A Locked Room

One very popular device in the mystery novel is the locked room or stranded in a place setting. I first encountered this in Poirot's Christmas story where the wealthy older gentleman was killed in a locked room. I have found this with two of Agatha Christie's other works And Then There Were None and Murder on the Orient Express, then in Sugar Cookie Murder by Joanne Fluke. I have two of my reviews for them below.

I have always been that weird person who would love to get "stuck" somewhere with his friends. The idea of a murder happening but being stuck in the same place is terrifying and I imagine a lot of frayed nerves but they are some of my favorite to read!

What are your thoughts about this kind of setting? Do locked rooms intrigue you?

And Then There Were None

This is one of my favorite mysteries ever (top 5). The mere idea of 10 people going to an island invited by someone they do not know is super intriguing. It has you at the edge of your seat the entire time. Miss Christie outdid herself with this book it is still just as fresh now as when first published. The other part that I like is that it served as the basis for one of my favorite mystery comedies Murder By Death, worth the watch if you like mysteries and comedies!

Murder on the Orient Express

Finally read the CLASSIC mystery Murder on the Orient Express. To be completely honest most of the characters annoyed me but thankfully I had Poirot to keep everything in order. The ending completely shocked me. The setting itself was beautiful and Christie's descriptions were spot on. Definitely one not to miss!

Sugar Cookie Murder

All I can start by saying is SO MANY RECIPES, SO EXCITED! There is nothing I love more than a Christmas Mystery because usually there is extended family around. With this the entire Lake Eden gang is stuck in the community center during a blizzard which happens to hit during the cookbook tasting. While I thought that I would be obsessed with this idea of everyone around and no where to go I missed The Cookie Jar and other businesses and Mochie. But it was still an enjoyable read and I loved the play on words for our victim (Brandy Wine). Joanne knows exactly how to keep her fans intrigued.

Joanne Fluke...The Beginning

When I first started reading cozy mysteries I began with the Berkley Prime Crime canon. I started with Krista Davis's Domestic Diva mysteries and absolutely loved them. Then I tried Diane Mott Davidson's Goldy mysteries and was not a fan...so I wondered to myself if I could only like Berkley Prime Crime novels. Then came Avery Aames and Daryl Wood Gerber who almost cemented that feeling. 

Then I saw one day that Joanne Fluke's Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder was on sale in e book for $1.99 on my Nook. So I thought ok $1.99 is a good price to try something and then I heard about the TV movie. Suffice it to say that I fell in love. This was also the first time that I actually baked any kind of recipe from any of the books. I began with the chocolate chip crunch cookies that get their crunch from corn flakes, Joanne was going to make Oatmeal chocolate chip cookies but didn't have any Oatmeal, and I thought they were delicious. My two roommates agreed and then my entire office gobbled them up. Further proof that they were a hot came when my boyfriend who does not like chocolate loved them. Then I tried her molasses cookies in her second book Strawberry Shortcake Murder and got another very enthusiastic response from coworkers, roommates and boyfriend alike. 

Have you ever cook/bake from a cozy mystery and if so what did you make and what did you think about it?

Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder: Welcome to Lake Eden! There are no crimes to speak of except that it is the murder capital of the WORLD!

This is my first in the series by Joanne Fluke that I have read. I found Hannah to be completely awesome and everyone in the book to have a likability if only for comic relief. There were numerous times where I laughed out loud. Plus all the recipes (which I have yet to try) all looked easy and delicious! I already made my shopping list! It was a gem to read and cannot wait to see what Hannah gets up to in the rest of the series!

Strawberry Shortcake Murder Review:  A Bake Off in Lake Eden! Sign Me Up! Of course Hannah must step over at least one dead body in the process! Blackmail, murder and intrigue are all great parts of this book. Let me just tell you that the recipes in this are fantastic. I took both the chocolate chip crunch and molasses cookies to my office and they were HUGE HITS.