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/

Sour Crime Donuts

A Deputy Donut Mystery Book 10

Author:    Ginger Bolton

Genre:     Mystery

Paperback; Digital Book

ISBN #:    9781496749635

Kensington Cozies

304 Pages

$17.95; $9.99 Amazon

August 26, 2025

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

With Emily Westhill's popular Deputy Donut Cafe rolling out seasonal summer treats, everyone in Fallingbrook, Wisconsin wants a taste.  But when a limited batch box turns up near a dead body, Emily and her curious tabby are pitted against the worst kind of customer -- a cold-blooded murderer!

Emily feels like a protective big sister around bubbly twenty-something Izzy -- a new regular whose enthusiasm for peaches and cream donuts is surpassed only by her dream to start her own business.  As if blown in by an August breeze, Izzy pulls Emily into her plan to buy a property at the edge of town to grow and sell fresh produce.  But she's not the only fan of Deputy Donut's peachy delights...or the only patron vying to own the lush parcel of land.  And the competition is fiercer than the two women imagined...

Petty squabbles turn deadly when a developer with a mean streak is found murdered on the vacant stretch of land.  Worse, Emily's signature donuts are spotted nearby, leading to several potential suspects who could have left their sugar-frosted fingerprints all over the crime scene -- including the mayor, a handsome, out-of-towner, and even sweet-to-the-core Izzy.  When her detective husband discovers poisonous ingredients in the discarded desserts, a shocked Emily must reveal holes in a collection of very fuzzy facts and nab the killer before someone else takes their last bite.

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Emily Fyne owns Deputy Donut, along with her late husband's father, Tom Westhill.  They've built the business up, and are doing well.  One morning someone from Emily's past turns up, a young woman named Izzy who remembered Emily being kind to her when she was a child.  But Emily now has a plan: she's going to purchase a large plot of land and build greenhouses that will grow fruit and vegetables year round.  It seems like a wonderful idea -- until it isn't.

It seems that there's an environmental group that is against her cutting down any of the trees, and a local developer that wants the land for himself and intends to get it any way he can.  There's also a mysterious man who might have interest in it.  But then Emily's nasty cousin Hope turns up with plans of her own.

When someone is murdered in an awful way, and Izzy is a suspect, Emily has her own stake in it when her donuts are left at the scene.  Now she has to prove herself innocent and keep Izzy out of jail, too.  But with so many suspects, will she be able to help or hinder?

This is the tenth book in the series and I have read them all.  This is a delicious mystery, one you can really enjoy all the way through the book.  People (suspects) are introduced throughout, but none of it is confusing, and there are plenty of secrets to go around.

Plenty of intrigue, too.  When it's discovered that Hope has her own secrets to keep, it only enhances the story, and gives us more information to sift through.  Of course, there are subplots that only add to the tale but don't overpower it; no one wants the subplot to become the plot, of course; and then there is the intrepid Dep, the cat that actually starts it all and becomes as much a part of the tale as Emily herself.  (I love Dep!)

When the person is killed, the characters become the suspects, and Emily, along with her employees Jocelyn and Olivia, are more than ready to figure it all out, all the while trying to stay under the radar of both police and suspects.  What I do love is the fact that when they find something out they inform the police immediately instead of keeping it to myself.  I love that integrity in these guys.  Yes, these characters come to life on the page, and that's one of the things I love about this series.  You're pulled in from the first chapter, and unfortunately, continue to read the book to the exclusion of all else (good thing my husband doesn't mind takeout once in a while!)

With her shop being closed for investigation, what else is Emily supposed to do?  She needs to reopen to keep her reputation, and she needs to get Izzy -- who is way too trusting -- out of the eye of the detectives on the case.  The only thing she can do is utilize her skills and try to find the killer herself.

The clues are there, but they aren't easy to find.  When Emily does start to have suspicions, it may not be healthy for her to try and go any further, but we know she will; and when she does, there is a climax that is definitely worth reading the entire book for.

With the killer caught (as we know they will be) everything seems to go back to normal at Deputy Donut.  But there is an epilogue that gives us a perfect ending, and a perfect segue into the next book, which I eagerly await.  Highly recommended.

