This book was a fun holiday murder mystery. The first half of the book never really focuses on the murder and it seems a little anti climatic. However, this is a cheerful holiday read with a little mystery tied in to the plot.

Thanks to Kensington Books & NetGalley for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was a very good book if you like hallmark movies this would definitely be a book you would love it’s a very good wholesome book and I will be buying more in this series and the recipes are an amazing bonus.
PSA, have some cake, cupcakes or cookies because you will be craving them as you read this book or better yet use one of the recipes in here I definitely want to try the chocolate surprise cupcakes

This is the 26th book in the Hannah Swensen baking mystery series. I've read all of them, and enjoyed most of them! The last book left me a little disappointed so I was excited to get my hands on this one early and let Hannah have some redemption. Although I liked this one better than #25, it still left something to be desired.

It's vaguely disclosed before the book begins that this story is not in chronological order with the rest of the series, but it doesn't clearly state where it fits in. (Is this because it's a "holiday" mystery? Couldn't there be a holiday story written at the point of time where we are?) That was distracting, as I tried to figure out where this one goes. I finally decided about 35% in that it's not that important.

Hannah's usual sleuthing with her standard cast of characters is put to the test to determine the identity of a man who was found injured, and cannot remember who he is. 

Pros: It's still the cozy, comfortable mystery (with recipes!) about our old friend Hannah that readers are used to.

Cons: While I didn't get the ghostwriter suspicion that I did with the last book, it does read a bit like fanfiction. There is an inordinate amount of detail about things that just aren't necessary. A theme of this book seems to be Hannah's ability to identify cookie shop visitors by their knock (something mentioned in previous books, but not nearly as prevalently). There is also a "Hannah's inner voice" thing that is inconsistently woven into parts of the book, which has never been present before. And there is a lot of repetition. (For instance, there is a scene in the hospital which Hannah and Andrea later recount to Norman and Mike in detail, with absolutely no new information.) Also... no mention of the love triangle!?! While this angle gets a bit (a lot) cheesy at times... is she really Hannah without it???

To top it all off, the ending was so quick and a bit too... convenient.

I can't stop loving Hannah, but I didn't love this book. If you don't know Hannah yet... start at the beginning! They're so enjoyable! And make your own choices from there.

Another great Hannah Swenson book. Very cozy and Christmasy with lots of delicious sounding recipes.
I’d like it if the author didn’t make Hannah’s mom so judgmental about Hannah’s clothes and hair. I don’t know why Hannah puts up with it.

Christmas Cupcake Murder is a deliciously fun Chrtismastime cozy mystery. It has a holiday spirit, wonderful recipes, interesting characters, and a really good mystery. I really can't say anything bad about it. It was just a fun read. The recipes after each chapter were so cool, and I can't wait to try some of them this holiday season. This is my first Joanne Fluke book and it will definitely not be my last, I really enjoyed her writing.

Joanne Fluke brings us back to the small town in Minnesota with Hannah and her family and friends. This is life before Hannah starts finding dead bodies and solving cases. A knock on her back kitchen door brings a new man into her life. Hannah, her mom and Carrie scope out a new storefront to place all the antiques they have been collecting throughout the years. Inside, they find her mystery man unconscious. Hannah finds herself trying to help this man who is suffering from amnesia and recruits all the usual suspects to rally with her.

It is nice to visit Hannah and the gang at Lake Eden to see where it all began. We get to see what everyone is up to and see how it all began. With the bits of information John Doe gives Hannah and the hospital staff, will she be able to solve this mystery? Is it a case of simple amnesia from a fall, or did something more sinister happen before he got to Lake Eden? If anyone can get to the truth, we know that we can always count on Hannah to figure it out all while helping out her friends and family and serving delicious treats.

Joanne Fluke has given us another chapter in the life of Hannah Swenson and those she holds dear. We get to visit Lake Eden and enjoy our time visiting with everyone. As always, my visit with Hannah and everyone is always short. But, I look forward to our next adventure together. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I would like to thank NetGalley and Kensington Books for this privilege.

