Book Review: Key Lime Pie Murder

Author: Joanne Fluke
Title: Key Lime Pie Murder
Publisher: Kensington Books
Publish Date: Feb 1, 2008
Buy: Amazon
Book Blurb: It promises to be a busy week for Hannah Swensen. Not only is she whipping up treats for the chamber of commerce booth at the Tri-County fair, she's also judging the baking contest; acting as a magician's assistant for her business partner's husband; trying to coax Moishe, her previously rapacious feline, to end his hunger strike, and performing her own private carnival act by juggling the demands of her mother and sisters. With so much on her plate, it's no wonder Hannah finds herself on the midway only moments before the fair closes for the night. After hearing a suspicious thump, she goes snooping - only to discover Willa Sunquist, a student teacher and fellow bake contest judge, dead alongside an upended key lime pie. But who would want to kill Willa and why?Now Hannah needs to crank up the heat, hoping that Willa's killer will get rattled and make a mistake. If that happens she intends to be there, even if it means getting on a carnival ride that could very well be her last..

Review: Key Lime Pie Murder is the ninth installment of the Hannah Swensen series. I always fall back on Hannah when I need a light easy read. I also read these for the recipes.

This book featured a pretty awesome recipe for popovers, which I tried.

In this book, Hannah is judging a baking contest at the fair, while trying to try a deep fried candy bar. When one of her fellow judges is found murdered (well into the story though), Hannah gets to sleuthing.

I've found that as these books go, the further into the series, the longer it takes to get to the mystery. I swear it was around page 100 when Willa was finally offed.

This is one of the interesting cases where the victim is someone you genuinely liked. Willa seemed like a sweet person that most people liked, but as Hannah investigated her murder, she had secrets. Willa was not only a judge of the bakery competition but she was also working for the Tri County Beauty Pageant and she was well liked by all. It makes it hard to believe she's the one killed.

Then there's the rodeo and the people that follow it. I loved Ruby and how the cowboy's figure in with the mystery.

What I love about cozy mysteries is how ridiculous they are for the most part. Hannah is a tall red head and she has terrible fashion sense, as we hear so often from her sister and mother. When she is helping her friend's husband Herb as his magician's assistant you see the myriad of horrible gowns she owns, and several times you hear her discuss the colors she can't wear because of her hair color.

How does an awkward woman, who also has zero tact end up with two hot men vying for her affections? Only in a cozy mystery! (Especially as these are clean books, and she's never done more than kiss either of them!!!!)

How does one small town have so many murders? You know, without making national news? I can't get over the fact that they don't mention this in these books. I mean, Lake Eden is a small town, and there are an awful lot of people winding up dead.

Those are the things that make a cozy series good, but often bog them down as a series goes on. This is 9 in the series and already the love triangle with Norman and Mike is old. (Though I have to say I love Norman the most, because he's kind)

There's a part after Willa's murder when they are discussing what happened when Hannah goes off on them for acting like Willa was not a friend. As she does this I find it hard to believe she could have two guys that she dates in the same room together without a fight.

The story was solid and I loved all the side stories,  like Moishe's lack of appetite and her mother's side project that is a secret from the family. The other thing that's different in this book is that the recipes are more from the baking competition than The Cookie Jar. (I'm hoping to try the Swedish Oatmeal cookies soon)

This was a good addition to the series.

Rating: 3 flowers