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

https://www.amazon.com/Crime-Donuts-Deputy-Donut-Mystery-ebook/dp/B0DR9SQZYJ/ref

Goodreads:    https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7445236763

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/

Boston Scream Murder (A Deputy Donut Mystery #4)

Author:  Ginger Bolton

Genre:   Mystery

Trade Paperback; Digital book

ISBN #:  9781496725561

Kensington Publishing

256 Pages

$15.95; $9.99 Amazon

August 25, 2020

⭐⭐⭐⭐

October 31st is just around the corner and Emily Westhill's Boston cream donuts, carved with a scream, have made an indelible impression on local eccentric Rich Royalson.  So much so that he's ordered three dozen, with no screaming faces and twice the fudge frosting, for his seventieth birthday -- a special event in more ways than one.  It's to be held on fog-shrouded Lake Fleekdom where, twenty years ago, his wife mysteriously drowned.

But the next day, when Emily arrives with her Boston cream donuts, she stumbles upon Rich's corpse.  The poor guy wanted a unique birthday bash -- just not one to side of his skull.  With a guest list of possible perpetrators left at the scene, Emily soon discovers that the Royalson closet is rattling with skeletons.  As the fog thickens, motives mount, and the tricks outnumber the treats, Emily fears that Rich may not be the last one in Fallingbrook to go out screaming.

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Emily Westhill, a young police detective's widow, owns and runs Deputy Donuts (named after her beloved cat), along with her father-in-law Tom.  When a man shows up and starts raving to other men about how great Boston is, it seems that's all he wants to talk about.  But Emily discovers that he's there for a date with her friend Cheryl, who is one of the single women in the Knitpickers, a group of older women who come in daily to knit, eat, and chat.

Before Cheryl shows up, the man identifies himself as Rich Royalson, and asks Emily if she'd cater donuts for his seventieth birthday party in a few days, and tells her where she should bring them -- out to nearby Lake Fleekdom where he has a home.  But when Emily arrives, she finds everything set up for a party, including food from a local caterer...and the body of Rich.  Now, with her friend Cheryl involved, an old girlfriend of Rich's, even neighbors who might have a grudge against the man, she needs to find out who killed him and what would drive someone to do so.

Standing in her way is the fact that she's planning a Halloween costume party at her home, friends trying to push her toward her late husband's partner, Brent, and she has a business to run.  It doesn't leave a lot of time for her to think about killers, but Emily wants to know the truth, even if it's closer than she might ever imagine...

This is the fourth book in the series and I absolutely loved the third, so couldn't wait to get to this one.  But there was something that bothered me, so I guess I'd better get it out there right away:  Emily is insisting she's only friends with Brent, and she still loves her late husband.  I get that.  I really do.  But her husband, Alec, has been gone for six years, and she was married to him for four.  So he's been gone longer than they were wed, and even if that sounds cold, perhaps it's time she moved on with her life.  She's only thirty-one years old, and she needs to think if Alec would want her to mourn him forever.  Would he want her living alone?  Having no one in her life?  Or would he want her happy with someone new?  After all, if you've happily loved once, it's easier to love again (at least I've always believed so).  

Emily is still living in a relationship that's gone, and she's not willing to move into one with anyone else.  I'd much rather read that she's starting to realize her life isn't over, and while Alec will always be a part of her, it would be more interesting to read about her if she were moving on.  Right now she's stagnant in her life, even if she doesn't know it.  

So there, I've made my point.  As to the rest of the book, the mystery was excellent, as always.  I enjoy the characters the book is peopled with, and I enjoyed the fact that it took place at Halloween, so we got to see what everyone's costumes were (which always give an idea of someone's personality).  Emily's friends are always there for her, and they make the book more enticing to read.

