Mystery Monday!

Cream Puff Murder by Joanne Fluke: This is the latest (11th) Hannah Swensen mystery set in Lake Eden, Minnesota, and it was a fun, breezy addition to the series. Hannah has to lose weight to fit into a dress her mother bought for her, her cat, Moishe, is acting very strangely, and her sometimes-boyfriend Mike is a suspect in the murder of obnoxious Ronnie, a fitness instructor who's slept with half of Lake Eden. Hannah finds Ronnie in the Jacuzzi at her gym, an upended platter of Hannah's Cream Puffs nearby. With Mike unable to investigate (he's been taken off the case, along with the other cops who had had a "personal relationship" with Ronnie), she juggles the instructions of four different friends, deals with the rumors about Mike and Ronnie, and subsists on salads with low-fat dressing. The love triangle is my least favorite part of this series, but it's not horrible. I just find it unrealistic that Mike and Norman would be friends with each other and neither would get tired of waiting for Hannah to make a decision. Some progress was made in this installment, and I look forward to next year's entry! Meanwhile, I will be trying out Hannah's Cream Puff recipe.

The first in this charming culinary mystery series is Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder, and I recommend starting there.