Joanne Fluke%E2%80%99s Lake Eden Cookbook: Hannah Swensen%E2%80%99s Recipes from the Cookie Jar

Jam-packed with recipes from her beloved Hannah Swensen Mystery series, Fluke%E2%80%99s most recent work is simply superb. Delores Swenson%E2%80%99s 4th Annual Christmas Cookie Exchange luncheon is coming up, and her daughter Hannah, part owner of popular Lake Eden, Minnesota bakery and coffee house The Cookie Jar, is busy putting the last minute touches on her catering menu. While preparing the food, her phone rings with friends and luncheon guests requesting copies of Hannah%E2%80%99s recipes. Everyone in town, it seems, believes she makes the best of everything and wants to learn her secrets. At the last moment, Hannah decides to make a quick recipe book for everyone at the party. Fluke uses her experience to guide readers through an afternoon with the gals, comparing notes on their favorite Hannah Swensen recipes and telling stories about friends--Andrea, a disaster in the kitchen; Winnie, who learned the true size of a cocktail the hard way; and Gladys, who, despite her best efforts, can%E2%80%99t escape the Minnesota cold for a California dream. As the women skim through the cookbook together, their stories and the recipes meld with stunning ease. %E2%80%9CHannah%E2%80%99s Notes%E2%80%9D appear in each recipe, lending personality to simple instructions. Newcomers and longtime fans of Fluke will find plenty to enjoy in this latest dispatch from Lake Eden. The characters are incredibly lovable and the community quickly welcomes readers into a world of friends, fun, and%E2%80%94of course%E2%80%94food. (Oct.)