Christmas Dessert Murder is a good cozy mystery with a Christmas theme. I recommend this book.. She has written many mysteries.

I appreciate the publisher allowing me to read this book. I really enjoyed reading it the plot was interesting and the characters made me want to know more about them. I highly recommend.

Get ready to sink your teeth into a delightful duo of holiday mysteries with "Christmas Dessert Murder" by Joanne Fluke. This festive two-in-one book features Hannah Swensen, the beloved baker and amateur sleuth from Lake Eden, Minnesota, as she navigates through two merry mysteries with a plateful of goodies from The Cookie Jar bakery.

In "Christmas Caramel Murder," Hannah and her best friend Lisa agree to provide all the treats for the town’s production of "A Christmas Carol," but a shocking murder brings the festivities to a halt. With suspects piling up faster than snowdrifts in a blizzard, Hannah must solve the mystery and restore the holiday cheer.

In "Christmas Cake Murder," Hannah helps recreate a Christmas Ball in honor of a local in hospice care, but a real-life mystery threatens to dampen the festive mood. From secret talent in crime fiction to a mystery as dense as a fruitcake, Hannah will need to use her sleuthing skills to prevent a Yuletide disaster.

Indulge in a warm and cozy Christmas adventure with Hannah Swensen and "Christmas Dessert Murder." Happy reading!

My review 4 stars
This book contains two different Christmas stories: Christmas Caramel Murder and Christmas Cake Murder. One I had read where a gal died who was not a popularly and Lisa was a suspect. The other featured a cool historical perspective of past events in a woman's life and how Hannah and her friends figured it out. Both great stories I enjoyed.

I do love visiting with Hannah! This is a reprint of two previous books, I didn't realize that at first (my fault), but it was nice to revisit them.

I am sadly having to give up on this series. Nothing interesting is happening and the love lives are getting boring.

Oh Joanne Fluke! Another Hannah Swenson mystery? Yes please. What a great story that had me asking who done it & trying to guess and being totally wrong. I love this series.

I voluntarily reviewed this book.

This is one of my absolute favorite series and of course this one was no different. I love that this series keeps true to the rest of the books. It gives us the mystery, the baking and a little romance. It’s refreshing to have a series focus more on the crimes committed then the romance. Hannah and all the other characters are definitely my favorites!
Highly suggest reading it!

Christmas Dessert Murder is another cozy by Fluke.

As always there is delicious food described, a season flair and the always requisite murder.

Did I mention the recipes that come with it? Don't read this book while hungry

Love her books and this one was great, too!!

Description
The perfect stocking stuffer for fans of culinary capers, this holiday omnibus from New York Times bestselling author Joanne Fluke featuring two classic mysteries set in Hannah Swensen’s Cookie Jar bakery in Lake Eden, Minnesota: Christmas Caramel Murder and Christmas Cake Murder.

It’s Christmas in Lake Eden, Minnesota, and there’s no better way to enjoy the holidays than by cozying up to two Hannah Swensen yuletide mysteries with a plateful of goodies from The Cookie Jar bakery…

CHRISTMAS CARAMEL MURDER
Hannah and her good pal Lisa have agreed to provide all the goodies for the town’s annual production of A Christmas Carol. But before anyone can say “Bah, humbug!” the actress playing Mrs. Claus exits stage left for good. As murder suspects pile up faster than snowdrifts in a blizzard, it might take a visit from ghosts of Christmas past to wrap up this mystery in time for the holidays...

CHRISTMAS CAKE MURDER
Hannah’s life matches the hectic December hustle and bustle of Lake Eden when she agrees to help recreate a spectacular Christmas Ball in honor of Essie Granger, an elderly local in hospice care. But instead of poring over decadent dessert recipes, Hannah’s surprised by Essie’s secret talent for penning crime fiction. She’s even more surprised when the story turns real. It’ll be a true miracle if she can prevent another Yuletide disaster by solving a mystery as dense as a Christmas fruitcake...

Features Over a Dozen Cookie and Dessert Recipes from The Cookie Jar!

This book was okay. I had actually already read the first part of the book, so that was a bummer.

I had not read the second part though. I enjoyed the background that led Hannah to owning her coffee/ cookie shop. The mystery aspect to this one was different, but I felt it was pretty predictable.

Did I enjoy this book? Sure.
Did I enjoy it more than other Joanna Fluke mysteries? No.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced digital copy of this book.

This anthology of previously released Hannah Swensen Cookie Jar mysteries will be a treat for fans.

Christmas Caramel Murder: Hannah and her friend Lisa find themselves cooking up more than the goodies for the town’s production of A Christmas Carol. When Mrs. Claus ends up dead, there are plenty of suspects. Will Hannah and Lisa crack the case before the holidays roll around?

Christmas Cake Murder: This takes place right after Hannah’s father passes away and she returns to Lake Eden. It takes the reader back to when Hannah opened the Cookie Jar. She, her mother and friends help recreate a Christmas Ball for beloved elderly Essie Granger, now in hospice care, even as they unravel the mystery Essie wrote about in a collection of notebooks. Is it fiction or non-fiction?

These stories are outside the current story line of the Hannah Swensen books, but they’re a great quick read and feature characters fans love, mysteries to solve and plenty of the recipes Ms. Fluke’s books always include.

This book a repackaging/reprint of two previous Hannah Swensen mysteries but I was especially happy to get this version as I had missed out on getting the version(s) That were published as single stories.

