Publisher, Recorded Books (February 2010)

NOTE: RETAIL EDITIONS are packaged in attractive, compact cardboard, jewel-case or DVD shrink-wrapped cases, with full-color art.

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It's June in Lake Eden, Minnesota, and for Hannah Swensen, that means bridal showers galore, plus a massive fundraising event in need of confections - not to mention a killer who never learned that charity begins at home...Early summer brings plenty of work for Hannah, even before Mayor Bascomb's wife drops by The Cookie Jar to place an order...for eleven-hundred cookies! Stephanie Bascomb is organizing an elaborate three-day event to support local charities, and though it's a worthy cause, Hannah almost flips when her business partner, Lisa, suggests setting up an apple turnover stand. Hannah's never made a turnover - but, pushover that she is, she places her faith in Lisa's mother-in-law's recipe and agrees to be a magician's assistant in the fundraiser's talent show...Dozens of pastries and one hideous purple dress later, Hannah has to admit that stepping out of her comfort zone has been fun as well as profitable. The only snag is the show's host, community college professor Bradford Ramsey. Hannah and her younger sister Michelle each had unfortunate romantic relationships with Ramsey, and when the cad comes sniffing around between acts, Hannah tells him off. But when the curtain doesn't go up, she discovers Ramsey backstage - dead as a doornail with a turnover in his hand...Now, to protect her reputation and Michelle's, Hannah must get to the bottom of the professor's bitter end. There are plenty of scorned suspects, including an ex-wife who feels cheated in more ways than one, and a prominent local who may have been using Ramsey to avenge her own randy spouse. But who was unstable enough to snuff out Professor Love? A killer who's flakier than puff pastry - and far more dangerous...

About the Author: Like Hannah Swensen, Joanne Fluke grew up in a small town in rural Minnesota where her neighbors were friendly, the winters were fierce, and the biggest scandal was the spotting of unidentified male undergarments on a young widow's clothesline. She insists that there really are 10,000 lakes and the mosquito is NOT the state bird.

While pursuing her writing career, Joanne has worked as: a public school teacher, a psychologist, a musician, a private detective's assistant, a corporate, legal, and pharmaceutical secretary, a short order cook, a florist's assistant, a caterer and party planner, a computer consultant on a now-defunct operating system, a production assistant on a TV quiz show, half of a screenwriting team with her husband, and a mother, wife, and homemaker.

She now lives in Southern California with her husband, her kids, his kids, their three dogs, one elderly tabby, and several noisy rats in the attic.

About the Performer: For almost three decades, Suzanne Toren has performed on and Off-Broadway and in regional theaters. Born and raised in New York, she trained there in the British style under the principal instructor from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. Suzanne established a dramatic reputation by appearing in a wide range of productions. She has been in classics, plays by Neil Simon, Shakespearean dramas, works by Arthur Miller, and pieces by new playwrights.

Her years on stage have included many memorable productions. On Broadway, she has appeared in John Gabriel Borkman and Goodbye Fidel. Her favorite role was in Arthur Miller’s A View From the Bridge staged at the Philadelphia Drama Guild. She also loves the witty works of Moliére and the complex roles in Shakespeare, but has a special fondness for new scripts, finding them challenging yet gratifying because they are often works in progress. In addition to her stage appearances, Suzanne also enjoys teaching at the New Actors Workshop, which was founded by noted director Mike Nichols. There, she leads a class in stage movement.

When Claudia Howard, studio manager for Recorded Books, needed a narrator to read All But My Life, Gerda Weissmann Klein’s moving account of the Holocaust, narrator Barbara Rosenblat recommended Suzanne for the assignment. Immediately impressed with the warmth and power of her performance, Claudia has since cast Suzanne for a wide variety of fiction and nonfiction projects. Suzanne enjoys discovering something special in each work. Horse Heaven, for example, introduced her to Pulitzer Prize-winning Jane Smiley’s understated humor and attention to detail. “She describes the fleeting feelings that we can’t always put in words,” says Suzanne. When she narrated Wind, by Jan DeBlieu, Suzanne was fascinated by the cycles of wind and their effects on history. “I had never thought about how the rhythms of natural forces have shaped civilization,” Suzanne comments on the award-winning work of nonfiction.

When narrating Le Divorce, a companion to Le Mariage, Diane Johnson’s comedy of manners set in provincial France, Suzanne brought a unique talent to the production. She holds a master’s degree in French, speaks the language fluently, and lived in France for a time when she was in college. “These two books are very funny and very perceptive; they offer astute observations of being an American abroad and of the mistakes one can make by not realizing the differences in cultures,” according to Suzanne.

From biography to social comedy, from memoir to mystery, Suzanne Toren makes each book an unforgettable listening experience.