Michelle Swensen

## Relations

**Mother**: Delores Swensen**Father**: Lars Swensen

**Sisters:** Hannah Swensen and Andrea Todd

## Books

Lemon Meringue Murder first appearance, in most of the novels after it.

**Michelle Swensen** is a character in *Hannah Swenson Mystery* series, as Hannah’s youngest sister.

## Bio

She is the youngest sister of Hannah, and Andrea, and the youngest daughter of Delores. She was mentioned before finally appearing in the Lemon Meringue Murder; to celebrate the 4th of July with her family.

She is studying theater arts at Macalester College in the St. Paul area

### Personality

Michelle is very smart, but likes to have fun. She is known to be a fantastic cook/baker and she's an excellent student.

### Appearance

Michelle is said to be a very beautiful girl with her mother's good looks. She has brown hair and a petite figure.

## Chronology by Novel

### Christmas Cake Murder

Michelle is a Junior in high school and her father recently passed away. Her and her sisters are trying to coop with their mother’s depression and withdrawal from them. With her older sister Andrea married and in her own home, if it wasn’t for her oldest sister Hannah’s return from college she would be trying to coop alone. But Hannah is there and they are learning to bake together.

When friends of their mother manager to get Delores Swensen going again, Delores first step is to rearrange and manage her daughters lives.

Michelle’s best friend, Lisa help Hannah with baking a dessert buffet and Christmas cakes for the parade of cakes at the “Christmas Ball” recreation.

Michelle also finds out that there is plenty of money in her college fund so that if she wants to, she could get a doctorate.

### Lemon Meringue Murder

Makes her first appearance in the series (other then Christmas Cake Murder the prequel).

When she steps off the bus from St. Paul, Hannah doesn’t recognize her because of the way she looks and is dressed, but she had to come straight from a play she is in, so was still in “costume”. Michelle asks to stop off at Hannah’s condo so that she can get cleaned up and changed before she goes to her mothers.

Michelle inadvertently receives a pristine ten-dollar-bill from 1974 with her change from the drug store. This sets off a chain of events where Hannah starts investigating how the loot from a bank robbery so long ago is now appearing in Lake Eden.

Michelle is with Hannah when they rescue Freddy Sawyer from drowning, during the July 4th celebration at the lake.

### Cherry Cheesecake Murder

Michelle is instrumental in arranging for the indy production of ‘’Crisses in Cherrywood’’ to film some of the scenes in Lake Eden. Ross Barton hire her as his production assistant and she is receiving college credits for her time with the production company.
She is astounded to learn that Ross and Hannah went to college together and lived next door to each other, along with the star of the film Lynne Larchmont

### Key Lime Pie Murder

Lonnie entered Michelle into the Beauty Pageant at the county fair, so most of her time is taken up with the events surrounding the pageant.
When she can she helps Hannah with her investigations into Willa’s murder and past.

### Carrot Cake Murder

Michelle is home for the summer and out at the lake helping for the big Beeseman-Herman Family Reunion. She is dating Lonnie Murphy but is hesitating over making a commitment yet as she wants to finish college and there is someone else at the college that is interesting to her.

### Cream Puff Murder

Michelle is back at school and when she finds out that Lonnie had dated Ronni Ward a couple of times, she was hurt but she realized that she was the one that suggested that they see other people for awhile so she didn’t have any right to be angry.

Michelle arrives back at Lake Eden to help with the investigation and to help clear Lonnie of suspicion. She stays with Hannah at her condo.

### Plum Pudding Murder

Michelle is home for the holidays and participating in a special holiday event at the Community College with Bradford Ramsey
Michelle invited Bradford for dessert at their Christmas Eve dinner, Hannah is startled to see him at her table for the Plum Pudding presentation.

### Apple Turnover Murder

Michelle is in town and staying with Hannah. She is helping at the coffee shop and mourning for Bradford Ramsey.

“*It’s like this, Mother. Some people cry when they’re upset, and some people yell and throw things. Hannah and I bake*.”

