I really liked the storyline. I like it’s a bit darker than the last ones and Hannah’s life is finally moving on a bit after the death of Ross.

This was a very fast read, filled with many recipes which I jumped over (except for a few which I had to read!) Hannah is still quite tender after the events with Ross from the previous book, and Doc suggests she take a vacation to visit her friend in California who's moving to Lake Eden. But after just five days, she's called home to investigate a murder that Michelle's boyfriend Lonny is accused of. (I have to smile here that a baker makes a better detective than a police man.) Anyway, she does a good job talking to all the people who knew or worked with the dead woman. Ross and his nefarious dealings raise are revealed again - his influence keeps on coming.

I love these stories but I wonder how Hannah and everyone can drink to much coffee and eat so many cookies! And come on, Hannah, make your mind up - Norman is the one!

Many grateful thanks to NetGalley for the chance to read an advance copy of the next in this wonderful series.

I've read all of the Hannah Swensen books. The last few I haven't been all that happy with, mainly because I just did not like Ross. While I wouldn't say this picked up where we before Ross came back into Hannah's life, it definitely feels like we are getting the old Hannah back. (If you've read the series, you know what I mean. Hannah was very different around Ross.)

Hannah is ordered by Doc to take a vacation because she is very stressed (which caused her to think she was pregnant). Hannah and her mom go and help their friend Lynne pack things up in her house so she can move back to Lake Eden. While they were helping Lynne, Hannah got a frantic call from her sister Michelle asking Hannah to come home because Lonnie (Michelle's boyfriend) is prime suspect in a murder investigation. While Hannah usually investigates murders it is always unofficial, but with three members of the local police unable to work on the investigate Hannah's brother-in-law/police chief needs her help.

This story was a little different from the others because a good chunk of the book was from Lonnie's point-of-view as he recapped the events of the night he saw the deceased to when she was found murdered the next morning. Hannah starts investigating and as always finds herself in a tight spot and Mike and Norman of course come to her rescue.

While there are some aspects that are predictable in these mysteries I still enjoy them and I always hope that Hannah will choose Norman.

#CoconutLayerCakeMurder #NetGalley

While Hannah is used to helping the local PD with mysterious deaths in the past, this is the first time she needs to work solely on her own in order to help solve the mystery but also clear the name of a loved one. Hannah needs to cut her vacation in CA short when her sister Michelle needs help back in Lake Eden. Her boyfriend Lonnie is the lead suspect in a murder of one of his friends. Through her wonderful sleuth abilities and enjoyable recipes that I will need to try on my own, she solves the mystery. Another great addition to the series.

Thank you to Kensington and NetGalley for approving me for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Let me start by saying this series got me hooked on the cozy mystery genre many moons ago. I have faithfully read each and every one as soon as I could get my hands on it.

Here we go...

This series began in 2000 and twenty-five books later we are still in the same storyline. The Mike, Norman, Hannah trifecta needs to come to a halt. I feel like you could read book five, skip to twenty-five and basically be in the same spot with these three. I had a glimmer of hope when she married Ross, but those of us who follow this series know how that ended up.

Without giving anything away, Hannah may finally be on her way to making a decision between the two, but I'm not holding my breath.

The actual murder mystery is solid, as always, in this installment. She always keeps me guessing, I will give her that. I also love the relationships with Hannah and her Mom and sisters. I always get a laugh out of the conversations they have.

The problem I find is the "filler" of these books lately.

My heart is seriously breaking right now...

These books are becoming more and more of a cookbook and less cozy mystery. In my ARC there are twenty-four, yes twenty-four, recipes.Okay, they all look delicious and I probably gained 10 pounds reading them, but if I wanted a cookbook, I would buy a cookbook.

I understand one of the best perks of a culinary cozy mystery is the addition of the recipes in the book. However, twenty-four is excessive and I felt cheated out of the actual mystery. I found myself just clicking through pages and pages of cooking instructions and tips. My best guess is half of this book is recipes.

At over 300 pages, the "mystery" portion of this book could actually be considered a novella.
If this is the way these books are going to go, I would suggest to the publisher to release both the mystery portion of the book (and please an actual novel length book) with at most five recipes and a corresponding cookbook containing all of them for those that want all of the recipes.

So...now what?

I will continue to read this series. I'm emotionally and financially invested. However, I won't preorder or even mark the release date on my calendar like I have done in the past. In all honesty, I will probably wait to see if it gets discounted a few months after the release date, request it through NetGalley again, or get myself on the waiting list at the library.

I'm going to go cry in my coffee cup now. Sniff.

I have read many of the books in this series but I guess they are losing their appeal. Predictable, yet entertaining mystery.
The recipes included in the book are a big bonus.
Thank you Netgalley and Kensington Books for this ARC.

