Book Description
In her debut mystery, Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder, intrepid amateur sleuth and bakery owner Hannah Swensen proved that when it comes to crime, nothing is sweeter than a woman who knows how to really mix it up. Now, the flame-haired, tart-talking (and baking) heroine is back, judging a contest where the competition is really murder.
Strawberry Shortcake Murder
When the president of Hartland Flour chooses cozy Lake Eden, Minnesota, as the spot for their first annual Dessert Bake-Off, Hannah is thrilled to serve as the head judge. But when a fellow judge, Coach Boyd Watson, is found stone-cold dead, facedown in Hannah's celebrated strawberry shortcake, Lake Eden's sweet ride to fame turns very sour indeed.
Between perfecting her Cheddar Cheese Apple Pie and Chocolate Crunchies, Hannah's snooping into the coach's private life and not coming up short on suspects. And could Watson's harsh criticism during the judging have given one of the contestants a license to kill? The stakes are rising faster than dough, and Hannah will have to be very careful, because somebody is cooking up a recipe for murder...with Hannah landing on the "necessary ingredients" list.
"Another delicious adventure...a superior cozy sure to leave readers satisfied...but hungry for more." --Publishers Weekly
Includes seven delicious recipes!
Customer Reviews:
Good to the last crumb..........2007-05-14
What can be tastier than fresh, juicy strawberries nestled in a bed of whipped cream, gently cascading down the crumbly slopes of a golden pound cake? In her second installment of this fantastic culinary cozy mystery series, Joanne Fluke truly outdoes herself with the Strawberry Shortcake Murder. She gives the reader great recipes in-between the chapters that are being discussed and baked in the book as the small town nestled in beautiful nature has murders galore. I have to recommend reading the series in order, because it's a real pleasure watching Hannah Swensen, our amateur sleuth who runs the Cookie Jar in Minnesota's always chilly Lake Eden grown and develop and make new friends and enemies.
This book was even better than the first in the series and I read it in one day, hungry for more! I was deeply impressed with the array of characters introduced into the tale to make the mystery harder to guess, I can't say how many times I read a mystery book that only had three suspects, the obvious one sticking out like a sore thumb. This is not the case with this delicious book. I must also warn that the reader will want to wrap up in a comfy blanket, make a pot of coffee and eat cookies all throughout the book. I love to bake and have great success with it but do not indulge in the art often, yet this book made me hungry for the entire day I was reading it. I have made some of the recipes form the first book and they have came out with fantastic results, so I am really looking forward to reading all of Joanne's books because they are laden with cookies and some savory dishes in the latter books. This is a series that is fun to collect and can be used to bake with once the mystery is solved.
Few of the recipes in the book were used in the story line as Hannah Swensen has agreed to bake at Lake Eden's first annual Dessert Bake-Off and serve as the head judge. Some mouth watering creations such as Apricot Bread Pudding and Hawaiian Flan are on the menu. What else is on the menu is murder...another judge, Boyd Watson a mean coach who works at the local school is found dead in his driveway, face down in Hannah Strawberry Shortcake. It is up to Hannah and her sister Andrea to snoop around friends and family to figure out ties to Boyd, a man few liked and many disliked for his harsh comment during the bake off and his violent temper with his wife. I adored the wide array of clues that kept my mind busy as my mouth was watering for the recipes mentioned, and I really enjoyed solving the mystery along Hannah's side. This book was rich in intriguing characters, also introducing Lucy Richards, a reporter at the local town paper who seemed to have dirty scoop on many of its members, including Boyd. The story lines crossing like an angry river gave me much to think about as I read the book and proved to reach a satisfying ending that made this book a good purchase.
For those who love mysteries and watch cooking shows this will be a heavenly treat. Honestly this book will even appeal to those on the diet, but I recommend not getting too close to the pagers, this tale is too delicious to read on a hungry stomach and I cannot wait to read the next installment in this warm and cozy series.
- Kasia S.
fun reading.......2006-11-05
Hannah is a great character and her family is fun. The recipes are the best.
