Coconut Layer Cake Murder

Written by Joanne Fluke

Narrated by Suzanne Toren

Bakery owner Hannah Swensen is leaving Lake Eden to help a friend in sunny California. But an unexpected phone call swiftly brings her back to a cold Minnesota winter . . . and murder . . . When Hannah learns that her sister Michelle's boyfriend, Detective Lonnie Murphy, is the prime suspect in a murder case, she goes straight from a movie studio sound stage to the Los Angeles airport. Back in frigid Minnesota, she discovers that proving Lonnie's innocence will be harder than figuring out what went wrong with a recipe. Lonnie remembers only parts of the night he went out to a local bar and ended up driving a very impaired woman home. He knows he helped her to her bedroom, but he doesn't recall anything else until he woke up on her couch the following morning. When he went to the bedroom to check on her, he was shocked to discover she was dead. Hannah doesn't know what to believe-only that exonerating a suspect who can't remember is almost impossible, especially since Lonnie's brother, Detective Rick Murphy, and Lonnie's partner, Chief Detective Mike Kingston, have been taken off the case. Before everything comes crashing down on Lonnie like a heaping slice of coconut layer cake, it'll be up to Hannah to rack up enough clues to toast a flaky killer . . .

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: Feb 25, 2020
• ISBN: 9781501983641

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 Coconut Layer Cake Murder

[chazzifrazz · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Hannah Swensen has flown out to California to help her friend, Lynne, pack up to move to Minnesota. It’s a change in Hannah’s routine, but could be a good solution to all the stress Hannah has been under from the previous murder she solved.When Hannah gets a call from her younger sister asking for help, plans change again and Hannah returns to Minnesota. Her sister’s boyfriend, Lonnie, is the prime suspect in a murder case!Somehow, Hannah needs to figure out what exactly happened the night of the murder, as Lonnie’s memory is too fuzzy to make sense. His being the one to discover the body doesn’t make it any easier.As usual, Hannah has her hands full keeping the cookie inventory full for her customers at The Cookie Jar and figuring out who had set up Lonnie for a murder.Hannah’s sleuthing and baking continue on!

[bemislibrary · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Ross is gone leaving Hannah single again with Norman and Mike vying for attention. The story was alright and familiar characters popped in and out of the plot. It is a comfortable visit with familiar characters. Hannah is drifting and making so and so it the writing.

[cyderry · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Everyone things that Hannah needs a vacation after the previous issues regarding Ross and her "marriage" disillusion. She heads to California with Delores to help a friend who getting ready to move but before she can finish her vacation, she is called back to Lake Eden to help Michelle and her boyfriend, Lonnie.The mystery was pretty light, basically we are seeing Hannah progress along her recovery from the disaster with Ross and rebuilding relations with Mike and Norman.I really wish that the Movie series was a bit more like the books because the characters of Michelle, Norman, Lonnie are getting shortchanged.

[maydacat_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Lonnie is in trouble and it’s Hannah to the rescue. Lonnie is the prime suspect in a murder when he found dazed in the dead woman’s house. The tale is an exciting one and sprinkled throughout are the delicious recipes readers have come to expect. It is a bit odd that Hannah is encouraged to solve the murder, due to to fact that Mike and Rick are taken off the case since they are too close Lonnie. It seems they have more confidence in her than the new detective on the force. But it makes for a good story. It’s like visiting friends when a new book in this series is published, and I only wish I could shake Hannah and tell her how wonderful Norman is!

[miamismartgirl09 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I have been a big fan of the Hannah Swenson series since I first picked up the Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder Mystery a long time ago. This book is no different - a nice easy read. Unlike most of the other books, this one felt easier and the subject of the murder wasn't the main focus. This was a nice change of pace and I enjoyed reading about Hannah's adventures on vacation, traveling about town with Norman and Mike and her detective work with Andrea. I always look foreword to the recopies and usually find one or two that I would love to try and this one was no different. I'll be looking forward to some baking soon! Interested in the next Hannah book and can't wait to see what trouble she gets finds herself in next!

