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    Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder
    Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder
    Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder
    Ebook358 pages6 hours

    Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder

    By Joanne Fluke

    3.5/5

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    About this ebook

    First in the New York Times-bestselling mystery series: “A cleverly plotted cozy full of appealing characters and delicious cookie recipes.”—Publishers Weekly

    Take one amateur sleuth. Mix in some eccentric Minnesota locals. Add a generous dollop of crackling suspense, and you've got the recipe for this mystery series featuring Hannah Swensen, the red-haired, cookie-baking heroine whose gingersnaps are almost as tart as her comments and whose penchant for solving crime is definitely stirring things up.

    While dodging her mother’s attempts to marry her off, Hannah runs The Cookie Jar, Lake Eden’s most popular bakery. But after Ron LaSalle, the beloved deliveryman from the Cozy Cow Dairy, is found murdered behind her bakery—with Hannah’s famous Chocolate Chip Crunchies scattered around him—she’s determined not to let her cookies get a bad reputation, so she sets out to track down a killer. But if she doesn’t watch her back, Hannah’s sweet life may get burned to a crisp.

    “Culinary cozies don’t get any tastier than this winning series.”—Library Journal
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherKensington Books
    Release dateApr 11, 2013
    ISBN9781617731242
    Author

    Joanne Fluke

    JOANNE FLUKE is the New York Times bestselling author of the Hannah Swensen mysteries, which include Chocolate Cream Pie Murder, Raspberry Danish Murder, Cinnamon Roll Murder, and the book that started it all, Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder. That first installment in the series premiered as Murder, She Baked: A Chocolate Chip Cookie Mystery on the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Channel. Like Hannah Swensen, Joanne Fluke was born and raised in a small town in rural Minnesota, but now lives in Southern California. Please visit her online at www.JoanneFluke.com.

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    Reviews for Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder

