Christmas Cupcake Murder by Joanne Fluke is the 26th book in the Hannah Swensen series, and much better than some prior books in the series. In this book Hannah and the crew work hard to find a man's identity, and he's alive. I really enjoyed the sweet moments between Hannah and Norman. I will always be team Norman, Mike just shows up to eat. I am happy this series has gone back to it's old formula, except I don't like the recipes after the chapters, I much prefer them in the back of the book. I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series. I recommended this book and series for cozy book lovers.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I love Joanne Fluke's books! They are in a way predictable, but I like Hannah and her family and all the other cooky characters that these books have. I will continue to read these books in the future.

Fun, quick read.

I’m a longtime fan of Hannah and her crew. Although I’ve had issues with the series of late, I keep returning to see how it progresses and how it finally ends. This story is out of order, but it’s hard to place exactly where it would fall in the series.

The premise of helping someone with amnesia recover his memories and find his family was a good one, especially In a holiday setting. But the actual story was overtaken by so much minutiae. I skimmed several chapters of in depth cookie descriptions, detailed accounts of what everyone was eating and drinking and how much, and quite a few unnecessary explanations. And the ending went the other direction... it was a bit sudden and far fetched, and I would have liked a bit more info on how it came about.

Unfortunately this feels like an installment that can be skipped. Diehard Swensen fans will still want to check it out. I’m hoping that the next book continues with the character and relationship development that we saw so much of in the previous book. Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for the complimentary digital review copy of this title.

I don't usually like reading Christmas books so early but in the case of Joanne Fluke's new book Christmas Cupcake Murder I'm glad I read it early. There are a number of Christmas recipes that I want to add to my holiday baking list this year.

I have read most of this series out of order as I get most of the backlist titles from my digital library and they don't have the whole series. It is absolutely possible to read this book without having read other books in the series and it definitely does not have to be read in publication order. Why? Because this story actually takes place earlier in the series. There is a note at the beginning that it is before Delores opens her antique shop and Tracey (Hannah's niece) is still an infant.

I think this may be my favorite in the series. While all the books are light (they are cozy mysteries after all), I thought that this one had the perfect vibe for Christmas. I particularly liked that the mystery isn't a death. Instead, Hannah must discover who the man on her doorstep is. You see, he has amnesia and can't remember who he is or where he comes from. She also must find out if it was an accident or something more sinister led to the amnesia.

The focus on memories is such a Christmasy thing as we all pull out family recipes and decorations from the past. A death at the holidays always adds a bit of saddenest to the season, but this mystery of figuring out the man's identity so that he can be reunited with his loved ones for the holidays is a more hopeful story.

There is also plenty of family and friends in this installment with family and friend dinners and decorating the hospital for the season. Mostly it is the usual crowd of characters that make an appearance. It gives the reader the feel of spending the holidays with friends and family.

Whether you are a long-time fan of the Hannah Swensen or just looking for a light-hearted Christmas story for your holiday reading, you can't go wrong with this book.

My review will be published at Girl Who Reads on Tuesday, Sept. 22 - https://www.girl-who-reads.com/2020/09/christmas-cupcake-murder-by-joanne.html

Christmas Cupcake Murder is the 26th addition to the Hannah Swensen mystery series. Each one works well as a standalone, so you can jump in at any point. The main ongoing bit of information that you might need is that readers are probably very divided over which of the two men who like Hannah should she end up with: will you be team Norman, the dentist, or team Mike, the detective?

While I’ve read a lot of these, and I do enjoy them, sometimes the conversations between the characters seem a bit too stilted. It often puts me off a bit until I immerse myself more into the story. Overall, I like the main character, Hannah, and her friends, family and acquaintances. They are a very considerate group of people who get along well together. Hannah’s sisters and mom play a role in every book.

This story has a bit of mystery with a bit of tension and excitement at the end. It is different from the other books in the series because there isn’t a murder.

I like that these cozy mysteries are free of cursing and sex, and they are enjoyable books to read.

