TRIPLE CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKE MURDER

Family ties push baker Hannah Swensen to investigate the death of her town’s mayor.

Nobody messes with Andrea McCann’s husband. As police chief of Lake Eden, Minnesota, Bill has to make all kinds of tough decisions, including locking up Mayor Bascomb’s nephew, Bruce, upon his third drunken driving charge. Bascomb insists that Bill is in the wrong, but Andrea defends her hubby loudly, ending a tirade in the mayor’s office with a smack in the snoot that can be heard all the way in the reception area. Unfortunately, their brawl is enough to make Andrea prime suspect when Hizzoner turns up dead the next day. Her sister, Hannah, can think of many alternatives and isn’t shy about sharing them. Hannah teams up with her pal and protector, dentist Norman Rhodes; her younger sister, Michelle; Michelle’s boyfriend, Lonnie; and even the mayor’s widow, Stephanie, to find the real killer while Lake Edeners all the way from Grandma Knudsen to Rev. Bob cheer her on. In between rounds of sleuthing, Hannah turns out a dizzying array of dishes ranging from marshmallow peeps Easter cupcakes to a luncheon casserole that resembles the offspring of a Minnesota hot dish and a Reuben sandwich. But she’s also processing the past, including the ugly incident that left her and her cat, Moishe, too scared to stay alone in her condo overnight. Generous Norman offers her a place to stay and a shoulder to cry on. But is that all she really wants or needs?

Another sweet-tempered outing filled with tempting sweets.