    3.5/5

    622 ratings59 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Undemanding fluff, but a really enjoyable read.
    • 4/5
      Hannah Swensen has dropped out of grad school after a broken romance and found herself back home in Lake Eden, Minnesota, where she is running a cookie bakery and dodging her mother's attempts at matchmaking.When the delivery man for the Cozy Cow Dairy is found with a bullet hole outside of Hannah's shop, Hannah gets involved helping her brother-in-law solve the crime and get his promotion at work. The town is filled with a number of eccentric characters and Hannah suspects and then clears a lot of them.We are introduced to a number of characters including two possible love interests for Hannah in the new-in-town dentist and the new-in-town Homicide detective. I'm curious to know which, if either of them, will turn out to be Hannah's love interest. This was an engaging cozy mystery filled with great sounding cookie recipes that I really want to try. Written in 2000 and spending the past nine years on my TBR mountain did age the story. No one has a cellphone and cameras still have film. However, human nature is still human nature. This is the first book in a series that will reach 25 titles in 2020.
    • 4/5
      Yes, I admit I approached this book with a little bit of trepidation, as cozies are typically not my thing. I found myself pleasantly surprised with this one. Okay, so it's a bit far-fetched to imagine a bakery/coffee shop that only sells cookies and still has a regular morning breakfast crowd, but who am I to judge another person's business/ food choices? ;-) I found Hannah to be a lot of fun. She has a penchant for nosing around when she shouldn't be and her lack of tact (she has a habit of speaking before thinking) makes for some fun moments. Of course, having a cop for a brother-in-law who doesn't seem to mind Hannah's digging around for information and a sister who is happy to "sleuth" along with Hannah, it is not surprising that it is rather easy to connect the dots and solve the mystery, and I am okay with that if I am being entertained in the process. Hannah's relationship with her mother amps up the entertainment value for me as I can relate to some of the conversations Hannah is forced to endure as her mother pursues what she believes to be the right thing for Hannah. For me, Hannah comes across as an amateur "wanna be" equivalent to Sue Grafton's more spunky private detective Kinsey Millhone, living in a quaint lakeside community, baking and selling cookies for a living. Not surprisingly, cookies are mentioned an awful lot throughout the story. I am one of those people who enjoys reading recipe books so I found the cookies recipes that were included throughout the story to be nice bonus. With 24 books in the series to date - and all available in audiobook format - I think I have found my next audiobook series to keep me going during my workday walking commute.Overall, a fun, light and entertaining first book in Fluke's Hannah Swensen Mysteries series. I am already enjoying the next book in the series.
    • 3/5
      Good "summer" reading.
    • 3/5
      A friend said this was a fun series so I went with her to see the author at our local cooking school. She was entertaining and the samples from some of the recipes in her latest book were yummy so I picked up this first book in the series. It's light escape reading with some recipes thrown in--as Jodi says, something to read "in between the hard books". If you like Diane Mott Davidson's Goldy the caterer books you'll like Fluke's books also.
    • 5/5
      This is a book I grabbed on a whim, actually wanting the cookie recipe more than anything, that I enjoyed very much for a light read.It is the first book in the Hannah Sweson Mysteries. In addition to the interesting plot, it has some recipes that are quick and easy to make, not to mention yummy to eat!This book starts out when Hannah descovers the body of Ron, a dairy delivery man, mudered in an alley near Hannah's dessert bakery.Hannah's brother-in-law, Detective Bill Todd, is on the case, and Hannah decides to help him, off the books. As Hannah goes about her search, she soon finds another dead body, the very owner of the dairy Ron worked for, and one of Hannah's very own suspects!This is a very fun, cozy, interesting story, one without a too-stressing plot.
    • 3/5
      Didn't really care much for the characters or the plot.
    • 1/5
      Hannah Swensen is pushing 30 and trying to make a go of her new bakery "The Cookie Box" while coping with a mother whose sole goal in life is to see her oldest daughter safely married. To that end, she tries to fix Hannah up with every single man who comes through the small town of Lake Eden, Minnesota, and Hannah spends a great deal of time and energy trying to avoid this. But Hannah's mother problem is completely forgotten the morning she finds the local milkman shot through the heart in the alley behind her store, with one of her chocolate chip crunchies still clutched in his hand. Knowing that her brother-in-law, Bill, who is a local Deputy at the sheriff's office is up for promotion to Detective, Hannah decides to "help" him figure out who did it. And all the while, she never misses a single chance to create new and exciting cookie recipes.I mean, come on. I should have stopped reading about 40 pages in, but you know me. Never say die! So, I soldiered on, reading one predictable chapter after another. The story was far too pat, there was not much mystery to it, I really don't care if there is a cookie recipe in every chapter, and the book was just bad. This author is one of those who never have their characters "say" anything. They exclaim, sigh, wink, nod, declare, shout, you name it. That gets on my nerves even worse than the authors who never indicate which character is speaking in several pages of dialog and I'm forced to go back and count the paragraphs to make sure I know who's talking! There are a slew of these books, each with cute food related titles and just chock full of tasty treat recipes. Maybe it's because I'm diabetic, but I think I'll pass on these from now on. 1
    • 4/5
      I wasn’t sure I was going to like this. I’d just finished listening to Before I Wake and lamenting about how nice everyone was, and now I’m going to listen to a cozy mystery? Instead of boring me, this book charmed me. I liked Hannah a lot. Even her amateur sleuthing is believable, because she never really does anything to find her information that I couldn’t have done (except maybe the breaking and entering!). She mostly just asks the right questions of the right people. The fact that she’s helping the cops is something that is only believable in this small town atmosphere. My only regret is that I was listening to this rather than reading it, because now I’m going to have to track down a hard copy of the book so I can get some of the recipes! I’ll definitely be continuing with this series.
    • 2/5
      I could not finish this. It is a very cookie-cutter cozy, predictable, not interesting setting, time or characters, and I really hate when a person who has no investigative powers whatsoever is elevated to the status of the detective and makes the police look like fools. Supposedly Hannah is "helping" her brother-in-law to make the rank of detective. How insulting is that? No, I could not swallow this in a thousand years, I don't even like cookies very much. However, your mileage may vary.
    • 3/5
      This is a cute series, though I'm not sure I quite understand Hannah's ability to date two men at one time and no one getting upset. The mystery itself was good, since I only figured it out right before Hannah did (though I mean, come on Hannah). I especially liked the recipes included and think I'd like to make a few batches of cookies, though I kind of wish each didn't make 8 dozen cookies.
    • 4/5
      A cute mystery novel with recipes included from the story. Easy, enjoyable read...looking forward to the rest of the series!
    • 1/5
      This outing cements my place among the cozy mystery fans, because though this book is very forgettable, I'm willing to read more of the series. The mystery had no twist to the tale. All the time I kept wondering when things would shake up, then nothing surprising happens. The downfall of the author is that once alibis are established they stay rock solid. In most decent mysteries, alibis are like promises...made to be broken.
    • 4/5
      fun and funny, it was really fun to follow Hannah as she solves the murder! GREAT recipes!
    • 3/5
      I've seen the colorful and tasty covers of the Hannah Swenson mystery series by Joanne Fluke over the years so while looking for a book to fulfill a reading challenge I thought this was just the time to check it out. I'm not a big cozy mystery fan. I prefer a more gritty and suspenseful read when picking up a mystery. I have to say the first book was quite amusing and I enjoyed it much more than I expected.

      Hannah Swenson, the owner of a popular bakery called The Cookie Jar, is also a proficient amateur sleuth. When Ron LaSalle, delivery man for the Cozy Cow Dairy is killed behind her shop, she is determined to find his killer. She convinces her sister's husband Bill who is the local Sheriff that she can help him get information from suspects by plying them with her cookies. Everyone liked Ron so she knows once she finds the motive she will find the killer.

