Killer Donuts

 A Deputy Donut Mystery Book 11

Author:    Ginger Bolton

Genre:     Mystery

Paperback; Digital Book

ISBN #:    9781496758255

Kensington Cozies

256 Pages

$17.97; $9.99 Amazon

August 25, 2026

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

It's fall in Fallingbrook, Wisconsin, and Emily Fyne, owner of the popular local Deputy Donut cafe is on a trail -- a Donut Trail, that is -- to tour pre-Halloween treats and activities, not to mention check out the competition.  It's all fun and games, until a murder that's no trick...

Emily and her friends Izzy and Monique are traveling the Donut Trail in style in Deputy Donut's vintage, donut-topped car.  With them are Emily's cat, Dep, and Monique's tiny dog, Gigi.  Amid the spectacular foliage they stop at an orchard that includes a bistro and a vast corn maze,  But while sampling some apple cider, they find that not everyone shares their friendly, festive mood...

A cranky tourist not only scolds them for bringing their pets, but she also says she hates dogs -- with cats a close second.  No matter.  Emily and company, their pets leashed, go off to enter the maze,  But soon, boisterous teens barge in, wreaking havoc, tossing pumpkins, uprooting cornstalks -- and attempting a dog-snatching...

As everyone scrambles to regroup, it turns out the dog-hating woman is missing.  And when her dead body is finally discovered -- with Gigi's hair ribbon in her pocket -- Emily and her friends are the top suspects.  To clear their names, they'll have to throw a killer off their trail while diving even deeper into a dangerous labyrinth of clues...

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

It's nearing Halloween in Fallingbrook, Wisconsin, and donut shop owner Emily Fyne and her friends Izzy and Monique are taking a tour of the Donut Trail, which stops at various shops in Wisconsin that sell donuts.  Everything is going fine until they reach a certain point and an unfriendly woman starts remarking about people who bring their pets along.  Monique, with her tiny dog, Gigi, and Emily, with her cat Dep, are trying the donuts and cider and since they are out side, no one else is complaining.  But the woman mentions how she hates dogs (and cats) and won't let up.

Still, the three women aren't about to let her spoil their mood, and so they decide to go into the corn maze which is also on the property.  But while they are trying to find their way out, a hand shoots through the corn and grabs Gigi.  Suddenly, things go sideways as the women attempt to find the tiny creature and everyone is shouting her name -- even disruptive teenagers who think this is all a game.

Eventually, Gigi is found, and all is calm.  For a while, at least.  Until it's discovered that the woman is missing from her tour.  And when her body is found in the maze the next day, with Gigi's hair ribbon in her pocket, they become suspects in the murder.  Now Emily and her friends are trying to clear their names and find a killer.  Because if they don't, one of them may be the next victim...

This is the eleventh book in the series, and I have enjoyed most of them.  I will admit, in the beginning their was an 'evil nemesis' which I hate above all things, but since that problem has been removed, all the remaining books have been more than delightful.

I love Emily and her family and friends, each with their own backstory to tell, and new friends that they meet along the way.  Her life with her detective husband Brent is good, Dep is spoiled (even more than my cats), but I enjoy reading about her as well.  She owns Deputy Donuts along with her late husband's father Tom, and the business is thriving.

In this book, Emily once again is drawn into a murder as she tries to prove herself innocent.  Although she's not really a serious suspect, one of her friends is, and she knows that she needs to help clear her name.  To that end, the three women start listing their own suspects, and it builds quite a list.  When they start to question people, they get the natural resistance, but someone is watching their every move and is planning their own.

When we get closer to the end of the book, everything becomes tense as Emily starts to figure out who the real killer is.  So do her friends, and they try to capture that person without them knowing.  But it's more dangerous than they think, and if help doesn't arrive soon, they may not escape...

I will not say any more as to not ruin the book for others, but this is one of the best in the series, and it was a delight to read.  Ms. Bolton has a turn with words, and she does it well.  Very well written and highly recommended.

I was given an advance copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley but this in no way influenced my review.

https://www.amazon.com/Killer-Donuts-Deputy-Donut-Mystery-ebook/dp/B0GC9JN6XT/ref

Goodreads:    https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/8467289290

More on Ginger Bolton's Books:    https://www.fantasticfiction.com/b/ginger-bolton/

Blame The Beignets

 A Deputy Donut Mystery Book 9

Author:    Ginger Bolton

Genre:     Mystery

Paperback; Digital Book

ISBN #:    9781496749611

Kensington Cozies

304 Pages

$17.95; $9.99 Amazon

November 26, 2024

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

As the weather cools down, business heats up at Deputy Donut Cafe for owner Emily Westhill.  But is a stubborn tabby cat, a mysterious new employee, and a murder case with a baker's dozen worth of suspects too much to manage?