A flash from the past and a new twist with wonderful holiday recipes! Hannah is busy cooking up sweet things when she encounters a mystery man with amnesia. The residents of Lake Eden take him in and start brainstorming on how to help. No murder to solve in this one folks, which is pointed out in the preface, but there is still the mystery of Joe Smith to solve. One thing is certain, there is no mystery about how good Hannah's cookies and cupcakes can taste. Layered throughout the story are holiday confections that are sure to please everyone's palate with easy to understand instructions that flow right along with the storyline. I do wish that they were at the back of the book, only because they can be distracting because I want to stop reading and start baking! I am especially eager to try the Pineapple White Chocolate Bar Cookies and the Christmas Baked Brie. A very nice foray even without a murder and another story that makes me even more a part of team Norman!

It's that wonderful time of year again when Joanne Fluke, author of the Hannah Swensen series, comes out with her now annual (it seems) Christmas book. These books always give us Hannah fans a glimpse of Hannah's life prior to the Hannah we all know and love now. It also gives us a peek as to how certain things became what they are now in the present.

In Christmas Cupcake Murder, Hanna befriends a homeless man who has no memory of who he is or how he even got to Lake Eden. When Hannah and her mother find him unconscious in an empty store, they immediately seek help.

While in the hospital it is discovered that the man does not even remember his name. So it is agreed upon that they give him the name Joe Doe. Although he has no memory of people and places, certain things jog his memory. For example he has a memory of he and his mother going to get a special something to add to her German chocolate cupcakes. It also seems he has a knack for fixing antique furniture.

As they get to know Joe and his kindness, Hannah, her mother and the whole gang decide they must try to find out who Joe really is. Because Joe is not a missing person, the Chief will not allow any investigating, so the crew must depend on other tips and bits of memory which Joe tells them.

Along with the mystery of who Joe is we also learn just how and why Hannah's mother and her best friend Carrie decided to open the antique store.

And of course while all this mystery is swirling in Lake Eden, Lisa and Hannah are busy creating new recipes for the holiday season, which of course, are included at the end of the chapters.

Can Hannah solve the mystery of who Joe really is? And if so, what really happened to him?

A Hannah Swensen mystery is always a quick, cozy read which will put a smile on your face and perhaps even give you a new recipe try!

Always a yummy read!

Thank you to #NetGalley #JoanneFluke #ChristmasCupcakeMurder for the advanced copy. The book will be in stores on September 29.

Thank you to Netgalley for a copy yo read and review!
The warm descriptive beginning is centered around the making of German Chocolate Cupcakes Hannah’s sincere kindness to a homeless man sets the stage for the book’s mystery. This is one of the few books in this series that is not primarily about a murder. It’s a pleasant change, perfect for the Christmas season. Hannah goes about finding the identity of the homeless man with the usual cast of characters
A wonderful surprise is that we travel back in time with our characters for example Delores is just beginning her antique business with Carrie. and Lisa and Herb are just at the start of their relationship to name a few. As always with this series the writing is so detailed and descriptive that it creates wonderful “mind pictures” for the reader
The sights and sounds of Christmas come to life!!! A Fluke book would not be complete without recipes that are truly delicious and easy to follow!

If you read any of my previous reviews of this series, you will know that I have a serious love/hate relationship with them [and the author and how she writes]. The last few books have definitely been in the "hate" [and not really hate, but not definitely not love. More of a MEH kind of thing] category and this one right in the middle of that group. There were parts [very few though] that I liked and there were parts [most of the book actually] that I didn't like. There is so much that I didn't like, it is difficult to write anything without mentioning a few of them [and I tried. I sat looking at this review box for a good 10 minutes trying to figure out how to write one that didn't bring up all the elephants in the room. It is impossible]. I know people love these books and write glowing reviews of them. There are times I wish I could be one of them.