      Hannah is single and her mother is always trying to set her up with any available Lake Eden unmarried man. She makes up new cookie recipes, tries to avoid her mother's phone calls, and spends her free time with her one-eyed cat, Moishe, who is quite the character. There were some implausible parts of the mystery like clues that seemed to fall together a little too predictably and it's completely unbelievable that her brother in law would ask for her help in investigating a murder. As a former accountant I was also curious about her financial bottom line since it seems like she was giving away a lot more free cookies than she was selling them!

      The characters were entertaining and like most cozy mysteries it had a bit of a predictable ending. I will admit she kept eliminating suspects and it wasn't until almost the end before I figured out who the killer was. I think I'll keep this series on my list for when I'm looking for a low blood pressure type of read.
    • 1/5
      I am not a particular fan of cozy mysteries, but this one was so saccharine I thought I was going into diabetic shock. There was no conflict, no threat, no doom, no gloom, no secrets, nothing. The police officer investigating the murders was tickled pink to have his sister-in-law, the cookie shop owner, doing almost all the leg work to solve the crime in the hopes he would get a promotion to detective if "he" solved it. Bleh.
    • 2/5
      Hard to even give this a 2 rating. I was hoping to find another mystery series I liked as much as Sue Grafton, Janet Evanovich, Diane Mott Davidson but this didn't even come close. The characters were only 2-dimensional and predictable, the plot was plodding -- even the recipes weren't that exciting. I unfortunately picked up another one in the series when in an airport looking for fluff reading, and I'll probably read that one, but I'm thinking that's it.
    • 4/5
      This was the first cozy mystery that I read and I was hooked thereafter. I would say that alone is quite a recommendation. I love the small town setting, the quirky characters and the excellent mystery.
    • 4/5
      Wonderful, fun mystery. Quick read with humor and suspense.
    • 4/5
      Got this as my Christmas pressie from Tim. Man, he got me hooked to this series! The heroine sounds awfully like me. Late 20's, cookie baker with a nose for mysteries and loves cats. No wonder I was hooked.And the easy and fluid way that Joanne writes - it makes for a good book to curl up to on a lazy Sunday or any busy weekday for the matter.Love it!
    • 4/5
      As the first novel in Joanne Fluke's Hannah Swensen Mysteries, we are introduced to a whole set of characters. Hannah, owner of the Cookie Jar, a bakery in Lake Eden, MN that she started when she left college because of a family emergency. Her sister Andrea, a part-time real estate agent/part-time Mom. Hannah's brother-in-law Bill, a police officer that is working towards a promotion to detective. And Hannah's mother, who is trying everything in her power to make sure Hannah doesn't die an "old maid"! One day, Hannah discovers that the delivery man from the Cozy Cow Dairy has been murdered right outside her shop, as he was following his morning schedule. And he was eating one of her famous Chocolate Chip Crunkie cookies when he was shot!! Bill is assigned to the case and enlists Hannah's help to do a little undercover detective work. Although the story was easy to read and the characters were very enjoyable, elements of the mystery weren't all that plausable. The answers to certain questions fell together a little too easy and certain clues were just too good to be true. But despite this, I enjoyed the book. And to top it off, Fluke included numerous cookies recipes that look absolutely delish!
    • 3/5
      Very light read. Hannah runs a successful bakery and when her milkman is found dead she gets involved in the investigation of the murder. I really didn't like some of the characters and had little sympathy for some of the cliches but overall it wasn't bad, just not impressive, however some of the cookie recipies are tempting.
    • 3/5
      Although the plot is not really involved, and after a while with this series you work it out quite quickly, it doesn't matter. These are really entertaining books that will have you reaching for the biscuit tin far too often. The recipes really are amazing.Really good fun books to relax with on a rainy afternoon, just watch the waistline!
    • 4/5
      Got this one to read the 119 page novella in the re-issue of this title. Very cute story about a young run away staying in the Cookie Jar over night to keep warm.
    • 3/5
      This may be fluff and sugar due to all the recipes but if you like to cook and like to read then you will enjoy it.
    • 4/5
      Hannah is a gourmet cookie maker in a small town in Minnesota. She uses her cookies and her curiosity to get behind the scenes info on a pair of homicides that have the local authorities baffled. A good mystery, some great cookie recipes, and an amusing (and accurate!) look at small town life.
    • 4/5
      The first in a series of cozy cookie related murder mysteries. Hannah Swenson, of Lake Eden, Minnesota is the owner of The Cookie Jar. While fending off her mother's attempts to match her with every single man in town, Hannah finds Ron LaSalle murdered in his truck behind her bakery with one of her famous Chocolate Chip Crunches in his hand. Hannah begins snooping and as she does more suspects turn up.
    • 4/5
      This is the first in "A Hannah Swensen Mystery"series and I have to say that I greatly enjoyed it. This is a perfect cozy mystery and a fun read - not to mention there are cookie recipes strung throughout (with a recipe index at the end) which sound sooo good and very easy to make! I will have to dig out some ingredients and give a couple of them a whirl.'Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder' starts out with the discovery of a beloved dairy delivery man, Ron, found dead in the alley, behind Hannah's bakery - The Cookie Jar. Hannah just happens to be the one to come across the body and decides to help her brother-in-law, who is the town's sheriff, find the killer. Questions arise and suspicions run rapid and it is not long before Hannah comes across another dead body. This one, the owner of the Cozy Cow Dairy, and one of the suspects on Hannah's list. Hannah begins to wonder if she will be able to solve the murders, all the while juggling a matchmaking mother, her roommate - a tabby cat named Moishe, and still be able to bake up tasty fresh baked cookies, without getting herself baked.Hannah is a delightfully fun character, as are all of the characters in 'Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder' The story is fun, the antics humorous and the writing enjoyable. I am anxious to move on to the second in the series 'Strawberry Shortcake Murder' and find out what trouble Hannah manages to stir up again.I recommend this to anyone looking for a fun cozy story. Something to just sit back, relax and de-stress with. Don't forget to add some tea or hot chocolate with a few warm cookies as you gobble up this tasty treat!
    • 5/5
      My first cozy mystery and I'm in love. took 2 days and I couldn't put it down. now I must read all the Hannah Swensen Mysteries!
    • 3/5
      Short and fun, lightweight murder mystery reading. The mystery was sufficiently tangled, the characters were a bit hit-or-miss, but nothing grated. All in all, an easy, enjoyable read. Includes some yummy-sounding recipes (I seem to be reading a lot of books with recipes lately (without any particular intention of doing so) -- someone must be telling me that I need to cook more!)