With mouthwatering treats selling fast in October, Emily is delighted to welcome her assistant's younger sister, Hannah, to help at the donut shop while taking a semester off from college.  But Hannah's talent for dishing powdered pastries without dropping a crumb attracts some unusual customers, as two admirers with opposite personalities begin to show up during her shifts -- much to her older sister's disappointment...

Real trouble comes after hours in the dark forest surrounding Emily's lakeside house.  Emily follows a trail of her freshly-made beignets -- just like those purchased by the two admirers -- to a dead body.  And while the victim may have burned a few bridges, there's no way to sugarcoat the discovery of Hannah's hairclip at the crime scene.  Now. as suspicions fall on her own employee and unsavory rumors swirl around town, it will take far more than a sprinkle of good luck for Emily to learn the truth and expose a killer with a very deadly craving...

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Emily Fyne, newly married to Detective Brent Fyne, owns Deputy Donut Cafe with her late husband's father, Tom Westhill.  They've got a new special of beignets, and everyone who tastes them loves them; so, they sell out fast.  Her employee Hannah is taking a break from school to work there with her older sister Olivia, so all seems well.

But one day two young men enter the cafe with a tiny dog, and no one seems to know who she belongs to -- at least until another shop owner is heard calling for her.  But there's been chaos already, with Emily's cat Dep taking umbrage at the dog's presence, and letting everyone know it by escaping himself.  Once Dep is corralled and everything goes back to normal, Emily learns the two men -- Zachary and Joshua -- are known to Hannah, and both seem to be interested in her.

This doesn't sit well with Olivia, who likes Zachary, but isn't happy that Hannah seems to favor the unknown (up until now) Joshua.  Then there's another altercation at the cafe between two men and a woman, and another man who enters trying to sell 'deals' to the customers.  Once Emily has the cafe back to order, she wonders if it can get any worse.

It does, when she discovers a dead body on a trail not too far from her lakeside home -- along with one of Hannah's hairclips.  Once she discovers the identity of the man, she wonders if Hannah or her friends had anything to do with it; even putting this idea out of her head doesn't do much good, as she finds out there are plenty of other suspects who wanted the person dead.  Now she's on the trail of a killer, and hopes she can find them before someone else is slain...

This is the ninth book in the series, and I have read them all.  I love the story lines, and the characters, and especially little Dep, who has his own say in the murders and solving them.  A pretty smart cat (but then, I favor cats and know that most of them are!).  Emily is trying to prove Hannah innocent, but her detective husband Brent has to look at the evidence, and the hairclip could point to her involvement.  It rankles Emily, but she knows that it does look incriminating.  But Olivia didn't want Hannah to hike that trail -- for good reason -- so why was she there when she is claiming she wasn't?

Now Emily is looking to find out who had the best reason for the person's demise, and she does find clues along the way, which she passes on to Brent, just as she should.  It makes their life together flow easily, and you can see that they love and respect each other, which is the main thing marriage should do for people.  It's realistic, and I like it.

There are clues throughout, but they aren't easy to find.  I didn't know the murderer until Emily did, and that's a very good thing, as I read a lot of mysteries and far too often, I discover the killer the minute they step on the page.  In this one, she hid the person well, which gave an element of surprise that I truly enjoyed.

In the end, the reasons for the murder were no more than it should be, as the mind of a killer is always hard to decipher, nor would I want to.  What I want is what this mystery gives us: secrets, lies, intrigues, and a lot of action.  Kudos to Ms. Bolton.  I look forward to the next in the series.  Highly recommended.

I received an advance copy from the publisher and NetGalley but this in no way influenced my review.

https://www.amazon.com/Blame-Beignets-Deputy-Donut-Mystery-ebook/dp/B0CW1GWMZD/ref

Goodreads:    https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7018328496

More on Ginger Bolton's Books:    https://www.fantasticfiction.com/b/ginger-bolton/

Double Grudge Donuts (A Deputy Donut Mystery Book 8)

Author:    Ginger Bolton

Genre:     Mystery

Trade Paperback; Digital Book

ISBN #:    9781496740212

Kensington Cozies

256 Pages

$16.95; $9.99 Amazon

February 20, 2024

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

When the Fallingbrook Arts Festival rolls into town weeks before she's set to tie the knot, Emily expects talent and friendly competition at the week-long summer series to go together like coffee and double fudge.  But the fun crumbles fast after a lively bagpiper takes first place on day one and turns heads for the wrong reasons -- all before Emily and her tabby cat find him dead in a clear case of murder.  Along with a distinctive weapon at the crime scene, several strategically placed items leave distrubing clues about the killer's identity, including a broken piece of a Deputy Donut mug...