I always look forward to a new Hannah Swenson installment. It was fun to see her backstory, although it did feel a bit like I’d already read it somewhere. Maybe I’ve just read so many of the series that this book felt familiar. Either way, it was a fun read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington books for my copy of Christmas Cupcake Murder by Joanne Fluke in exchange for an honest review. This published September 29, 2020
This is par for the course of the recent Christmas-themed Hannah books. They aren’t my favorite, just because they are shorter (I am greedy!).
I also haven’t loved the flashbacks because I struggle with some of the continuity errors, but then wonder maybe I am just forgetting. However, I don’t think Hannah had a cell phone before her mother had her antique shop. Not that it’s super important, I just find it distracting.
That being said, this still has the hallmarks of a great Hannah book and I am ready for the next one! Also, there are so many great cupcake recipes in there!

Hannah feeds and then finds a homeless man with no memory. Deciding to help him recovery his memory, they work together to piece things together. Enjoyed this one, and want to try several of the recipes included. Especially want to try the koolaid pickles. Sounds fun. Would recommend this book and author.

Christmas Cupcake Murder A Hannah Swensen Mystery with Recipes! by Joanne Fluke
Starts out with Hannah and she's busy with the holidays, trying to help others who give a lot to the community.
She is also helping her mother with her antiques and trying to help Carrie also... The real estate agent Al has led them to a business that is no longer running and they check it out to only find a body under the tarps.
Hannah remembers the man from his visit to the shop in the morning and he was very polite and they rush him to the hospital and he recovers....
the people in the village all come together and try to find out where Joe belongs. Love the clues leading up to where that is with help from an ingredient in a recipe.
Lots of recipes are included. Listing of author's works are highlighted at the beginning of the book, index of recipes at the end and conversion charts at the end.
I received this review copy from Kensington Books via NetGalley and this is my honest opinion
#ChristmasCupcakeMurder #NetGalley

When a homeless man knocks on the bakery door early one morning, Hannah feeds him and gives him a small job to do, before he disappears with the promise to return the next morning. Later that night Hannah takes her mother and friend to look at store front they are interested in and they find the homeless man clinging to life. After Joe is admitted to the hospital they discover he has amnesia and the whole gang comes together to help solve the mystery.

Can they find Joe’s identity and family and get him home in time for the holidays, or will they find someone who wanted to get rid of Joe and become collateral damage as they finish the job once and for all?

A fun read with a good plot set at Christmas time in Minnesota. The recipes for items in the bakeshop are included and will have you baking up a storm to enjoy the treats right along with your reading.

Through NetGalley, I received a free copy of CHRISTMAS CUPCAKE MURDER (A Hannah Swenson Mystery Story) by Joanne Fluke in exchange for an honest review. Before Delores Swenson had her antique shop, she had a shed full of antiques with a collapsed roof. Hannah suggests her mother rent an empty storefront to provide temperature-controlled storage and enough space to repair and refinish her tarnished treasures. In viewing a property two doors down from the Cookie Jar, they find the unresponsive body of a homeless man who had recently been seen around Lake Eden. A call for help and a hospital stay restores the malnourished man’s physical health; however, he has amnesia caused by a traumatic brain injury and recalls very few details about his life. The Sheriff refuses to take the case since John Doe isn’t, technically, missing and since there is no evidence the traumatic brain injury resulted from foul play. Hannah takes the case and struggles to piece snippets of the man’s memories together while navigating all of the obligations and festivities brought on by the Christmas season.

I enjoyed the series and liked this story. I recommend this tale to fans of the series, to fans of Joanne Fluke, and to fans of cozy mysteries featuring Christmas, recipes, bakeries, amnesia, and missing persons.

#ChristmasCupcakeMurder #NetGalley

Christmas Cupcake Murder by Joanne Fluke 5 stars

This is a Hannah Swensen Cozy Mystery and it is kind of a prequel of sorts. Ms. Fluke sometimes writes books that fill in gaps in between mysteries. This takes place during a time when the The Cookie Jar is in business, but Delores (Hannah's mother) and Carrie (Norman's mother) have not opened their antique shop yet. It is a mystery of a man who has lost his memory. Hannah and her gang seek to help him find his way home. A heartwarming light mystery with recipes that are fun to read [even if I can't cook them]. I enjoyed this a great deal and look forward to the next Hannah Swensen Mystery - Triple Chocolate Cheesecake Murder coming out in early 2021.

Thank you Netgalley and Kensington Books for this ARC.

