to develop. Which means, many of the actions of the characters are repetitive. Mike always shows up when food is served, Moishe jumps into Hannah’s arms in greeting, Andrea is a terrible cook except for one type of cookie, and so on.

I would love the series to continue, but maybe with some added surprises about the characters to give the series a little refresh.

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

Thank you NetGalley and Kensington Books for providing me with an ARC of this book. It was nice going back to Eden Lake and the Swensen family. Joanne Fluke's series is like a nice cup of cocoa on a cold day: familiar and comforting. It was nice to go back to this series, even though I had not read some of the previous installments. The characters are still their familiar selves, and it was easy for me to catch up on previous developments. Bewcomers to the series will appreciate the story, although it helps to have read the previous books. I look forward to the next book, and some of the recipes are definitely worth trying.

Coconut Layer Cake Murder is the 25th book in Joanne Fluke’s Hannah Swensen Mystery series. Multiple recipes and some lengthy recipe preparation references seemed tedious to me and took up more pages than the mystery and investigation did. This book can’t be read as a standalone, as there are too many references to people and events with no background information provided. That said, the mystery was interesting and kept me guessing until the reveal.

Hannah Swensen and her partner, Lisa Beeseman, own The Cookie Jar, a bakery and coffee shop, in Lake Eden, Minnesota. Hannah is in Los Angeles with Delores, her mother, helping Lynne Larchmont, a friend, pack for her move back to Lake Eden when Michelle, her sister, calls Hannah in a panic needing her to come home right away because Michelle’s boyfriend, Detective Lonnie Murphy, is the prime suspect in the murder of Darcy Hicks. Hannah’s brother-in-law and chief of police, takes Lonnie’s brother, Detective Rick Murphy, and Lonnie’s partner, Chief Detective Mike Kingston, off the case due to conflicts of interest. With everyone looking to her to solve the murder, Hannah teams up with Mike (unofficially), Norman, and Andrea to Lonnie’s name and, once again, places herself in harm’s way.

I received an Advance Reader Copy of this book from NetGalley and voluntarily reviewed it.

Hannah it turns out isn’t pregnant; it’s stress. Doc prescribed a trip out to California with her mother, which doesn’t sound relaxing to me. Hannah and Delores help her friend Lyn pack up to move to Lake Eden. While there a frantic call comes in from Michelle. Lonnie is the main suspect in a murder that occurred. Hannah flies home and starts investigating. Mike is supporting because Lonnie is his partner and he has been removed from the case.
I enjoyed the story. I had a fairly good idea of the murderer from Lonnie’s account of the night. I was right. It’s a good story and a nice continuation of the Hannah Swensen mysteries.
There seemed to be quite a few more recipes included that in past books.
Norman welcomes Hannah into his home because she doesn’t want to stay in the condo where Ross was murdered. The triangle between Norman, Mike and Hannah is getting a little old. I wish Joanna Fluke would write a decision between them sometime soon. This is book 25, I think it’s overdue.

Coconut Layer Cake murder by Joanne Fluke follows the same outline as previous books but this one had a little bit of a twist. The book is, of course, filled with the mouth-watering recipes as well as the characters constantly eating cookies and drinking coffee. I really wish I lived in Lake Eden sometimes! In this story, we find Hannah trying to recover from her failed marriage and the after-effects. Naturally, there is a murder and Hannah is left to try to find the culprit. This time Hannah is basically on her own because the main suspect is Lonnie, her sister's boyfriend who is on the police department. Almost everyone, including her sometimes, maybe, possible boyfriend Mike, has been pulled from the case. So Hannah is on her own to figure out the case. But she never really is on her own in anything. Her family and friends step up to offer support and to take over the running of the Cookie Jar while she devote her time to clearing Lonnie of this murder.
I'm only giving the book 3 stars. I felt like the recipes were too long and detailed and interrupted the flow of the story. I think it would be better if the recipes were all listed at the end. I found myself flipping through until I got to the next chapter. The other problem is the surprise of who committed the murder. Usually there are clues along the way. We can usually follow along with Hannah and sometimes figure out who did it. Without giving anything away the ending was a surprise. Typically, I would like that. But the fun part a reading about Hannah and her adventures is figuring out along with her who did it! So I was a little disappointed. Coconut Layer Cake is still a fun read.

Hannah is back, and better than ever. After a few slow books, things are getting back to normal-until,of course, someone is murdered. Michelle's (Hannah's sister) deputy boyfriend is the suspect this time, though the entire Swensen family is convinced that he is innocent. Will Hannah figure out whodunit before her cookie gets crunched? Read to find out!

Hannah Swenson's back on the case...the 25th case to be exact. Everything you love about the series from light mystery to beloved characters to delicious recipes is present in full force. Reading these books reminds me of eating a delicious piece of candy, satisfying but no lasting value. At the book's start, Hannah and her mother are in LA helping a friend pack up to move back to Eden Park. Quickly, however, Hannah is called home by her sister to help her boyfriend be cleared of a murder. The mystery in this book was more compelling and interesting than those in several other of the latest books in the series. Lighthearted and a quick read (much of the book is recipes), it's the perfect antidote to February doldrums.

*I received a free copy of this novel from NetGalley for my honest review.*

Hannah needs a vacation so she goes to California with her mother to help Lynne pack to move to Lake Eden. And then she gets a call from Michelle that there has been a murder and no one on the police force can investigate so she is the only one who can find out who the murderer is.

