Author: Jessica Beck
Genre: Mystery
Mass Market Paperback; Digital Book
ISBN #: 9781250001061
St. Martin's Books
300 Pages
[Various Prices] $11.99 Amazon
August 28, 2012
⭐⭐⭐⭐
It's hard to keep a secret in April Springs -- especially when it involves a no-good cheater like Peter Morgan. Donut shop owner Suzanne Hart has tried to be civil with the guy, since he's dating her best friend Grace. But when Grace shows up at her doorstep -- sobbing -- Suzanne's the first to admit she's glad the relationship is over. She's also the first to spot the footprints leading to Peter's dead body...
Instead of the usual morning donuts, the police are busy rounding up suspects and sifting through clues: why did Peter splash yellow paint on Suzanne's shop window before he was murdered? How angry was Grace when she learned that her boyfriend was two-timing (or three- or four-timing) her? Suzanne is willing to bet dollars to donuts that her friend is innocent. Now she has to prove it -- before the real killer takes a powder...
✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽
Suzanne Hart lives in the small town of April Springs, North Carolina, with her mother. She's a divorced woman who decided to take a chance and open a donut shop, Donut Hearts, and has found that every day it's filled with people who want a little morning pick-me-up, which makes her happy.
Her best friend Grace has been dating a man named Peter Morgan that Suzanne just can't like, no matter how hard she tries. She thinks he's smarmy; so when Grace shows up one night at her house crying, she quickly finds out it's because Grace has found Peter cheating on her and broken up with him. But the next morning when Suzanne goes to work she discovers that someone has thrown yellow paint all over the front of her building, and she has an idea who it was. Still, when the police chief himself shows up, she's surprised -- at least until he tells her why: someone has killed Peter and he wants her to come with him to Grace's -- not to accuse her, but because he thinks Grace will need her after he breaks the news.
Still, Suzanne realizes that Grace is the main suspect, so she and her friend go into investigative mode, trying to figure out who wanted Peter dead. What they don't expect to find is the man was a huge womanizer, and practically all of them had a real reason to kill him.
When they start investigating further, they also find that Peter was more than just a womanizer, and the suspect list grows. Now, all Suzanne has to do is ask questions and avoid a killer. Easy, right?...
This is the eighth book in the series and I have read them all. I know this is an older book, but once in a while I feel the need to go back to my library and dig an older one out. The reason being is that these books don't have political overtones or leanings, and you're not getting someone else's personal views in your reading.
I have found that these books are a lot of fun to read. They feature Suzanne, who's practically fearless but also careful, and she stands up for what she believes in -- which is loyalty to her friends and justice for the innocent. She's also a pretty good donut maker! Anyway, I like the characters in the book, and like Suzanne, I'm even warming to Chief Martin.
In this book we find out that Peter was quite a womanizer. What gets me is when did he have any time to himself? There's no shortage of suspects, and while many of them don't want to be questioned, one of them goes to great lengths to avoid it, which only puts that person on the major radar, if you will.
But when things come to a head, Suzanne realizes she only has her wits to save her, and she uses them for everything it's worth (as we know she will survive!). The ending is quite nice, and makes for an easy read any evening, with a feel-good satisfying result. Recommended.
More on Jessica Beck's Books: https://www.fantasticfiction.com/b/jessica-beck/
No comments:
Post a Comment