Another Sweet Hannah Swenson Mystery.......2006-11-04
Following up on the success of The Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder, this is the second volume in the Hannah Swenson Murder Mysteries. Here again, we find Hannah coping with the brutal Minnesota winter when the unthinkable happens. Hannah finds a body! The local high school coach and secret wife beater is found dead face down in Hannah's strawberry shortcake. His wife certainly has a motive, but is she the real killer? The police are inclined to think so, but Hannah certainly does not. With the aide of her sister, Andrea, she sets out to find the real killer. Many suspenseful twists and turns follow as Hannah and Andrea proceed on their relentless mission to free an innocent woman. Will they succeed and find the real killer? Only in the last few chapters will you find out the answer to this riddle.
Once again, author Joanne Fluke has surpassed herself with another excellent novel. The cozy and inviting atmosphere found in the first novel continues here against the backdrop of the cruel Minnesota cold. Many delicious recipes are included so you can share the experience right along with Hannah and her friends. Her strained relationship with her mother continues as her friendship with Norman grows and her closeness to her sister Andrea deepens. The novel keeps you in suspense right up until the very end providing an exhilarating mystery ride. This is a novel not to be missed. Very highly recommended.
Smash B
Strawberry Shortcake Murder.......2006-08-30
Book is better than the first (2) I read. Less characters, easier to follow...and the main character...has more tight squeezes to get out of! Reads alot faster!
ONE OF THE BEST COZY MYSTERY SERIES YOU'LL FIND!!!.......2006-08-11
These mysteries are COZY and INTERESTING and GOOD!!! They are perfect!!! I could not ask for a better mystery!!! Not only is the setting and atmosphere cozy, but the clues, story line, and pacing are perfect! This author definitely has talent!!! The clues are perfectly and cleverly crafted and lead to the mystery solving. And the characters - you feel like you know them!!! I love this small town and all the characters. Not just the main characters, but the other characters have purpose and meaning in this book.
Hannah is a nice judge at a local flour baking contest, with positive things to say about everybody. The high school coach is also a judge, but not very nice about his judgements.
The high school coach is found murdered. Is it because of the mean things he said about the contestants' entries in the baking contest? Of course, the abused wife is a suspect. Hannah and Andrea solve the murder mystery to find out who is the real killer.
I enjoyed the food and the coffee! It makes you want to brew a pot of coffee and make the recipes.
Average customer rating:
- Anti-Recommended
- JLA does myth and magic
- Could've been an epic but it's not.
- A Fun and Entertinaing Fantasy Elseworld
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JLA: Riddle of the Beast
Alan Grant
Manufacturer: DC Comics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 General | Drawing | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
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JLA: Heaven's Ladder
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JLA: Golden Perfect (Book 10)
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JLA: The Obsidian Age, Book One
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ASIN: 1563898675 |
Customer Reviews:
Anti-Recommended.......2005-07-29
You might think that it would be awesome to see some of the powerhouses of the DC Comics Universe plunked down in a magical alterna-Earth, their identities and abilities and motivations manifesting in ways both new and unfamiliar. And that probably would be pretty compelling, if it had been done right. Unfortunately, here it is done very, very wrong, and not in a way that is so atrocious and jaw-droppingly bizarre that it's interesting. No, this is just bland, boring, and pointless.
The plot: Tim Drake (the current Robin in the "real" DC world) is sent on a quest by the spider-like Riddler to unite the disparate powers of this tiny world against the return of the evil Beast (who we would know as Etrigan). He has to drum up support from this land's versions of Hawkman, Hawkwoman, Green Arrow, the Atom, Green Lantern, the Flash, Wonder Woman, Batman, and Superman. Other well-known figures make appearances: Nightwing, Aquaman, the Joker, the Penguin, the Martian Manhunter, Doomsday, Bane, Lobo, Lex Luthor, Zatarra and Zatanna, Black Canary, Killer Croc, and even the Phantom Stranger. Unfortunately, about the only enjoyment this volume has to offer is in the game of "Guess who that's supposed to be?"
The plot is trite, the prose is exceptionally clumsy and leaden, the versifying is embarrassing, the dialogue is terrible, and the art is flat-out a dismal failure. Over a dozen different artists contributed to this effort, and I can only conclude that most of them were extremely drunk at the time. In a great many panels it's impossible for you to tell exactly what's going on, and even when you can, you wish you couldn't.
