Cake Murder (A Hannah Swensen Mystery)

It was many years ago, during the Christmas season, that young Hannah Swensen's greatest wish was to become the go-to baker in Lake Eden, Minnesota. However, as Hannah soon discovers, revisiting holiday memories can lead to a far more sinister outcome.

With her dream of opening The Cookie Jar taking shape, Hannah's life is a whirlwind of activity, mirroring the hectic pace of the December festivities in Lake Eden. This becomes even more evident when she agrees to help recreate a spectacular Christmas Ball from the past, in honor of Essie Granger, an elderly local resident who is currently in hospice care.

Rather than immersing herself in the decadent dessert recipes necessary for the merry festivities, Hannah finds herself instantly captivated by Essie's old notebooks, which reveal a fascinating tale of a woman escaping danger on the streets of New York.

Hannah is surprised to discover Essie's secret talent for penning crime fiction, and she is even more surprised when the story takes an unexpected turn, becoming all too real. As Hannah prepares to run her own bakery and move out of her mother's house, it will take a true miracle for her to prevent another Yuletide disaster by solving a mystery as dense and complex as a Christmas fruitcake.

Features over a dozen cookie and dessert recipes from The Cookie Jar, the bakery at the heart of Hannah's world. "Series fans will enjoy learning how the Cookie Jar bakery came to be," notes Publishers Weekly.

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