### Devil's Food Cake Murder

Michelle arrives after the first death and helps Hannah with her investigation and helping in the bakery.
Michelle goes undercover as Delores’ partner at the The Eagle. While Andrea Todd and Hannah check out the office, Michelle and Delores are talking to the patrons.

### Cinnamon Roll Murder

Michelle and Hannah are heading for the Lake Eden Inn with a special delivery of Cinnamon Roll’s for their first ever “Jazz Festival”, it is late winter and the weather has been warming up enough to melt and create mud then freeze. While traveling on the highway they notice brake lights going on and Hannah swerve off the highway into the rest stop, thus avoiding a multiple vehicle chain reaction accident. Michelle calls it in as Hannah heads down the access road to get nearer to where the main accident happened, they discover the overturned buss of the headliner band “Cinnamon six”. They are the first on the scene as make their way to the buss to rend aide if needed.

### Red Velvet Cupcake Murder

Michelle arrives for a few days, just before Hannah discovers another murder victim, but this time Hannah is the number one suspect.
Mostly Michelle helped with the bakery while Hannah was trying to clear herself.

### Blackberry Pie Murder

Michelle is home and staying with Hannah as they try and plan their mother’s wedding, which is just a couple of weeks away. Delores hasn’t agreed to anything that the sisters have planned and they are at their wits end.
Then Hannah is in a horrible accident and she is arrested for vehicle homicide and thrown in jail by her brother-in-law.
Michelle jumps in taking care of Moishe and helping at The Cookie Jar to keep the doors open.

### Double Fudge Brownie Murder

Delores and Doc Knight are eloping to Las Vegas to be married and the sisters are invited along for three days of fun and relaxation. Doc has taken care of all of the arrangements, the sisters just had to pick up their gowns and show up at the airport for a private jet ride. Hannah has a surprise waiting for her there and is off on her own more than with Michelle and Andrea.

At the end of the three days, they learned that Doc has arranged a wedding cruise to Alaska for him and Delores, so the sisters travel back to Lake Eden in style.

Once back home, Michelle confesses to Hannah that she entered her in the Food channel’s Dessert Chef Competition and sends a required sample. Hannah is chosen as one of the five contestants.
Since Hannah is allowed an assistant, she chooses Michelle to help her.

### Wedding Cake Murder

Michelle and Hannah are very busy with the contest. First they have to plan out what they are going to make so with the help of Lisa and her Aunt Nancy, the four of them come up with a game plan. Then Michelle, Hannah and Ross are off to New York for the first challenge, the “Hometown challenge”. The winner’s hometown is where the rest of the challenges will be held. Hannah and Michelle win it and so the show moves to the Lake Eden Inn where everyone is staying. Hannah and Michelle elect to not stay at the Inn but in their own beds so they can have a good nights sleep.

After tying for first place in the cake challenge, the next morning, Michelle walks into the cooler and discovers the contests head judge’s body. She is paralyzed with shock, so when Hannah wonders what is taking her so long and comes to see, she steers Michelle away and calls Mike Kingston. Hannah with Michelle’s help wins the contest.

### Banana Cream Pie Murder

Michelle is back at college, but when she finds out that with Victoria Bascomb's death, the Christmas play may have to be cancelled, she arranges to come back to Lake Eden to direct the annual play and to receive college credit for it.
She takes on directing the Jordan High School play, too.

*Michelle turned to look at Hannah in surprise. “I don’t want to be a director, or a producer, or an actress. I want to own and manage a theater. That’s why I’ve been taking business classes in addition to my drama major*.”

## Trivia

* She had a crush on Ron LaSalle all through her early teen years.
* vShe's a theater major, but not necessarily as an actor. She wants to try many different things before she settles down.

## References

1. ↑ Apple Turnover Murder (Hannah Swensen series Book 13) (pp. 129-130). Kensington Books. Kindle Edition.
2. ↑ Apple Turnover Murder (Hannah Swensen series Book 13) (p. 142). Kensington Books. Kindle Edition.
3. ↑ Fluke, Joanne. Banana Cream Pie Murder (A Hannah Swensen Mystery Book 20) (p. 302). Kensington Books. Kindle Edition.