I don't know what genre of book this is. Cooking cosy? It doesn't matter, I love it! Cosy mystery is a genre that I really enjoy when I want a more light-hearted mystery, and I also love cooking books. So discovering that there's an entire sub genre that mixes cookery recipes with cosy mystery was a revelation.

Christmas Cupcake Murder is in a long line of books featuring main character Hannah Swenson, but it seems from the blurb that this is set before the main series, which works great for me, because this was the first book I'd read in the series and it all made perfect sense. The mystery is a fairly tame, feel-good tale as Hannah and her friends and family look into the mystery of a homeless man who's suffered a traumatic brain injury. Who is he and what happened to him? Can Hannah figure it out?

Between mystery, there are pages of actual recipes that sound fantastic, and the theme of Christmas baking is intertwined with every chapter. So much fun!

Thank you to NetGalley, Joanne Fluke, Kensington Books for the ARC of Christmas Cupcake Murder. This is my personal review.
Joanne Fluke does it again taking us to Minnesota for another Hannah Swenson adventure.
This was a great story that keeps you guessing until the end. This mystery is about a stranger no one seems to recognize- but Hannah and her family and friends are determined to help him figure out who is and where he came from.
And as always Hannah makes a fabulous array of sweets. And we get to get the recipes. This is a great treat in every Hannah Swenson book by Joanne Fluke.

Wonderful mystery with baking recipes.

Hannah Swenson, the owner of The Cookie Jar, encounters a homeless man. He asks for work. Hannah gives him work.

Meanwhile Hannah’s mother Delores is looking for a storefront to rent because she and her friend Carrie have been collecting antiques over the years.

While looking at a possible rental, they find the same homeless man asleep. They are relieved that he is not dead. The homeless man is taken to the hospital. Doc Knight informs Hannah that John Doe has Traumatic brain injury.

Hannah asks her friend Mike, who is a policeman for help.

The recipes for the mentioned goodies are interwoven throughout the book.

I received a free advanced copy in exchange for a honest review.

I've read all the Hannah Swensen series, from the very first one published in 2000 (this date is super important). The prequel, however, just isn't working for me.

It supposedly takes place before Hannah solves her first murder. That one back in 2000 in Chocolate Cookie Mystery. If my memory serves correctly, Mike has just come to town, Norman is not quite on the Hannah plan, and Doc? He's just the doctor who might be a family friend. He's certainly not Delores' maybe-partner at the time.

By itself? This could be a fun little mystery. Who is the mysterious stranger? Why can't he remember who he is? Will Hannah figure it out? It's on par with most Hannah mysteries, just a fun light read.

But in the context of 25 other Hannah books? It simply does not work. The technology mentioned didn't exist in the time period that would be the prequel to book 1. Prior to book 1 and the technology in 2000 which is pointed out repeatedly in the earlier part of the series, no one had smartphones. No one pulled up the internet to look things up. Etc etc etc.

The relationships between the characters? They are the contemporary relationships in the series (the Hannah-Norman-Mike triangle) or super foreshadowing (Doc & Hannah's mom, wasn't the Lori nickname mentioned somewhere in the middle of the series with Hannah and her sisters being surprised at the familiarity). Even Andrea's nanny is there as Tracy's new nanny, yet she was hired for Bethany. I'm not even sure Tracey was alive in book 1 (it's been years since I read it) but she's definitely in the prequel.

It is a cute story. But it should have been fit in at a better timeline. Age Tracy, add Bethany, and it could have fit in properly before Doc and Delores got together in the timeline. But as the entire series prequel? That's where it lost me. I couldn't get past the fact that the timeline was completely wrong with the rest of the series.

As a longtime reader of this series, I'm always happy when a new installment comes out. The stories are filled with small town community, family, friends and lots and lots of good food. Regardless of what the mystery is, or everyone's drama in that moment, reading them is like coming home for Christmas.

What a sweet kind of story - perfect for the holiday season!! I love Fluke's books and recipes. I never get tired of them!

This episode in the Hannah Swensen cozy series takes us back in time to the early days of the Cookie Jar bakery & coffee shop.

Hannah is drawn to Mike's good looks, and his huge appetite, though his take-charge mannerisms work well as a cop they sometimes make Hannah feel overwhelmed. Norma i's soft spoken, quietly pitching in "without being directed" actions impress Hannah and though she likes him there are no romantic sparks like those she feels with Mike. And so the romantic angle of a 20+ book series begins.

Hannah saves a homeless man and feels responsible to help him recover his memories to get him home to his family. This was a very good plot with lots of cozy twists.

Doc is a family friend who calls Delores "Lori" much to everyone's curiosity.

A new novel that delays the answer to the age old question, "Mike or Norman"?

26 recipes sprinkled throughout the book all cookie and cupcake focused around the Christmas season theme.

An all around enjoyable time spent with Hannah and friends.

This is my first book by this author. I really enjoyed it. Great characters, good story and great recipes. Besides being very busy running her bakery during the Christmas holidays Hannah also has to help out her family with varies tasks. To top it off she and her Mother find an injured homeless man with no memory. She is determined to find out who he is.

This was a fun read. It has a mystery to solve and some wonderful recipes. I really enjoyed this Christmas cozy mystery and look forward to reading more books by this author. Thank you Kensington Books via NetGalley for the ARC copy of this book All opinions expressed are my own.

I received a copy of Christmas Cupcake Murder through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Christmas Cupcake Murder is the 26th installment of the Hannah Swensen cozy mystery series. In this Christmas themed mystery, Hannah goes about trying to figure out the identity of a homeless man who turns up at her bakery, The Cookie Jar.

