Below is the complete list of Joanne Fluke 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)
by Joanne Fluke
Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder was published in 2000 and is listed as book #1 in the Hannah Swensen series.
Strawberry Shortcake Murder (2001)
by Joanne Fluke
Published in 2001, Strawberry Shortcake Murder is listed as book #2 in the Hannah Swensen series.
Blueberry Muffin Murder (2001)
by Joanne Fluke
Blueberry Muffin Murder is a 2001 release and appears as book #3 in the Hannah Swensen series.
Lemon Meringue Pie Murder (2003)
by Joanne Fluke
In the Hannah Swensen series, Lemon Meringue Pie Murder is book #4 and was published in 2003.
Fudge Cupcake Murder (2004)
by Joanne Fluke
Fudge Cupcake Murder was first published in 2004; within the Hannah Swensen series, it is listed as book #5.
Sugar Cookie Murder (2004)
by Joanne Fluke
Sugar Cookie Murder was published in 2004 and is listed as book #6 in the Hannah Swensen series.
Peach Cobbler Murder (2005)
by Joanne Fluke
Published in 2005, Peach Cobbler Murder is listed as book #7 in the Hannah Swensen series.
Cherry Cheesecake Murder (2006)
by Joanne Fluke
Cherry Cheesecake Murder is a 2006 release and appears as book #8 in the Hannah Swensen series.
Key Lime Pie Murder (2007)
by Joanne Fluke
In the Hannah Swensen series, Key Lime Pie Murder is book #9 and was published in 2007.
Candy Cane Murder (2007)
by Joanne Fluke
Candy Cane Murder was first published in 2007; within the Hannah Swensen series, it is listed as book #10.
- Candy for Christmas (2008)
by Joanne Fluke
Candy for Christmas was published in 2008 and is listed as book #11 in the Hannah Swensen series. Carrot Cake Murder (2008)
by Joanne Fluke
Published in 2008, Carrot Cake Murder is listed as book #12 in the Hannah Swensen series.
Cream Puff Murder (2008)
by Joanne Fluke
Cream Puff Murder is a 2008 release and appears as book #13 in the Hannah Swensen series.
Plum Pudding Murder (2009)
by Joanne Fluke
In the Hannah Swensen series, Plum Pudding Murder is book #14 and was published in 2009.
Apple Turnover Murder (2010)
by Joanne Fluke
Apple Turnover Murder was first published in 2010; within the Hannah Swensen series, it is listed as book #15.
Gingerbread Cookie Murder (2010)
by Joanne Fluke
Gingerbread Cookie Murder was published in 2010 and is listed as book #16 in the Hannah Swensen series.
Devil’s Food Cake Murder (2011)
by Joanne Fluke
Published in 2011, Devil's Food Cake Murder is listed as book #17 in the Hannah Swensen series.
Cinnamon Roll Murder (2012)
by Joanne Fluke
Cinnamon Roll Murder is a 2012 release and appears as book #18 in the Hannah Swensen series.
Red Velvet Cupcake Murder (2013)
by Joanne Fluke
In the Hannah Swensen series, Red Velvet Cupcake Murder is book #19 and was published in 2013.
Blackberry Pie Murder (2014)
by Joanne Fluke
Blackberry Pie Murder was first published in 2014; within the Hannah Swensen series, it is listed as book #20.
Double Fudge Brownie Murder (2015)
by Joanne Fluke
Double Fudge Brownie Murder was published in 2015 and is listed as book #21 in the Hannah Swensen series.
Wedding Cake Murder (2016)
by Joanne Fluke
Published in 2016, Wedding Cake Murder is listed as book #22 in the Hannah Swensen series.
Christmas Caramel Murder (2016)
by Joanne Fluke
Christmas Caramel Murder is a 2016 release and appears as book #23 in the Hannah Swensen series.
Banana Cream Pie Murder (2017)
by Joanne Fluke
In the Hannah Swensen series, Banana Cream Pie Murder is book #24 and was published in 2017.
