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Devil's Food Cake Murder by Joanne Fluke is the 14th installment in the Hannah Swensen mystery series, not including the short stories. Reverend Bob Knudson and his new bride, Claire, are finally able to go away on their long-awaited honeymoon when Bob's childhood friend, Matthew, who is also a minister, comes to town and fills in for him. This is all well and good until someone is found dead, (by Hannah, of course) face down in a serving of Devil's Food Cake.
If you're reading the series in order and you've reached this point, you're most likely invested in the recipes and in the characters. There is certainly no shortage of recipes throughout this book, so many this time that there is an index for them after the final chapter. While I admit the recipes do sound scrumptious, they have never been a selling point for me in this series. It's sometimes interesting to read about them as Hannah is making them, but I always skip over them when the full recipes are included at the end of the chapters. I wouldn't mind tasting most of the recipes, but I don't have an interest in baking them myself.
There really isn't anything new in the Mike, Norman, and Hannah love triangle, although now it's more like a square with Bev in the picture. However, there is a great cliffhanger at the end of this book that makes me eager to read the next one. All of the Swensen women make appearances in this book. It was wonderful to once again meet up not only with Hannah and her mother, Delores, but also Hannah's sisters, Andrea and Michelle, and her business partner at The Cookie Jar, Lisa. Of course, it's also always great to spend time with Moishe, Hannah's cat. There's a cute little mystery going on with Moishe in this book as well. Jacob, the mynah bird, and Grandma Knudson were wonderful and unique additions to the cast of characters in this 14th installment.
While the mystery in this book does have a twist in it, it was a bit predictable and I figured out who the murderer was pretty early in the book. I was hoping I was wrong just because I wanted to be surprised. I was also disappointed that the murder didn't happen until about one third into the book. Prior to that, and even after that, I felt the emphasis was more on the cozy aspect and not so much on the mystery.
As with all of the books in this series and, to my knowledge, cozy mysteries in general, the mystery is self-contained. It's a single mystery in which you do not need to read the prior books. However, in order to enjoy the subplot, it's best to start with the first one (Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder) and read them in order.
Although this was one of my least favorites, I am invested in the series and I will not stop until I've read them all. Devil's Food Cake Murder was the first book in the series that was published after my best friend, Stephanie's lifetime. I am going to finish the series, while also reading other books, in her honor. I look forward to meeting up with these characters, who now feel like old friends, again.
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