Delores Swensen

**Daughters:** Hannah, Michelle, and Andrea

**Granddaughters**: Tracey and Bethany Todd

## Books

All Complete Series

**Delores Swensen** is the mother of the POV character in *Hannah Swensen Mystery* series.

## Biography

Delores (née Zimmerman) Swensen.

*Delores could afford to be generous. Hannah’s grandfather had invested heavily in the fledgling Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company, and over the years 3M stock had split more times than Hannah could count*.

Grandma Zimmerman was Delores’ mother and never cooked. Delores’ Aunt Bertha, did all of the cooking and baking for the family. Delores cooks some, but doesn’t bake. For company meals she alternates between two entrées, E-Z Lasagna and Hawaiian Pot Roast.

She is the mother of Hannah, Michelle, and Andrea. Grandmother to Tracey and Bethany Todd. Mother-in-law to Bill Todd, Sheriff of Winnetka County, Lake Eden, Minnesota, and husband of Andrea.

As of Lemon Meringue Pie Murder she has become a "Regency Romance" Author using the pen name of Kathryn Kirkwood.
As of Double Fudge Brownie Murder she becomes Mrs. Doc Knight

### Personality

Delores holds a high reputation among the residents of Lake Eden. She is prim and proper but has a foul temper at times and has no problem speaking her mind. She cares a lot for her daughters but is highly critical of Hannah, who as the eldest, unmarried state.

She can be pushy but will try to tone it down or apologize if she realizes this; although it doesn't stop her from trying to set Hannah up with a date. It also doesn't stop her from expressing concern over the fact that Hannah isn't ladylike and keeps finding dead bodies. She also has a tendency to be overly dramatic. She is known to be a gossip, even though she denies it. In fact, Delores is consistently touted as a charter member of the Lake Eden Gossip Hotline.

She started the Lake Eden's *Regency Romance Club*.

### Appearance

Delores is thin, still wearing the size clothing she did in high school. She has black hair and enjoys dressing nicely for every occasion, including gardening. The only time she is seen without makeup or nice clothes is in Peach Cobbler Murder, when she has Hannah and Andrea come over to discuss Winthrop.

## Relationships

### Hannah Swensen

Out of her three daughters, Delores usually worries over Hannah because as the oldest, she believes she should be married and focusing on things besides her job. They don't argue, but Delores doesn't seem to realize her pushing and meddlesome behavior is only aggravating Hannah and making her want to avoid her.

### Moishe

Moishe doesn't like Delores because he took offense to her picking him up and holding him like a baby when he first came to live with Hannah. In the past she would pay Hannah a lot of visits, but each time she did Moishe would get upset and shred her tights and pantyhose. As a result, they cut their visits to dinners on Tuesdays only, and try to avoid bringing Delores back to Hannah's place to spare anything else she owns from his claws.

## Chronology by Novel

### Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder

Delores is trying to get her oldest daughter married off and is always suggesting and arranging for her to meet single men, regardless of their suitability.

Throughout the first book Hannah attempted to avoid her mother, who had recently set her up with Norman Rhodes and had been wanting to see how she felt about their date. After realizing that both Mike and Norman had an interest in Hannah, she attempted to speak to her mother about it.

She holds a grudge against Herb Beeseman for giving her a ticket she felt she didn't deserve. ,

### Blueberry Muffin Murder

The Winter Carnival committee and asks the Historical Society to put together an Ezekiel Jordan House display for the tourist to visit. Delores and Carrie Rhodes use the empty building next to “The Cookie Jar” for the attraction. They also asks Norman to take pictures of tourists that want an old-time photograph of themselves and provide makeup and costumes. Luanne Hanks provides the makeup.

Deloris is thrilled that Connie Mac will visit the "Ezekiel Jordan House" but after her visit and all of the changes and demands that she wants, Deloris starts to have second thoughts about the cooking show hostess.

Her and Carrie still push Norman and Hannah together, and constantly reminds Hannah that her biological clock is ticking down and she needs to encourage Norman to propose.

Deloris is also upset that Hannah keeps finding dead bodies, saying that she just does it to embarrass her.

At the end of the book, Deloris and Carrie decide to start an Antique business, in the same building that they set up the, “Ezekiel Jordan House” in.

### Lemon Meringue Pie Murder

Deloris and Carrie have opened Granny's Attic, their new Antique store and hired Luanne Hanks to help them.

When Deloris, Hannah and Norman visit the house that he bought to demolish, to go through everything that was left behind by Rhonda Scharf it is Deloris that finds the dead body in the cellar.