    Book preview

    Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder - Joanne Fluke

    Grace.

    Chapter One

    Hannah Swensen slipped into the old leather bomber jacket that she’d rescued from the Helping Hands thrift store and reached down to pick up the huge orange tomcat that was rubbing against her ankles. Okay, Moishe. You can have one refill, but that’s it until tonight.

    As she carried Moishe into the kitchen and set him down by his food bowl, Hannah remembered the day he’d set up camp outside her condo door. He’d looked positively disreputable, covered with matted fur and grime, and she’d immediately taken him in. Who else would adopt a twenty-five-pound, half-blind cat with a torn ear? Hannah had named him Moishe, and though he certainly wouldn’t have won any prizes at the Lake Eden Cat Fanciers’ Club, there had been an instant bond between them. They were both battle-worn—Hannah from weekly confrontations with her mother, and Moishe from his hard life on the streets.

    Moishe rumbled in contentment as Hannah filled his bowl. He seemed properly grateful that he no longer had to scrounge for food and shelter and he showed his appreciation in countless ways. Just this morning, Hannah had found the hindquarters of a mouse in the center of the kitchen table, right next to the drooping African violet that she kept forgetting to water. While most of her female contemporaries would have screamed for their husbands to remove the disgusting sight, Hannah had picked up the carcass by the tail and praised Moishe lavishly for keeping her condo rodent-free.

    See you tonight, Moishe. Hannah gave him an affectionate pat and snatched up her car keys. She was just pulling on her leather gloves, preparing to leave, when the phone rang.

    Hannah glanced at the apple-shaped wall clock, which she’d found at a garage sale. It was only six

    A.M.

    Her mother wouldn’t call this early, would she?

    Moishe looked up from his bowl with an expression that Hannah interpreted as sympathy. He didn’t like Delores Swensen and he had done nothing to hide his feelings when she’d dropped in for surprise visits at her daughter’s condo. After suffering through several pairs of shredded pantyhose, Delores had decided that she would limit her socializing to their Tuesday-night mother-daughter dinners.

    Hannah picked up the phone, cutting off the answering machine in midmessage, and sighed as she heard her mother’s voice. Hello, Mother. I’m ready to walk out the door, so we’ll have to keep this short. I’m already late for work.

    Moishe raised his tail and shook it, pointing his posterior at the phone. Hannah stifled a giggle at his antics and gave him a conspiratorial wink. No, Mother, I didn’t give Norman my phone number. If he wants to contact me, he’ll have to look it up.

    Hannah frowned as her mother went into her familiar litany on the proper way to attract a man. Their dinner last night had been a disaster. When she’d arrived at her mother’s house, Hannah had encountered two additional guests: her mother’s newly widowed neighbor, Mrs. Carrie Rhodes, and her son, Norman. Hannah had been obligated to make polite conversation with Norman over sickeningly sweet Hawaiian pot roast and a chocolate-covered nut cake from the Red Owl Grocery as their respective mothers beamed happily and remarked on what a charming couple they made.

    Look, Mother, I really have to . . . Hannah stopped and rolled her eyes at the ceiling. Once Delores got started on a subject, it was impossible to get a word in edgewise. Her mother believed that a woman approaching thirty ought to be married, and even though Hannah had argued that she liked her life the way it was, it hadn’t prevented Delores from introducing her to every single, widowed, or divorced man who’d set foot in Lake Eden.

