Apple Turnover Murder Bundle: Key Lime Pie Murder, Cherry Cheesecake Murder, Lemon Meringue Pie Murder and an EXTENDED excerpt of Devil's Food Cake Murder

by Joanne Fluke

Apple Turnover MurderThe Luscious Los Angeles Times And USA Today Bestseller! Early summer brings plenty of work for baker Hannah Swensen, even before Mayor Bascomb's wife drops by The Cookie Jar to place an order for her charity event. . .for eleven-hundred cookies! And Hannah almost flips when her business partner, Lisa, suggests setting up an apple turnover stand. But she places her faith in Lisa and agrees to be a magician's assistant in the fundraiser's talent show. . . Key Lime Pie MurderNew York Times BestsellerIt 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? Cherry Cheesecake MurderHannah Swensen and her bakery, The Cookie Jar, bask in the glow of Hollywood glamour when Main Street becomes a movie set. And although tensions simmer as the cameras roll, no one expects the action to turn deadly. . .until it's too late. . . There's no such thing as privacy in Lake Eden, but Hannah never thought things would go this far. Everyone has been telling her what to do ever since she got not one but two marriage proposals. Movie mania soon shoves Hannah's marriage dilemma into the background and even gives her cat a shot at stardom. The Cookie Jar serves as snack central with Main Street rented out for the week. She stirs lots of fresh gossip, whipping up treats for cast and crew, including demanding director Dean Lawrence's favorite--cherry cheesecake.Lemon Meringue Pie MurderHannah Swensen thought she'd finally discovered the recipe for a perfect life. But her sometime beau Norman Rhodes tosses a surprise ingredient into the mix when he phones to tell her he's just bought a house from local drugstore clerk Rhonda Scharf--which he plans to tear down in order to build the dream home he and Hannah designed. It seems the plan has been cooking for quite some time, and Hannah's shocked. Especially since her ring finger is still very much bare. . .The good news is that the soon-to-be-torn-down house is full of antiques--and Norman has given Hannah and her mother first dibs. They uncover some gorgeous old furniture, a patchwork quilt. . .and Rhonda Scharf's dead body. A little more sleuthing turns up the half-eaten remains of a very special dinner for two--and one of The Cookie Jar's famous lemon meringue pies. Now it's up to Hannah to turn up the heat--and get busy tracking down clues. Starting in her very own kitchen. . .

Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery

1459 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2011

About the author

Like Hannah Swensen, Joanne Fluke grew up in a small town in rural Minnesota where her neighbors were friendly, the winters were fierce, and the biggest scandal was the spotting of unidentified male undergarments on a young widow's clothesline. She insists that there really are 10,000 lakes and the mosquito is NOT the state bird.

While pursuing her writing career, Joanne has worked as: a public school teacher, a psychologist, a musician, a private detective's assistant, a corporate, legal, and pharmaceutical secretary, a short order cook, a florist's assistant, a caterer and party planner, a computer consultant on a now-defunct operating system, a production assistant on a TV quiz show, half of a screenwriting team with her husband, and a mother, wife, and homemaker.

She now lives in Southern California with her husband, her kids, his kids, their three dogs, one elderly tabby, and several noisy rats in the attic.

Series:
* Hannah Swensen

Reviews

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

Catching up on reviews... read all these during the holidays, but sometimes they are part of another author's collection, so I want to be sure to give this book its rightful review too. Great LIGHT mystery series with tasty recipes. Give them a chance.

[Ms. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ridiculous books. Embarrassing, like eating too many donuts. Can't imagine why I like this genre so much, but I do! If you removed every reference to drinking coffee, the books would lose 1/3 their volume. I still prefer Diane Mott Davidson, but enjoyed these, even though the love triangle thing got on my nerves. I would not recommend these to anyone I know unless they share my strange fascination with pastry chefs who solve REALLY hokey murders.

[Tammy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This review refers to the ebook version of the bundle.

I read the first book in the series and then bought this bundle. I like the series alright but have to say that I prefer the Suzanne Heart character in Jessica Beck's Donut Shop Mystery series. Just a personal opinion. Also, the order of the books in the bundle was all mixed up. I didn't expect them to be "consecutive" in order but at least chronologically in order would have been good. It was jarring going back and forth in time and that did affect my enjoyment.

