Helpful Score: 3
Joanne Fluke has managed to retrieve this series from the abyss where she took it with Cherry Cheesecake Murder. Hannah is not as irritating in this story and Mike and Norman are both shown to be thoughtful and kind, making it more understandable why she can't decide between them. The mystery, even though it jumps around at times, makes sense and isn't far-fetched. Hannah, unfortunately, talks indiscriminately at the end of the story, which really isn't in line with her character, but I suppose that was so Fluke could end the book. Over all, a very good read and I'm once again looking forward to reading future installments in this series.
Helpful Score: 3
Joanne Fluke needs to decide how her characters are going to develop, before she continues to drag this out any longer. Hannah Swenson and the other denizens of small-town Lake Eden, Minnesota started out as engaging characters with interesting quirks, but as the series of books progresses, the characters do not.
The mystery in this book was a little better conceived than Fluke's last, but only a little. The books seem to be less and less about the mysteries, and more and more about establishing Lake Eden as some sort of utopia.
Where else can a "chunky" 30-something woman with frizzy red hair have three men falling over themselves for her attention? How often does it happen that every member of the main characters family, her friends, and her friends' families JUST HAPPEN to win everything in sight? How plausible is it that the stated reason for her to be "sleuthing" is to prove to the whole town that she is more clever than the police (who happen to be her boyfriend and brother-in-law)?
Hannah had a lot of trouble staying awake during this story. She's not the only one.
The mystery in this book was a little better conceived than Fluke's last, but only a little. The books seem to be less and less about the mysteries, and more and more about establishing Lake Eden as some sort of utopia.
Where else can a "chunky" 30-something woman with frizzy red hair have three men falling over themselves for her attention? How often does it happen that every member of the main characters family, her friends, and her friends' families JUST HAPPEN to win everything in sight? How plausible is it that the stated reason for her to be "sleuthing" is to prove to the whole town that she is more clever than the police (who happen to be her boyfriend and brother-in-law)?
Hannah had a lot of trouble staying awake during this story. She's not the only one.
