Friday, March 7, 2014

Review: Candy for Christmas by Joanne Fluke

This short story is found in the back of the book Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder.
Title: Candy for Christmas
Author: Joanne Fluke
Rating: **
ISBN: (I could not find a unique ISBN, it comes in the back of Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder.)
Genre: Fiction - Cozy Mystery - Short Story - Cooking
Source: Apple App Store Free Book of the Week



Summary: From Goodreads: "In the Novella, Hannah Swensen, owner of The Cookie Jar, discovers that someone has broken into her store. Perhaps this individual is simply sleeping there to stay warm. Whoever this individual is, they clean up before they leave. So Hannah plans, with Norman's help, to catch the intruder in the act (and they do). What unwinds is a tale of innocence and a dysfunctional family who is reunited due to Hannah's understanding and sense of fairness."




Thoughts: This was a cute short story that takes place around Christmas. It succeeds highly as a brief, uplifting tale that will certainly help put you in the Christmas spirit. However, I felt like the story was under-developed due to the format via which it was being told. There was no real suspense, and the way the adults handled Candy's situation - though definitely the ideal approach - also felt unrealistic and slightly underhanded. I enjoy Joanne Fluke's full novels much more, and I think this story would have been better if she had stuck with her normal format.



Discussion Questions: (Please note, though I do my best to keep spoilers out of my reviews, discussion questions are by nature for people who have read the book and may contain spoilers. Read them at your own risk! Also, if you are responding to one of the discussion questions in the comments below, please put SPOILERS at the beginning of any portions of your comment that might ruin the book for other interested parties. Thank you!)

- What did you think about the way the adults in the story handled Candy's situation?

- What did you think of the way Candy handled her situation?

- Was the meeting of the stepsisters realistic at all? Do you think they really would have become friends and okay with being sisters so quickly?



What is your opinion of the short story genre? Are there any short stories I should check out?

- Faye

1 comment:

  1. This sounds like a light holiday mystery..I read Christmas romances for my holiday read and next year should look for mystery and suspense as well, although it sounds like this had little suspense. Great review!

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