While detectives aren't sure who silenced the bagpiper's music, they don't trust Emily or her family to tell the truth.  With her nuptials and career on the line, Emily launches an unsettling investigation to save herself from trouble and bring a dangerous figure to justice.  The search not only brings too many suspects into the picture, but also leads to a strange discovery on Deputy Donut's rooftop.  A discovery that tells Emily she better get cooking, because someone may be watcring her every move...and carefully plotting to turn a wedding into a funeral!

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Emily Westhill is half owner of Deputy Donut, along with her ex-father-in-law Tom.  She's thriving and happy and about to marry her fiancé, Brent Fyne.  The Fallingbrook Arts Festival is in town, and she's getting more business with the competitors moving from business to business with their acts.  Life is good...or at least it was...

When she watches a bagpiper play, it's obvious he's very good and of course, wins one of the contests.  But he's also annoying, playing the pipes up and down the street, during other's acts.  After speaking with people, Emily finds out that he's not well-liked, either.  The next morning tragedy strikes when Emily finds the piper dead, and calls the police.  There's a list of suspects, and she's stunned to discover that both she and her parents are on the list.  With less than two weeks until her wedding, Emily knows she needs to figure this out now or wedding bells won't be ringing for her...

This is the eighth book in the series and I have read them all.  It's a delightful series, and the characters progress as it goes along; it's nice to see that things don't stay stagnant in the books.  Emily is a great character; she's strong, intelligent, and smart; Brent admires these things and doesn't berate her when she finds clues for him.  Her friends are interesting, as well as her employees, and we learn different things about them through the series.

In this one when the bagpiper dies, she doesn't know who the killer is, obviously, but she tries to find out (which is expected).  Is it someone she already knows, or a stranger to her?  And why was the piper killed?  Also, why, and this is a big one, was a Deputy Donut mug found next to him?  She's afraid it might implicate her parents in the murder, and she knows they didn't do it.  But looking for a suspect with so many people in town isn't easy.  Still, she manages to ask the right questions without antagonizing anyone, and that's a big plus in my eyes.

It isn't easy to write a review without giving away the plot line, mainly because this book has not been published yet, but I can tell you that Emily has a lot to do in this book, with the festival and wedding plans, and it might even be her cat Dep who gives her a clue, but you will have to read the book to find out.  The clues are there, but watch for the red herrings that pepper the book.

When the ending comes, the climax is worth it all as Emily needs to use her wits to figure it all out and stay safe (as we know she will).  It's practically the best part of the book and don't peek!  I hope that you enjoy it as much as I did, and I look forward to the next in the series.  Highly recommended.

I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley but this in no way influenced my review.

https://www.amazon.com/Double-Grudge-Donuts-Deputy-Mystery/dp/1496740211

Goodreads:    https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5917478781

More on Ginger Bolton's Books:    https://www.fantasticfiction.com/b/ginger-bolton/

Cinnamon Twisted (A Deputy Donut Mystery Book 7)

Author:    Ginger Bolton

Genre:     Mystery

Paperback; Digital Book

ISBN #:    9781496740199

Kensington Cozies

256 Pages

$16.95; $9.99 Amazon

April 23, 2023

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

An ordinary late-spring afternoon for Emily becomes one that will remain baked into her memory from the moment a customer gives Emily's cat a toy donut and then flees Deputy Donut, dropping an earring in her panic.  Concerned about the customer, Emily attempts to return the earring...only this time the customer doesn't have a pulse.  Things get more complicated when an ambitious police detective finds the earring and an unsealed envelope  addressed to Emily at the murder scene.  The envelope contains a cryptic letter and a fading photograph of a woman standing in front of Emily's house.

Why did the customer grab her cinnamon twists and flee Deputy Donut?  With the detective eying Emily as a prime suspect, Emily is determined to find out.  But once a donut-shaped murder weapon is discovered in her own backyard, Emily has no time to lose as she pulls apart the connection between the victim and the strange history of her property -- while stopping the real culprit from ensuring that her fate is done and sugar-dusted...

