Plum Pudding Murder

Written by Joanne Fluke

Narrated by Suzanne Toren

The Cookie Jar's busiest time of the year also happens to be the most wonderful time...for Christmas cookies, Hannah's own special plum pudding - and romance! Holiday orders are high, and Hannah's slated to provide dessert at the Reverend Knudsen's upcoming nuptials. She's busy as can be and loving it. She also gets a kick out of 'Lunatic Larry Jaeger's Crazy Elf Christmas Tree Lot', a kitschy carnival taking place smack-dab in the middle of the village green. Larry thinks he's crazy like a fox with his wild business schemes, but this time, the entrepreneur may have bitten off more than he can chew. Rumour has it that Larry's in the red - an idea that takes a sinister turn when Hannah discovers the man himself dead as a doornail in his own office...It seems quite a few people would have liked to fill Larry's stocking with coal and then bash him with it - including his bitter ex-wife, his ex-partner's daughter, a woman he was wooing, and the Crazy Elf Tree lot's extremely exasperated investors...Now, with so many suspects to investigate and the twelve days of Christmas ticking away, Hannah's running out of time to nab a murderous Scrooge who doesn't want her to see the New Year.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: Sep 29, 2009
• ISBN: 9781440763366

Joanne Fluke

JOANNE FLUKE is the New York Times bestselling author of the Hannah Swensen mysteries, which include Chocolate Cream Pie Murder, Raspberry Danish Murder, Cinnamon Roll Murder, and the book that started it all, Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder. That first installment in the series premiered as Murder, She Baked: A Chocolate Chip Cookie Mystery on the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Channel. Like Hannah Swensen, Joanne Fluke was born and raised in a small town in rural Minnesota, but now lives in Southern California. Please visit her online at www.JoanneFluke.com.

Reviews for Plum Pudding Murder

[issykins · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I always enjoy reading about Hannah Swenson, and this book is no exception. I did find that the plot seemed a little weaker than some of the others, and it bogged down in spots with a bit too much detail about how Hannah was cooking/baking this or that. I also found that there were hints about something that happened in Hannah's past with yet another man, but it never went anywhere. I suppose that will develop more in another book, but it left me with a feeling that the story wasn't finished. Overall, though, I liked the book, and I was lucky to receive it just in time for Christmas reading, which added to the overall pleasure.

[Renee · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Another good story. Story inconsistencies with Andrea's dislike of oatmeal. They settled that several books ago.

[harmonyartmom_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

As a previous Hannah Swensen book fan, I enjoyed the story and the characters...nothing too exciting or new. I wish the author would help Hannah decide which of the two men she is going to marry. It is driving me crazy to have the back and forth game going on soooooo long. Now without giving away the ending, there is going to be another love interest if I read the last pages correctly. Sorry, it is getting old. The recipes look really good this time and I have actually made plans to try a few of the cookies out with my family. Great job on choosing recipes this time. Please wrap up the threesome thing and let us move on!

[stratagirl · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

I think I am done with this series now. The author seems to really be phoning it in at this point. The mystery doesn't really begin until over halfway through the novel. Also, Hannah seems to have mostly forgotten what she learned about one of her beaus in the last novel, and continues to cook him meals. The last shred of plausibility the relationship may have had is completely gone. As I was reading, I realized that the characters talk more about food than anything else. Every chapter seems more concerned with discussing the dessert that will be featured as a recipe at the end of the chapter than in plot progression. Joanne Fluke may want to switch to writing cookbooks because that seems to be where her interest now lies. The author seems bored with the characters, and now I am bored with her books. Next!

