Red Velvet Cupcake Murder (Hannah Swensen Mystery, 16), by Joanne Fluke

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Given that I'm on the 16th book in this series and I've been reading them in order, you probably know I'm invested in it even when an individual book is not up to par with some of the earlier ones. Such is the case for Red Velvet Cupcake Murder, by Joanne Fluke.

I usually prefer to read and review books when I'm currently experiencing the season in which they are set. I fully intended on reading this in the summer and I fell behind. However, I want to move forward with the series, so I went ahead and read it. Perhaps the summer theme will be a nice contrast to the very cold weather some of us are experiencing.

The Albion Hotel is hosting their grand opening and Hannah made red velvet cupcakes to serve in the hotel's Red Velvet Lounge. As the evening progresses, someone falls from the rooftop garden. Or was this person pushed off the rooftop? The victim just barely survives and the quest to untangle this mystery begins.

As if that's not enough, a dead body is later found in a nearby pond. What makes matters worse for Hannah is that she is the prime suspect in this case. She and her family and friends set out the clear her name and find the real killer. Are these two incidents connected? You will have to read to find out.

But wait! There's more! This 16th installment of the Hannah Swensen series is a three-fold mystery. When I reviewed Cinnamon Roll Murder I wrote that one of the events in that book was not wrapped up. It was completely dropped fairly early in the book and never picked up again...until now. Although it felt like an after thought, I was glad it was addressed in Red Velvet Murder.

This is a very light read that's heavy on the cozy, with lots of talk about baking and recipes scattered between chapters. I don't always have cravings for the recipes in these books, but I could not stop thinking about red velvet cupcakes while reading this one. I'm not much of a baker, so I went out to a local deli and thankfully they had one. It was amazing.

However, not much happened with the love triangle, and the mystery aspect was a bit slow for me. You might think with three mysteries to solve, there would be a lot of sleuthing. I felt it was lacking in that department until about three quarters of the way through the book. Also, this is the fastest I've ever figured out who the murderer was. As soon as that character was introduced, I knew they were going to be guilty.  I was hoping I would be wrong because I like a good surprise. I read the description on the back before reading the book and this told me who was going to be murdered. Knowing who was going to be murdered helped me figure out who the murderer was going to be before it even happened. I like reading the description on the back of books because I want to know in general what I'm getting into, but sometimes a little too much information is given.

Although this was one of my least favorites in the series, I will definitely continue reading these books. Every time I read a Hannah Swensen Mystery, it's like visiting old friends. Despite the high crime rate, I'm looking forward to traveling to Lake Eden again soon. Maybe the weather there will be cooler when I return.