Blackberry Pie Murder by Joanne Fluke

Blackberry Pie Murder (Hannah Swensen Mysteries)

by Joanne Fluke

It's been a sleepy summer for the folks of Lake Eden, Minnesota. In fact, it's been a whole four months since anyone in the Swensen family has come across a dead body—a detail that just made the front page of the local paper. And that means Hannah Swensen can finally focus on her bakery.  .  .or can she?

Life is never really quiet for Hannah. After all, her mother's wedding is a little over a month away and guess who Delores put in charge of the planning? Yet just when Hannah believes her biggest challenge will be whether to use buttercream or fondant for the wedding cake, she accidentally hits a stranger with her cookie truck while driving down a winding country road in a raging thunderstorm. Hannah is wracked with guilt, and things get even worse when she's arrested.  .  .for murder! But an autopsy soon reveals the mystery man, his shirt covered in stains from blackberry pie, would have died even if Hannah hadn't hit him. Now, to clear her name, Hannah will have to follow a trail of pie crumbs to track down the identity of the deceased, find a baker who knows more about murder than how to roll out a perfect pie crust—and get herself to the church on time.  .  .

Indulge In Joanne Fluke's Criminally Delicious Hannah Swensen Mysteries!

Red Velvet Cupcake Murder

"Culinary Cozies Don't Get Any Tastier Than This Winning series." —Library Journal

"Loaded with mouthwatering recipes and clever plotting, the latest Hannah Swensen mystery delights." —RT Book Reviews

"If your reading habits alternate between curling up with a good mystery or with a good cookbook, you ought to know about Joanne Fluke." —The Charlotte Observer

Cinnamon Roll Murder

"Fans of this wildly popular series will not be disappointed. Fluke has kept this series strong for a long time, and there is still plenty to enjoy for foodie crime fans." —Booklist

Devil's Food Cake Murder

"Fabulous." —Publishers Weekly

Apple Turnover Murder

"The ever popular Fluke writes engaging cozies with one part great characters, one part gentle story, and three parts the best recipes in the genre." —Library Journal

Cream Puff Murder

"Entertaining and sprinkled with tempting recipes. It's a sweet treat of a novel." —The Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN)

Reviewed by Mystereity Reviews on

2 of 5 stars

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More like 2 1/2 stars. Not as bad as the last one, but the inane dialogue prevents it from being better. While never a hip, snappy series, it is getting a bit maudlin and the dialogue sounds dated. In some places, it reads like an 80s sitcom. The plot itself was interesting and was the only thing that kept me from chucking the whole thing.
The whole scene where Hannah was arrested was just...ridiculous. In fact, the whole plot point was just ridiculous. If Hannah should be arrested for anything, it should be for suggesting a graham cracker crust for a buttermilk pie.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 31 March, 2014: Finished reading
  • 31 March, 2014: Reviewed