[jennasmith_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Hannah Swenson is as busy as ever at the Cookie Jar, not only is she baking for her shop but for the Crazy Elf Christmas Tree Lot as well. It’s no surprise that the Crazy Elf Christmas Tree Lot is running out of cookies way before closing time and so Hannah meets with the owner, Larry Jaeger to add more cookies to the order. Late one night she stops by the Crazy Elf Christmas Tree Lot to pick up a check, she discovers the body of Larry. With the support of various friends and family, Hannah is on the hunt for the killer. Can she survive another confrontation with the killer? Yes, this is like the other Hannah mystery- main plot with subplots (this one being about Norman's mom, Carrie and how she has been blowing off friends and family causing everyone to worry about her making Hannah and Norman make sure she's not in any trouble. Even Mike is involved as he is worried Carrie is stealing from the mall.) But this book is different Larry dose not die for a long time! Pages and pages go by without his death. I was left wondering if it would ever happen!I have a few problems with this book as well. First being Hannah use to be a strong women in my mind and lately I just don’t see it anymore. I feel like she is being walked over by everyone because she can cook. You can really see it in the scenes were Mike comes over late for no real reason at a time when he should know she would be sleeping as she gets up super early every day. You can even tell by her thoughts that she does not want to make more coffee and just wants to go to bed but will so that Mike is not disappointed in her. The other time this problem occurred was when Hannah was serving x-mass dinner. It was not about being with family and friends but about the food that on the table. I was left with a feeling of her being used. Next problem is the Mike and Norman issue. We still have a triangle… and everyone looks happy about it. Mike is shown hardly at all and when he dose… not in the best light. Believing that Carrie is stealing- shows his off to be a bad detective in my mind. Coming late to Hannah’s place- makes his out to be a jerk who only wants to be feed well. Saving her at the end- kind of random as Mike is hardly investigating at all in Larry’s death. Mike= Steam man beef. And I hate to say it but I feel like Mike is being used by Hannah, used for his hotness. When Hannah’s thoughts bring up his cheating again, I no longer feel bad for her, but happy that Mike can see that his relationship with Hannah is going no were at all… Norman on the other had is the opposite of Mike. In this book he is her right hand man, even finds the body with her. He asks Hannah all the time if he can help with anything, even cooking and wrapping her gifts. But there is two things he lacks: steamy heat and willingness to win Hannah hands over his friendship with Mike. Norman is almost too safe to pick. And wait! The love triangle might become a square?!? Who is this blast from the past? Do we hate him… love him? I really don’t know other than Hannah looks as if she does not want to see him again.Will I keep reading this? Yes I will. It is not because the town will soon have no one left to kill, but for the fact that it’s light and fluffy. What I want most is for Hannah’s love life to be with one man, and the cat to keep on being entertaining. I hope with this new guy something happens to shake up this little town from the nap it’s been having!

[bmk_5 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

My only regret about this book is that I didn't receive it before Christmas (minor publisher's oops). If you've read any of Ms. Fluke's other books in the series, this one won't be a big surprise. The characters are likable, winter in Minnesota is described so well you feel like you're there and the recipes sound downright delectable (I especially liked the sound of the 'Easy Cheesy Biscuits' and the 'Hot Fudge Sundae Cakes'.) My only complaint is, having grown up in a Scandinavian family, nothing like her 'Scandinavian Spuds' were ever on the Christmas menu. Potatoes were mashed, turkey and lutfisk were served and turkey gravy wound up being poured over all of the above. ;)Like another reviewer, I'm getting tired of the "menage a trois". I thought that Hannah'd pretty much given up on Mike in an earlier book, but no; the "tension" continues with this not particularly likable character. My only complaint with the series is my husband's getting tired of me yelling, "Dump him already!" whenever I read one of the series.This is a "cozy" so, if you're a fan, you'll love it. If you've got a fireplace or wood-stove, build a nice fire, brew up a cup of tea or a cup of cocoa...maybe bake a few Hot Fudge Sundae cakes and snuggle up, sit back and enjoy!

[smithwil_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Plum Pudding Murder by Joanne Fluke is my first Hannah Swensen book. I do like mystery series in general, so assumed this would be ok. It took a while to get into all the characters mentioned, but she has the genre down well, of course, and after a bit I was into the whole small town life she has created in Lake Eden. Being an Iowa native, I'm quite familiar with small towns, cold weather, and Minnesota is nearby. As a life-time business educator, the small business financial intrigue was of interest, as well. It was also of interest that while the murder was introduced in the first few pages, we got two-thirds of the way through before we got back around to it. The recipes must be very popular, and are a great hook for the series. It was a fun read!

[helenoel · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Plum Pudding Murder is one of a long series of food-oriented mysteries by Joanne Fluke. I received it from the Library Thing early reviewers program. It is a pleasant, light and cozy story, but no one will mistake it for deep or intellectual literature. Hannah runs a cookie business – the small Minnesota town is preparing for Christmas. There is a murder and it is solved, but that seems secondary to cookie baking, Hannah’s life with two boyfriends, a cat, her mother and sister and assorted fellow residents of town. Fully 20 percent of the book is recipes, with very thorough instructions – and probably an equivalent length as discussion of details of kitchen prep, plugging cars in to keep the heater block from freezing and other arcane details that don’ t advance the plot, or develop the characters. It was a pleasant read, but I will not be racing to the library for more cookie mysteries- too sweet and simplistic for me- and I found myself annoyed by the level of detail in the recipes- does anyone really need to be told how to beat eggs before adding them to cookie dough? And I’ve never before been told to pack the flour down in the measuring cup—seem to guarantee different amounts of flour depending on how had and how damp the day is.. If you want to escape into a cozy world for a couple of hours, and like thinking about baking, you will probably enjoy Plum Pudding Murder. I enjoyed it to a degree, but will try for more complicated stories for my general reading.