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Emily Westhill co-owns Deputy Donut along with her late husband's father, Tom Westhill.  They make donut creations, and all the cops, EMTs, and firemen flock to their shop, along with regular local customers.  When a woman comes in two days in a row, Emily can't help notice that she appears nervous, but is hesitant to approach her.  On the second day, the woman gives Emily's cat Dep a donut-shaped catnip toy and asks to leave through the back door.  Emily notices she's lost an earring and grabs it to return later.

But wanting to do so and being able to are different things.  When Emily arrives at the rented lake cottage, the woman is dead.  Calling her boyfriend Detective Brent Fyne, she waits until he arrives to look over the scene.  But right behind him is the new chief of police, Detective Agnew, and he's not happy by Emily's presence. 

When it's discovered that the woman was murdered, Emily is at the top of Agnew's list of suspects, so she is determined to get herself off the hook.  But stumbling blocks are many -- including strange goings-on in her yard, locals that might have known the woman, and the detective sending Brent out of town so she can't share information with him.  It's up to Emily herself to try and figure everything out, and if she doesn't she just might be making her tasty treats in prison...

This is the seventh book in the series and I have read them all.  I have also loved them all.  Ms. Bolton writes characters so well that you can almost feel as if you are right there in their small little Wisconsin town.  I definitely would love to try some of the donut creations, but since I don't eat a lot of sugar, I'd probably pass out.  Still, it would be worth it!

In this story we have several subplots along with the main plot, and they are woven into the story seamlessly.  Each and every clue is written piece by piece, and actually delivered by someone I would like to know.  They paint the picture that the dead woman may not have been a nice person after all, and more than one might have wanted revenge.  But enough to kill her?  That's what Emily needs to find out, hoping to stay under the radar.

As to the subplots, all of them are interesting enough to keep you reading, and most are worthy in their own right.  But it's Emily who takes center stage in this mystery, and wondering who wants to find something in her yard so badly and what it could possibly be.  

I hesitate to say more as I don't want to spoil the book for others, but suffice it to say that the threads are woven nicely, the characters interesting, and the reason for the murder truly sad and leaving you thinking that no one can see into the mind of a murderer.  But the ending was truly surprising, and it leaves me wanting to read the next in the series right now.  Highly recommended.

I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley but this in no way influenced my review.

https://www.amazon.com/Cinnamon-Twisted-Deputy-Donut-Mystery-ebook/dp/B0B8488G6G/ref

Goodreads:    https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5094735857

More on Ginger Bolton's Books:    https://www.fantasticfiction.com/b/ginger-bolton/    

Deck the Donuts (A Deputy Donut Mystery #6)

Author:    Ginger Bolton

Genre:     Mystery

Trade Paperback; Digital Book

ISBN #:    9781496725608

Kensington Publishing

256 Pages

$15.95; $9.99 Amazon

October 26, 2021

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

It's Christmastime again in Fallingbrook, Wisconsin.  Emily has decked the halls of her donut shop and decorated her donuts with festive designs from green and red frosting to snowflake sprinkles.  For the annual Ice and Lights Festival, she's commissioned a sculpture with three ice-carved donut shapes to form a holey snowman, Frosty the Donut.  She has one Christmas wish this year -- to spend some time under the mistletoe with a certain detective.

But the holidays just aren't the same without an unexpected disaster or two.  A tour bus on its way to the festival has crashed and a snowstorm has left all the shaken passengers stranded and shivering.  Emily and her friends open their homes to shelter the traveling families, while the bus driver is admitted to the hospital for his injuries.  But the following morning, Emily discovers his body -- buried beneath Frosty the Donut.

The bus passengers show little sympathy for the man who dashed through the snow so badly, some claiming he was under the influence while behind the wheel.  Emily also discovers that the driver had a history with folks in Fallingbrook.  With multiple motives for murder piling up, it will take a Christmas miracle for Emily to solve this crime...

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Emily Westhill, along with her late husband's father, owns and runs Deputy Donut, a donut shop that has become a meeting place for many of the town's locals.  It's Christmastime, and she's expecting to spend time with her friends, and so has taken some time off to go cross-country skiing with her friend Brent, whom she'd like to move out of the friend zone.  When a call comes in that there's been a bus accident not far away, both Brent and Emily go to see if they can be of help.