***I received a free copy of this book from the publisher. I voluntarily reviewed this book and all opinions are my own.

Hannah Swenson is back in Coconut Layer Cake Murder (#25). Hannah and her mother visit California to help a friend who is moving back to Lake Eden.  Within a few days Hannah receives a call from her sister telling her to she needs to come home to help Lonnie.  Lonnie is a family friend and police officer in Lake Eden.  He is the prime suspect in a murder and everyone wants Hannah to help solve the case because most of the police officers are not allowed to investigate.  Hannah hurries home and starts her investigation.  How could Lonnie be caught up in a murder case?  Who would want Darcy dead?  It's up to Hannah, her family, and friends to help the police department solve the case.

This is one of my favorite cozy mystery series. Joanne Fluke creates an atmosphere of close family and friends in a small community in Minnesota. As always, there are a lot of recipes with little tips and shortcuts. It's always nice to see what's going on in Lake Eden and I look forward to book #26.

Thank you to Kensington Publishing for gifting me a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Mystery & Thrillers
Publication Date: February 25, 2020

Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to read and review Coconut Layer Cake Murder. Hannah has done it again, always there to help her friends when they need. Hannah finally was on vacation, she then had to leave to go back home to Lake Eden to help one of her friends be cleared of a crime he didn't commit. Thanks to Hannah the true criminal was discovered and now the people of Lake Eden can rest until the next crime is committed.

I was sorry the book came to an end. Each new title is like a visit with friends you haven't seen in awhile. I can't wait for the next installment to be published.

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* First off I do not think ive ever read any other books from this seires but ive really wanted to because I love books like this! I really loved the book even though I didn't understand all the characters backstories but im really anzious to read the other books now too lol the only thing is I wish I would have been home when I read this so I could have tried some of the recipes while I was reading lmao

I received a free copy of this via NetGalley, in return for an unbiased review. Upfront, I’ll say that I did enjoy this series for a long time. Though it would be fair to say it’s incredibly repetitive - you could almost make a checklist of things that will get mentioned... recipes will always mention using your immaculately clean hands. Hannah will always brace herself for Moishe launching himself at her when she opens the door. People will beg Hannah to investigate because only she can solve it, which does a gross disservice to the police - especially when Hannah inevitably stumbles onto the killer alone and needs the police to rescue her. Moishe will have salmon fish treats, there’ll be lots of sitting at the work table eating cookies, and Hannah will string along two men even more.

This started out a bit differently, and I realised I must have missed the previous book as I had no idea who Ross was! It started out interesting - Lonnie framed for murder. But as others have said, it doesn’t really have a long mystery. If you take out all the recipes, it would be a short novel. Take out all the sitting around the work table, eating cookies and recognising knocks, and it would be a novella. For someone who’s solving her 25th murder, it’s staggering that Hannah doesn’t interview the people who drank with Lonnie until the end, after speaking to everyone else.

I think, though I hate to say it, it’s time to wrap this series up.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/45454098-coconut-layer-cake-murder

I really enjoyed this book. I am not completely caught up on this series but I did not feel lost. I love how fast paced it was and all the recipes. Definitely going to be trying some of those out. The characters are great and I can’t wait to go back to Lake Eden.

I really love this series! After 25 books, I am definitely invested in Hannah's life. I do wish she would just commit to Norman. That storyline is getting old fast. I wasn't as annoyed with the spelling out of each of Hannah's actions as I was in the last book. I liked this mystery and felt it moved along nicely. Looking forward to the next book!

I think this is the coziest cozy mystery in the genre, and this book delivers on all the points that made the other 24 books in this series a joy to snuggle up and read. There’s plenty of recipes, dinners with the whole gang, doling out of cookies in the back room of the cookie jar and brainstorming theories with Norman and Mike. I only wish this series would give Hannah more forward progression, after 25 books its time for her life to shake up a bit and she needs to make some decisions. #teamnorman. Thank you Kensington for the arc.

Book 25 of the Hannah Swenson series by Joann Fluke, Coconut Layer Cake Murder, begins when Hannah and her mother travel to California to help one of Hannah’s friends move to Lake Eden. Hannah’s vacation is cut short when she gets a phone call from Michelle telling her that Lonnie, her boyfriend, is the prime suspect in the murder of one of their old friends. Hannah rushes home to be with Michelle and to, of course, investigate the murder. Book 24 left readers with a cliffhanger, and it’s a given that fans will be picking up this soon-to- be bestseller immediately. The cliffhanger isn’t even mentioned until the very end, so this one keeps readers on edge wanting more information. As is Fluke’s style in telling the story, Hannah and the other characters, who have become part of our hearts, spend all their days drinking coffee, baking and eating cookies (never gaining an ounce), and investigating. Nobody in this make-believe town ever seems to need to do housework, take out the garbage, go to meetings, or be busy. It’s fun, though to put ourselves in this make-believe world. We think of these characters as ageless, never seeing the effects of drinking 20+ cups of coffee a day and the leathery skin that comes from it, or being unhealthy from a diet mostly of cookies and sweets.