[willac_3 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is a pretty typical cozy, and as the 12th in this series, the reader is probably familiar with the characters by now. I like that, in most cases. I like reading series books, and Joanne Fluke does it well. I also love cozy mysteries set at Christmastime, so this one was doubly enjoyable.

[vpfluke · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was a fun book to read, as most of the Hannah Swensen mystery series has been. This is # 12.Swensen runs a dessert restaurant called the The Cookie Jar, and lends her hand to solving murder mysteries. She has two boy friends, one of whom, Mike, is a cop. The other is Norman, a dentist, and one wonders which one she will seal up her life with. Hannah's mother, Dolores, runs a antique shop in the same small town in Minnesota.A feature of the Swensen series is the chapters with recipes. "Plum Pudding Mystery" is a holiday mystery and the culinary high point is the lavish Christmas Eve dinner. Hannah is assisted by her partner, Lisa, and her two sisters, ndrea and Michelle. But Hannah finds a person murdered in the village and she discovers many things about him that point to their being suspects.

[jennjack_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The Plum Pudding Murder was an enjoyable read but not one of the best in the series. I like Fluke's books because there is a certain innocence to the characters and the stories (amidst the murders). It's always a cozy read. Fluke also gives the reader enough clues to make things interesting but not so many that it is easy to figure out who's guilty. The characters are realistic in their small-townishness but not so much in their diets - The cookie and coffee consumption should have these folks visiting a combination diabetes-insomnia clinic. Nor is the competition between two men for the affections of the protagonist, Hannah, particularly realistic. But still - I am sure I will continue to read each of Fluke's books as they come out.The investigation in this one was a little thin and while a solid motive was revealed, it didn't really hold together as well as some of her others. Nevertheless, a quick and fun read. These books are a lot of fun to listen to, and if you have a non-iPod MP3 player you can download them for free off of netlibrary.com (you may need to access it first through your local library with your library card number, but once you set up a profile you can go directly to netlibrary.com). Not all of them are on there but there are at least 10.

[poolays · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The Hannah Swensen mysteries are a light, "sweet" weekend read. Plum Pudding Murder picks up the story line of Hannah, her family, her two love interests, and the folks of Lake Eden, a really small town in Minnesota. Life is pretty bland except for, as usual, Hannah stumbles upon a murder. Folks stay warm with coffee and cookies, recipes included. I keep reading the books in this series; there is just something appealing about the characters.

[shadrach_anki · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is my first experience with the Hannah Swensen mysteries by Joanne Fluke, and overall I enjoyed it. Because it is later in the series it was difficult at first to keep track of the side characters (which characters are there just for the one story, and which are recurring cast members), but overall I think it stood fairly well on its own. I'll have to go back to read more of the series to pick up on some of the book to book plot threads.I particularly liked that the murder investigation wasn't the only mystery within the book, and I'm really looking forward to trying a number of the recipes.

[mldg_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Joanne Fluke's Plum Pudding Murder made me want to go into the kitchen and start baking. This is a Christmas cozy mystery, the 13th in the Hannan Swensen series. Hannah owns The Cookie Jar, a pastry and coffee shop in Lake Eden, Minnesota. She has a knack for finding dead bodies and figuring out who done it. Juggling two boyfriends, the needs of her mother, sisters, employees and one orange and white cat, Hannah still has time to cook.Twenty-eight recipes are included in the book. It makes me wish that every cookbook was written with an entertaining story like this.

[nelliemc · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I loved the earlier Hannah Swansen mysteries, but the last four (Plum Pudding, Devil's Food Cake, , Cream Puff, Apple Turnover) have become problematic. Way too many recipes, way too little mystery. And, frankly, the love interests are getting very rote and her attempt to make them more complex has just made Mike more callous and put Norman in an absurd situation that has no credibility. And her other characters are losing their edge.

[kwells_58 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was my first Hannah Swensen mystery. Loved the recipes and the small town details. I didn't quite get the whole two boyfriends thing and I had trouble keeping some of the people they keep mentioning straight. I'll probably try out some more of the Hannah Swensen series to catch up (and for the recipes!)

