Blackberry Pie Murder (A Hannah Swensen Mystery)
Hannah Swensen, owner of the Cookie Jar in Lake Eden, Minnesota, and her family are trying to plan Hannah’s mother’s upcoming nuptials despite the fact that the bride is constantly changing her mind over the details. Hannah becomes further distracted after she hits a man with her car while driving in a storm and causes his death. Research into the mystery man uncovers an insidious criminal who was a threat to a local family and who had been beaten before Hannah hit him. She still does not let herself escape responsibility and tries to figure out who the man was and his purpose for being in Lake Eden. Fluke offers a new twist to the series with Hannah’s upcoming trial for vehicular homicide planned for a future book. The cookie-shop owner’s character gains depth with her acceptance of responsibility for a man’s death, making this fifteenth in the popular series an emotionally weighty entry. But there’s still room for recipes and for Hannah to move toward an overdue decision on the question of which of her two boyfriends she prefers. Readers will be eager for the next installment. --Amy Alessio