I have read the whole Hannah Swensen series and enjoy the small town life, the fun characters and the recipes that come with each next installation. Christmas Cupcake Murder was no different. This series isn’t about amazing, unpredictable mysteries, but about the setting and characters. This Christmas themed cozy mystery was a good read, with great recipes that made it feel like Christmas. The mystery is almost an after thought and wasn’t the best Hannah Swensen mystery, but by the end I was smiling about the outcome and wanting to try all of the cupcake recipes listed. I enjoyed this installation and look forward to seeing what the residents of Lake Eden get up to in the next mystery.

This is the 26th book in the series. We get to go back to when Hannah started her shop. She befriends a homeless man who is later found unconscious. It is up to the great residents of Lake Eden to help him out.

I loved this story, great book short to. I loved the character's and the the cover and the title. I received this book from netgalley.

I have enjoyed spending time with Hannah Swenson and those around her since Ms. Fluke wrote the first in this series. The Chocolate Chip Murder.  With its bakery setting to make you hungry, and the recurring characters and relationships, it is a good series for lovers of cozy mysteries.


This time, as the title states, the story takes place around Christmas.  Who is the John Doe who cannot remember much but knows a lot about antiques?  Why is he in Hannah's small mid-Western town? 


Along with this mystery, readers will enjoy spending time with Hannah, her sisters and the other folk who live in Lake Eden.  As a bonus, there are lots of recipes included too.


Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this title.  All opinions are my own.

This installment in the Hannah Swensen mystery series is a flashback from years prior, as many of the Christmas books are. This time, though, it isn't a murder Hannah needs to solve, but a case of amnesia. With the usual amount of mouth-watering recipes scattered in between chapters, this book is another good Hannah book.

Joanne Fluke’s Christmas Cupcake Murder is a throwback to a much earlier time in the Hannah Swenson Cookie Jar series. In some ways, this book is almost like going back in time to high school instead of a high school reunion; everyone is younger and events that have played out over many of the previous 20+ books have not yet happened. The book itself is very lightweight, probably almost a novella if the recipes were removed, and a bit repetitive. The central mystery involves helping an amnesiac man regain his memory. How Hannah and friends do that is mildly entertaining. The ending felt a bit rushed but I think people will be happy with the result.

I was given a copy of this book by NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to write a positive review and the opinions stated are solely my own.

Hannah solves the case of Joe Smith. A man that turned up in Lake Eden with a head injury and no memory. The gang works together to find his family. This one was a great mystery without a murder. It goes back to the time Hannah’s mother Delores and her friend Carrie open their own antique store. This one also had some great recipes I can’t wait to try.
#ChristmasCupcakeMurder #NetGalley

Although this is a prequel to the series, it is amazing! Welcome back to Lake Eden where familiar characters give a background to how it all started. A mystery man appears in the community and Hannah is determined to help him regain his memory! With the help of All the usual Lake Eden residents that include Norman and Mike they hope to make this Christmas season a merry one for “Joe Smith”. The new cupcake and cookie recipes don’t disappoint either!

Love this author and series . It feels like I read this one a few years ago. But still enjoyed Hannah and her family helping her investigate and trying to help someone out. Can't wait for the next book in the series

This story goes back in time a bit, before Hannah Swensen had ever solved a missing person case, before her mother (Delores) opened the antique shop she now owns with her best friend Carrie, and Hannah's sister Michelle is still away at college. When a stranger knocks on the door of Hannah's bakery and asks if he could do any odd jobs in exchange for something to eat, she immediately filled him up with sweets and coffee. But later, when she stumbles across his nearly comatose body in an empty storefront, she calls 9-1-1 and gets him admitted to the hospital, where they discover that he has amnesia. She enlists her sister Andrea, her mom, Doc, and her friends Mike and Norman to help her track down his identity.
This was a fun quick read, with a good mystery. There were lots of Christmas-themed recipes throughout the book that are sure to put you in the holiday spirit and there is sure to be something in there to tempt your taste buds.

It you have been sticking with this series, enjoy new recipes, and value the community and characters that have been developed- you will enjoy this new addition. Even though it goes back in time, I enjoyed the prequel foreshadowing of Hannah's mother and Doc Knight's relationship. This is not a murder mystery, but a missing person and possible attempted murder mystery. A disheveled and starving stranger shows up- with no memory about who he is. He has a head injury that appears to be deliberately inflicted. The most endearing part of this book is the way the community comes together to assist this stranger- not in a pitying way, but in a way that I wished all communities worked. Have we lost this sense of community- when there is a need and people have a way to help- they just do it? Not for glory or accolades- but out of just helping one's fellow man (human). In the midst of the insanity of this year- it was refreshing to step back into what seems like yesteryear and I just enjoyed reading about a community helping one another and seeing the bonds of family and community work together. This is not a riveting mystery and yes, there is still the formula of Moishe's antics, the bottomless cups of coffee, endless food descriptions, etc. If you don't enjoy that, then don't gripe about these books. This is a clean cut cozy mystery series that is not going to put you an the edge of your seat, but rather make you feel like you are sitting down with an old friend. Hannah is a prude- there will never be salacious sex scenes etc. That is not this series, so don't expect that to change. I just want the next book to have Hannah select Norman and get on with that season of her life. I am in the strong- "PICK NORMAN!!" camp. As always, the recipes are wonderful. To the publisher- it is time for cookbook number 2- with pictures!! or better yet- one giant cookbook from the series. Perfect gift for all the moms and grandmas that read and enjoy this series. It will make you a ton of money. It would be great to have readers send you pictures of what recipes they made with a description.