[markkeeffe · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Recipes were interesting but I did't think there was much suspense or intrigue. Just not very well written.

[kblinn_2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Another entry in Joanne Fluke's Hannah Swenson mystery series. As usual, Hannah gets embroiled in some sleuthing while cooking up a storm. It's Christmas time in Lake Eden, where it always seems to be cold and snowy, and the Christmas tree lot is not quite what it seems. A very enjoyable read.

[cyderry · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

For all those who are regular Hannah Swensen fans, this was as enjoyable as all the others with the renewed appearances of Moishe, the cat, Hannah's two boyfriends, Dolores (her mother),her sisters, niece, and co-workers.Hannah is supplying cookies to Crazy Elf town where Christmas trees are sold along with other amusements to entertain the tree buyers. The shady business owner is found murdered by Hannah and Norman (boyfriend #1) and while Hannah tries to solve the murder, she also tries to figure out why Carrie (N9rman's Mother) seems to be hiding something from her friends and son. It is delightful how the recipes that are included (28 total) are interwoven in the story and how the characters fit together so perfectly. Looking forward to the next one.

[smik_3 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Crime fiction really takes a back seat in this light fluffy read, #13 in Joanne Fluke's Hannah Swensen series. It's hard to take murder seriously when you are constantly being distracted by delicious recipes, placed in the book almost at the end of every chapter.Not that there is anything wrong with the story. It is well plotted and all the threads resolve. Hannah coopts friends and family to help her investigate mysteries large and small, but in the long run she is the one who comes up with the answers.And for those who like it, there is also a little light romance.

[beckyjg · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Life in a small town. It's all so complicated.Hannah Swensen is the owner of the Cookie Jar, a delightful small town bakery. Hannah dates Norman, the local dentist. Norman and Hannah were once engaged, but due to her fascination with another local boy, Detective Mike, she broke it off. Now she dates both men, in a squeaky clean, crime-solving, sexless way. They don't mind, because they both love her (and her cat Moishe).Now, Norman's mom, Carrie, and Hannah's mom, Delores, are partners in the local antique shop, Granny's Attic. Lately, Carrie has been blowing off friends and family--breaking dates, not showing up to work, signing up for a small business class and not attending--and everyone's worried. So, Norman and Hannah begin their sleuthing, to determine what's going on in Carrie's life, and to make sure she's not in any trouble.And, oh yes, round about page 170, there's a murder.As always, with these coziest of cozies, the murder in Plum Pudding Murder isn't the main thing, nor is the solving of the murder, or the fact that Hannah almost gets killed in the thrilling chase at the end. No, the main thing is small town life and the people who make it that way.And the food, that's the other main thing.Ah, the food. Read just the names of these recipes (a mere smattering of the many that appear throughout the book) and tell me that you're not beginning to feel at least a little peckish.Hot Fudge Sundae CakesOrange Julius CookiesChocolate Raspberry TrufflesFudge-Mallow Cookie BarsChocolate Chip Pretzel CookiesHow is it possible that every one of the people in these books doesn't weigh 300 pounds? In addition to what she creates at her bakery, Hannah bakes at least one batch of cookies or other tasty treats every single day at home. Every day! And she and all her friends eat them. All of them. Every day!And how do they ever manage to get any sleep? Now that's a real mystery. The coffee pot goes off on a timer at 3:45 every morning, coffee is drunk constantly throughout the day, and the last pot of coffee is usually put on--and drunk--at 9:30 or 10:00 at night. No wonder there are so many murders--everybody's nerves are constantly a-jangle from all that caffeine.Here's the thing about Joanne Fluke's Hannah Swensen mysteries. They're light and fluffy and they make you feel good. The writing is sufficient, the plots are okay; it's that darn feel-good factor that keeps me coming back for more. And as far as I'm concerned, that's enough.

[imbookingit · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Light and Fluffy and fun! It was exactly what I was looking for in a cozy. This is generally a very comfortable series.I skipped over book #11 since it wasn't available for download from my library, and I don't think I missed anything.I particularly liked that Hannah actually seemed to be making some progress with her dueling suitors, and it is in the direction I'd choose for her. I wouldn't be surprised for this to all be undone in the next book, which would disappoint me tremendously, but for now I'm happy.The dessert recipes made me hungry, as usual. One day, I'll actually try making one of them. The characters are generally likable.I didn't buy the storyline with Norman's mother, but it wasn't unexpected, given the history of the series.

[cameling_2 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Not as interesting as some of the others in the series, so I'd recommend this only for Hannah Swensen fans.