Joanna Fluke. My new hero.

Joanna created Hannah Swenson, Minnesota English major-turned cookie baker. She’s in the right place at the right time to help solve murders in her home town. And she shares her best cookie recipes with you throughtout the book 🙂

Why I like Joanna – she’s totally PG. Joanna Fluke is the type of author I could recommend to just about anyone who wants to read a good mystery, including my high school students. here’s an overview.

Hannah is dating, two men actually, but she’s in control and not her hormones. Not only does the author not go into detail about the physical relationships Hannah maintains, but Hannah actually has some standards!! I’m into the third book in the series and she was finally kissed by one of the men (Norman, you lucky dog). Hannah’s focus is her life in general: family, friends and her business. The men in her life are a PART of it…not the central focus. They fit in nicely, but she maintains a good balance. And she isn’t just in it for sex. In fact, she hasn’t had any thus far. Whew!

The language…is controlled! The author may allude to Hannah saying something ‘that she would never say in front of her 4-year old niece’, but we get the idea. We don’t need to see the F-bombs or BS’s. I mean, come on: we’re all adults and have decent imaginations. I don’t need everything written out for me. I can figure it out.

And, most importantly, the books are well-written and entertaining! I appreciate the humor. I enjoy the light-hearted tone. I admire the way Joanna F. can give you info on the characters, town, situation by keeping it relevant without going off on too much of a tangent. It adds depth to the story without distracting you from it.

Over all I really, really like this series. I would recommend it to my students…to my mom…to my pastor. There ARE murders, and some innuendos, but, thus far, nothing so crass, bawdy or crude that I would feel uncomfortable having her books on my coffee table (I really like Jenny C. and Janet E., but they aren’t for everyone).

If you’re looking for a good PG mystery read, with fun and excitement but not too serious, pick up Joanna Fluke. And please, someone try one of her cookie recipes. I haven’t the chance yet and her Pecan Chews and Chocolate Chip Crunchers look just so YUMMY!!!