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Candy Cane Murder
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Manufacturer: Kensington
Author: Joanne Fluke, Laura Levine, Leslie Meier
Publisher: Kensington
Average Customer Rating:
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Candy Cane Murder Description
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.087208
EAN: 9780758221988
ISBN: 0758221983
Label: Kensington
Manufacturer: Kensington
Number Of Items: 1
Book Pages: 288
Publication Date: 2007-10-01
Publisher: Kensington
Studio: Kensington
Editorial Review of Candy Cane Murder
"Candy Cane Murder" by Joanne Fluke
Bakery owner Hannah Swensen feels a little stuffed in her elf costume--but it's too late to count calories. Lake Eden's annual Christmas gala is upon her and eager children are waiting. Wayne Bergstrom, owner of Bergstrom's Department Store, happily ho-ho-hos his way through the festivities in his Santa suit. But when a trail of candy canes leads to his corpse in a snow bank, Hannah must find Kris Kringle's killer.
"The Dangers of Candy Canes" by Laura Levine
When a wealthy suburbanite takes a lethal tumble off his roof while installing a giant candy cane, the roofing contractor being held responsible for murder asks freelance writer Jaine Austen to investigate. But solving this untimely holiday death means delving into the cutthroat Christmas decorating wars among scheming neighbors with dirty secrets in their stocking. It takes a fruitcake hiding a weapon and a stunning confrontation to expose the mastermind of this holiday murder.
"Candy Canes of Christmas Past" by Leslie Meier
Twenty-some years ago, Lucy Stone arrived in Tinker Cove, Maine, and discovered her knack for solving mysteries when she met Miss Tilly, the town librarian, whose mother took a fatal fall down the basement stairs one Christmas Eve. The "accident" left a cloud of suspicion on Miss Tilly's father and a slew of other suspects. The only clue was a glass candy cane found smashed to bits by the victim's body. Now Lucy must learn the mystery of the glass candy cane as she unlocks the doors of Christmas past, exposing secrets, scandal, and a killer who got away with murder.
Whether a gift for yourself or that special someone on your list, there's no better way to spend the holidays than with these tantalizing mysteries of murder...
Includes over 15 scrumptious holiday recipes!
Santa gets bludgeoned, neighbors knock neighbors off their light-festooned roofs and householders nearly blow themselves into next year cooking Yule dinner in this triple-decker helping of holiday cheer.
Fluke gives her regular sleuth the starring role in the saga of Santa's sad demise. Hannah Swenson finds skinflint department-store magnate Wayne Bergstrom with his neck broken after playing St. Nick at the Lake Eden Inn's gala. Even her boyfriend, Detective Mike Kingston, knows Hannah's going to investigate, although he tells her for the record to leave it to the professionals. Levine's Jaine Austen, a freelance writer who can resist anything but temptation, is in a holiday tizzy trying to clear Seymour Fiedler, proud proprietor of "Fiedler on the Roof Roofers," of the charge that he doctored the roofing tiles that led to irascible Garth Janken's untimely demise. And Meier takes Lucy Stone back in time, as Christmas with her grandson Patrick reminds her of her first Christmas in Tinker's Cove. Their house on Red Top Road was a mess, she was pregnant with her second child and her husband Bill tried to fix the pilot light on their cantankerous stove, causing an explosion that burned his arms. When librarian Julia Tilley comes to her rescue, Lucy in return tackles the mysterious death of Miss Tilley's mother.
Like a box of holiday chocolates, this recipe-studded assortment gives all readers a crack at their favorites. -- KIRKUS REVIEWS
Customer Reviews of Candy Cane Murder
Review Summary: A Tasty Holiday Treat!
Review: This would be a great book for a Christmas present for those who love cozy mysteries. It's a collection of three short novellas by three well-known cozy writers and the stories are all about Christmas. I read this mostly because I absolutely love Joanne Fluke and her Hannah Swenson mysteries, and this story called Candy Cane Murder is a good one. We have all our favourites here - Hannah and her sisters, Norman and Mike and of course, Hannah's mother. Like all her stories this one is a page-turner. The story is all about when a local guy dressed as Santa is found dead outside the inn with candy canes everywhere. Of course, Hannah needs to find the killer. The second story is called The Dangers of Candy Canes and is written by Laura Levine. I have not read Laura Levine before, and I don't think I'll make the attempt after reading this book. I found it silly and Jaine Austin (her heroine) is too ditzy for my liking. I did enjoy Ms. Leslie Meier's Candy Canes of Christmas Past though, and I think I will read more about her heroine Lucy Stone. In this book, set at Christmas in 1983, Lucy is trying to solve a decades old murder for a friend of hers in her new home of Tinker's Cove, Maine. I really liked this, and I will definitely add Ms. Meier's name to my to-be read-list.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: It Being Christmas and All, I'm Feeling Generous
Review: Under normal circumstances, this book would probably warrant a 1-star review, but I'm feeling in the holiday spirit.
UGH! I cannot believe Fluke's writing. How on earth do her editors let her get away with these totally unbelievable plot lines? I feel like she wrote herself into a corner on this one and came up with the double Santa explanation to get herself out of a hard spot. It just does not hold up at all. And why don't Mike and the Sheriff just retire and let Hannah, Andrea, et al, take over fighting crime? The way the medical examiner would provide info to them at the drop of a hat??? Whatever.