Raspberry Danish Murder (2019)
by Joanne Fluke
Raspberry Danish Murder was first published in 2019; within the Hannah Swensen series, it is listed as book #25.
Christmas Cake Murder (2019)
by Joanne Fluke
Christmas Cake Murder was published in 2019 and is listed as book #26 in the Hannah Swensen series.
Chocolate Cream Pie Murder (2019)
by Joanne Fluke
Published in 2019, Chocolate Cream Pie Murder is listed as book #27 in the Hannah Swensen series.
Coconut Layer Cake Murder (2020)
by Joanne Fluke
Coconut Layer Cake Murder is a 2020 release and appears as book #28 in the Hannah Swensen series.
Christmas Cupcake Murder (2020)
by Joanne Fluke
In the Hannah Swensen series, Christmas Cupcake Murder is book #29 and was published in 2020.
Triple Chocolate Cheesecake Murder (2021)
by Joanne Fluke
Triple Chocolate Cheesecake Murder was first published in 2021; within the Hannah Swensen series, it is listed as book #30.
Christmas Dessert Murder (2021)
by Joanne Fluke
Christmas Dessert Murder was published in 2021 and is listed as book #31 in the Hannah Swensen series.
Caramel Pecan Roll Murder (2022)
by Joanne Fluke
Published in 2022, Caramel Pecan Roll Murder is listed as book #32 in the Hannah Swensen series.
Pink Lemonade Cake Murder (2023)
by Joanne Fluke
Pink Lemonade Cake Murder is a 2023 release and appears as book #33 in the Hannah Swensen series.
Publication Order of Standalone Novels Books
The Stepchild (1980)
by Joanne Fluke
The Stepchild was published in 1980 and is listed as book #1 in the Standalone Novels series.
The Other Child (1983)
by Joanne Fluke
Published in 1983, The Other Child is listed as book #2 in the Standalone Novels series.
Winter Chill (1984)
by Joanne Fluke
Winter Chill is a 1984 release and appears as book #3 in the Standalone Novels series.
Cold Judgment (1985)
by Joanne Fluke
In the Standalone Novels series, Cold Judgment is book #4 and was published in 1985.
Vengeance is Mine (1986)
by Joanne Fluke
Vengeance is Mine was first published in 1986; within the Standalone Novels series, it is listed as book #5.
Video Kill (1989)
by Joanne Fluke
Video Kill was published in 1989 and is listed as book #6 in the Standalone Novels series.
Final Appeal (1989)
by Joanne Fluke
Published in 1989, Final Appeal is listed as book #7 in the Standalone Novels series.
Dead Giveaway (1990)
by Joanne Fluke
Dead Giveaway is a 1990 release and appears as book #8 in the Standalone Novels series.
Fatal Identity (1993)
by Joanne Fluke
In the Standalone Novels series, Fatal Identity is book #9 and was published in 1993.
Deadly Memories (1995)
by Joanne Fluke
Deadly Memories was first published in 1995; within the Standalone Novels series, it is listed as book #10.
Eyes (1996)
by Joanne Fluke
Eyes was published in 1996 and is listed as book #11 in the Standalone Novels series.
Wicked (1996)
(By Jo Gibson)
Published in 1996, Wicked is listed as book #12 in the Standalone Novels series.
A Match For Melissa (1998)
by Joanne Fluke
A Match For Melissa is a 1998 release and appears as book #13 in the Standalone Novels series.
Caitlyn’s Cowboy (1999)
by Joanne Fluke
In the Standalone Novels series, Caitlyn's Cowboy is book #14 and was published in 1999.
A Season For Samantha (1999)
by Joanne Fluke
A Season For Samantha was first published in 1999; within the Standalone Novels series, it is listed as book #15.
A Husband For Holly (1999)
by Joanne Fluke
A Husband For Holly was published in 1999 and is listed as book #16 in the Standalone Novels series.