    Yes, Mother. Norman seems very nice, but . . . Hannah winced as her mother continued to wax eloquent over Norman’s good qualities. What on earth had convinced Delores that her eldest daughter would be interested in a balding dentist, several years her senior, whose favorite topic of conversation was gum disease? Excuse me, Mother, but I’m running late and . . .

    Moishe seemed to sense that his mistress was frustrated because he reached out with one orange paw and flipped over his food bowl. Hannah stared at him in surprise for a moment, and then she began to grin.

    Gotta run, Mother. Moishe just knocked over his food bowl and I’ve got Meow Mix all over the floor. Hannah cut off her mother’s comments about Norman’s earning capabilities in midbreath and hung up the phone. Then she swept up the cat food, dumped it in the trash, and poured in fresh food for Moishe. She added a couple of kitty treats, Moishe’s reward for being so clever, and left him munching contentedly as she rushed out the door.

    Hannah hurried down the steps to the underground garage, unlocked the door to her truck, and climbed in behind the wheel. When she’d opened her business, she’d bought a used Chevy Suburban from Cyril Murphy’s car lot. She’d painted it candy-apple red, a color that was sure to attract notice wherever it was parked, and arranged for the name of her business—The Cookie Jar—to be painted in gold letters on the front doors. She’d even ordered a vanity license plate that read: COOKIES.

    As Hannah drove up the ramp that led to ground level, she met her next-door neighbor coming home. Phil Plotnik worked nights at DelRay Manufacturing, and Hannah rolled down the window to pass on the warning that their water would be shut off between ten and noon. Then she used her gate card to exit the complex and turned North onto Old Lake Road.

    The interstate ran past Lake Eden, but most of the locals used Old Lake Road to get to town. It was the scenic route, winding around Eden Lake. When the tourists arrived in the summer, some of them were confused by the names. Hannah always explained it with a smile when they asked. The lake was named Eden Lake, and the town that nestled next to its shore was called Lake Eden.

    There was a real nip in the air this morning, not unusual for the third week in October. Autumn was brief in Minnesota, a few weeks of turning leaves that caused everyone to snap photographs of the deep reds, gaudy oranges, and bright yellows. After the last leaf had fallen, leaving the branches stark and bare against the leaden skies, the cold north winds would start to blow. Then the first snowfall would arrive to the delight of the children and the stoic sighs of the adults. While sledding, ice-skating and snowball fights might be fun for the kids, winter also meant mounds of snow that had to be shoveled, virtual isolation when the roads were bad, and temperatures that frequently dropped down to thirty or even forty below zero.

    The summer people had left Eden Lake right after the Labor Day weekend to return to their snug winter homes in the cities. Their cabins on the lakeshore stood vacant, their pipes wrapped with insulation to keep them from freezing in the subzero winter temperatures, and their windows boarded up against the icy winds that swept across the frozen surface of the lake. Now only the locals were in residence and the population of Lake Eden, which nearly quadrupled over the summer months, was down to less than three thousand.

    As she idled at the stoplight on Old Lake Road and Dairy Avenue, Hannah saw a familiar sight. Ron LaSalle was standing by the dock of the Cozy Cow Dairy, loading his truck for his commercial route. By this time of the morning, Ron had finished delivering dairy products to his residential customers, placing their milk, cream, and eggs in the insulated boxes the dairy provided. The boxes were a necessity in Minnesota. They kept the contents cool in the summer and protected them from freezing in the winter.

    Ron was cupping his jaw with one hand and his pose was pensive, as if he were contemplating things more serious than the orders he had yet to deliver. Hannah would be seeing him later, when he delivered her supplies, and she made a mental note to ask him what he’d been thinking about. Ron prided himself on his punctuality and the Cozy Cow truck would pull up at her back door at precisely seven thirty-five. After Ron had delivered her daily order, he’d come into the coffee shop for a quick cup of coffee and a warm cookie. Hannah would see him again at three in the afternoon, right after he’d finished his routes. That was when he picked up his standing order, a dozen cookies to go. Ron kept them in his truck overnight so that he could have cookies for breakfast the next morning.

    Ron looked up, spotted her at the stoplight, and raised one hand in a wave. Hannah gave him a toot of her horn as the light turned green and she drove on by. With his dark wavy hair and well-muscled body, Ron was certainly easy on the eyes. Hannah’s youngest sister, Michelle, swore that Ron was every bit as handsome as Tom Cruise and she’d been dying to date him when she was in high school. Even now, when Michelle came home from Macalester College, she never failed to ask about Ron.

