Tuesday, March 24, 2020

Sinister Sprinkles (A Donut Shop Mystery #3)

Author:  Jessica Beck
Genre:   Mystery


Hardcover; Trade Paperback; Mass Market Paperback; Digital Book
ISBN #:  9781445836843; 9781250100221; 9781250005380
Minotaur Books
290 Pages
Various Prices Amazon
November 1, 2011

⭐⭐⭐⭐


Just in time for the Winter Festival, a glistening layer of snow has covered the streets of April Springs, North Carolina.  Of course, it reminds donut shop owner Suzanne Hart of sweet delicious frosting.  But her visions of sugar plums plummet when her ex's ex-girlfriend gets iced...

Suzanne could never understand why her ex-husband Max cheated on her with Darlene Higgins.  Why Darlene's body was found wearing another woman's clothes is an even bigger mystery.  Now Max is suspected of murder -- and Suzanne is sifting through her mixed-up love life looking for clues.  If she can't sprinkle evidence on her half-baked theories of whodunit, Max is as good as fried...

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Suzanne Hart is the owner of Donut Hearts in April Springs, North Carolina.  It's just before Christmas and everyone is loving the Winter Festival, especially Suzanne.  She has a booth set up outside her shop where she's selling her donuts, and couldn't be happier.  That is, until there's a commotion in the town square a few blocks away, and Suzanne hears someone shout that Muriel Stevens has been murdered.

Suzanne asks her employee Emma to watch the shop and goes to see what happened, and she notices Muriel's distinctive winter coat.  But then she notices something else -- Muriel's hair has streaks of grey, which Muriel would never allow, and a touch of blonde.  She tells them that's not Muriel, and it's discovered that the dead woman is Darlene Higgins, the woman who destroyed Suzanne's marriage by sleeping with her husband, Max.  Now Max is a suspect in the murder, but he's disappeared and Chief Martin thinks Suzanne is shielding him.  But Suzanne knows Max is no killer, so she and her best friend Grace set out to find the truth.  But that's only going to work if the killer doesn't find her first...

This is the third book in the series and I have to tell you that it's improved over the first two.  The characters are starting to come together and Suzanne is beginning to grow on me.  I didn't much care for her in the first book, so that's saying a lot.  I even like Max the Dirtbag.  At least he's remorseful, but I agree with Suzanne wholeheartedly in her decision. 

In this book we have a few changes in Suzanne's life and even Emma's, that make them rethink a few things.  It's a nice concept and we see how they react to them.  In all these cases, I like Suzanne more.  She's generous, kind, thoughtful, and whole-hearted.  Those are good qualities in a person.  She's also strong and independent, and can give as good as she gets.  Watching her reactions to people in different situations gives us an eye to her as a person, and it's nice to see.

Suzanne isn't sure who killed Darlene, or why, but she's determined to find out, and with this in mind she and Grace are asking questions -- as surreptitiously as they can, of course -- and while they're not quite discovering a murderer, they are discovering suspects, and reasons why someone would want Darlene out of the picture. 

When the ending comes and the murderer is revealed, it's a bit of a surprise, but not an unwelcome one, at that.  I really liked how this was done, and as unexpected as it was, it was a nice touch in the last few scenes.  I also did like the ending of the book, giving us a hint of what might be next in Suzanne's life.  Recommended.

https://www.amazon.com/Sinister-Sprinkles-Donut-Mystery-Mysteries/dp/1250005388/ref

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3244759386

More on Jessica Beck's Books:  https://www.fantasticfiction.com/b/jessica-beck/

No comments:

Post a Comment

A Spicy Side of Homicide (An Ivy Creek Mystery Book 14)

Author:      Ruth Baker Genre:       Mystery Digital Book  ASIN #:     B0CPVY5PKY Clean Tales Publishing 138 Pages $2.99 Amazon May 31, 2024...