A Valentine For Vanessa (2000)
by Joanne Fluke
Published in 2000, A Valentine For Vanessa is listed as book #17 in the Standalone Novels series.
Cookies and Kisses (2000)
by Joanne Fluke
Cookies and Kisses is a 2000 release and appears as book #18 in the Standalone Novels series.
A Townhouse for Tessa (2001)
by Joanne Fluke
In the Standalone Novels series, A Townhouse for Tessa is book #19 and was published in 2001.
Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books
Joanne Fluke’s Lake Eden Cookbook (2011)
by Joanne Fluke
Joanne Fluke's Lake Eden Cookbook was published in 2011 and is listed as book #1 in the Non-Fiction series.
About Joanne Fluke
Joanne Fluke is best known as the creator of Hannah Swensen, one of the most durable and commercially successful figures in modern cozy mystery. If her bibliography is reduced to a single defining achievement, it is that series: a long-running blend of small-town mystery, baking culture, recurring relationships, and comfort-reading structure that helped make culinary cozies a major publishing lane. Fluke did not simply write mysteries that happened to include recipes. She built an entire reading experience around them, one in which murder, community gossip, romance, and dessert all became part of the same recognizable world.
Born Joanne Gibson in Swanville, Minnesota, she later lived in Southern California, but her fiction remained strongly shaped by the small-town Midwestern atmosphere she knew early in life. That background matters because the Hannah Swensen books are not generic cozies dropped into an interchangeable setting. Lake Eden, Minnesota, has a specific social texture: familiar, watchful, intimate, a place where ordinary routines and hidden tensions sit very close together. Fluke understood how to use that environment well. The appeal of the books comes not only from the mystery plots, but from the sense that readers are returning to a lived-in town with stable rhythms and familiar people.
Her career is also broader than many readers realize. Before and alongside the Hannah Swensen novels, Fluke wrote under several other names, including Jo Gibson, Kathryn Kirkwood, Chris Hunter, Gina Jackson, John Fischer, and R. J. Fischer. Those pseudonyms covered different kinds of commercial fiction, including young adult horror, romance, and suspense. That matters because it shows she was not simply a one-series success who found a formula by accident. She had experience writing for popular audiences in multiple modes before Hannah Swensen became the center of her reputation.
Still, the Hannah books are the key to understanding her place in genre fiction. Beginning with Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder, the series established a pattern that readers returned to again and again: Hannah as baker and amateur sleuth, The Cookie Jar as social hub, murder intruding into ordinary life, and recipes woven directly into the book. That recipe element was not a gimmick added at the margins. It became part of the series identity and one reason the books stood out so clearly within the cozy mystery field. Fluke’s work offered readers not just a puzzle, but a whole domestic atmosphere—food, conversation, weather, family, local business, romantic entanglements, and a reassuring return to place.
Her bibliography is best understood in layers. First are the Hannah Swensen novels themselves, which form the backbone of her career and the main reason most readers seek out her books in order. Then there are companion works tied to that world, including cookbooks and related material that extend the series experience beyond the core mysteries. Finally, there is the earlier and more varied pseudonymous fiction, which shows a writer comfortable with commercial storytelling long before her signature success arrived.
Fluke’s style is not built around hard-edged realism or procedural exactness. She writes for pleasure, continuity, and familiarity, but that does not mean her work is slight. The success of the Hannah Swensen books depends on consistency of tone, on a stable fictional community, and on a very clear understanding of what readers want from this kind of series. Her novels promise murder without bleakness, suspense without brutality, and domestic detail without losing narrative motion. That balance is harder to achieve than it looks.
The best way to understand Joanne Fluke’s bibliography, then, is not as a scattered collection of unrelated commercial titles, but as the work of a writer who found an enduring fictional mode and refined it over decades. She became, in effect, one of the defining architects of the culinary cozy mystery. Even readers who have never read every Hannah Swensen novel usually recognize the shape of what she created: a bakery, a small town, a murder, a recipe, and the comforting certainty that the world may be disrupted, but not permanently broken.