[pinkpurlandprose · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Many thanks to NetGalley, Kensington Books, and Joanne Fluke for an ARC in exchange for an honest book review of Coconut Layer Cake Murder. My thoughts and opinions are 100% my own and independent of receiving an advance copy.Hannah is back with a whole new slew of recipes that she dreams up on the spot. But this time the town really needs her help. Instead of her “meddling”, they need her to solve the murder. There is a dead woman and Lonnie, one of the local police, has been accused of the murder. Mike has to take a back seat because of personal conflicts and there is no one else in the department to solve the murder. So Hannah flies back from her California vacation to gather the facts. All of the characters are part of the story like Norm, her sisters, and her mother. The coconut layer cake is at the center of the murder. Nothing new in the story. The same characters, the same saccharine-sweet banter along with the consumption of a lot of cookies. I am surprised everyone in that town isn’t 300 pounds with cholesterol problems! These characters are super supportive, super sweet and super into everyone’s business! Look, when you read this series you know what you’re getting. I just wish there was more mystery, even in the light-as-air genre, something would be nice. Hannah talks to everyone, creating recipes as she goes and then in the last ten pages boom, it is solved. I haven’t given up on the series yet, so there’s that. A side note, there is a series of Hallmark movies that are based on or inspired by the books. Allison Sweeney, Sami from Days of Our Lives fame, plays Hannah and Cameron Mathison, from All My Children, plays Mike. Yes, I am familiar with soaps! I really like these movies, more than the novels in some ways. They are Hallmark, so again, light-hearted, but things are more organic on-screen. There is tension between Mike and Norm and who Hannah likes, there is a murder to solve that Hannah keeps insinuating herself in and there is the bakery. Instead of baking all the time, she seems to deliver baked goods more often on screen and I really enjoy them. If you are a fan of the book, check them out. If you are curling up one Saturday afternoon, check these out.

[kris_anderson-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Coconut Layer Cake Murder by Joanne Fluke is the twenty-fifth A Hannah Swensen Mystery. I have read all the books in this series and there is a marked difference between Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder and Coconut Layer Cake Murder. The mystery is not the primary focus of the story. It seems that most of the book is devoted to cooking, baking, eating, and chatting. More than half of the book is devoted to recipes. I have stuck with the series this long, and I am not about to quit. After the cliffhanger left in the last book, I wanted to know what was happening with Hannah. I like how close Hannah is to her family and friends. Delores, Michelle, Doc Knight, Andrea, Bill, Norman, Mike, Lonnie and all the regulars are back. Lonnie is accused of murdering an old high school classmate and he needs Hannah’s help if he is to prove he is innocent. Mike is Lonnie’s partner so that bans him from investigating and Lonnie’s brother is also off the case. The lone detective left is Bill, Andrea’s husband, who lacks experience solving murders. This time (believe it or not) Hannah’s nosiness is encouraged. Lonnie’s fuzzy memory, though, causes some problems. Hannah zips around town in her cookie truck asking questions, dispensing cookies, and searching for clues. With help from family and friends, Hannah pieces together the clues and identifies the killer. Readers will have no problem solving this whodunit before the reveal. The story proceeds in a unique manner for cozy mysteries that was a nice change of pace, but I would not want too often. I know that Hannah needs to recover from what happened with Ross, but I believe it is time for her to decide between Mike and Norman (my pick is Mike). When A Hannah Swensen Mystery series ends (it is inevitable), I hope Joanne Fluke starts a new cozy mystery series. Coconut Layer Cake Murder is a light, feel good story firm friends, mouthwatering meals, a vital vacation, scrumptious cookies, and a busy baker.

[jbarr5 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Coconut Layer Cake Murder by Joanne FlukeThis book starts out with other works by the author and acknowledgements.Hannah finds out what's wrong with her from the blood test done in the last book and the doctor writes her a prescription.She and her mother head to CA to help her friend pack up her house and move to MN as she's bought a mansion there.Hannah and Lynne had gone to college in their younger years and have stayed in contact with one another. Lynne had made her money from being an actress and staring in commercials.Just what the doctor ordered, rest and relaxation...So fun to hear about the industry of making shows and movies. Love the trip around town with the butler/chauffeur.Events occur that leaves Delores starring in a commercial with Lynne and they have so much fun with it...Michelle, her sister calls with an emergency, a death has occurred and Loonie is devastated, his classmate has died and he's the first suspect.Just Hannah will return home to help with the investigation leaving Delores in CA to help Lynne.While work is being done at her condo, to erase traces of Ross living there she settles in at Norman's guest room and attends the meeting of the friends who are trying to find out who had killed Loonie's friend.Loonie is able to give them a lot of information about what happened to Darcy and they have their work cut out for them to prove he's innocent. Surprise of finding her ex's items in storage...Love information on baking secrets and tips. Irish blessings are a treasure to find! So many involved and you never would've thought who found Hannah on her last day alive.Recipes index at the end. Recipes throughout the book. Baking conversion charts included. Other books highlighted at the end, Cold Judgement. I received this review copy from Kensington Books via NetGalley and this is my honest opinion.#CoconutLayerCakeMurder #NetGalley

[thornton37814 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Hannah accompanies her mother to California to visit a relative. Doc prescribed the vacation for her when he diagnosed her with stress. It isn't long until she receives a message the police need her help in an investigation in which Lonnie's presence makes him a suspect. Mike can't investigate because Lonnie is his partner. Only a newly minted detective and the chief himself can investigate, so even the chief wants Hannah to meddle this time. The victim's personality made her unpopular so several persons held motives. A remains of a coconut layer cake plays into the investigation, thus giving the installment its title. The book contains lots of recipes. The premise of this one does not really hold up that well as the police would have called in the state to conduct the investigation. However, it was fun. The love triangle between Hannah, Norman, and Mike continues. I received an electronic advance copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.