I don't know exactly what DC was thinking when they unleashed this, and it's too late to UN-think it, but I hope they chalk this up as a giant mistake and vow to never again let Alan Grant write anything other than filler episodes of "Kamandi, the Last Boy on Earth".
JLA does myth and magic.......2004-06-08
Riddle of the Beast is an Elseworlds' tale that drops your favourite DC characters into the world of fantasy storytelling. A young lad (Tim Drake) and girl (Zatanna) must gather all the kingdoms together to fend off an attack from the beast (Etrigan the Demon). Despite some amazing artwork, the story still follows the conventions of your typical fantasy adventure. Once you take away the novelty of seeing DC superheroes in their new roles, there's really nothing new here (however, the chapter with weakened King Kal'El was pretty good). It's worth a look, but not worth the money for a hardcover purchase.
Could've been an epic but it's not........2004-02-19
Riddle of the Beast is a pretty interesting Elseworlds story but it could've used an extra issue or two. While the use of DCU characters as classic fantasy archetypes are quite enjoyable and intriguing, the overall story seems to be underdeveloped. Though they used different artists whose work appear in Magic: The Gathering cards for that epic fantasy look, the whole graphic novel reads like an outline, far from the aforementioned epic fantasy feel this work aims to project. The build-up feels rushed and the characters introductions are done in a hurried fashion. It's as if there was a general feeling that the creators wanted to cram as many DCU characters as possible, sacrificing the overall pace of the book. Characters like Flash, Green Lantern and the Atom were just given cursory glances even if there was a lot of build-up to Robin and Zatanna's journey to the three men's City at the Center. Only a few panels and off to another setting. In fact, the main battle scene, after pages and pages of build-up and repetitive captions, amounted to just one page. Heck if only they devoted more space to it just like what they did to the world map which appeared three times or more! After reading this book, you could've wished that the bosses at DC could've followed the lead of the fantasy epics they aimed to ape by doing a trilogy at least.
A Fun and Entertinaing Fantasy Elseworld.......2002-02-16
Riding on the hype and legendary "Lord of the Rings" resurgence, I was skeptical about purchasing this book, thinking that it may be a quick exploitive means to cash in on the fantasy regrowth. While this book has many of the recurring fantasy themes found else where, the contributors to this graphic novel have produced a fun, can't-put-it down comic.
The story centers around the person Robin Drake as he journeys to warn the other inhabits on "earth" of the return of the Beast, a villian the others thought had died fifteen years ago. Many of the superheros are cleverly introduced and united under the banner of saving the "world." Some heros take more proding than others, which aids in the story telling. It was interesting using Robin as the central character - considering he has always been a sidekick (even on his own, Nightwing has never really broken out of Batman's shadow).
This move gives the story more force and gives a "Frodo" of the Lord of the Rings" trilogy feel to the book, without copying the material too much. The formula also works well, so why change a genre that works so well - an unlikely hero, who saves the world.
The art is outstanding and many great artist contribute their unquie talents to provide pertinent images as the story progresses. A must for graphiic novel fans, who just want to read a good story, view some great art, and have a nice evening.
Book Description
Word count: 888.
Average customer rating:
- Exciting variation on an oft-told Cold War story
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Target 5 (Target Five)
Colin Forbes
Manufacturer: ISIS Audio Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Cassette
General
| Literature & Fiction
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| Literature & Fiction
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ASIN: 185089695X |
Customer Reviews:
Exciting variation on an oft-told Cold War story.......2000-07-09
Keith Beaumont, an ace British Arctic troubleshooter and scientific expert is despatched to research base Target-5 on the icepack near Greenland to intercept a Soviet defector named Gorov who is carrying secret documents detailing a submarine defence network. The contents could upset the balance of world power, as these stories dictate, so when Beaumont and Gorov are tailed by Soviet airborne assault troops, they must head towards the edge of the ice pack in a perilous journey. This is a short but thrilling novel firmly set in the 1970s, the action scenes will satisfy even the most undemanding of adventure fans and a point of interest, this Colin Forbes classic proves there was much life in his writing before he created his British superspies Tweed, Paula Grey and Bob Newman. Well worth checking out.