Apple Turnover Murder #13
Key Lime Pie Murder #9
Cherry Cheesecake Murder #8
Lemon Meringue Pie Murder #4

[Pamela Mclaren · Rating 3 out of 5]

These are cute, easy to read and relaxing mysteries that provide a sure fire fun read. The main character is Hannah Swensen, a baker and owner of a cookie shop in a small Minnesota town. The stories are all about "incidents" that happen in and around the town and somehow Hannah and her two boyfriends, the town dentist and a police detective, get involved. The stories flow around Hannah and efforts to solve the mysteries, all while running her own business (hence the recipes in each book) and her life with mom, sisters and beaus. They were great to read after nonfiction and thrillers but that shouldn't sell them short. They are good reads.

[Betsey · Rating 2 out of 5]

Quick read - series gets repetitive. Great recipes and a mystery to solve.

[Julie Barrett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Apple Turnover Murder Bundle: Key Lime Pie Murder, Cherry Cheesecake Murder, Lemon Meringue Pie Murder and an EXTENDED excerpt of Devil's Food Cake Murder
...
Apple Turnover Murder by Joanne Fluke
Have enjoyed this series and not sure if it'll ever end as I've read of Hannah getting married in the last book.
This one starts out with Hannah baking for a 3 day event. Brad, an old professor comes for the event and he is murdered. Hannah and others in town help to gather the clues.
A local was using the professor, an ex wife and you'll never guess who actually killed him.
Recipes every other chapter round this book out.
I received this book from National Library Service for my BARD (Braille Audio Reading Device).
..
Key lime pie murder_ a Hannah Swensen mystery with recipes by Fluke_ Joanne
Hannah is a judge for the county fair but she finds another judge dead. Hannah proceeds to gather clues, find out who wanted her dead and who has an alibi.
She also is involved with Mike the cop and the dentist Norman. You wonder if she will ever pick one! Love the characters and Hannah's family and people who run nearby shops in town.
So funny how her sister Andrea bought it that oatmeal was their mothers cure for getting gray hairs as Andrea has found a few on her head LOL
I received this book from National Library Service for my BARD (Braille Audio Reading Device).
.
Cherry Cheesecake Murder by Joanne Fluke
This story starts out with Hannah's mother and she's on her case to come to a decision as to who to marry: Mike or Norman and to let the loser down softly.
Problem is a show comes to town and casts a lot of the regulars and the producer is a guy Hannah went to college with: Russ.
She is baking a cherry cheesecake 2x a day for the director at $50 each along with desserts for the crew after lunch.
Hannah does what she does best-finding clues as to who saw the man last before he was killed. So unpredictable.
Hannah gets so close to being part of a murder when she questions the right person...
Recipes every other chapter. Charts for conversions are also included.
I received this book from National Library Service for my BARD (Braille Audio Reading Device).
...
Lemon Meringue Murder Mystery by Joanne Fluke
This story starts out with Hannah and she's agreed to be a witness for Norman, he's buying a house and plans to knock it down, on the lake, and build the house they designed.
EVERYBODY thinks she's to wed him but he's not even asked. When they and her mother head to the house to get some old antique items Delores finds a dead body...
Hannah questions a lot of others to find out who was at the house and who had seen the person last to put the clues together to solve the mystery.
Always a lot going on, Michelle shows up for college break and there are many changes with her, a murder occurs and Hannah is on, she didn't realize there was a pool as to how long it'd be til she signed up.
Learned a few new things with photography and other general information that would be coming in handy, along with special ingredients in cookies.
Baking conversion charts are also listed at the end.
Recipes every other chapter. Charts for conversions are also included.
I received this book from National Library Service for my BARD (Braille Audio Reading Device).

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read these books as a break from the books I have been reading. They are fun light reading, I love Hannah Swenson and her sisters! Joanne Fluke adds recipes at the end of the majority of the chapters, if you like cooking, these books are the best for you!

[Janeen Pasquill · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoy this series. The characters are fun and the mystery is usually good and not a no brainer. I like that you don't have to read it in order.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the Hannah Swenson books. If you love clean and fun mysteries, look to the books from Joanne Fluke.