    Three years ago, everyone had expected the star quarterback of the Lake Eden Gulls to be drafted by the pros, but Ron had torn a ligament in the final game of his high school career, ending his hopes for a spot with the Minnesota Vikings. There were times when Hannah felt sorry for Ron. She was sure that driving a Cozy Cow delivery truck wasn’t the glorious future he’d envisioned for himself. But Ron was still a local hero. Everyone in Lake Eden remembered his remarkable game-winning touchdown at the state championships. The trophy he’d won was on display in a glass case at the high school and he volunteered his time as an unpaid assistant coach for the Lake Eden Gulls. Perhaps it was better to be a big fish in a little pond than a third-string quarterback who warmed the Vikings’ bench.

    No one else was on the streets this early, but Hannah made sure that her speedometer read well below the twenty-five-mile limit. Herb Beeseman, their local law enforcement officer, was known to lie in wait for unwary residents who were tempted to tread too heavily on the accelerator. Though Hannah had never been the recipient of one of Herb’s speeding tickets, her mother was still livid about the fine that Marge Beeseman’s youngest son had levied against her.

    Hannah turned at the corner of Main and Fourth and drove into the alley behind her shop. The square white building sported two parking spots, and Hannah pulled her truck into one of them. She didn’t bother to unwind the cord that was wrapped around her front bumper and plug it into the strip of power outlets on the rear wall of the building. The sun was shining and the announcer on the radio had promised that the temperatures would reach the high forties today. There was no need to use her head bolt heater for another few weeks, but when winter arrived and the mercury dropped below freezing, she’d need it to ensure that her engine would start.

    Once she’d opened the door and slid out of her Suburban, Hannah locked it carefully behind her. There wasn’t much crime in Lake Eden, but Herb Beeseman also left tickets on any vehicle that he found parked and unlocked. Before she could cover the distance to the rear door of the bakery, Claire Rodgers pulled up in her little blue Toyota and parked in back of the tan building next to Hannah’s shop.

    Hannah stopped and waited for Claire to get out of her car. She liked Claire and she didn’t believe the rumors that floated around town about her affair with the mayor. Hi, Claire. You’re here early today.

    I just got in a new shipment of party dresses and they have to be priced. Claire’s classically beautiful face lit up in a smile. The holidays are coming, you know.

    Hannah nodded. She wasn’t looking forward to Thanksgiving and Christmas with her mother and sisters, but it was an ordeal that had to be endured for the sake of family peace.

    You should stop by, Hannah. Claire gave her an appraising look, taking in the bomber jacket that had seen better days and the old wool watch cap that Hannah had pulled over her frizzy red curls. I have a stunning little black cocktail dress that would do wonders for you.

    Hannah smiled and nodded, but she had all she could do to keep from laughing as Claire unlocked the rear door to Beau Monde Fashions and stepped inside. Where could she wear a cocktail dress in Lake Eden? No one hosted any cocktail parties and the only upscale restaurant in town had closed down right after the tourists had left. Hannah couldn’t remember the last time she’d gone out to a fancy dinner. For that matter, she couldn’t remember the last time that anyone had asked her out on a date.

    Hannah unlocked her back door and pushed it open. The sweet smell of cinnamon and molasses greeted her, and she began to smile. She’d mixed up several batches of cookie dough last night and the scent still lingered. She flipped on the lights, hung her jacket on the hook by the door, and fired up the two industrial gas ovens that sat against the back wall. Her assistant, Lisa Herman, would be here at seven-thirty to start the baking.

    The next half hour passed quickly as Hannah chopped, melted, measured, and mixed ingredients. By trial and error, she’d found that her cookies tasted better if she limited herself to batches that she could mix by hand. Her recipes were originals, developed in her mother’s kitchen when she was a teenager. Delores thought baking was a chore and she’d been happy to delegate that task to her eldest daughter so that she could devote all of her energies to collecting antiques.

    At ten past seven, Hannah carried the last bowl of cookie dough to the cooler and stacked the utensils she’d used in her industrial-sized dishwasher. She hung up her work apron, removed the paper cap she’d used to cover her curls, and headed off to the coffee shop to start the coffee.

    A swinging restaurant-style door separated the bakery from the coffee shop. Hannah pushed it open and stepped inside, flipping on the old-fashioned globe fixtures she’d salvaged from a defunct ice-cream parlor in a neighboring town. She walked to the front windows, pulled aside the chintz curtains, and surveyed the length of Main Street. Nothing was moving; it was still too early, but Hannah knew that within the hour, the chairs that surrounded the small round tables in her shop would be filled with customers. The Cookie Jar was a meeting place for the locals, a choice spot to exchange gossip and plan out the day over heavy white mugs of strong coffee and freshly baked cookies from her ovens.

    The stainless-steel coffee urn gleamed brightly and Hannah smiled as she filled it with water and measured out the coffee. Lisa had scoured it yesterday, restoring it to its former splendor. Lisa was a pure godsend when it came to running the bakery and the coffee shop. She saw what needed to be done, did it without being asked, and had even come up with a few cookie recipes of her own to add to Hannah’s files. It was a real pity that Lisa hadn’t used her academic scholarship to go on to college, but her father, Jack Herman, was suffering from Alzheimer’s and Lisa had decided to stay home to take care of him.

