Below is the complete list of Joanne Fluke’s Hannah Swensen books in order. For this series, the chronological reading order is the same as the order of publication.
Publication Order of Hannah Swensen Books
- Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder (2000)
Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder was published in 2000 and is listed as book #1 in the Hannah Swensen series. - Strawberry Shortcake Murder (2001)
Published in 2001, Strawberry Shortcake Murder is listed as book #2 in the Hannah Swensen series. - Blueberry Muffin Murder (2001)
Blueberry Muffin Murder is a 2001 release and appears as book #3 in the Hannah Swensen series. - Lemon Meringue Pie Murder (2003)
In the Hannah Swensen series, Lemon Meringue Pie Murder is book #4 and was published in 2003. - Fudge Cupcake Murder (2004)
Fudge Cupcake Murder was first published in 2004; within the Hannah Swensen series, it is listed as book #5. - Sugar Cookie Murder (2004)
Sugar Cookie Murder was published in 2004 and is listed as book #6 in the Hannah Swensen series. - Peach Cobbler Murder (2005)
Published in 2005, Peach Cobbler Murder is listed as book #7 in the Hannah Swensen series. - Cherry Cheesecake Murder (2006)
Cherry Cheesecake Murder is a 2006 release and appears as book #8 in the Hannah Swensen series. - Key Lime Pie Murder (2007)
In the Hannah Swensen series, Key Lime Pie Murder is book #9 and was published in 2007. - Candy Cane Murder (2007)
Candy Cane Murder was first published in 2007; within the Hannah Swensen series, it is listed as book #10. - Candy for Christmas (2008)
Candy for Christmas was published in 2008 and is listed as book #11 in the Hannah Swensen series. - Carrot Cake Murder (2008)
Published in 2008, Carrot Cake Murder is listed as book #12 in the Hannah Swensen series. - Cream Puff Murder (2008)
Cream Puff Murder is a 2008 release and appears as book #13 in the Hannah Swensen series. - Plum Pudding Murder (2009)
In the Hannah Swensen series, Plum Pudding Murder is book #14 and was published in 2009. - Apple Turnover Murder (2010)
Apple Turnover Murder was first published in 2010; within the Hannah Swensen series, it is listed as book #15. - Gingerbread Cookie Murder (2010)
Gingerbread Cookie Murder was published in 2010 and is listed as book #16 in the Hannah Swensen series. - Devil’s Food Cake Murder (2011)
Published in 2011, Devil's Food Cake Murder is listed as book #17 in the Hannah Swensen series. - Cinnamon Roll Murder (2012)
Cinnamon Roll Murder is a 2012 release and appears as book #18 in the Hannah Swensen series. - Red Velvet Cupcake Murder (2013)
In the Hannah Swensen series, Red Velvet Cupcake Murder is book #19 and was published in 2013. - Blackberry Pie Murder (2014)
Blackberry Pie Murder was first published in 2014; within the Hannah Swensen series, it is listed as book #20. - Double Fudge Brownie Murder (2015)
Double Fudge Brownie Murder was published in 2015 and is listed as book #21 in the Hannah Swensen series. - Wedding Cake Murder (2016)
Published in 2016, Wedding Cake Murder is listed as book #22 in the Hannah Swensen series. - Christmas Caramel Murder (2016)
Christmas Caramel Murder is a 2016 release and appears as book #23 in the Hannah Swensen series. - Banana Cream Pie Murder (2017)
In the Hannah Swensen series, Banana Cream Pie Murder is book #24 and was published in 2017. - Raspberry Danish Murder (2019)
Raspberry Danish Murder was first published in 2019; within the Hannah Swensen series, it is listed as book #25. - Christmas Cake Murder (2019)
Christmas Cake Murder was published in 2019 and is listed as book #26 in the Hannah Swensen series. - Chocolate Cream Pie Murder (2019)
Published in 2019, Chocolate Cream Pie Murder is listed as book #27 in the Hannah Swensen series. - Coconut Layer Cake Murder (2020)
Coconut Layer Cake Murder is a 2020 release and appears as book #28 in the Hannah Swensen series. - Christmas Cupcake Murder (2020)
In the Hannah Swensen series, Christmas Cupcake Murder is book #29 and was published in 2020. - Triple Chocolate Cheesecake Murder (2021)
Triple Chocolate Cheesecake Murder was first published in 2021; within the Hannah Swensen series, it is listed as book #30. - Christmas Dessert Murder (2021)
Christmas Dessert Murder was published in 2021 and is listed as book #31 in the Hannah Swensen series. - Caramel Pecan Roll Murder (2022)
Published in 2022, Caramel Pecan Roll Murder is listed as book #32 in the Hannah Swensen series. - Pink Lemonade Cake Murder (2023)
Pink Lemonade Cake Murder is a 2023 release and appears as book #33 in the Hannah Swensen series.