1. I am tired of the "let's go back in time to Hannah's past" trope. Can we not just stay in the here and now and get her life back on track and get her married to Norman and have her solve murders? ;-) I am not a fan of the characters from the past - I like them now. As they have grown and matured and have been fleshed out. I had forgotten how much I did not like Andrea in the beginning of the books because she is such a great character now. This book brought all that back and it wasn't a trip down memory lane that was needed. And this one WAS confusing. I kept forgetting it was in the "past" and it just is unneeded. I hope that this is the last one she does in this style.

2. We the readers are 1. not stupid, and 2. not 2nd graders. Please stop writing like we are. I think this is my biggest complaint with the more recent books. I can deal with the weird timelines and storylines and improbable murder solving and the never-ending "WHO WILL SHE PICK". It is the writing that bugs me the most. She writes like her readers [and fans] are morons. Or that they are in grade school. WHILE being morons. It is insulting - to the fans and readers that have stayed with her for so long and to the new people coming in to these books. People who read cozies do so because they love the genre and more than likely read MANY of the different series out there. If we are reading one, it is because we like them or like the writing. This author makes it difficult to do either. I have stayed because I love the characters [with the exception of Hannah] and the stories have been decent enough to keep me going. But if this trope of writing like we are morons continues, I think I will have to finally call it quits. It is like she really doesn't care about her readers anymore and it is both insulting and extremely disappointing.

The recipes were amazing in this book. I sent a ton to my friend and she is so excited to make them all [I, alas, cannot have any of her goodies. I just sit and drool]. That was a huge plus in this book; I will say I love the creativity in the book[s] in recipe department. Her books never fail to offer up at least ONE recipe that I love and share.

3. The end. Really? T H E D R A M A. <eyeroll> Even though I really liked this story [just not the regression of the characters - this story would have been magnificent in present time]; the idea of someone with amnesia trying to find themselves was really original and it was fun to watch that unfold, the end was just a little [okay, a lot] too dramatic ["WHAT Lassie? Timmie is in the WELL?? WHAT WILL WE DO" <--yes, it is THAT dramatic].

Since I have learned there is another book in the works I am hoping that we are going back to present day and that Hannah has moved on from her disappointment and we get back to business as usual. That would be refreshing.

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

Christmas Cupcake Murder by Joanne Fluke was a lovely prequel to the Hannah Swensen mysteries. This one took a bit of a twist, no one gets murdered. The mystery involves a man who doesn’t know his identity but Hannah and her gang work to figure it out and eat a lot of cookies along the way. And of course there are lots of delicious recipes to indulge in. A fun and cozy mystery with the bonus of yummy cookies.

Joanne Fluke is the author of the bestselling Hannah Swenson series, and sometimes releases holiday books that are a bit different from the regular novels in the series. Christmas Cupcake Murder is her 2020 offering, and is different because it doesn’t actually have a murder; rather a man is found close to death in an abandoned building down the street from the Cookie Jar, and doesn’t remember much of anything about his life. As he is nursed back to health, it is discovered that he knows a lot about refinishing furniture, and Hannah, as usual, follows the clues. Time is ticking, and Hannah feels like it’s necessary to quickly find this man’s identity, why he was in the town, and why he was injured. Of course the main characters are featured, and they all interact and accomplish all of their regular duties while at the same time they consume gallons of coffee and dozens of cookies (without gaining an ounce), there are subplots that help move the story along.

Anyone who follows Hannah Swenson enjoys the break from reality and problems that come up in real life; Hannah’s problems can be solved with a cup of coffee, homemade cookies, and a dose of make-believe. While there are mysterious happenings in the books, they are mostly of the “feel-good” variety (albeit a few murders here and there) and readers end up happy and satisfied when the mysteries are solved. Hannah, et al are real persons in the mind of her fans, and there is nothing untoward – sex, violence, or profanity - in the world of Lake Eden and The Cookie Jar.