Hannah isn’t planning on getting involved in the investigation but Deloris is insistent and says that she will investigate if Hannah doesn’t.

### Fudge Cupcake Murder

Deloris becomes mysteries about her plans and has Andrea worried. Deloris finally mentions to Hannah that she is taking Ballroom dancing lessons at the Red Owl Dance Studio and praises the dancing skills of another student,  Winthrop.

### Sugar Cookie Murder

Deloris insists on Hannah using her antique cake knife that the shop just got in. She swears that it is old English, from the Regency era. When the knife is stolen and used as a murder weapon, Hannah and her sisters keep that information from Deloris.

Deloris brings Winthrop to the community Holiday buffet supper, where her daughters finally meet him. None of the sisters are impressed with him.

### Peach Cobbler Murder

Deloris discovers that Winthrop has a picture of Shawna Lee Quinn and him taken at a club, a large picture and hidden in his dresser drawer. She asks Andrea and Hannah for advise and Hannah tells her that it could be Vanessa since they look so much alike. If it is Shawna Lee, then she has nothing to worry about. The two sisters also find out that Winthrop has asked Deloris to marry him and she said yes, but they were waiting on the ring before announcing it. She convinces Hannah and Andrea to search Winthrop’s apartment while he is away and find out what is going on.

### Cherry Cheesecake Murder

Deloris and Carrie are asked to help the props manager of the movie being filmed in Eden Lake, find fifties memorabilia. Then they are asked to convert their antique store into a few rooms of the house for the movie to use in filming indoor scenes.

Once again Deloris is being mysterious about what she is up to every evening. When she finally gets a computer, Hannah is suspicious that she is on the hunt for another Englishman, but once she learns that Deloris hasn’t yet hooked up to the internet she is just puzzled.

### Key Lime Pie Murder

Deloris is signing her daughters and granddaughters up for various contests at the Tri-County Fair. She signed Michelle up for the Miss Try-County pageant, Hannah to be a judge for the Baked Goods contests and for a shift at the Historical Societies Booth’s dunk tank. Andrea and her daughter Tracy were signed up for the Mother-Daughter look-a-like contest and Bethany for the Most Beautiful Baby contest.

Michelle and Andrea won, but baby Bethany was disqualified for bad behavior. When it came time for Hannah to take her turn at the dunk tank she was almost in the clear, when Bernie “No-No” Fulton the star baseball pitcher shows up and makes a deal with Hannah. If Hannah can dunk him, he won’t try and dunk her, but if she misses then she has to get back in the tank to be dunked. Hannah accepts but on behalf of Delores, who once was a star pitcher herself. Deloris was behind No-No showing up to dunk everyone and having it televised to raise awareness of the Historical society, so when she took her turn to try and dunk him, she strung it out until the last ball, which hit and dunked him.

### Carrot Cake Murder

Delores finally reveals that she has been writing a “Regency Romance” novel and that a major publisher bought it. She also reveals that she has based the characters in the books on her family, friends and other towns people as they truly are.

### Cream Puff Murder

Soon it will be Delores’ big night with her first book’s launch party scheduled for just two weeks away. She wants a special dessert that her three daughters will served dressed in matching Regency inspired dresses that she special orders from Claire.

Delores is dithering about what dessert to serve, when she is talking to Hannah at The Cookie Jar about what to serve, Earl Flensburg pipes up with the suggestion for Cream Puffs. He reminded Delores of the tiny cream puffs that were served at her second-grade birthday party, said he still remembers them as the best cream puffs he ever had.

Hannah had never made cream putts. Lisa has a recipe for a basic pastry that she has never tried. Of course, Hannah figures it out and serves the tiny pastries at the party while most of the guests think that Delores patterned the Hero or Heroine after them.

### Plum Pudding Murder

Carrie is not acting like herself and Delores is concerned so she enlists Hannah’s help.

### Apple Turnover Murder

At Carrie's and Earl's wedding receiption, Delores has a long line of single men that she had gone to school with, asking her to dance. She starts going out on dates with some of them, much to the dismay of Andrea and Hannah to a lesser degree.

Delores takes Lisa to the Lake Eden Combined Charities lunch to hear Samantha Summerfield, Lisa's favorite TV star, speak.

Delores starts dating in a low key manner, her daughters aren't too sure about it.

### Devil's Food Cake Murder

While Claire Rodgers is on her honeymoon, Delores and Andrea are running her business Beau Monde Fashions.