Christmas Caramel Murder
The titular sweets in this one are made by Lisa for a different Christmas celebration the previous year. Ross asks why they won’t be made or sold this year and this prompts the story of when Lisa thinks her candies were jinxed when they were found near a body. Lisa is also perturbed when Herb is tasked with playing Santa with an old flame instead of herself as Mrs. Santa. When the old flame ends up the victim, Lisa and Herb both find themselves on the list of suspects and Hannah vows to do her best sleuthing to clear them.

Christmas Cake Murder
This is a look back at how this all started. Hannah’s father has just passed and Hannah leaves college to help her mother get her father’s affairs in order. Hannah also, with the help of her sisters, manages to help Delores through the depression she sank into following her husband’s death by enlisting her to coordinate a Christmas Ball, including a cake parade..

Instead of going back to college to get her degree and become a teacher, Hannah decides to stay in Lake Eden and open The Cookie Jar. She also gets her condo and her cookie truck at this time.

I very much enjoyed the way this information was related to us in this book, as opposed to TCJ already being open, as it was in Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder. And, of course, the recipes sound delicious. Our family also has a version of the cocktail snack mix that Hannah serves at Delores’ but next time I make it, I’m going to try Hannah’s version because the seasonings are slightly different than our usual go-to.

This book contains two previously released Christmas books. Both books are well-written and true to the Hannah Swensen style. The characters are likable and interesting. The mysteries are well crafted to keep you guessing. I recommend this as a fun Christmas collection especially if you haven’t read the books before.

All thoughts and opinions are my own, and in no way have I been influenced by anyone.

first story in this book
It is a novella previously published, but I had not yet read that one (that I remember).
Again, I realized how much coffee they drink, like there is no other options for the residents of Lake Eden, beside the occasional Hot chocolate.
The story was actually really good and I didn’t figure out the killer until Hannah did this time."

Second story in this book, was captivating.
also a previously published novella, that I had not yet read.
This one takes us back to the beginning of Hannah opening the Cookie Jar.
also a story inside of a story

Great story, fabulous author with brilliant writing and plot. Highly recommend to others, and cannot wait for more by this author.

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

This book contains two previously released books, Christmas Caramel Murder and Christmas Cake Murder.

I was disappointed that these were not new stories. Both books are good in their own way.

Christmas Caramel Murder. This one was a bit different, in that the story starts out telling her new husband, Ross about why the Cookie Jar isn't selling caramels for Christmas. We then flashback thru the story.. One of the odd things for me was that how her dad came to her in a dream. A take on A Christmas Carol? It just didn't seem to fit.

Christmas Cake Murder. This goes back to when Hannah first arrived in Lake Eden after being away at college. Her father had just passed away and Hannah was at ends about what she wanted to do with her life. I really liked how the author wove the story in about an elderly neighbor. I would love to see that developed more. Hannah finds her way and opens up the Cookie Jar.

Overall, both stories are good but just not what I was expecting from a "new" book.

While this is listed as book 28 in the Hannah Swensen cozy mystery series, it is NOT a new story. It is actually two previously published stories.

The first book in this set is Christmas Caramel Murder. I didn't realize at first that this book was a set of previously published stories, but I knew that this wasn't in the current timeline (Fluke has done "flashback" Christmas stories before) because it opens with Hannah having dinner with Ross. But soon the story started to seem familiar, especially the appearance of her dead father as a Christmas ghost. I took a closer look at the description of the book and realized I had listened to Christmas Caramel Murder last Christmas. Because I listened to it I didn't remember all the details so it was still an enjoyable Christmas story to read.

The second book is Christmas Cake Murder and I had not already read it. This one goes all the way back to before the series started. Hannah has returned home because her father has died, Michelle and Lisa are still in high school and Andrea is pregnant with her first child. I liked this story because it was very Christmasy as Delores (Hannah's mother) is trying to re-create the Christmas Ball for an elderly woman who has given so much to the community. I also liked it because there isn't really a murder to investigate. Instead, the mystery revolves around a story that Delores and Hannah found while getting things for Essie (the elderly woman) since she is in the hospital. They find a series of notebooks in which Essie had penned a mystery story of a pregnant woman on the run from some mob-like people. If you like this series because of the descriptions of baked goods and recipes, then this is a great book for you. The Christmas Ball features a cake parade and dessert buffet. Also, this story is when Hannah first decides to open The Cookie Jar so she is trying out recipes while testing the kitchen appliances.

If you are like me and playing catch up on this series, this book is a great way to knock out two books at once. These stories do NOT have to be read in order as they are outside the current timeline. So if you want a couple off un Christmas stories and plenty of Christmas recipes, then you should get this book.

My review will be published at Girl Who Reads on Friday, Dec. 24 - https://www.girl-who-reads.com/2021/12/celebrate-jolabokaflod-with-these.html

Another Hannah Swenson mystery. This is a reissue of two earlier works: The Christmas Caramel Murder and Christmas Cake Murder. Typical plots with a book filled with recipes.

Christmas Dessert Murder (A Hannah Swensen Mystery) by Joanne Fluke is two previously released books. republished in one book. The best part of the book is the recipes included.
Both stories are Christmas oriented. They both have plenty of suspects, family, and friendship.
I was given an ARC by Kensington via NetGalley for an honest review.