The other two stories weren't bad. The Lucy Stone one was actually kind of cute, seeing some of the regular characters in their early days of meeting each other. But that story was pretty lame, as well.
The middle one -- whew. What can I say except it rivals Fluke's for sheer unbelievability? (If I were arrested for suspicion of murder, my first call would be to an attorney, not to the chick who wrote my Yellow Pages ad).
Read this if you are desperate for some Christmassy murder. But don't expect too much.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Three very different stories
Review: I didn't realize - even after I started reading it - that this was three stories in one book! I simple saw `Joanne Fluke' and snatched up the book. Hence I was a little shocked when her mystery - the first one - came to a rather abrupt halt. While the first three-quarters of the story was intriguing and well written, with all the characters fans of the series know and love (or hate), the end seemed so fast and unsatisfying. Like a sitcom 30-second wrap-up. The recipe for making cookies out of cake mix and cool whip, on the other hand, is incredible.
I actually enjoyed the other stories more than Fluke's. They seemed more balanced and well-paced for short stories. I particularly enjoyed the heroine (Jaine) in "The Dangers of Candy Canes". She was likeable for her imperfections and had a great attitude. The mystery was simple enough, straightforward and enjoyable. The final story was much slower, told as a flashback, and there was no real sense of tension or doom - still, it was interesting and well-written.
Overall, each of the stories was very different in atmosphere and pacing, and all of them were good in their own way. Even if you're not a huge fan of Fluke, I'd suggest reading the other two if you're a fan of simple, light mysteries and good characters.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Candy Canes, Warm and Comfortable
Review: This is one of the most wonderful, charming, interesting, and fun books that I have ever read. I was very satisfied when I finished it. This book is three books in one, by three different authors. All three books are fun, very well-written, clever, and entertaining.
"Candy Cane Murder" by Joanne Fluke:
The first book is by Joanne Fluke. Anybody who reads my reviews knows how crazy I am over the Hannah Swensen series, and this book is no exception.
This book starts out with Hannah at the Christmas party, dressed up as an elf. They are having a dinner and invited the children at the children's home. Hannah has a bucket of miniature candy canes for the children, and is looking forward to making candy cane cookies with the leftovers. When leaving the party, Hannah and her sisters find a miniature candy cane. . . Hannah also finds a body. I will not say more about the candy cane because I do not want to ruin the book.
There are lots of clever clues and fun adventures. The final solving of the mystery is very interesting and clever. And the recipes really look good. On a scale of 1 to 5, a hundred stars would not be enough for Joanne Fluke's part.
"The Dangers of Candy Canes" by Laura Levine:
While putting a huge, decorative neon candy cane on a roof, the person falls off because a shingle is loose. Was the roofer negligant in making sure the shingle was in place, or did someone deliberately loosen the shingle? Jaine is determined to find out. She goes on some interesting investigative adventures until she finds out who did it. The mystery solving was interesting.
This book was fun and funny. I had never read anything by this author before. By itself, this book would definitely have been 5 stars. Actually, a lot more than that. Five stars would not have been enough.
"Candy Canes of Christmas Past" by Leslie Meier:
Lucy, the main character, reflects on her first Christmas in Tinkers Cove, Maine as a young wife and mother. She makes friends with Miss Tilley and Sue Finch (and others). A glass candy cane makes Miss Tilley remember the death of her mother, which was many years ago. I will not say how the candy cane makes her remember, because I do not want to ruin the book for those who haven't read it. Lucy solves her first mystery that year: she solves the mystery of Miss Tilley's mother's death, even though it was many years ago. I enjoyed the mystery solving; it was really clever.
I love the atmosphere of this book. Lucy is taken back in time when she was a struggling new wife and mother. Her little boy, Toby, is sweet and adorable. Their house needs a lot of costly repairs. Even though those times seem hard and bad, those were actually the "good ole days". I know this because I have been reading the Lucy Stone series, and as the series progresses, and the kids get older, and Lucy and her husband are doing better financially, the atmosphere isn't quite as good and sentimental. But this story is more like one of the original books of the series, back when it was one of my favorite series.
On a scale of 1 to 5, a hundred stars are not enough.
This entire book as a whole:
This is one of the best books I've ever read. All 3 novellas were wonderful, clever, fun, interesting, and entertaining. If you like fun, warm, comfortable cozy mysteries, I highly recommend this book.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Ms Fluke comes up short
Review: To begin with, the badge name is incorrect,I am Laura Larkin.
I have read all of Ms Fluke's cookie mysteries and enjoyed them - I even tried some of the recipes and a couple became part of my holiday cookie baking. BUT this book was disappointing, the brevity of the story was the first disappointment, secondly, in the Chocolate Candy Cane Cookie recipe, Ms Fluke explains how to melt the chocolate and butter then never says to add it. The story seemed rushed, and not well thought out. The second story by Ms Levine was trite and annoying-especially the "comments" by her cat. One gets the feeling Ms Levine never owned a cat and blended the personality traits from Garfield and Heathcliff comics. The last story by Ms Meier was well constructed and an enjoyable read. The publisher should have proofread the manuscripts and advertised the book as being three short Christmas mysteries rather than another Fluke mystery novel with other authors.