Queen of culinary capers, Joanne Fluke, cooks up the most delicious gift of all- a recipefilled holiday mystery prequel to the beloved Hannah Swensen Mystery series! Readers will devour this story, as it brings them back to when it all began, during Christmas season many years ago, when a young Hannah was preparing to open The Cookie Jar and investigating her first murder...

It's Christmas many years ago, and topping young Hannah Swensen's wish list is becoming the go-to baker in Lake Eden, Minnesota. But as Hannah finds out, revisiting holiday memories can bemurder . . .

With her dream of opening The Cookie Jar taking shape, Hannah's life matches the hectic December hustle and bustle in Lake Eden-especially when she agrees to help recreate a spectacular Christmas Ball from the past in honor of Essie Granger, an elderly local in hospice care. But instead of poring over decadent dessert recipes for the merry festivities, she instantly becomes enthralled by Essie's old notebooks-and the tale of a woman escaping danger on the streets of New York . . .

Hannah's surprised by Essie's secret talent for penning crime fiction. She's even more surprised when the story turns real. As Hannah prepares to run a bakery and move out of her mother's house, it'll be a true miracle if she can prevent another Yuletide disaster by solving a mystery as dense as a Christmas fruitcake . . .

Features Over a Dozen Cookie and Dessert Recipes from The Cookie Jar!

"Series fans will enjoy learning how the Cookie Jar bakery came to be."
-Publishers Weekly