Christmas Cupcake Murder by Joanne Fluke is the 26th book in the Hannah Swenson series.

I always get so excited when I know a new book is coming out from Ms. Fluke. I have read every single one, including the novellas, and have loved every minute of it. I have been around Hannah and the Lake Eden gang for so long, I feel as of they are part of my family.

This book actually takes place before many other books, when Hannah’s Mom and Carrie had yet to have their own antique store, and before Hannah really got into solving mysteries.

This book did not disappoint. I loved the Christmas theme, festivities, and of course the cupcake and cookie recipes!!!

My favorite recipe (which I have successfully already made once) was the Cinful Sugar Cookies. They were so easy, and divine. I next want to try the cocktail chex mix recipe.

There was more of a mystery plot this time vs the traditional murder/mystery, however it was a nice change from murder and mayhem. It seemed a little more uplifting, too.

I enjoyed my time with Hannah and the gang and I look forward to the next book in this series.

5/5 stars

Thank you NetGalley and Kensington for this ARC and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon and B&N accounts upon publication.

Another fun read about Hannah and her friends/ family. This time, it isn't a murder mystery. Instead it is about finding out who exactly "John Doe" is who showed up in their town with a TBI. Also to note, this is not the next in the series. This is in the timeline before her mother opened her antique shop in town.

These books are always a delight, and as smooth as a hot chocolate. The receipts are great, and these days, I always need a dose of Christmas. That said, I do prefer the whodunnits, but understand this is a prequel. Always happy for the next one!

If you subtract all of the recipes and talk of food, there really is not very much substance to the story, which is unfortunately how the past few books have been going. Also, there have now been "flashback" books recently for the series. It makes me wonder if the series has run its course (this is book #26 in the series, so it does have a respectable number of books in it!) as the overall story arc that was created earlier in the series doesn't really seem to get moved forward very much anymore.

OK, let's say it's Christmas, and you need a bit of a break. Maybe it's snowing, or you wish it would snow. Maybe you're overwhelmed with relatives, or you're feeling alone. Maybe you've been shopping too much, or you're struggling to lower expectations. Maybe you're trying to avoid the dishes or the tryptophan coma.

Whatever it is, maybe you just want to spend some predictable time with old friends, a lot of sugar, and a very loose definition of murder.

If that is how you're feeling, this may be the book for you. Number 26 in the Cookie Jar cozy mystery series is set at Christmas. It includes a tree trimming for children in the hospital and many Christmas-themed cupcakes (recipes included - dolled-up cake mixes). The story revolves around baker Hannah's efforts to identify the amnesiac homeless man to whom she opened her door early one morning. Everyone wants to help. Everyone eats a lot of cupcakes. Everyone spends a lot of time specifying their drink orders. For no particular reason, Hannah falls out of bed.

I liked the way Hannah ultimately identified the homeless man. Although the resolution seemed prolonged, the approach was consistent with her character. There is a helpful tip for keeping your chocolate chips from falling to the bottom of your cupcakes. (And no, not flouring them.)

The book is light on plot, repetitive (pages are devoted to characters telling each other what we just learned), implausible, and extremely sweet.

But that may be the point.

Many thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Christmas came early for me this year! Thanks to Kensington Books and NetGalley for this advanced copy of Christmas Cupcake Murder to review. Joanne Fluke’s Hannah Swensen series is the gold standard of cozy mysteries and Christmas Cupcake Murder is an instant Christmas classic! Hannah Swensen and her pals are at it again solving a case around Christmas time. This mystery takes us back in time to before Hannah started solving crimes. The cookies and story are as sweet as ever, Hannah helps a John Doe figure out who he is while whipping up some delicious recipes along the way. I loved getting to see my favorite midwestern bunch at an earlier, simpler time in the series. From Blue Apple Pie to Vegas Cookies there’s a recipe for everyone in this book! Pick this one up today and pair with your favorite hot drink and cozy seat!

I realize this is really a Christmas book, but it was wonderful to read in front of the air conditioner when it's in the nineties outside. I really loved the saved-the-day-at-the-last-minute ending. I did wonder why nobody made a big deal out of figuring out who Donnie was, but I was already sucked into the story and kept on reading, This will make some really good Christmas reading for someone. The recipes are going to be fun to try out as well.