Because there are dozens of books in this series, readers are aware that Hannah, et al, are naive as to the outside world, since Lake Eden is such a small town, but Fluke should do a little research to keep up with the times. At the beginning of the novel, Hannah and her mother travel to California for a vacation and to help one of Hannah’s college friends move. While on the plane they talk about the “stewardess” and show the world that they are definitely country bumpkins. Having personally been a “flight attendant” for over 20 years, that term is not only outdated, but it is absolutely Neanderthal. And the “stewardesses” certainly don’t serve coffee on descent (an FAA thing). Even in the tiny town of Lake Eden, people go on vacation (Hannah did it on her honeymoon) and should know about airline travel since it’s been around for some time (the Wright brothers started it back in 1903); our beloved Hannah isn’t stupid. One of the charms of this series is the innocence and make-believe life in Lake Eden and the fact that Hannah and her family aren’t of the real world, but “stewardess” takes it a little far. The recipes are also written for anyone who has never seen a kitchen before or even boiled water, which is an insult to those who possess even an ounce of intelligence or cooking experience.

So why are these books bestsellers? Who knows? But they are, and I’m always at the front of the line to get the next one and read what is happening with Hannah next. And, of course, this novel is highly recommended albeit the fact that Hannah doesn’t live in a real world. The recipes, once one gets past the drivel and hyperbole, are also excellent.

It’s time to run out and pick up this latest book, which gets five stars from me and from most Hannah Swenson fans because that’s just the way it’s done.

Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.

Coconut Layer Cake Murder is the 25th installment in the Hannah Swensen series set in Lake Eden, MN and featuring Cookie Jar owner, Hannah, her family and friends. Hannah has accompanied her mother to California to help their friend Lynne pack up her house and move back to Lake Eden. The house is almost buttoned up when Hannah gets a call from sister Michelle that her boyfriend Lonnie is the prime suspect in a murder.

Hannah's brother in law and chief of police, Bill has taken both Mike an Lonnie off the case due to conflict of interest and everyone is now looking to Hannah to solve the mystery. Hannah teams up with Mike, Norman and Andrea to identify the killer and clear Lonnie's name.

There really is no plot in this latest addition to the series. In fact, the actually mystery is only about 50 pages and the rest of the book is just filled with recipes and notes about the recipes. In the 50 pages of actual story over a third is spent at the work table in the Cookie Jar with the usual characters sampling cookies and commenting on the different knocks on the back door. Even Moishe was barely mentioned in the story. If you haven't read this series before I wouldn't start with this one as it does not read like a stand alone, you will have no idea who Lynne is or understand the casual references to why Hannah is not living at her condo or what happened to her husband. This series has become a true disappointment.

I received an advanced copy of Coconut Layer Cake Murder from NetGalley via Kensington Publishing. While not required to write a review I am happy to offer my honest opinion.

This series used to be one of my favourites; however it no longer holds my interest. I keep reading them but am disappointed, so I will have to say goodbye to this series.

Love this series. Hannah and her mother delores go to Los Angelo's to help her friend pack up to move. Hannah is called back to lake eden to help investigate murder. Hannah and the help from norman and the gang set out to find the murderer. Great read

Won't lie. My favorite part of this series is the recipes. But I was waiting to hear how this series would progress after the last book. I'm still not a fan of either Norman or Mike. This part of the story is rather like the Stephanie Plum books by Evanovich... eventually, you want the guys or the lead character to just move on already (which is why I was super-excited when it seemed like Hannah had.) All that said, I enjoyed the book, and look forward to the next one.

I love mystery books and baking so this series is perfect for me! Joanne Fluke is a wonderful writer who understands small towns and the people that live there.

Hannah is stressed out and the only answer is to take a vacation. She heads to California with her mother but when she finds out that her sister's boyfriend is a prime suspect in a murder she rushes home to solve the mystery.

As usual there is drama and laughter but in the end Hannah always gets her man!

For many years, I loved this series because the mysteries were well-written and the guilty party was not obvious. However, the past few books haven’t been on par with the previous ones. Like other recent books, Coconut Layer Cake Murder was a surface-level story, with quite a few more pages dedicated to recipes than earlier books in the series. The mystery part of this book was okay, but could have been so much more development.

Thanks go to NetGalley and Kensington for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.