Candy Cane Murder

**Candy Cane Murder** is the 2nd novella at approximately 190 pages. It takes place between Sugar Cookie Murder and Peach Cobbler Murder in the *Hannah Swensen Mystery* series. It was released in 2007 in the Anthology *Candy Cane Murder*, containing two additional Novellas by authors Laura Levine & Leslie Meier.

## Short Summary

Bakery owner Hannah Swensen feels a little stuffed in her elf costume--but it's too late to count calories. Lake Eden's annual Christmas gala is upon her and eager children are waiting. Wayne Bergstrom, owner of Bergstrom's Department Store, happily ho-ho-hos his way through the festivities in his Santa suit. But when a trail of candy canes leads to his corpse in a snow bank, Hannah must find Kris Kringle's killer.

## Main Characters

* Hannah Swensen
* Andrea Todd
* Michelle Swensen

## Other Stories

"The Dangers of Candy Canes" by Laura Levine
When a wealthy suburbanite takes a lethal tumble off his roof while installing a giant candy cane, the roofing contractor being held responsible for murder asks freelance writer Jaine Austen to investigate. But solving this untimely holiday death means delving into the cutthroat Christmas decorating wars among scheming neighbors with dirty secrets in their stocking. It takes a fruitcake hiding a weapon and a stunning confrontation to expose the mastermind of this holiday murder.
"Candy Canes of Christmas Past" by Leslie Meier
Twenty-some years ago, Lucy Stone arrived in Tinker Cove, Maine, and discovered her knack for solving mysteries when she met Miss Tilly, the town librarian, whose mother took a fatal fall down the basement stairs one Christmas Eve. The "accident" left a cloud of suspicion on Miss Tilly's father and a slew of other suspects. The only clue was a glass candy cane found smashed to bits by the victim's body. Now Lucy must learn the mystery of the glass candy cane as she unlocks the doors of Christmas past, exposing secrets, scandal, and a killer who got away with murder.

## In-Story Chronology

* Timeline reference in Plum Pudding Murder: “*It’s better than the one I wore last Christmas at the Lake Eden Inn. At least your tights aren’t too tight.*”
* If this story takes place over the 1st Christmas (In-Story Chronology) Tracey's age is incorrect. The story states that she is 6, but the in-story chronology she is 4. The other alternative is that this story's in-story chronology could place it after Apple Turnover Murder which takes place in June and Gingerbread Cookie Murder which takes place in Nov, both in year 3, when Tracey is 6. But that would mean that Hannah played an Elf at Sally's Christmas party two years.

## Quotes

* “At least she’d finally figured out why the green leggings she wore were called tights. It was because they were tight. Extremely tight. So very tight that she felt like a sausage about to split open on a blazing hot barbecue grill.” (Chapter One)
* “Perhaps the mirror in Sally’s dressing room had waved the wrong way and caused her to look larger than she actually was. And perhaps all that skipping had jumbled her brain and affected her ability to separate reality from wishful thinking.” (Chapter One)
* “'My favorite cookie is the cookie I'm eating at the moment.'” (Norman Rhodes, Chapter Seven)

## Cover Gags

* The small skull appears upon the tied bow of the candy canes.
* The dripping red from the stripe mimics that of dripping blood.

## Trivia

* This is the second Joanne Fluke Holiday series book.
* This is the first Hannah Swensen novella.
* This was the last book featuring a cover gag.
* This is the first candy-based title in the series.
* This is the first book that Andrea tries to bake cookies, is surprisingly successful and astounds everyone in *Candy Cane Murder.*

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Fluke, Joanne. Plum Pudding Murder (Hannah Swensen series Book 12) (p. 49). Kensington Books. Kindle Edition.