Finding the killer gave us plenty of suspects, and even though I pretty much knew who it was from the moment that person stepped onto the page (I read a lot of mysteries), it was still fun watching Emily figure it out; and even more fun watching her get out of a sticky situation with the killer.  In the end, everything came together nicely, and, I am hoping, leading us toward another chapter in her life.  Recommended.

https://www.amazon.com/Boston-Scream-Murder-Deputy-Mystery/dp/1496725565/ref

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3487076341

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/

Goodbye Cruller World (A Deputy Donut Shop Mystery #2)

Author:  Ginger Bolton
Genre:  Mystery

Trade Paperback; Digital Book
ISBN #:  9781496711892
Kensington Publishing
256 Pages
$15.95; $9.95 Amazon
August 28, 2018

✮✮✮✮

Named after her beloved Tabby, Deputy Donut, Emily Westhill's donut shop in small-town Fallingbrook, Wisconsin, is doing so well, she's expanding into catering weddings.  But a killer is about to crash the reception...

Normally, Emily's eyes tend to glaze over when prospective brides go on about their wedding plans.  But when the owner of the clothing shop, Dressed to Kill, asks Emily to design a donut wall for her reception, she's immediately sweet on the idea.  With the help of her father-in-law and business partner - the former police chief of Fallingbrook - she hangs the treats from dowels on the wall so guests can help themselves.

But that night, when the groom ends up on the floor with signs of poisoning, Emily suspects someone has tampered with her treats.  When the groom dies, there's no way to sugarcoat it: she's got a murder on her hands.  Despite a list of suspects as long as the guest list, Emily vows to find out who created the killer confection to save her shop's reputation and keep the bride out of handcuffs.  She'll have to move fast...before the poisoner takes a powder.

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

When Emily Westhill and her partner and father-in-law Tom are asked to do a 'donut wall' for a wedding couple, they agree.  Emily decides to visit Jennifer, her next-door business neighbor and the prospective bride, to pick up some clothing she ordered and unfortunately comes across what appears to be an argument and passes an angry woman leaving the shop.  She learns from a tearful Jenn that the woman is her sister Suzanne and is against the wedding and wants her to cancel.

While Emily and Tom are setting up the wall they view another argument - this time, she figures out, between the groom and Jenn and what she sees makes her realize that maybe Suzanne was right, since Roger seems to be a particularly nasty person.  But it's not until later in the evening when Emily can join the party and leave her duties aside.  When she returns to her wall she notices that someone has dipped a cruller in what appears to be powdered sugar, and she didn't sugar any of them.  Then she sees Roger on the floor and calls her friend Scott, who is fire chief.

After calling Brent Fyne, homicide detective and partner of her late husband, she's told to get everyone out of the building, which she does.  When it's discovered that Roger's been poisoned in a room full of people, the investigation begins - along with investigator Yvonne Passenmath who hates Emily for her own reasons.  But finding a killer might be harder than it seems...

I will say that I liked this book better than the first; some of the characters have a little more depth to them, and that's always a good thing.  But to be honest, there are still some things that I didn't like.  One, is Brent going to be removed from leading investigations in every book because of his ties to Emily?  So far, there have been two books and in both he's been shunted aside for Yvonne.

Which brings us to Yvonne:  A completely unlikable character with no redeeming qualities, including the ability to put together a homicide case, which makes me wonder if she was 'sleeping with the boss' to get her shield.  She couldn't make it under Tom's former administration, so there must be a reason...(let's face it, in two cases so far she got both wrong so shouldn't even be a detective)...

Also, Tom and Emily had no reason to want Roger dead - they didn't even know the man before the day of the wedding - so without a motive they should have been removed immediately, yet Yvonne hates Emily and keeps 'trying' to pin a murder on her.  Another reason why she shouldn't be on the case.  She can't keep her personal feelings out of it - which seem to be limited to anger since that's all the reader ever sees.


Below is a hidden spoiler that partially deals with the ending, so please, please do not read if you have not read the book!  It is nothing derogatory, but mentions a couple of things that bothers me.

Yvonne's so stupid that she sees the killer is handcuffed and Jenn is not, yet tears toward her with an arrest warrant and screaming her name, leaving the other cops mystified. All she had to do was ask what was going on; as a matter of fact, a good detective would already know but she wants to arrest Jenn because she was the spouse, even if there isn't enough evidence to prove it. Two screw ups of trying to pin a murder on innocent people? I, for one, am so tired of the 'evil nemesis' showing up in books with the same premise - usually a cop or ex-girlfriend that hates the protagonist - and wish Yvonne would get demoted and leave the series. Also, where did Lois go? It's mentioned that her house is vacant, but nothing is said as to why. She had no reason to leave, and when Emily helps the Knitpickers into the store, not one of them mentions Lois or her nephew Randy; I'm sure I'm not the only person that would like the answer, as in the previous book we also never found out why Georgia had a doll and donuts stuffed into her mouth. No reason was given, and that's so unfair to the reader. Details count! Anyone who knows me knows details are big with me and I notice them throughout the book.