    Hannah removed three eggs from the refrigerator behind the counter and dropped them, shells and all, into the bowl with the coffee grounds. Then she broke them open with a heavy spoon and added a dash of salt. Once she’d mixed up the eggs and shells with the coffee grounds, Hannah scraped the contents of the bowl into the basket and flipped on the switch to start the coffee.

    A few minutes later, the coffee began to perk and Hannah sniffed the air appreciatively. Nothing smelled better than freshly brewed coffee, and everyone in Lake Eden said that her coffee was the best. Hannah tied on the pretty chintz apron she wore for serving her customers and ducked back through the swinging door to give Lisa her instructions.

    Bake the Chocolate Chip Crunches first, Lisa. Hannah gave Lisa a welcoming smile.

    They’re already in the ovens, Hannah. Lisa looked up from the stainless-steel work surface, where she was scooping out dough with a melon-baller and placing the perfectly round spheres into a small bowl filled with sugar. She was only nineteen, ten years younger than Hannah was, and her petite form was completely swaddled in the huge white baker’s apron she wore. I’m working on the Molasses Crackles for the Boy Scout Awards Banquet now.

    Hannah had originally hired Lisa as a waitress, but it hadn’t taken her long to see that Lisa was capable of much more than pouring coffee and serving cookies. At the end of the first week, Hannah had increased Lisa’s hours from part-time to full-time and taught her to bake. Now they handled the business together, as a team.

    How’s your father today? Hannah’s voice held a sympathetic note.

    Today’s a good day. Lisa placed the unbaked tray of Molasses Crackles on the baker’s rack. Mr. Drevlow is taking him to the Seniors’ Group at Holy Redeemer Lutheran.

    But I thought your family was Catholic.

    We are, but Dad doesn’t remember that. Besides, I don’t see how having lunch with the Lutherans could possibly hurt.

    Neither do I. And it’s good for him to get out and socialize with his friends.

    That’s exactly what I told Father Coultas. If God gave Dad Alzheimer’s, He’s got to understand when Dad forgets what church he belongs to. Lisa walked to the oven, switched off the timer, and pulled out a tray of Chocolate Chip Crunches. I’ll bring these in as soon as they’re cool.

    Thanks. Hannah went back through the swinging door again and unlocked the street door to the coffee shop. She flipped the Closed sign in the window to Open, and checked the cash register to make sure there was plenty of change. She’d just finished setting out small baskets of sugar packets and artificial sweeteners when a late-model dark green Volvo pulled up in the spot by the front door.

    Hannah frowned as the driver’s door opened and her middle sister, Andrea, slid out of the driver’s seat. Andrea looked perfectly gorgeous in a green tweed jacket with politically correct fake fur around the collar. Her blond hair was swept up in a shining knot on the top of her head and she could have stepped from the pages of a glamour magazine. Even though Hannah’s friends insisted that she was pretty enough, just being in the same town with Andrea always made Hannah feel hopelessly frumpy and unsophisticated.

    Andrea had married Bill Todd, a Winnetka County deputy sheriff, right after she’d graduated from high school. They had one daughter, Tracey, who had turned four last month. Bill was a good father on his hours away from the sheriff’s station, but Andrea had never been cut out to be a stay-at-home mom. When Tracey was only six months old, Andrea had decided that they’d needed two incomes and she’d gone to work as an agent at Lake Eden Realty.

    The bell on the door tinkled and Andrea blew in with a chill blast of autumn wind, hauling Tracey behind her by the hand. Thank God you’re here, Hannah! I’ve got a property to show and I’m late for my appointment at the Cut ’n Curl.

    It’s only eight, Andrea. Hannah boosted Tracey up onto a stool at the counter and went to the refrigerator to get her a glass of milk. Bertie doesn’t open until nine.

    I know, but she said she’d come in early for me. I’m showing the old Peterson farm this morning. If I sell it, I can order new carpeting for the master bedroom.

    The Peterson farm? Hannah turned to stare at her sister in shock. Who’d want to buy that old wreck?

    It’s not a wreck, Hannah. It’s a fixer-upper. And my buyer, Mr. Harris, has the funds to make it into a real showplace.

    But why? Hannah was honestly puzzled. The Peterson place had been vacant for twenty years. She’d ridden her bicycle out there as a child and it was just an old two-story farmhouse on several acres of overgrown farmland that adjoined the Cozy Cow Dairy. Your buyer must be crazy if he wants it. The land’s practically worthless. Old man Peterson tried to farm it for years and the only things he could grow were rocks.

    Andrea straightened the collar of her jacket. The client knows that, Hannah, and he doesn’t care. He’s only interested in the farmhouse. It’s still structurally sound and it has a nice view of the lake.

    It’s sitting smack-dab in the middle of a hollow, Andrea. You can only see the lake from the top of the roof. What does your buyer plan to do, climb up on a ladder every time he wants to enjoy the view?

