My Series-ous Reading takes a taste of Carrot Cake Murder

Welcome back, folks, to more of my Series-ous Reading challenge , where I tackle several titles within a book series. One of my constant reads here has been Joanne Fluke's Hannah Swensen mysteries-which I inadvertently got my mother interested in and now she's surpassed me!-and now it was time for a piece of Carrot Cake Murder.

As always, the action is set in the small Minnesota town of Lake Eden where Hannah is helping out with a family reunion. Her partner in the Cookie Jar bakery, Lisa, is having her new husband Herb's relatives join in for the fun with her own family and everyone loves that title baked treat that Hannah makes and is more than happy to contribute.

A real surprise occurs when a long gone family member shows up-Lisa's Uncle Gus, who simply took off one day and no one has heard from him since. The reception he gets is a mixed batch as many are pleased to see him yet others still remember the trouble he caused back in the day:

Uncle Gus and his flashy ways don't exactly thrill Hannah but he does at least like her carrot cake so much that he insists upon another platter for himself!

She's happy to oblige in that department although it is disconcerting the next day when Hannah discovers that sweet treat was his last meal. Fortunately it wasn't her baking that did him in.

She finds Gus(who was nowhere to be found for a group photo) stabbed with an ice pick straight in the heart in the lake side pavilion that the families were using for the reunion.  For once, police detective Mike Kingston is not against Hannah taking part in the investigation-in fact, he openly asks for her help(more on that in a moment)!

 While it's uncertain who did him in, the possibility is raised that perhaps Lisa's Alzheimer affected father Jack might have been settling an old score with Gus that fateful evening.

 Since the family wants Hannah to look into this matter before that suspicion surfaced(and Jack is such a good natured soul to begin with), she's doubly determined to solve the case and keep the reunion on track.

It does help that Gus is a rather unlikable fellow(and as it turns out, a bit of a sleaze) when reading this story as a couple of good humorous moments pop up along the way.

 One chapter has a great sitcom style gag where just about every woman of a certain age pulls Hannah aside to let her know that Gus had a baseball themed tattoo(doubts about him actually being Gus crop up among the relatives there) on a nether region that would positively identify him. Even Hannah's ladylike at all times mother Delores chimes in on that subject!

Also, an interesting debate for an East Coast gal like me is introduced as some question Gus saying "casserole" instead of "hot dish" when referring to a certain warm offering at one of the many large meals at the reunion. I'm not sure of the difference myself but it's a nice side dish of a discussion to have:

Now for the Mike vs. Norman talk-to be fair, Mike does ask for Hannah to do some inside digging on the case, given that the families involved know her well.

 And yes, he gives Hannah a few insights into the investigation but she catches on quick that he's getting more than he's giving here.

While that can be understandable to a point, Mike also happens to be making the same mistake of entertaining a flirty female co-worker in public while thinking that it's completely innocent on both sides. Seriously, how is Mike supposed to be such a savvy detective yet can't pick up on rather obvious clues from the women around him?

Meanwhile, Team Norman scores a lot of points in this outing, with Norman not only going above and beyond to help Hannah with the case(he even flies to Atlantic City at one point to follow up a lead!), when her cat Moishe is acting bored and restless, Norman picks up a Kitty Kondo and sets it up in her home. While he did tell Hannah that it was part of a two-for-one sale(yep, Norman also has a cat, which gets him a gold star in my book), more likely than not, he paid full price for it.

Granted, I do know that Hannah makes a third choice in romance later on down the road but come on, honey-Norman is a keeper in more ways than one!

Anyway, this tale ends well and despite carrot cake being the title theme, other edibles take the spotlight here such as Red Velvet cookies, which help to boost Jack's memories about his long ago bout with Gus. They do sound tasty and perhaps they'll get a delicious entry of their own in this sweet series someday:

For the next Series-ous Reading selection, I pick up my mini challenge known as Second Acts to take up the second Maggie Hope WWII adventure from Susan Elia MacNeal.

In Princess Elizabeth's Spy, Maggie has just finished her training with MI5 but instead of being sent out into the war zone, she's assigned to tutor the title princess in math at Windsor Castle. While it's not the duty she wanted to have, it becomes clear that this new post is not merely a royal babysitting job.

When a murder happens on the castle grounds, Maggie finds her new skills put to the test and her newly formed bond with young Princess Elizabeth making this situation all the more personally compelling.

One of the things that I enjoy about this series is how much of it reminds me of Agent Carter, a show that was canceled far too soon, if you ask me. I really should have a rewatch of that series(there are only two seasons of it, alas!) at some point,especially during this necessary time period of indoor activities. A good book and a great show sound like perfect distractions for this troubling moment in history and I hope all of you have a pop culture pairing like that on hand right now: