
"Sister" Jane
cozy mystery
Series · culinary cozy mystery
The Hannah Swensen series by Joanne Fluke has 31 known books (31 published) and is best read in publication order, starting with Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder (2000). The latest book with a fully recorded publication date is Christmas Caramel Murder.
Start here: Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder (2000) — then read straight through in publication order.
The date order of published books and any announced future entries — the default way to read the series.
Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder is the book that opens Hannah Swensen, Joanne Fluke's series that began in 2000. It runs 357 pages. It's followed by Strawberry Shortcake Murder. Hannah Swensen is an ongoing series, 31 books in so far.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Chocolate Chip Cookie MurderStrawberry Shortcake Murder is the second book in Joanne Fluke's Hannah Swensen series, published in 2001. It runs 309 pages. In the reading order it follows Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder and precedes Blueberry Muffin Murder.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Strawberry Shortcake MurderBlueberry Muffin Murder is the third installment of the Hannah Swensen series by Joanne Fluke, published in 2001. At 320 pages, it is a full-length entry in the series. Strawberry Shortcake Murder comes before it, and Lemon Meringue Pie Murder follows.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Blueberry Muffin MurderLemon Meringue Pie Murder is the fourth book in Joanne Fluke's Hannah Swensen series, published in 2003. It runs 409 pages. In the reading order it follows Blueberry Muffin Murder and precedes Fudge Cupcake Murder.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Lemon Meringue Pie MurderFudge Cupcake Murder is Hannah Swensen's fifth entry, written by Joanne Fluke and published in 2004. The book is 305 pages long. It sits between Lemon Meringue Pie Murder and Sugar Cookie Murder in the series' reading order.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Fudge Cupcake MurderSugar Cookie Murder is the sixth installment of the Hannah Swensen series by Joanne Fluke, published in 2004. At 323 pages, it is a full-length entry in the series. Fudge Cupcake Murder comes before it, and Peach Cobbler Murder follows.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Sugar Cookie MurderPeach Cobbler Murder is Hannah Swensen's seventh entry, written by Joanne Fluke and published in 2005. The book is 320 pages long. It sits between Sugar Cookie Murder and Cherry Cheesecake Murder in the series' reading order.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Peach Cobbler MurderCherry Cheesecake Murder is Hannah Swensen's eighth entry, written by Joanne Fluke and published in 2006. The book is 354 pages long. It sits between Peach Cobbler Murder and Key Lime Pie Murder in the series' reading order.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Cherry Cheesecake MurderKey Lime Pie Murder is the ninth installment of the Hannah Swensen series by Joanne Fluke, published in 2007. At 357 pages, it is a full-length entry in the series. Cherry Cheesecake Murder comes before it, and Candy Cane Murder follows.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Key Lime Pie MurderCandy Cane Murder is a novella by Joanne Fluke in the Hannah Swensen series. The book is 390 pages long. It sits between Key Lime Pie Murder and Carrot Cake Murder in the series' reading order.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Candy Cane MurderCarrot Cake Murder is Hannah Swensen's tenth entry, written by Joanne Fluke and published in 2008. The book is 324 pages long. It sits between Candy Cane Murder and Cream Puff Murder in the series' reading order.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Carrot Cake MurderCream Puff Murder is the eleventh installment of the Hannah Swensen series by Joanne Fluke, published in 2008. At 469 pages, it is a full-length entry in the series. Carrot Cake Murder comes before it, and Plum Pudding Murder follows.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Cream Puff MurderPlum Pudding Murder is the twelfth book in Joanne Fluke's Hannah Swensen series, published in 2009. It runs 303 pages. In the reading order it follows Cream Puff Murder and precedes Apple Turnover Murder.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Plum Pudding MurderApple Turnover Murder is the thirteenth book in Joanne Fluke's Hannah Swensen series, published in 2010. It runs 304 pages. In the reading order it follows Plum Pudding Murder and precedes Gingerbread Cookie Murder.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Apple Turnover MurderGingerbread Cookie Murder is a novella by Joanne Fluke in the Hannah Swensen series. At 356 pages, it is a full-length entry in the series. Apple Turnover Murder comes before it, and Devil's Food Cake Murder follows.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Gingerbread Cookie MurderDevil's Food Cake Murder is the fourteenth book in Joanne Fluke's Hannah Swensen series, published in 2011. It runs 479 pages. In the reading order it follows Gingerbread Cookie Murder and precedes Cinnamon Roll Murder.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Devil's Food Cake MurderCinnamon Roll Murder is the fifteenth book in Joanne Fluke's Hannah Swensen series, published in 2012. It runs 478 pages. In the reading order it follows Devil's Food Cake Murder and precedes Red Velvet Cupcake Murder.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Cinnamon Roll MurderRed Velvet Cupcake Murder is the sixteenth book in Joanne Fluke's Hannah Swensen series, published in 2013. It runs 323 pages. In the reading order it follows Cinnamon Roll Murder and precedes Blackberry Pie Murder.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Red Velvet Cupcake MurderBlackberry Pie Murder is Hannah Swensen's seventeenth entry, written by Joanne Fluke and published in 2014. The book is 357 pages long. It sits between Red Velvet Cupcake Murder and Double Fudge Brownie Murder in the series' reading order.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Blackberry Pie MurderDouble Fudge Brownie Murder is Hannah Swensen's eighteenth entry, written by Joanne Fluke and published in 2015. The book is 439 pages long. It sits between Blackberry Pie Murder and Wedding Cake Murder in the series' reading order.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Double Fudge Brownie MurderWedding Cake Murder is Hannah Swensen's nineteenth entry, written by Joanne Fluke and published in 2016. The book is 370 pages long. It sits between Double Fudge Brownie Murder and Christmas Caramel Murder in the series' reading order.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Wedding Cake MurderChristmas Caramel Murder is the twentieth installment of the Hannah Swensen series by Joanne Fluke, published in September 2016. At 255 pages, it is a full-length entry in the series. Wedding Cake Murder comes before it, and Banana Cream Pie Murder follows.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Christmas Caramel MurderBanana Cream Pie Murder is the twenty-first book in Joanne Fluke's Hannah Swensen series, published in 2017. It runs 355 pages. In the reading order it follows Christmas Caramel Murder and precedes Raspberry Danish Murder.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Banana Cream Pie MurderRaspberry Danish Murder is the twenty-second installment of the Hannah Swensen series by Joanne Fluke, published in 2019. At 270 pages, it is a full-length entry in the series. Banana Cream Pie Murder comes before it, and Christmas Cake Murder follows.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Raspberry Danish MurderChristmas Cake Murder is the twenty-third installment of the Hannah Swensen series by Joanne Fluke, published in 2019. At 327 pages, it is a full-length entry in the series. Raspberry Danish Murder comes before it, and Chocolate Cream Pie Murder follows.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Christmas Cake MurderChocolate Cream Pie Murder is Hannah Swensen's twenty-fourth entry, written by Joanne Fluke and published in 2019. The book is 357 pages long. It sits between Christmas Cake Murder and Coconut Layer Cake Murder in the series' reading order.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Chocolate Cream Pie MurderCoconut Layer Cake Murder is the twenty-fifth installment of the Hannah Swensen series by Joanne Fluke, published in 2020. At 416 pages, it is a full-length entry in the series. Chocolate Cream Pie Murder comes before it, and Christmas Cupcake Murder follows.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Coconut Layer Cake MurderChristmas Cupcake Murder is the twenty-sixth book in Joanne Fluke's Hannah Swensen series, published in 2020. It runs 288 pages. In the reading order it follows Coconut Layer Cake Murder and precedes Triple Chocolate Cheesecake Murder.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Christmas Cupcake MurderTriple Chocolate Cheesecake Murder is the twenty-seventh book in Joanne Fluke's Hannah Swensen series, published in 2021. It runs 304 pages. In the reading order it follows Christmas Cupcake Murder and precedes Caramel Pecan Roll Murder.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Triple Chocolate Cheesecake MurderCaramel Pecan Roll Murder is Hannah Swensen's twenty-eighth entry, written by Joanne Fluke and published in 2022. The book is 304 pages long. It sits between Triple Chocolate Cheesecake Murder and Pink Lemonade Cake Murder in the series' reading order.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Caramel Pecan Roll MurderPink Lemonade Cake Murder is the twenty-ninth book in Joanne Fluke's Hannah Swensen series, published in 2023. It follows Caramel Pecan Roll Murder and is, to date, the most recent entry in the series.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Pink Lemonade Cake MurderHannah Swensen runs The Cookie Jar, a bakery on the town square of Lake Eden, Minnesota, and stumbles into a murder investigation roughly once a book — usually because the victim was found near a batch of her cookies, or because her mother has already decided Hannah should look into it. Joanne Fluke's long-running series is the flagship of the culinary cozy subgenre: each book comes packed with full recipes for the desserts described on the page (readers genuinely bake along), and the mystery plotting is gentle and low-stakes compared to the small-town gossip, family friction, and — for most of the series — Hannah's unresolved love triangle between dentist Norman Rhodes and detective Mike Kingston.
The appeal is comfort above all: a cast of regulars (Hannah's meddling mother Delores, her sisters, her employee Lisa) who feel like neighbors, a snowy Minnesota small-town setting, and dessert descriptions detailed enough to double as a cookbook. It's for readers who want their murder mysteries served with a side of baking, minimal gore, and a large helping of small-town warmth — one of the best-selling culinary cozy series ever published, and the basis for the Hallmark Murder, She Baked TV movies.
31 entries have been published as of Pink Lemonade Cake Murder (2023): 29 numbered novels plus two Christmas anthology novellas (Candy Cane Murder and Gingerbread Cookie Murder). The next planned book, Pumpkin Chiffon Pie Murder, was announced but its release has been repeatedly delayed and its status is unclear as of mid-2026.
Publication order, starting with Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder. Hannah's relationships and business develop across the series, so reading in sequence gives the fullest experience.
Pumpkin Chiffon Pie Murder was announced for 2025 but has since disappeared from retailer pre-order listings with no official statement from Joanne Fluke or her publisher confirming or cancelling it, so no release date can be confirmed as of mid-2026.
The love triangle between dentist Norman Rhodes and detective Mike Kingston runs through most of the series without a permanent resolution for many books — a defining, long-running thread rather than a quick pay-off.
No, but they're a core part of the series' identity — every book includes full recipes for the desserts Hannah bakes, and many readers bake along as they read.
Reading order last verified .