Average customer rating:
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Target Five
Colin Forbes
Manufacturer: The Companion Book Club
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000HHROSC |
Average customer rating:
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Target Five
Colin Forbes
Manufacturer: FAWCETT CREST
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000TXM10K |
Book Description
This digital document is an article from San Diego Business Journal, published by CBJ, L.P. on October 6, 2003. The length of the article is 447 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: Apartment owners unlikely targets of prop. 65 lawsuits: fifteen candidates running for five seats on County Bar Association board.(Law)(San Diego apartment owners)
Author: Rene'e Beasley Jones
Publication:
San Diego Business Journal (Magazine/Journal)
Date: October 6, 2003
Publisher: CBJ, L.P.
Volume: 24
Issue: 40
Page: 16(1)
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Book Description
This digital document is an article from San Diego Business Journal, published by CBJ, L.P. on March 21, 2005. The length of the article is 467 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: Bankers target August to open Coronado 1st Bank: first five years were good ones for S.D.'s First Pacific Bank.(Finance)
Author: Mike Allen
Publication:
San Diego Business Journal (Magazine/Journal)
Date: March 21, 2005
Publisher: CBJ, L.P.
Volume: 26
Issue: 12
Page: 5(1)
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Book Description
This digital document is an article from National Defense, published by National Defense Industrial Association on April 1, 2005. The length of the article is 863 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: Elusive targets: Navy in pursuit of smart weapons for five-inch guns.(extended range guided munition)
Author: Sandra I. Erwin
Publication:
National Defense (Magazine/Journal)
Date: April 1, 2005
Publisher: National Defense Industrial Association
Volume: 89
Issue: 617
Page: 24(2)
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Tooling & Production, published by Nelson Publishing on December 1, 1993. The length of the article is 826 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
From the supplier: Beacon Industries Inc uses high-speed and five-axis machining technology in the manufacture of laser-guided missiles. The aerospace company initially turned to its existing computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) software for programming. However, it was able to generate computer numerical control programs for its newly acquired machines after a review of the CAM system. It selected the NCL software from Numerical Control Computer Sciences Inc that was specifically designed for complex five-axis machining.
Citation Details
Title: Five-axis CNC is on target. (computer numerical control) (Software Solutions & NC Machine Controls)
Publication:
Tooling & Production (Magazine/Journal)
Date: December 1, 1993
Publisher: Nelson Publishing
Volume: v59
Issue: n9
Page: p54(2)
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Amazon.com
Giovanna Tornabene opened a restaurant in her home in the Madonie Mountains of Sicily in 1978 because it seemed the only way to hold on to her family's centuries-old estate. In
La Cucina Siciliana di Gangivecchio, her daughter, Wanda, who helps run this restaurant on the secluded family estate, shares the history of their family, the estate and the colorful evolution of Sicilian cooking. Michele Evans captures the graceful generosity, spontaneity and charm of both mother and daughter in this work. It features veal and pumpkin stew made with just four ingredients; Swordfish in Umido, steamed with oregano and garlic; cauliflower drizzled with lemon juice and olive oil; a tart filled with sweetened ricotta studded with chocolate chips; and 200 other dishes. This is the simple yet deeply flavored, humbly sophisticated food that makes Sicily a culinary paradise.
Book Description
Tucked away on a remote Sicilian mountainside is Gangivecchio--once a Roman outpost, then a fourteenth-century Benedictine abbey, now a world-class restaurant and inn.
Poached Lemon-flavored Ricotta Gnocchi with Sage Butter. Arancine (the sublime rice croquettes of Sicily) Stuffed with Bechamel, Ham, and Mozzarella. Veal and Pumpkin stew. Sofficini (elegant little pastries, filled with warm lemon cream, that defy description.) These are just a few of the spectacular dishes prepared at Gangivecchio for anyone lucky enough to dine at this magical spot, with its roaring fireplace, blossoming orchards, roaming animals, and acres of wild poppies. For anyone not able to make this incredible journey, Wanda and Giovanna now have prepared
La Cucina Siciliana di Gangivecchio, the ultimate country cookbook, with recipes culled from generations, handed down as part of the extraordinary and charming history of the family, the town, and the island of Sicily itself.
Customer Reviews:
Good book, but...........2006-07-16
It's funny but I think they modify the recipes so they don't work out quite the way they should. You always hear about old women doing this,leaving out some ingredient or changing a quantity to keep it from being as good as theirs!