Delores, not known for her charity work, has taken over the management of the “Gray Ladies” and since she doesn’t like the color gray, she changed their name to the “Rainbow Ladies”, an all-volunteer group of women that donate time to visit patients so they aren’t lonely and need other help.

Delores and Michelle goes undercover at the Eagle while Andrea and Hannah find out what the bartender, Lonnie, is up to.
Delores calls herself “Trixie” and while she is undercover she finds out about the fake job offer that Sheriff Tood got in Apple Turnover Murder. It was “Hub Hubbard,” a frequent guests at the county lockup, pulling a prank on him.

At the end of the book was her launch party for her 2nd Regency Romance book, Hannah provided a Dessert bar since Delores couldn’t make up her mind on what refreshments she wanted. Her pen name, Kathryn Kirkwood, was revealed.

### Cinnamon Roll Murder

Delores is actively helping at the Hospital as the person in charge of the Rainbow Ladies. When there is a chain reaction accident and everyone is called in to assist at Lake Eden Memorial Hospital she is busy organizing food for the walking wounded and making sure everyone waiting for treatment has a warm blanket.

When going into one of the ones to see if she can help a patient waiting for a splint for his wriest.
She discovers that he is dead.

“but he didn’t die from a sprained wrist. He died from the pair of surgical scissors somebody buried in his chest . . .”

### Red Velvet Cupcake Murder

Delores is dating Doc Knight and volunteering at the hospital. She has taken over the leadership of the Rainbow Ladies, formerly called "the Gray Ladies", volunteers that help patients with anything they need that is non-medical.

At the end of the story she announces to her daughters that they are getting married and that she would like the sisters to make all of the wedding plans and arrangements and that she will go along with whatever they want.

### Blackberry Pie Murder

Delores isn't agreeing with anything that the sisters have come up with for her wedding and it is only weeks away. She has over ridden everything but hasn't chosen any alternatives.

Than Hannah is in a horrible accident and thrown in jail, by her son-in-law, the Sheriff. She trys to make her comfortable when her jail time is extended, than she offers to pay Hannah's bail when she is arraigned.

After the arraignment, when the judge set the bail at a really low amount considering the serious charges, Delores to to pay the bail bond, but she never checked on the correct procedures before hand, so wasn't properly prepared. Norman Rhodes came to Hannah's rescue before Delores and Andrea escalated their confrontation with the bail clerk.

### Double Fudge Brownie Murder

Delores is whisked off to Las Vegas for a surprised elopement, that includes her three daughters and a private jet. Her Groom Doc Knight conspired with the sisters. After three days in Las Vegas, Delores and Doc go on an Alaskan Cruise "Wedding Trip".

### Wedding Cake Murder

Delores is surprised by her new husband Doc Knight with their new home, the Albion penthouse condo, complete with climate control tropical garden and swimming pool.

Delores enlists Grandma Knudson's aide in making sure that Hannah doesn't make a big mistake with her wedding. Has Hannah is being pulled in multiple directions she doesn't have time for a large wedding and just wants a small simple one, but Delores is of the opinion that everyone thinks that Hannah is being sneaky with her wedding. Grandma Knudson convinces Hannah to let Delores and Andrea plan everything and arrange it all so all Hannah has to do is concentrate on the Food Channel Dessert contest and show up for her wedding.

### Banana Cream Pie Murder

Delores is just finishing up her latest Regency romance novel when she hears loud noises and than a bang from the condo below hers, the condo that her friend Victoria Bascomb lives in. With great trepidation she investigates and find that "Tori" has been murdered.

## Quotes

"Now listen carefully because I never repeat gossip"

## Trivia

* She discovered three bodies: One each in Lemon Meringue Pie Murder, Cinnamon Roll Murder and Banana Cream Pie Murder. In LMPM, she found Rhonda's body in her basement. In CRM, she found Buddy's body in one of the treatment rooms.
* She goes through a transformation through out the series, probably more than any other character.
* Her age keeps changing, from 53 in the first book to 57 in the 6th book (which was only a year later in story time). Considering Hannah’s age, early 50’s is more likely.
* Before Delores dated Doc Knight she dated two men that turned out to be killers. Peach Cobbler Murder and Gingerbread Cookie Murder.

## References

1. ↑ Fluke, Joanne. Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder (Hannah Swensen series Book 1) (p. 127). Kensington Books. Kindle Edition.
2. ↑ Fluke, Joanne. Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder (Hannah Swensen series Book 1) (p. 69). Kensington Books. Kindle Edition.
3. ↑ Fluke, Joanne. Cinnamon Roll Murder (Hannah Swensen series Book 15) . Kensington Books. Kindle Edition.