50 Book Challenge- Book 5- Devil's Food Cake Murder

Last night, I finished reading book 5 of the 50 book challenge. The book I chose was called Devil's Food Cake Murder by Joanne Fluke. This was book 14 of her Hannah Swensen series. I love this series and have read every book; however, this book dropped a bombshell for an ending that I wasn't expecting!

In this story, Hannah comes across a dead minister in the church office while visiting the pastor's grandmother,Grandma Knudson. At first, Grandma Knudson is skeptical as to whether the substitute minister is the same person she remembers from childhood, thinking that he may be his cousin, a sneaky person that had a rotten core since teenager-hood. After the minister is found dead, the supposedly real Reverend Matthew comes to town to claim the body. Everyone is confused because this new "reverend" that comes to town could be a twin of the one that just passed. While investigating the murder on her own time, Hannah gets to spend time with her long time dentist boyfriend, Norman.

Norman has recently added a new dentist to his clinic, Dr. Bev, his ex-fiance. While spending time more time with her than Hannah would like, Norman reveals that he does still love Hannah and still wants her to marry him. Together, Hannah, her sisters, and Norman work at solving the case. There are several twists and turns that surprise everyone, but not nearly as much as the bombshell that Norman drops on Hannah at the end of the story-- He is marrying Dr. Bev so that he can continue to see Diana. It turns out, when Dr. Bev broke off her and Norman's engagement, she was pregnant with Diana and never told him! Now, Hannah is without a boyfriend, shocked that he has a child nobody but Norman ever knew about, and shocked that Norman would go along with the ultimatum that was placed on him and his visitation.

The next book to this series will be released on February 28, 2012 and you better believe that I will be picking it up to see how this new tale unravels! This story was a great read, as all of Joanne's books are. There are several fantastic recipes available throughout the book for cookies, coffee, and several other great desserts. I can't wait to try them all!