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LEMON MERINGUE PIE MURDER is the fourth in the Hannah Swensen series set in the fictional small town of Lake Eden, Minnesota. Hannah runs The Cookie Jar in partnership with her friend Lisa, and dabbles in solving the occasional murder with a little help from family and friends, notably her clever-talking sister Andrea, a real estate agent. Andrea's husband Bill is in the local police and Hannah sometimes dates his good-looking colleague Mike, and by now the men are getting resigned to the amateurs' involvement. Hannah's romantic situation is a little uncertain; as well as Mike she has a growing relationship with local dentist Norman, whose quiet strength and good heart she is beginning to favour over Mike's more muscular charms. It's all very wholesome, though! Recently Norman and Hannah won a competition to design the perfect home, and Norman has now purchased an old house, which he plans to tear down and replace with the house they designed together. This particularly pleases their mothers who have been match-making them for some time, but Norman has not made any sort of proposal to Hannah. A couple of days before the demolition crew are due to arrive, Hannah's mother is combing the old house for items she may be able to sell in her antique shop when she comes across a partially-buried body in the basement. Unless the case can be cleared up quickly, Norman's rebuilding plans are going to be put on hold for a long time, so reluctantly Hannah agrees to investigate. I'm not a particular fan of culinary mysteries, but this is a very good cozy series and this episode was very enjoyable. There are a great group of characters who I've come to care about including the sensible Lisa, Hannah's somewhat overbearing mother Delores, and Moishe, Hannah's voracious cat. This is a real comfort read. The resolution isn't particularly surprising, but it would probably feel like a cheat if it were. Although there are plenty of diversions along the way, it's written in such a pleasing style that I found I really didn't want to pause and devoured the book in great chunks, a testament to how well Joanne Fluke can draw you in to a story. The author wrote ten standalones before starting this series with CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE MURDER and her experience shows. I haven't tried any of the cookie recipes, but they all sound pretty yummy too. If you want to escape to a charming small town for a little amateur sleuthing, give yourself a treat -- drop by The Cookie Jar for a slice of LEMON MERINGUE PIE MURDER.
Reviewed by Bridget Bolton, May 2004
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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