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Cinnamon Roll Murder

A Hannah Swensen Mystery by Joanne Fluke

Cinnamon Roll Murder by Joanne Fluke

Review: A weekend jazz festival is anything but festive when culinary sleuth Hannah Swensen is drawn into the investigation of two deaths in Cinnamon Roll Murder, the 15th mystery in this series by Joanne Fluke.

Hannah and her sister Michelle are on their way to Lake Eden to watch a rehearsal of the Cinnamon Roll Jazz Band when they see the bus that is carrying the members of the band suddenly swerve off the road and land upside down in a culvert. They stop and tramp through the snow and ice to lend assistance. For the most part, the band members are okay, though their driver is dead. Buddy Neiman, the keyboard player, in need of a cast, is taken to a local hospital, where someone enters his room and stabs him to death with a pair of surgical scissors. Hannah can't help but think there must be a connection between the bus accident and the driver's death and Buddy's murder. And the case gets even more complicated when the police determine that the dead man known as "Buddy Neiman" was not, in fact, Buddy Neiman. Even for someone of Hannah's talents, there may be too many ingredients in this case for her to solve it.

Cinnamon Roll Murder is a bit uneven in how the storyline evolves and develops. Though somewhat weakly plotted, the murder mystery has some interest; less so with Hannah's very busy personal life. It's easy reading and, typical of cozies, there's always something going on, but it seems like the opportunity to expand on a creative murder mystery premise is missed here, the overall result somewhat entertaining but not altogether satisfying. The same cannot be said of the delicious-sounding recipes that accompany the text, many of which will no doubt tempt readers into trying on their own.

Special thanks to guest reviewer Betty of The Betz Review for contributing her review of Cinnamon Roll Murder.

Acknowledgment: Kensington Books provided a copy of Cinnamon Roll Murder for this review.

Review Copyright © 2012 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved

Selected reviews of other mysteries by this author …

Mystery Book Review: Red Velvet Cupcake Murder by Joanne FlukeRed Velvet Cupcake Murder
Kensington Books (Hardcover), February 2013
ISBN-13: 9780758280343; ISBN-10: 0758280343

Location(s) referenced in Cinnamon Roll Murder: Minnesota

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Cinnamon Roll Murder by Joanne Fluke

Cinnamon Roll Murder by A Hannah Swensen Mystery

Publisher: Kensington Books
Format: Hardcover
ISBN-13: 978-0-7582-3493-3
Publication Date:
List Price: $24.00

Buy the Book (purchase options)

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Page Author: Lance Wright
Site Publisher: Mysterious Reviews

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