Fluke is a good storyteller; the books, including this one, are well-written, and almost everyone will love to take a break and read this as soon as it’s released. The bonus is the recipes, which always work out and are always delicious, although they are hard to follow due to all of Hannah’s comments. Highly recommended for culinary mystery lovers.

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

I received this book free of charge from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

I always enjoy this series. Hannah, her sisters, mom and the rest of the gang seem like old friends by now. While you won't have any great whodunit the story is easy to read and keeps my attention.This book takes place before the series actually starts and gives some background info. There were a few data inconsistencies but it didn't distract from the story.

I enjoy the recipes in the book and look forward to trying a few of them.

In the insane world of 2020 with a pandemic massive storms and widespread fires that cause angst and fear it is wonderful that there is Hannah Swensen. Hannah brings a sense of normality and hope to a troubled time, a sense of tradition, and calm and hope that things will one day be all right.
As I delved into the book, I so wanted to sit at Hannah’s kitchen table and have a cup of coffee and a cookie or a cupcake with her, and in a way this book provides that opportunity.
This book is a bit different in that there is no murder. As the book opens Christmas is approaching Hannah is busy baking when there is a knock at the door. She opens it to find a stranger at the door looking not for a handout but for a job to earn money for food. Hannah feeds him and gives him some small tasks to do and pays him for them.
Later that evening Hannah and her mother and a friend are looking at an unoccupied store as a place for Hannah’s mother to store her burgeoning stash of antiques and as they go through, they find a man who is in a bad way and Hannah recognizes him as the man from the morning. They get him to the hospital and then the tale gears up as Hannah and her cadre of friends and sleuths (some amateur some professional) try to identify him as he remembers more and more about his life, they begin to solve the puzzle by piecing together clues from him and from others. A piece of it comes from his furniture refinishing ability, a piece from a vague memory, a piece from a friend’s elderly aunt, and finally, a piece comes from a recipe in an old cookbook that leads to a most satisfying solution.
The book is a wonderful Christmas Present to the author’s readers and engenders a warm feeling that is perfect holiday reading. It is a joy to escape to Lake Eden for a cup of coffee, a sweet treat, and a thoroughly satisfying story. Joanne Fluke puts the Cozy in cozy mysteries. My wife is from Minnesota and her settings and stories ring true.

This book is part cookbook and part mystery. The delicious sounding recipes are the best part. The story goes back to Hannah's early years at The Cookie Jar. Hannah meets a homeless man who has lost his memory and Hannah, with help from her friends, is determined to help him get his memory back.

This is book 26 in the Hannah Swensen series. Book 23 was a prequel so I was surprised and a bit disappointed that book 26 is also a prequel. I look forward to book 27 in hopes that it continues on and perhaps answers what will happen in the Hannah, Mike and Norman situation. Thanks to Kensington and NetGalley for an ARC. The opinions expressed are my own.

Who is Joe? He's clearly got some knowledge of antiques but who is he? That's the question Hannah and her friends try to solve in this latest installment in a long running series. Lake Eden is a happy small town, for the most part, and Hannah's bakery, the Cookie Jar, is the locus of a lot of activity. This is as much a recipe book as it is a mystery but that's ok; other books in the series have more in-depth plot lines. Don't worry if you haven't read the earlier books- this will be fine as a standalone. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. It's light, its fun, you'll find yourself snacking.

Christmas Cupcake Murder finds us back in Lake Eden with our favorite characters. This particular installment is said to have been set before the main series which makes it perfect for a stand alone and introduction to Hannah Swensen.

There was no murder in this book, rather an attempted murder when Hannah discovers a homeless man near death. This man has amnesia and Hannah and crew make it their mission to discover who he really is and reunite him with his family.

If you are like me, after 26 books, these characters feel like family. I loved that I know these characters so well which made a few things difficult in this book. In particular Hannah does not have a “murder book” yet as she hasn’t started finding and solving them yet. Perhaps this book was a gateway drug for what’s to come. The other thing I didn’t like is there is no way Hannah would have her phone or be helping someone with apps.

