Raspberry Danish Murder (Hannah Swensen #22)

Raspberry Danish Murder (Hannah Swensen #22)

Joanne Fluke



This Hannah book is for John.

I couldn’t have written it without him.





Acknowledgments: Heartfelt thanks to Doctor Richard Niemeyer, our

“Doc Hockey.”

John and I will miss you so much.

(And so will Doc Knight.)



Hugs and kisses to my family for their patience

when I’m on deadline.

An extra cookie for all of you!





Hugs to Trudi Nash for going on all those book

tours with me and doing countless things to help. Thanks

for being able to identify ingredients simply by tasting something

we like and helping me create a recipe to make it.

And more important than anything, thanks for being

my friend.





Thank you to my friends and neighbors: Mel & Kurt,

Lyn & Bill, Gina, Dee Appleton, Jay, Richard Jordan,

Laura Levine, the real Nancy and Heiti, Dr. Bob & Sue,

Dan, Mark & Mandy at Faux Library, Daryl and her

staff at Groves Accountancy, Gene and Ron at SDSA,

and everyone at Homestreet Bank.





Hugs to Richard Jordan for going on tour with me

for Banana Cream Pie Murder. You were great company

and a big help.





Thanks to Brad, Eric, Amanda, Lorenzo, and Meg

for Just Desserts.





Hello to my Minnesota friends: Lois & Neal, Bev & Jim,

Lois & Jack, Val, Ruthann, Lowell, Dorothy & Sister Sue,

and Mary & Jim.





A big thank you to my brilliant editor,

John Scognamiglio.





Thanks to all the wonderful folks at Kensington

Publishing who keep Hannah sleuthing and baking

yummy goodies.





And a special thank you to Robin, who makes

everything perfect.





Thanks to Meg Ruley and the staff at the Jane Rotrosen

Agency for their constant support and their sage advice.





Thanks to Hiro Kimura, my talented cover artist,

for his delicious cover art.

(No, you can’t eat that Raspberry Danish!)



Thank you to Lou Malcangi at Kensington for designing

Hannah’s gorgeous book covers. They’re always just perfect.





Thanks to John at Placed4Success.com for Hannah’s

movie and TV placements, his presence on Hannah’s social

media platform, the countless hours he spends helping me,

and for always being there for me.





Thanks to Rudy for managing my website at

www.JoanneFluke.com and for giving support to

Hannah’s social media. And thanks to Annie for help with

social media and everything else.





Big thanks to Kathy Allen for the final testing of the

recipes. And thanks to Kathy’s friends and family for

taste testing.





A big hug to JQ for helping Hannah and me for

so many years.





Hugs to Beth for her gorgeous embroidery and for telling

me about the “Moishe flop.”

Thank you to food stylist, friend, and media guide Lois

Brown for her invaluable assistance with the launch parties

at Poisoned Pen and the TV baking segments in Phoenix.





Hugs to the Double D’s and everyone on Team Swensen

and the Hannah Maniacs who help to keep Hannah’s

Facebook presence alive and well.





Thank you to Dr. Rahhal, Dr. and Cathy Line,

Dr. Wallen, Dr. Koslowski, and Drs. Ashley and Lee for

answering my book-related medical and dental questions.





Grateful thanks to all of the Hannah fans who share

their family recipes, post on my Facebook page, Joanne

Fluke Author, and read Hannah mysteries.

This one’s for you!





Chapter One


Hannah Swensen Barton glanced at the clock in the bedroom that she now slept in alone. There were tears in her eyes as she put on her warmest sweater. Her new husband, Ross Barton, had been gone for two weeks now and even though her youngest sister, Michelle, was staying with her at the condo, Hannah still felt terribly alone. It was easier during the day. When the sun had risen and it was no longer time to cuddle with Ross on their new couches or sleep beside him in their new king-size bed, she managed to convince herself that everything was going to be all right, that Ross was planning to come back to her. Then, with the sun shining brightly, it was possible to believe that the reason he’d taken their condo key and left all his other keys behind was proof that he planned to come home. But now, at five in the morning after spending a restless night, it was doubly difficult to convince herself that all would be well if she just waited patiently.

“Keep a positive attitude,” she said aloud to her image in the mirror. “Ross will be home very soon and he’ll explain everything.” The words she spoke formed the mantra that she repeated every morning, even though she was fast losing hope. There had been no phone calls from Ross at The Cookie Jar, her bakery and coffee shop in Lake Eden, Minnesota, and no calls at night at their condo. She had no clue to his whereabouts or the reason he had left in the first place. It was as if her new husband had disappeared off the face of the earth and vanished into thin air without a trace.