DEVIL'S FOOD CAKE MURDER (Joanne Fluke)

Joanne Fluke just cannot go wrong with her Hannah Swenson series.  This was our August selection for the Christie Capers book club and we were as pleased with the recipes as we were with the mystery!  When Rev. Bob Knudsen and his wife Claire finally take a honeymoon in Hawaii, Rev. Mike, who spent his teenage years in Lake Eden. arrives to take over pastoral duties at the parish during their absence.  Grandma Knudson remembers Mike and his cousin Paul from their youth and soon raises some concerns with Hannah about Rev. Mike's actual identity.  What happened to his chocolate allergy?  Why does he "remember" her couch as being a different color than it actually was?  Is he really who he says he is?  Are the sacraments he is performing really valid?

Hannah and her sister Andrea investigate Rev. Mike and come up with logical explanations for the changes in him, setting Grandma's mind at ease.  Hannah, however, is agitated as a new dentist, Dr. Bev, joins Norman's practice.  Bev was once engaged to Norman, Hannah's devoted boyfriend (well, one of them), and Hannah suspects that Bev is looking to rekindle the relationship.  When Hannah discovers Rev. Mike dead in the parish office, though, Norman willingly turns his back on Bev and joins Hannah in investigating the apparent murder.

Fluke provides some interesting twists and turns in the 14th Hannah Swenson mystery and her recipes are mouthwatering. Try the Butterscotch Bonanza Bars.  They are easy to make and absolutely delicious!  Oh, and read the book, too.  You'll want to go back for seconds!