I love traveling to Lake Eden in these books and overall enjoyed this one, despite the few things mentioned above. I’d definitely recommend to readers new to the series.

Hannah Swensen is happy to accompany her mother and her mother’s friend to look at some rental property where they can store their antiques. As the three women check out the space’s features, they make a surprising discovery. A young man is on the floor, near death, and Hannah recognizes him. She had served the homeless man, who was looking for odd jobs to make money, earlier that morning in her shop. They make sure he gets medical attention immediately but when he wakes, he doesn’t remember who he is or why he was in Lake Eden. Hannah had immediately liked the young man and decides to solve the mystery about his identity and help him get his life back.

This book is part of the long-running Hannah Swensen series, but is a flashback to when Hannah’s shop The Cookie Jar had been open for two years. She is already casually dating MIke and Norman, but since both relationships are in the early stages, the book doesn’t have the romance drama of the most recent books in the series. Hannah is a good, sweet person and is sometimes taken advantage of by her overbearing mother, Delores. In later books, Delores mellows some, but she’s still pretty pushy in this story. I like Hannah’s relationship with her sisters and friends, though. I enjoyed the investigation into the man’s past and how Hannah finds and puts together the clues she finds. Everybody pitches in to help “Joe Smith” in this story and it’s great seeing everyone work together. There are a few surprises in what they learn which makes the ending even better.

Most culinary mysteries have recipes, but this series has started to go overboard. There are about twenty-five recipes throughout the book and in addition, much of the book’s narrative is Hannah talking about dishes she’s preparing or recipes she wants to try. As long as you know going into the book that it will be light on mystery, you won’t be disappointed. This book has even less mystery than usual and taking away the food-related portions is really more of a novella in terms of plot. However, it is an entertaining holiday story that fans of the author will enjoy as well as anyone looking for a quick, light read for Christmas.

I received this ebook from NetGalley through the courtesy of Kensington Books. An advance copy was provided to me at no cost, but my review is voluntary and unbiased.

It was nice to return to Lake Eden and visit with Hannah and her family. I liked that this book was set in an earlier time than the current series. This book added some depth to some of the characters that we've grown to love. While reading I was in the Christmas spirit and can't wait to try some of the recipes this Christmas.

This is Number 26 in the Cookie Jar cozy mystery series is set at Christmas. I have seen Joanne Fluke's books in the bookstores and have always been intrigued by them! The covers are always super cute and who doesn't love reads with food involved. They find a man near death in an abandoned storefront two doors down from Hannah's bakery. The John Doe can't recall anything about himself, except for his unusual knowledge of restoring antique furniture. They try to peice together the mystery of what happened to the guy. There is no actual murder in this book but there is still a dedicated hunt for the truth. There are recipes included and it was well written!

If you are looking for a light, basic read that is themed with Christmas and cozy criminal mystery undertones, this is it!

Thank you to Net Galley and Kensington Books for this eARC in exchange for my honest opinion!

4.5 stars

This is the twenty-sixth book in the Hannah Swensen mystery series by Joanne Fluke.

I am a bit confused by the title of this. There isn’t really a murder here. At best there is an attempted murder. This story is mostly about a homeless man that Hannah helps and then later they find him near death at a rental location for Delores and Carrie’s new antique furniture venture.

I loved how they followed all the clues to try and uncover who this man was and get him back to his family. He had a traumatic brain injury which was causing amnesia so he couldn’t help them with many details of his life. Here and there a nugget or two would come out and give them a bit of clarity.

Near the beginning of the book there are some cute scenes where Hannah flashes back to times when her dad was still alive. That was so sweet and it was very nice to see who her father was and what he was like. I hope Fluke does more of that in the future.

Overall it is a great book. This series never disappoints. Love the cast and the mystery always keeps me engaged. A real winner of a story.

If you like cozy mysteries, definitely check this one out. You won’t be disappointed.

I received this as an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) in return for an honest review. I thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to read this title.