Strawberry Shortcake Murder

Following her successful debut, 2000's Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder, Fluke brings back amateur sleuth and Lake Eden, Minn., bakery owner Hannah Swensen for another delicious adventure. Hannah has the honor of serving as head judge of the first annual Hartland Flour Dessert Bake-off, which she anticipates will be good advertising for her already popular bakery, The Cookie Jar. Then one of the judges, high school basketball coach Boyd Watson, is found dead, face down in Hannah's strawberry shortcake, and suspicion falls on Watson's abused wife, Danielle. Determined to prove Danielle's innocence, Hannah ignores the warnings of romantic interest Mike Kingston, the supervisor of detectives at the Winnetka County sheriff's station, not to get involved. Tempting descriptions of meals served at the local establishments, mouth-watering recipes and a warm family of characters ward off the vividly depicted bitter chill of a Minnesota winter. While the other characters tend to be stereotypical, Hannah is a believable, down-to-earth protagonist who can't function without her morning coffee, justifies her passion for chocolate as a biological need for endorphins and deals with a matchmaking mother and a needy sister with understanding and humor. Add the ingredients of a cleverly crafted mystery and a realistic portrayal of smalltown life, and you have a superior cozy sure to leave readers satisfied... but hungry for more. (Mar. 12)