Karen S. (CacaoBear) reviewed on 8/7/2007 + 85 more book reviews

Helpful Score: 4

Maybe I was just in a bad mood when I read this, but it seems like Hannah's vehement refusal to share information with the police (her boyfriend) is both ridiculous and unlikely. The fact that she, her friends and family have turned murders in small-town Lake Eden into a competition to see who is more clever, the police or the baker ... is absurd.

There were soo many things in this story that I found totally implausible, that it distracted from the story, itself. A movie production comes to town to shoot some "small-town local color" and they end up casting half the town in credited roles. The producer throws money and "screen credits" around, and the masses fawn at his feet. UGH! Also, the solution was (too me, anyway) almost blatantly obvious.

Fluke's recipes, normally one of the strongest and most enjoyable parts of her writing, were, IMHO rather "pedestrian" .. and I'm sure I've seen at least one of them printed up in the grocery coupon flyer of my Sunday paper. Hardly the thing professional bakers flaunt. And the way she had to stretch the storyline to introduce the recipes in the first place seemed forced and contrived.

All in all, I'd not call this Fluke's best work ... and I despair that Hannah's actions and attitude may soon consign her to the same fate as Claudia Bishop's "Hemlock Falls Mysteries" -- recurring characters who experience no personal growth cease to advance the story line, and before long, I cease to advance the author's paycheck .... :-(

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