    Not exactly, but it amounts to the same thing. He told me that he’s going to put on a third story and convert the property to a hobby farm.

    A hobby farm?

    That’s a second home in the country for city people who want to be farmers without doing any of the work. He’ll hire a local farmer to take care of his animals and keep up the land.

    I see, Hannah said, holding back a grin. By her own definition, Andrea was a hobby wife and a hobby mother. Her sister hired a local woman to come in to clean and cook the meals, and she paid baby-sitters and day-care workers to take care of Tracey.

    You’ll watch Tracey for me, won’t you, Hannah? Andrea looked anxious. I know she’s a bother, but it’s only for an hour. Kiddie Korner opens at nine.

    Hannah thought about giving her sister a piece of her mind. She was running a business and her shop wasn’t a day-care center. But one glance at Tracey’s hopeful face changed her mind. Go ahead, Andrea. Tracey can work for me until it’s time for her to go to preschool.

    Thanks, Hannah. Andrea turned and started toward the door. I knew I could count on you.

    Can I really work, Aunt Hannah? Tracey asked in her soft little voice, and Hannah gave her a reassuring smile.

    Yes, you can. I need someone to be my official taster. Lisa just baked a batch of Chocolate Chip Crunches and I need to know if they’re good enough to serve to my customers.

    "Did you say chocolate? Andrea turned back at the door to frown at Hannah. Tracey can’t have chocolate. It makes her hyperactive."

    Hannah nodded, but she gave Tracey a conspiratorial wink. I’ll remember that, Andrea.

    I’ll see you later, Tracey, Andrea said and blew her daughter a kiss. Don’t be any trouble for your aunt Hannah, okay?

    Tracey waited until the door had closed behind her mother and then she turned to Hannah. What’s hyperactive, Aunt Hannah?

    It’s another word for what kids do when they’re having fun. Hannah came out from behind the counter and lifted Tracey off the stool. Come on, honey. Let’s go in the back and see if those Chocolate Chip Crunches are cool enough for you to sample.

    Lisa was just slipping another tray of cookies into the oven when Hannah and Tracey came in. She gave Tracey a hug, handed her a cookie from the tray that was cooling on the rack, and turned to Hannah with a frown. Ron hasn’t come in yet. Do you suppose he’s out sick?

    Not unless it came on suddenly. Hannah glanced at the clock on the wall. It was eight-fifteen and Ron was almost forty-five minutes late. I saw him two hours ago when I drove past the dairy, and he looked just fine to me.

    I saw him, too, Aunt Hannah. Tracey tugged on Hannah’s arm.

    You did? When was that, Tracey?

    The cow truck went by when I was waiting outside the realty office. Mr. LaSalle waved at me and he gave me a funny smile. And then Andrea came out with her papers and we came to see you.

    Andrea? Hannah looked down at her niece in surprise.

    She doesn’t like me to call her Mommy anymore because it’s a label and she hates labels, Tracey did her best to explain. I’m supposed to call her Andrea, just like everybody else.

    Hannah sighed. Perhaps it was time to have a talk with her sister about the responsibilities of motherhood. Are you sure you saw the Cozy Cow truck, Tracey?

    Yes, Aunt Hannah. Tracey’s blond head bobbed up and down confidently. It turned at your corner and went into the alley. And then I heard it make a loud bang, just like Daddy’s car. I knew it came from the cow truck because there weren’t any other cars.

    Hannah knew exactly what Tracey meant. Bill’s old Ford was on its last legs and it backfired every time he eased up on the gas. Ron’s probably out there tinkering with his truck. I’ll go and see.

    Can I come with Aunt Hannah?

    Stay with me, Tracey, Lisa spoke up before Hannah could answer. You can help me listen for the bell and wait on any customers that come into the coffee shop.

    Tracey looked pleased. Can I bring them their cookies, Lisa? Just like a real waitress?

    Absolutely, but it’s got to be our secret. We wouldn’t want your dad to bust us for violating the child-labor laws.

    What does ‘bust’ mean, Lisa? And why would my daddy do it?

    Hannah grinned as she slipped into her jacket and listened to Lisa’s explanation. Tracey questioned everything, and it drove Andrea to distraction. Hannah had attempted to tell her sister that an inquiring mind was a sign of intelligence, but Andrea just didn’t have the necessary patience to deal with her bright four-year-old.

    As Hannah pulled open the door and stepped out, she was greeted by a strong gust of wind that nearly threw her off balance. She pushed the door shut behind her, shielded her eyes from the blowing wind, and walked forward to peer down the alley. Ron’s delivery truck was parked sideways near the mouth of the alley, blocking the access in both directions. The driver’s door was partially open and Ron’s legs were dangling out.

    Hannah moved forward, assuming that Ron was stretched out on the seat to work on the wiring that ran under the dash. She didn’t want to startle him and cause him to bump his

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