I'm joining Food for Thought
the brainchild of the very talented Jain from
Once in Blue Moon and of Food With Style
with a review of
"cook the books". Thanks Fritzie!
It was a fun & quick little read & a refreshing change from all
the heavy World War II era books I've recently been into.
I had never read a "culinary cozy" type of a book before & was
unaware of this sub-genre category to "cozy mysteries".
These are cute novels that ooze charm & are not hard crime thrillers.
No graphic violence... no sex or drugs either...just LOTS of
food mentions & the recipes to go along with them.
The main character, Hannah Swensen jumps in to help solve a murder when a
lemon meringue pie from her bakery,
The Cookie Jar, is found at the crime scene.
I tried to re-create the look of her store front window here.
(The last of our Girl Scout cookies)
(Hubby's favorite: Nutter Butters)
(Homemade Butter Balls or Russian Tea Cakes)
She uncovers marital infidelity, lots of gossip & an old bank robbery.
The book moves along at a quick pace & is guaranteed to make you hungry,
although I found it to be very predictable & a bit a la Nancy Drew.
I won't give away any more of the details so as not to spoil it.
The best part of making lemon meringue pie is licking the
leftover lemon filling in the pan.
Its "twice better" to quote a grandchild.
The recipe for my pie is on the back of the box of
Turns out perfect, every time.
The Lemon Meringue Pie Murder is a cute, easy to read book with interesting recipes.
It is 4th in a line of at least 13 books by the same author.
This book features a total of 9 recipes & Joanne Fluke
has many, many more throughout her series of murder mysteries.
Get a load of these titles!!
I found it interesting to see how the author's
name on the front cover
gets bigger & bigger as her series progressed.
Just a point of interest, that's all.
If you are someone who likes to bake you will love all the recipes that come with each story.
I understand the author is working on a cookbook now
that will showcase each of the recipes used in her books.
Thanks to Jain for continuing this fun
Food For Thought
party every other Saturday.
Be sure to visit her site & enjoy the other book reviews showcased this week.
Thanks also to those of you who visit the Gazebo House so often.
I'm constantly amazed that anyone wants to read what I have to say.
Nobody around here listens to me!!
Its been a very busy time here at the Gazebo House
with carpet cleaners disrupting everything &
the acquisition of a new sewing table
along with rearranging my sewing room
so I could complete some projects.
Matching nightgowns & robes for Caroline & her AG doll,
a mini quilted wallhanging & more to show next time.
Stay tuned for those!
fondly,