Sweetening the end of summer with my Series-ous Reading serving of Apple Turnover Murder

With summer technically over(I know the first official day of fall is a couple of weeks away), I am so looking forward to the fall season of crisp leaves, cool temperatures and hearty meals.

That is probably why my Series-ous Reading selection was Apple Turnover Murder , the 13th entry in Joanne Fluke's Hannah Swensen mystery novels. Granted, the story takes place in June but apple desserts just have that autumn flavor to them, in my opinion.

This time out, Hannah is busy as a bee during the early summer season yet can't help but to add some extra work by catering specially made treats to several charity events(a last minute request from the mayor's wife).

 Her business partner Lisa comes up with the idea for the title pastry, which is meant to tie in the theme of "turning over a new leaf", something that a new arrival from Hannah's past is clearly not capable of doing.

College professor Bradford Ramsey, who pops in at the end of the previous book Plum Pudding Murder(which I read out of order), acts as if he doesn't know Hannah from when she was a grad student having a secret romance with him. What he didn't tell her then was the real reason for keeping things on the quiet was that he was married, a most unwelcome surprise that caused Hannah to cut their relationship and her college education short.

Bradford happens to be one of her younger sister Michelle's teachers, making Hannah extra nervous about being around him, not to mention concern for her sibling's welfare. When Hannah does run into Bradford backstage at a local talent show, he not only remember her, he insists that they hook up again or his wandering eye will focus on Michelle!

Those are fighting words indeed and Hannah gives him what for on that score. However, their next encounter is awkward in more ways than one as she finds him stabbed to death with one of her turnovers by his sleazy side:

While Hannah is savvy enough to let police detective/occasional boyfriend Mike in on her past with Bradford, she doesn't do the same for gentleman caller number two Norman(which I'll get to in a moment).

 Fortunately, that omission doesn't impact the case which is tricky given the numerous suspects due to Bradford's wayward habits with the ladies, including a couple of ex-wives.

In this particular book, the murder in question is fitted tightly between two subplots, one of which has Hannah's middle sister Andrea in a panic. Seems as if her police chief husband Bill is being strongly recruited by a security firm and taking that job would require them to move to Florida, a fate worse than death in Andrea's eyes!

Look, I'm not crazy about warm weather all the time places either but leaving Lake Eden wouldn't be so bad for a small town gal like Andrea-sure, adjusting would be difficult yet it would also be an opportunity to widen her family's horizons there. After all, a real estate whiz like her would do well anywhere and if this was a good move for Bill to make, it would be worth considering.

Despite Bill's refusal of each offer(the whole thing turns out to be a weird scam), she still persists in freaking out over the mere chance that he might say yes-Andrea, honey, you're acting all wacky cake about this,seriously chill with some chocolate there!:

The biggest plot development,however, is between Hannah and Norman. As I said earlier, Hannah was right to tell Mike about her priors with Bradford(keeps her from being a suspect) but when given the same chance to tell Norman, she doesn't.

Now I know that talking about past relationships with a current significant other is tricky but the reason that Hannah holds back is shame. She has nothing to be ashamed of here(neither does her sister Michelle, who Bradford did flirt with, the lowlife!).

At this point in their "who will she choose" situation, Mike has already told Hannah that she would be better off marrying Norman(a bit of an eyebrow raise on such presumption!) and when informed about Bradford's prior romance with her, Mike is mad enough to wish that Bradford wasn't dead so that he could kill the guy(metaphorically speaking). In other words, he doesn't blame her at all and neither would Norman, I have no doubt about that.

Yet, Norman is also keeping something back from her. Upon returning from a reunion with some old dental school buddies, Norman is acting all distant from Hannah and even though he tries to help her out with the mystery, it's clear that he's going through the motions.

Hannah does,finally, ask him what is the matter and he tells her that there's a big decision that he needs to make but can't go into details just yet. We discover that this major choice involves his former fiancee Beverly, who is now going to join his dental practice and what does this mean for Hannah's relationship with Norman? We shall see.

I've been Team Norman for quite some time now but have to admit that if neither one of them is willing to open up to the other person about the past or the present, this is not a good sign for future happiness there. Honesty is a key ingredient in any recipe for lasting love, folks:

Yes, the murder does get solved but I am so concerned with whole Norman situation that my latest Series-ous Reading pick is the next book in the Hannah Swensen saga, Devil's Food Cake Murder.

As Hannah is trying to cope with Beverly being part of Norman's professional life(plus, everyone in town really seems to like her!), she gets a welcome distraction from Reverend Knudson's grandmother, who is rather suspicious of an old childhood friend of her grandson's being back in town.

I must admit that the book cover looks scrumptious, with a touch of a broken heart look in that sliced section(or am I reading way too much into that?). Regardless, any story with devil's food cake included is always  bound to be a delicious read indeed: