Caramel Pecan Roll Murder by Joanne Fluke is a great culinary cozy mystery that is the 29th book in the long-standing and much-beloved Hannah Swensen series. I must say it was so glad to be back with the Lake Eden gang!

I always feel as if I am visiting family when I read another Hannah book. I have read every single book, novella, inspired cookbook…anything to do with this series….I have been there from the beginning.

I enjoyed this newest book. Hannah and her family/friends are at it again…just trying to be a part of, and enjoy the fishing derby taking place near the local Inn. They are all thrust into the murder/mystery of one of the men of dubious personalities that is part of the show/cast. There are plenty of culprits (of personal and professional nature) that make a nice list of suspects to keep us all guessing. As always, Hannah finds the culprit and helps save the day.

There were definitely a few more personal developments and questions presented within this book that the characters are working through, and Ms. Fluke through in an interesting surprise at the end. I am looking forward to seeing what happens next.

As always, the recipes were scrumptious (however being a more novice baker, several I will just be enjoying by osmosis haha).

5/5 stars

Thank you NG and Kensington for this wonderful 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, Instagram, and B&N accounts upon publication on 2/22/22.

This is the '29th" book in this beloved series. Thank you to both Net Galley and the Publisher for the opportunity for review. My review opinion is my own. I have read and enjoyed the entire series over the years and was pleased to receive this next release for review. All our favorite charcters are here including wonderful receipes that will have every reader running to their kitchen to bake Hannah's creations.

Hannah is still recovering from her husband's betrayal and death. She is living with Norman platonically and obsessing over what people in town think of her. Normal is long suffering . He is in love with Hannah but she does not return anything but friendship. Hannah has grown more and more dependent on him and her expectations of Norman are that he will always help her with whatever she ask of him. This has been going on for several books and it appears that Hannah and Norman will never move beyond where they are. Their cats get along and they use that as a basis to stay together . It is sad to see Hannah so dependent on others and not independent as she used to be. She is unable to be alone and surrounds herself with activity and friends as well as family. Hannah iis stuck in her grief and the betrayal she experienced by her dead husband. She refuses to move back to her home where he died .

For a reason to get away from Norman she signs onto be the baker for a large fishing tournament at a local B&B. When a murder occurs Hannah is involved and once again in danger as she is unable to see who the suspect is. The sleuth was easy to figure out in the beginning. The receipes as always were wonderful and a lot of fun to read about but most of us can only dream about living on cookies full of butter and sugar. Hannah is a experienced baker and I love the descriptions of how she creates receipes. Its a great appeal of this series .

I enjoy Hannah's family as a close knit unit who eat together, spend time together and really step up for one another. Everyone is very kind and caring in this series which is part of its charm. This fictional small town in Minnesota is somewhere we would all like to live. Everyone shares coffee every day and is involved in each others lives. Its a nice place to visit.

For long term fans as I am it was a enjoyable addition to the series. We readers hope to see more progress with Hannah and Norman in the coming books. I look forward to the next in series with more receipes and more of our favorite charcters.

Caramel Pecan Roll Murder is the 28th book in the Hannah Swensen Mysteries written by Joanne Fluke. Although the books are generally full-length, fifty percent of the pages are recipes based on what the characters are cooking or baking in the story. They're also very simple, sweet, and polite tales where it's all about the basics... then there's some murder involved. I enjoy them because the cast feels like extended family -- it's good to see them once a year, perhaps twice... catch up on what's going on in their lives, learn a bit about baking or Minnesota or fishing (the focus of this book). But too much time with them would be killer!

The world of cozies ranges from the light (like this one) to the complex where you are really trying to solve a complicated puzzle. Here, there are usually only 3 viable suspects. Hannah always guesses it correctly before the police. She knows the killer well, or at least his or her family. And various friends help her try to trap the person. It's fun. It's simple. It's routine. All that said, there was a curious twist in the end that really leaves us wondering about the future of the Mike - Hannah - Norman triangle. We've been there before when 1 of the 3 finds someone else to focus on for a bit.... but this time, it's entirely about 1 person's personal life / career.

My biggest frustration with this one was the use of two characters with the name Joe. One was Joey, and the other Joe Dietz. The name has nothing to do with the murder or a confusion between people. It was purely just two characters with a similar name. Why on earth would an editor let this happen? It forces the reader out of the story and slows the pacing. I had to go back pages and see if I missed an explanation, but I didn't. Other than that, the mystery was as expected. I enjoyed the hotel scenes. Andrea is becoming a much more core character. Visiting with Sally and Dick was good; they generally pop up once a book for a quick scene, but they were integral in this installment. I got my annual fix, and I already look forward to the next one.

I've become a huge fan of the cozy mystery genre due to books like this. You can read this as an escape from the everyday in a weekend. A really good mystery. Definitely a page turner, Fluke has another great read on her hands. I read this book in about 4hrs. The end left my mouth open wide.

Unfortunately, I think I still read these out of habit. While I still enjoy the characters and setting, these past few books are really just filler. The recipes are great and leave me hungry but the main arc of the story for Hannah and the others just needs to move on.