It's apparent that the passengers are shaken and some are hurt, and there are children on board.  The tour bus was making a stop in Fallingbrook to see the local Ice and Lights Festival, and almost made it before the crash.  But Emily learns that the driver is from a neighboring town, and that he's had problems before, and learns nothing good about him from others.  When she discovers his body early the next morning, it leaves questions all around: could the killer have been one of the passengers?  Or worse yet, one of the locals?  With the tour guide who was also the victim's girlfriend, staying with Emily, she'll need to watch her back as well as those around her if she wants to discover the truth...

This is the sixth book in the series and I have read all of them.  I must say that I think this is one of the best ones.  I like the fact that this series progresses, it doesn't leave all the characters in stagnation mode, and things move forward just as they should.  It makes each book a fun read, and interesting to boot.

When the victim is discovered to be of a less than stellar person, questions abound and no one seems to have a real answer as to what he was doing in the snow and who hated him enough to kill him.  Not even his girlfriend seems to know the truth, thinking he was a wonderful person.  But Emily is finding that not to be the case, and her probing -- unofficially -- into the murder gives her clues, which she shares with Brent.  

I won't give any more about the book away, but I will say that all the regular characters are here, and all enjoying the holidays as best they can, with houseguests they didn't expect but still want them to have a good time while they're staying in Fallingbrook.  When the killer is revealed it is a surprise, just as it should be, and it all comes together nicely in a wrapped package that leaves the ending more than satisfying and the reader wanting the next in the series to be written soon.  There are also some yummy recipes in the back.  Highly recommended.

https://www.amazon.com/Deck-Donuts-Deputy-Donut-Mystery/dp/1496725603/ref

Goodreads:    https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3982931923

More on Ginger Bolton's Books:    https://www.fantasticfiction.com/b/ginger-bolton/

Beyond a Reasonable Donut (A Deputy Donut Mystery Book 5)

Author:    Ginger Bolton

Genre:     Mystery

Trade Paperback; Digital Book

ISBN #:    9781496725585

Kensington Publishing

256 Pages

$14.49; $9.99 Amazon

May 25, 2021

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Selling her corn fritters at a carnival, Deputy Donut Café owner Emily Westhill faces off against a murderer who doesn't play fair...

Emily and her assistant, Nina, are looking forward to manning the Deputy Donut tent at the Faker's Dozen Carnival in Fallingbrook, Wisconsin -- a festival held on Friday the thirteenth to celebrate good and bad luck.  But Emily has barely dropped the corn fritters in oil when bad luck boils up.  First, their bucket of confectioner's sugar disappears -- and then while a mime creates a distration, a magician robs their cash register.

After the carnival, their misfortune continues.  Emily discovers that someone has broken into artist Nina's loft and vandalized a large painting in progress with the bucket of stolen sugar, which is now on the head of the mime, who seems to have been suffocated.  Emily would bet Nina was the intended victim, but the cops think Nina silenced the mime.  Now Emily must catch the killer white-handed -- before someone else kicks the bucket...

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Emily Westhill is the widow of a police officer killed in the line of duty.  Now she owns and operates Deputy Donut with her father-in-law Tom.  This day she's going to man a booth at the Faker's Dozen Carnival, with help from her employee Nina.  But then the day is ruined by several incidents -- among them an annoying mime, a thieving magician and a missing container of confectioner's sugar.  But when the day winds down and Emily drops Nina off at the grocery store, she sees that Nina's tote bag is still in her car and goes back to give it to her.  After seeing that Nina is not in the store, she goes to her apartment and finds that the door to the loft has been forced.  Emily is worried that Nina might be in trouble, so she enters the apartment and finds a woman with the sugar container on her head.  When Nina arrives they call 911, but it may be too late.

On  top of everything else, Emily is going to be in the wedding of a friend who's marrying this week, and see's preparing for that all the while trying to find out who the murderer is and keep Nina out of prison.  Even though others think Nina might be guilty, Emily refuses to believe it, and will risk her own life to prove the same...

This is the fifth book in the series and I have read every one of them.  I've watched Emily try to recover from her grief of losing her husband, build her business, and keep her personal relationships going.  I, along with others I am sure, love Deputy Donut the Cat.  She's able to tell friend from foe, and has a knack for keeping Emily safe if she's able to do so.  She's one of the best parts of this series.  Like Emily's friends, I would like to see her move on with Brent and hopes their relationship will progress in the next book.