I rounded up from 2.5 stars for this review. The recipes seem good, but all of the fluff in each one feels like the author had a word count to get to and the fluff is how that happens. I feel like this has gotten worse with each book. There are several instances throughout the book where things are repeated between the characters and sometimes it is on the same page. I sometimes get the feeling that I am reading a young adult novel. After the murder in the last book, Hannah is already looking at Norman and Mike to see how she feels about each and who would be good to settle down with. That feels a little too soon. Lastly, I have read a lot of books since Chocolate Cream Pie Murder and there were some references to a bedroom renovation in the condo, but I don't remember exactly what happened that would require a full renovation. Also, who is Lynne? She Ross' first wife or just a college roommate? Sometimes a bit of a recap is needed, especially for characters who haven't been in every installment in the series.

I did like that the Ross story line isn't completely dying with what was revealed towards the end. I am guessing that it will continue into the next book in the series. I was also half expecting another announcement of sorts by Andrea by the end of the novel and was a little surprised that it didn't happen. Keeping me on my toes, Ms. Fluke!

Posted on blog (link attached), twitter (@jillquilts), goodreads and will add to Amazon after release.

Hannah is back in full stride, hunting down murderers and debating between Norman and Mike. Just like the good ol' days! Well, and coming up with half a dozen new cookie recipes. I feel bad for her customers. They taste a cookie they really like and then it is probably never on the menu again! (But my favorite recipe was for the crockpot chicken dish using lemonade concentrate!) I was a bit surprised at how Hannah pursued her investigation this time. People that should have been interviewed first were put off until the end, or not at all. Has Hannah lost her touch or was it simply to help set up the story? Either way, it was nice to see Hannah and Lake Eden back to expected form.

This is the 25th in the Hannah Swensen series. I’ve been reading it since the first book and find them enjoyable. Hannah is off for a prescribed vacation to California with her mother? to help Lynne pack up her house. Suddenly Hannah is called back to solve a murder in Lake Eden. The suspect is Lonnie and most of the police detectives are related to him in some way and have been removed from the case.

I enjoy these books; however, there is a lot of recipe vs mystery. More than I remember in the older books. Of course, you can just skip over them. I do look forward to the next book and maybe the answer to solving Hannah’s dream at the end of the book.

Give it up for Hannah, who is finally called on by the Lake Eden police to investigate a murder. She's on vacation in California, which is supposed to be stress relieving but it's not, really. What's stress relieving for her is trying to figure out what really happened when Lonnie drove a woman home, put her to bed, and then found her dead. This series rises and falls on your affection for Hannah and her friends because there are often little oddities (who carries butter in their purse?). It would be hard to read this without having read a few of the earlier books because there are a lot of characters with long standing relationships. The basic mystery, however, is a good one. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. For fans of the series.

I used to read Joanne Fluke's Hannah Swensen books, but lost track of them at some point, so it was nice to have the opportunity to catch up on the latest in Hannah's world.

Coming in a few books on from where I last read, my first question was: what happened with Ross? It was alluded to throughout the book but never explained, relying on readers to have read the previous book.

I found the novel as a whole a bit too perfect; everyone was so agreeable and considerate, and it lacked depth, drama and momentum. Although Hannah has solved many mysteries, this is the first one where her complete disregard for the police (most who are in her social circle) actually was slightly appropriate and was the most amusing thing in the novel. And I found things like Norman creating things because Hannah once mentioned them just a tad creepy. But I did like that the Mike vs Norman element has reduced.

There was also a lot of pages filled up with recipes and while I enjoy having some recipes in the book, I prefer a few at the end as oppose to one at the end of nearly every chapter. it makes it harder to find them again when they are not all clumped together at the end.

So the question is, would I go back to reading Hannah Swensen's adventures? I'd definitely check in with her again when there's been a bit more character development, I however am a little sceptical about Fluke ever letting her settle down, if the Ross storyline is any indication and I'd really like for her to settle down and move on.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I've read this series from the very first book and I truly believe each one gets better than the last. I feel like I'm part of the Lake Eden community when I sit down to read; coming home to visit friends and family and, of course, help solve a murder! These books are extremely well written with fabulous characters. I highly recommend this book to everyone! Enjoy!

This is the first book I’ve read in this series (even though I own others). I probably should have read them in order because there were things that were referred to in the book that I didn’t really understand. Despite that, I still really loved this book. It’s a great cozy mystery and easy read and just fun to curl up with! Now I have to go buy the first book in this series so I can start reading them in order!!!

I love Hannah! That being said, I'm behind in the series so....this was a fun read. I don't have the angst that other reviewers seem to have regarding the love triangle/rectangle? I do think it has gone on for way too long and cannot fathom any real man hanging around and sharing a woman for that long. And then to allow another man to enter the fray, NOPE, not happening in real life. The murder was kind of an afterthought but it was still fun. A visit with Hannah and the gang is always a good time as far as I'm concerned.
I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley and the publisher and voluntarily chose to review it.

Hannah accompanies her mother to California to visit a relative. Doc prescribed the vacation for her when he diagnosed her with stress. It isn't long until she receives a message the police need her help in an investigation in which Lonnie's presence makes him a suspect. Mike can't investigate because Lonnie is his partner. Only a newly minted detective and the chief himself can investigate, so even the chief wants Hannah to meddle this time. The victim's personality made her unpopular so several persons held motives. A remains of a coconut layer cake plays into the investigation, thus giving the installment its title. The book contains lots of recipes. The premise of this one does not really hold up that well as the police would have called in the state to conduct the investigation. However, it was fun. The love triangle between Hannah, Norman, and Mike continues. I received an electronic advance copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. (3.5 stars)