In particular, the pasta frolla recipe, an essential part of many sicilian desserts, had 22 tablespoons of baking powder in it which caused tart crusts to puff up like a cake and not be flat. Checking many other sicilian recipes for pasta frolla there is no baking powder in it.
Perhaps it's my lack of ability, perhaps not! But it created a Frankenstein tart that was still edible but more like fruit-topped dry cake.
So many enticing recipes!.......2006-02-05
I bought this book over a year ago, and still there are many recipes I want to try. Every time I look through the book something here or there will call my attention. Most recipes can be made with commonly found ingredients. Any cook should recognize the love for a constantly inspiring book --the best advertisement is just to list some recipes I've tried: roasted pepper and cream sauce with penne, risotto milanese that can be modified with your favorite vegetable, risotto with pumpkin and walnuts, risotto with spinach and pecorino, baked stuffed swordfish rolls, baked stuffed zucchini, and sweet and sour pumpkin. There are lots of diverse, fantastic sounding recipes in the book, but I haven't tried them for lack of time. But all of the recipes I've listed can be made in under 1 hr with prep time included. My risotto wasn't great before, now it's fool proof.
I would recommend this for someone that knows how to cook and can draw on this book for their own recipes.
Good recipes; lousy binding.......2003-08-04
The book contains straightforward, easy recipes that let good ingredients shine through. It's a good reference for recipes suitable for every day home cooking. But the binding is atrocious! Clumps of pages started falling out after my first use of the book. That shouldn't happen with a book [of this price]. As a result, I wouldn't bother buying the book unless it came at a VERY steep discount.
great recipes from a very good restaurant.......2002-06-07
If you like to cook and you want authentic Southern Italian cooking (compared to the Tuscany inspired cooking that has been all the rage), then this is absolutely the best cookbook you can buy...with the possible exception of the Tornabene's new cookbook,which I am just about to buy. The recipes are pretty easy to follow, but most require either a fair amount of prep or some time to stir the pot. The pasta dishes are fantastic. My family loves the fava bean recipes (I cooked one as a joke in honor of Silence of the Lambs, but it was a hit, so I've been making them ever since) and the anchovy tomato sauce. I love this cookbook so much that I actually made the trip to the restaurant. It's not a place you get to by accident, you really have to want to go because it is way way out in the middle of Sicily. But the food there is excellent, and I was lucky enough to eat things familiar to me from the cookbook, as well as some new dishes. I'm not sure I'll ever try any of the desserts in this cookbook (too much work) but I've eaten some of them at their restaurant - and I can recommend them highly!
P.S. If you decide to make the trek, I recommend that you stay at their hotel. The grounds of Gangivechio are lovely and worth enjoying on their own.
Excellent, easy pasta recipes.......2000-04-12
This is one of my most frequently used cookbooks (and I have a lot of them) just for the pasta section. The recipes are simple enough to use for everyday, and good enough to use for company. The ditali with spinach, the rigatoni daniela, the arugula and fresh tomato sauces, the zucchini pasta sauce---all are easy, draw raves from guests, require no special ingredients, and taste like the wonderful pastas I had in trattorias in Sicily. The risotto recipe is the best I've ever used; the salads are also good; the desserts and main dishes are mostly too complicated for daily use, or for any but the experienced cook.
Books:
- Tagged for Murder
- Taking Charge of Fibromyalgia: Everything You Need to Know to Manage Fibromyalgia, Fifth Edition
- The Amityville Horror
- The Butcher of St Peter's (Knights Templar series)
- The Chocolate Puppy Puzzle (Chocoholic Mysteries)
- The Coffin Dancer (A Lincoln Rhyme Novel)
- The Deadly Dance (Agatha Raisin Mysteries)
- The Deeds of the Disturber (Amelia Peabody Mysteries)
- The Ghostway
- The Godwulf Manuscript
Books Index
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Blueberry Muffin Murder (Hannah Swensen Mysteries)
Lemon Meringue Pie Murder (Hannah Swensen Mysteries)
Fudge Cupcake Murder (Hannah Swensen Mysteries)
Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder (Hannah Swensen Mysteries)
Sugar Cookie Murder (Hannah Swensen Holiday Mysteries)