When the murderer is discovered and the motive revealed, it's rather twisted, but nonetheless a very good ending, and gives us something to look forward to in the next book.  Highly recommended.

https://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Reasonable-Donut-Deputy-Mystery/dp/1496725581/ref

Goodreads:    https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3963714497

More on Ginger Bolton's Books:    https://www.fantasticfiction.com/b/ginger-bolton/

Jealousy Filled Donuts (A Deputy Donut Mystery #3)

Author:  Ginger Bolton

Genre:   Mystery

Trade Paperback; Digital Book

ISBN #:  9781496711915

Kensington Publishing

276 Pages

$10.29; $9.78 Amazon

August 27, 2019

⭐⭐⭐⭐

It is a truth universally acknowledged -- cops and donuts go together.  Exhibit A: Deputy Donut Café, owned and operated by detective's widow Emily Westhill and her father-in-law, the retired police chief of Fallingbrook, Wisconsin.  Named after Emily's adored and adorable tabby, the donut shop is a favorite among cops, firemen, and EMTs, as well as tourists and townspeople.  So when Fallingbrook needs donuts for their Fourth of July picnic, Emily's shop gets deputized.

But a twisted killer has found another use for Emily's treats.  At the picnic, a firecracker is hidden in a stack of raspberry-filled donuts and aimed at the unwitting queen of the festivities.  When it explodes, she is killed.  Having her jelly donuts involved puts Emily in a sticky situation, and when a shady shutterbug tires to frame her with incriminating photos, she finds herself in quite a jam.  To preserve her freedom and her shop's reputation, Emily needs to solve this case -- before the fuse-lighting felon goes off again...

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Emily Westhill is the young widow of a cop who was killed in the line of duty.  She now runs a donut shop along with her father-in-law, Tom, and is fairly happy with the life she's created for herself in the last five years since his death.  Right now she's creating donuts to sell at the Fourth of July picnic, and also gets to drive her "donut car," -- an old 1950s police car that has a giant donut on top -- in the parade while escorting the king and queen of the Fabulous Fourth Festivities.  But when queen Taylor  arrives late, she refuses to ride in the old car, so Emily finds herself escorting the duke and duchess, who love the car.  Emily can't help but notice that Taylor isn't nice, and neither is the duchess, who is supposed to be her best friend,

When Emily returns to the shop, she notices something else: that her young employee Jocelyn disappears every time an oily-looking photographer comes into the shop, especially when he's taking pictures of his surroundings.  Asking her about it, she admits to nothing, so Emily lets it go.  But later on at the fireworks, Emily sees her own donuts being used to set off a firework - aimed directly at Taylor's back.  She yells at Taylor and her date to run, but neither hear her, and the firework hits her.  So when Emily is later accused of being the one who rigged it, she needs to figure out who really killed the woman and why.  Otherwise, Emily might find herself in the line of fire herself...

This is the third book in the series and I have to say that I enjoyed it much more than the first two.  Not that there was anything wrong with them; but they did have the 'evil nemesis,' and I do so abhor that situation in any book.  Personally, I feel that there's no need for one at all to make a book interesting, and this book proves that to be true.

Emily is unfairly accused, so naturally she wants to find out who's trying to frame her and the reason why.  Knowing who, is easy, but the why not so much.  She also wants to find out who killed Taylor, and she knows enough not to go around blindly accusing people of murder without gathering all the information she can, which she proceeds to do admirably.

In the meantime, her matchmaking skills have been tested with her friends, and everything seems to be working out, while they are trying to match her with her late husband's partner Brent Fyne, which she is fighting with everything she has, telling herself she doesn't want a relationship again.  She's also trying to figure out where her parents are, and why they haven't arrived at their campsite which they pay for year round at the RV park.  But the big thing concerning her is why Jocelyn leaves the room every time a certain photographer enters, but won't tell her the reason; then when she disappears altogether, Emily starts to get worried.  

So what ensues next is the heart of the book:  the climax brings us to quite an unusual one: finding Jocelyn, the killer, and perhaps even more -- and hoping she can reach her friends in time for help.  If not, she'll need to depend upon her own skills to save her life, which might not be enough...in the end, when the murderer is discovered, I honestly thought the person was deranged to have such a reason, but who knows how the mind of a killer works?  I am also looking forward to reading the next in the series, since I have come to enjoy it so much that I read this in one night.  Recommended.

 https://www.amazon.com/Jealousy-Filled-Donuts-Deputy-Mystery/dp/1496711912/ref

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3483669705

More on Ginger Bolton's Books:  https://www.fantasticfiction.com/b/ginger-bolton/