[Cathie Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really like the Apple Turnover Murder book. It was a fun read. I like the characters and the plot. And it had a tense of suspense. Recommend.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series of books were fun and light reading. Hannah is a baker, who is about 20 pounds over weight. She has two boy friends, she is thirty, and she isn't ready to get married. She is part owner of the Cookie Jar, and they make wonderful cookies. The books are full of recipes, which hurried over. Hannah has three sisters, and a mother, who is always trying to get her married. Hannah has a habit of finding dead bodies. Hannah and her family and friends help to solve the murders. Hannah lives in a small town, and the stories revolve around her small town life.

[Lisa · Rating 1 out of 5]

I tried to like these books, I really did.

I do like the recipes within the book, it's a great concept. They are great recipes, but the books are not.

I find the books focus on the baked goods, go into descriptive detail about each treat, from the baking process, to the tasting. The main story is mediocre at best. I found it severely lacking in everything.

I am an avid baker, so after I could not force myself to read any more of the story, I went through for the recipes specifically and wrote them out. They have all turned out great!

[Amanda Nelson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is my first foray into this series. I don't understand why this bundle was not only not a set of consecutive novels, but not even in chronological order. The price was right, I guess. The books are entertaining enough, but there are a few things that drive me up the wall when reading them. For example, the author seems to think that everything is unique to Minnesota, from hot muggy summers and mosquitoes to ending sentences in prepositions. It makes me wonder if she has ever traveled outside of Minnesota.

[Kim j · Rating 1 out of 5]

Because I could not findApple Turnover by itself I used the bundle for this review. These books are more filled with recipes than anything else. I never tried the recipes but if they are anything like the books I am thankful because these stories have no substance. The love triangle is ridiculous and now the stories are. Anyone can see that no company would offer anyone such a ridiculous offer and the cured stomach ache? Awful series!!!

[Joanna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not my ideal type of book although I will read anything people give me (I'm also currently reading a textbook on engine repair). My mom has lent me numerous books from this series. It's not my favorite genre but I will say the Diane Mott Davidson books are better than these. I found more mistakes and flimsier storylines from the Joanne Fluke books and I think they went a little over board with the coffee references.

[Kay (Brigidsmomma) Compton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh. I really have to say I am not overly impressed with these books, and especially not in this anthology set since the books are NOT in chronological order, but rather, reverse-chronological order. Too confusing with the 2 boyfriend thing going on... this detracts from the enjoyment of reading a mystery as it gets in the way of the real plot line. Not something I will read again, and I think I will skip further forays into the Series as well.

[Kari · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read Apple Pie Turnover - don't know why I can't find it listed by itself here.
An old "flame" from Hannah's college comes to town. He seduced younger sister Michelle in the same way. ANd now he's dead, and Hannah helps to find the killer. Tension between the Norman/Mike choice is getting strained.

[Trish · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good books. Easy read. Kind of like Jessica Fletcher but with cookies!
Makes me want to bake a batch of cookies! Bought this on my Kobo. Didn't like that the books were out of order. I am also not liking that my Kobo Vox search function is extremely limited and I am having trouble getting back to any of the recipes I wanted to try.

[Reen Graham · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's always fun to escape reality into the world of Hannah. Wish I could live in that perfect community. I found many typos that distracted from the reading experience. I would read these stories despite the typos. Entertaining and at times tongue in cheek. A fictional character I can relate to and enjoy.

[Arow · Rating 3 out of 5]

First Read: June 8th to 10th, 2011 - 3 stars
Second Read: February 25th to February 27th, 2015 - 3 stars

[Natalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just finished reading the Apple Turnover and Key Lime Pie books in thjs series. Both were very good & I love all the recipes included!

[Christine Lussier · Rating 3 out of 5]

e-book returned itself to the library before I could finish! Another day...

[Betty · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this set on my Kindle for about $5. It was great not having to look for another book when I finished one of them.

[Cyndy Gleave · Rating 4 out of 5]

Goodies and mystery with a touch of romance and even some suspense. I think I'd like Hannah's Cookie Jar. and the recipes are very easy to follow

[Pilla · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked these! The only problem is that I am dying for cookies while reading them. They're light reading. I tried the mocha balls recipe and it came out great. I'll be trying more of the recipes.

[Di · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoy these mysteries, easily read, and light hearted. I do wish they had put them in the book in the order they were written.

[Mary Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved having 4 books in one place.

[Jacquie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wish the books had been in chronical logical order.