About Hannah Swensen
Joanne Fluke’s Hannah Swensen series is one of the defining successes of the culinary cozy mystery. It begins with Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder, first published in 2000, and has grown into a long-running sequence centered on Hannah, a baker in Lake Eden, Minnesota, whose work at The Cookie Jar places her at the social heart of town life just as murders keep pulling her into amateur investigation. Fluke’s official series page still presents it as an active line, with Pink Lemonade Cake Murder among the recent entries, a 25th-anniversary edition of Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder released in 2025, and Pumpkin Chiffon Pie Murder listed as forthcoming.
What makes the series endure is not simply that each book combines a murder with recipes. Plenty of cozies use food or craft as decoration; Hannah Swensen makes baking central to the whole reading experience. The Cookie Jar is not just a workplace but a narrative hub, a place where local gossip, family tension, business life, romance, and community routine all intersect. That gives the books a stable social center, which is one reason publication order pays off. The mysteries themselves may each have their own case, but the world around Hannah deepens gradually, and Lake Eden works best when experienced as an accumulating place rather than a backdrop that resets every time.
Hannah herself is also a large part of the series’ staying power. She is not written as a glamorous sleuth or an eccentric investigator built around one comic gimmick. She is practical, observant, rooted in local life, and believable as someone who would know everybody’s habits well enough to notice when something is wrong. That ordinary embeddedness is crucial. The books work because Hannah belongs to the town she investigates. She is close enough to people to care, but also curious enough to keep digging when others would rather look away. In a series this long, that balance matters more than any single murder setup.
Publication order matters because Hannah’s relationships and the wider social fabric of Lake Eden evolve over time. This is not a pure puzzle franchise where the same cast snaps back into position after every ending. Family members, recurring friends, law-enforcement figures, and romantic complications all gather weight across the books. Even readers who come primarily for the mystery plots usually end up reading for continuity as much as for surprise. That is especially true in a cozy series, where familiarity is part of the pleasure. The later books land best when the reader already understands the habits, loyalties, and long-running tensions underneath the newest case.
Another useful point of context is how thoroughly the series became Joanne Fluke’s signature work. Her publisher identifies her directly with Hannah Swensen, calling her the New York Times bestselling author of the Hannah Swensen mysteries, and official material also notes the Hallmark adaptation history beginning with Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder. That crossover into screen adaptations says something real about the books’ appeal. They offer not only mystery, but an atmosphere readers want to revisit: small-town comfort, dessert-centered charm, recurring personalities, and danger presented without abandoning reassurance.
For readers who already have the list above, the best way to think about Hannah Swensen is not as an endless chain of dessert titles, but as a highly consistent fictional world built on repetition used well. The formula is part of the attraction, but so is the refinement of that formula across decades. Read in publication order, the series becomes more than a run of culinary murders. It becomes an ongoing portrait of a town, a business, and a heroine whose steady presence turns comfort into its own kind of storytelling engine.