REVIEW: Chocolate Cream Pie Murder

Chocolate Cream Pie Murder
Author: Joanne Fluke

I had to laugh conspiratorially as I opened my review copy of this much awaited book and saw at the bottom of the the author's acknowledgements: You've been asking for this book and here it is!

Yes, I did. Yes, we did. Yes....we ALL did.

Thank you, Joanne.

I have been reading the Hannah Swensen series since book 1, Chocolate Chip Cookie Mystery, came out in 2001. Almost 19 years invested in these characters. Lots of recipes and baking. Lots of dead people....cozily murdered, of course. Culinary cozy mysteries are all over the place now....but Joanne Fluke's Hannah Swensen series is one of the first...if not THE first. Then there was......The Event. A misstep by a main character that threw all of us Hannah fans into chaos. What? She did WHAT? With Who? And then.....HE did WHAT???? Rabble rabble rabble! Get a rope! We all wanted to KILL he-who-shall-not-be-named. R. The great jerk. Every single one of us volunteered to pop in to do it, too. And not cozily.

I had to wait for a year to get my hands on this book. The minute my review copy downloaded to my IPad, I informed my family I was retreating in to my lair. I didn't wash the supper dishes....I didn't do any of my normal routine. I had to read this book! Immediately! I made hot tea, put on my PJs hours earlier than usual, and dived into this book. I binged the whole thing. Finished at 1 a.m. and was incredibly tired this morning when I got up at 5:30 (to a sink full of last night's dishes....), but completely happy in my choices.

I have a few mixed emotions about this newest book. On one hand, I am elated at some of the plot points, even though there was no murder or investigation until almost the very end of the book. On the other hand, I felt the story was very much padded by overly lengthy recipe sections and long discussions of food by the characters.  BUT....after several books where the writing was (to be blunt) bad and the plots just not up to Hannah-standards.....this book was BETTER! No more klunky bad dialogue or extreme over-telling by characters. It seems Hannah is coming back to old times. I can handle some obvious padding (recipes are an intrinsic part of this series and always have been...so I'm ok with it. Plus YUM! -- there are some really good ones!) this time around because it is obvious that our reviews and constructive criticism were read and taken to heart. Editing much better this time!

I am chuffed!!

My biggest mixed emotion moment is about the end......   The last sentence is a bombshell.  And, once again, Joanne Fluke has me waiting a year to find out what happens next.

Well played, Joanne. Well played.

Eagerly awaiting the next book!

Chocolate Cream Pie Murder is the 24th book in the Hannah Swensen series. Normally it isn't really necessary to read the series in order...but this time, it's probably a good idea to have read at least the last few books in the series to fully understand the plot. This series is a fun, light-hearted culinary cozy mystery series. The plots are light....and recipes are included at the end of most chapters. No spurting blood. No cursing. No graphic sex. Definitely cozy. After 19 years, I am committed to this series. I read each book as soon as it comes out....and I will until the very last one. :)

And....because this one was better and I feel that the opinions of reviewers and readers were heard and valued....I'm giving this full stars. Is it a literary masterpiece? No....it's a fun cozy mystery that I stayed up half the night reading. And, I feel this author connects with her readers. That deserves a perfect score from me.

And I'm happily waiting for the next Hannah book. :)

**I voluntarily read an advanced readers copy of this book from Kensington via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.