Strawberry Shortcake Murder


Unabridged Audiobook

Ratings
Book
143
Narrator
38
Release Date
March 2008
Duration
9 hours 4 minutes
Summary
In her debut mystery, Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder, intrepid amateur sleuth and bakery owner Hannah Swensen proved that when it comes to crime, nothing is sweeter than a woman who knows how to really mix it up. Now, the flame-haired, tart-talking (and baking) heroine is back, judging a contest where the competition is really murder.
When the president of Hartland Flour chooses cozy Lake Eden, Minnesota, as the spot for their first annual Dessert Bake-Off, Hannah is thrilled to serve as the head judge. She figures the TV coverage can only help her already popular bakery, The Cookie Jar. But when a fellow judge, Coach Boyd Watson, is found stone-cold dead, face-down in Hannah’s celebrated strawberry shortcake, Lake Eden’s sweet ride to fame turns very sour indeed.
All the evidence seems to point to the dead man’s abused wife, Danielle, whose fresh shiner and blood-stained hands certainly provide more than enough motive and means. But Hannah’s convinced Danielle is innocent and that the real killer is about to walk away with a blue-ribbon crime. Between perfecting her Cheddar Cheese Apple Pie and Chocolate Crunchies, Hannah’s snooping into the coach’s private life and not coming up short on suspects. And could Watson’s harsh criticism during the judging have given one of the contestants a license to kill? The stakes are rising faster than dough, and Hannah will have to be very careful, because somebody is cooking up a recipe for murder … with Hannah landing onthe “necessary ingredients” list.
Like a favorite dessert, Strawberry Shortcake Murder is a warm and tangy mystery that gets better with each bite. And when Hannah Swensen is dishing up the goods, readers can be sure to expect plenty of delicious surprises.
Includes 7 delicious dessert recipes!
Reviews
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Penny P.

I love this author, her books are so much fun. However, the recording skipped a lot and was therefore very hard to listen to. :( The narrator does a wonderful job of inflecting personality into the characters.

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Alana B.

I love this series! There are always so many plot twist and Hannah's personality is great. The narrator does a great job of distinguishing between the characters as well!

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Lisa H.

The second book featuring Hannah Swenson was better than one. The writing was more rounded out. I think Hannah is often too conceited and bossy. She does foolish things (but I think that’s a prerequisite for cozy mystery heroines). I like the supporting characters, and the author does a great job with Hannah’s relationship with her sister. I wish there was more of an exploration with Hannah’s suitors - those are sort of brushed over. There isn’t a lot of “emotional” writing, so we don’t really know what Hannah is feeling, expect about old relationships. Even that is sort of glossed over and informative, without much feeling. I did guess the killer, but that is more usual than not. I am listening as part of the Mystery Book Club, which is perfect and worth it. I’m not sure I would spend a credit just for this novel though. I really can’t get into the narrator. I listen at 1.2 or 1.3 speed.

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Jessica Gonzalez

I enjoyed this book. It takes places several years ago so the mindset when listening needs to keep that in mind. The story is good, the characters are well developed and the book overall is enjoyable.

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Cynthia B.

Tried this book as the first I’ve read of the series, because my mom and I had watched a couple of the Hallmark adaptations. It is not my cup of tea. The story is, as expected, lightweight with the identity of the killer telegraphed to the reader many chapters before the characters think suspiciously enough. That’s okay. I’m afraid that I did not find the author’s humor to be funny; Hannah and her sister Andrea’s penchant for ridiculing their fellow townsfolk felt like a lot of fat-shaming of middle-aged women. Overall there’s a decidedly unhealthy and outdated focus on women’s body image and diets that I found really disturbing and cruel. My favorite parts were actually the recipes; they all feel very basic but I enjoyed imagining baking them while listening to the instructions. I did not feel like there were too many of those to disrupt any momentum. This was an interesting experiment that I won’t be repeating.

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Anonymous

Very predictable and trite!

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Anonymous

I enjoyed it! I found that I wanted to try some of the recipes. Cute twist to the story.

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Isabel Roman

The story was a good one. The Narrator did a great job....flawless read. Thank you

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Anonymous

Great story and kept you guessing till the end. I am going to read/listen to more of her books - this was the first one. Quality of the sound were good and narrator was also.

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Ashley H.

This book was cute! I love baking so enjoyed the baking references on top of a murder mystery. I did feel it was a little longer than necessary!

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Anonymous

Great fun, light, lively, plus dessert recipes! How can you lose?

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Mary S.

I like the narration. it flows well.

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Lu Cory

Good book. Fun to listen. Great "who done it?" I have enjoyed all of the Hannah Swenson series.

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