I do like the fact that Emily doesn't put herself into bad situations (at least willingly) nor question people by getting 'right up in their face.'  At least she tries to sound subtle, and, if need be, leans on her friends Misty and Samantha for backup.  That's a big plus.  The romance angle has stalled a little - it's been a year, so I would have liked to have seen it progress a little further than it has, but it's no big deal because the mystery was first and foremost.

I also liked the fact we learned a little bit more about the characters - Tom's wife Cindy is a teacher; more about Emily's relationship to her own parents; and that Brent loves Dep (which makes him a great guy in my book).  These are the kind of details I like to read about.

The mystery was done well, and there were plenty of red herrings red herrings strewn about, giving us a lot to sift through and eliminate suspects on our own; and the clues to the killer were right in front of us and even more so as we progressed throughout the book.  Everything was tied up nicely (even if the killer was a psycho) and I liked that the ending gave us a bit of a clue toward the next in the series, which I will read.  Very nice indeed.  Recommended.

https://smile.amazon.com/Goodbye-Cruller-World-Deputy-Mystery/dp/1496711890/ref

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2471351873

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

Survival of the Fritters (A Deputy Donut Mystery #1)

Author:  Ginger Bolton
Genre:  Mystery

Trade Paperback; Audio CD; Digital Book
ISBN:  9781496711878; 9781977355201
Kensington Publishing (Tantor Audio)
256 Pages
$12.31; $22.83; $6.99 Amazon
January 30, 2018

✮✮✮

If Emily has learned anything from her past as a 911 operator, it's to stay calm during stressful situations.  But that's a tall order when one of her regulars, Georgia Treetor, goes missing.  Georgia never skips morning cappuccinos with her knitting circle.  Her pals fear the worst - especially Lois, a close friend who recently moved to town.  As evening creeps in, Emily and the ladies search for Georgia at home.  And they find her - murdered among a scattering of stale donuts...

Disturbingly, Georgia's demise coincides with the five-year anniversary of her son's murder, a case Emily's late detective husband failed to solve before his own sudden death.  With Lois hiding secrets and an innocent man's life at stake, Emily's forced to revisit painful memories on her quest for answers.  Though someone's alibi is full of holes, only a sprinkling of clues have been left behind.  And if Emily can't trace them back to a killer in time, her donut shop will end up permanently closed for business...

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Emily Westhill is the widow of a police detective.  She and her father-in-law Tom, retired police chief, own Deputy Donuts, a coffee and donut shop in town.  The shop is named after Emily's cat Deputy Donut, who now goes by the name of Dep.

One morning she notices that a regular group of elderly knitters is missing one of their members.  Georgia Treeter never misses a day, and it's remarked upon by the others, including a new woman she's never seen before.  When she's introduced to Lois Underlaw, the new member, Lois tells her how she's Georgia's best friend and has only recently returned to town.  Later that evening the group returns to the shop and asks Emily if she wants to go with them to see if Georgia is alright.

When they arrive at Georgia's home, they find no sign of a disturbance, but still can't find her.  Unfortunately, while exploring the home it's Emily who comes across Georgia's body...and her mouth has been stuffed with a doll wearing donuts as a skirt.  After calling 911, Emily and the others are questioned and released, yet Emily feels a need to help find the killer.

Later she discovers that her cat Dep has found something in her garden and she follows her, hearing a low 'help.'  What she finds is that there is an opening in the wall between her house and the next, and when she goes to investigate she finds Lois on the ground.  Lois tells her she fell, and while talking Emily learns that Lois thinks Dep is her cat and has named her Tiger.  She later discovers that Lois is lying, and is the aunt of Randy Underlaw, a local bad boy who had also left town five years ago and returned when his aunt did.

But now Emily has a problem.  Lois is obviously lying about falling, and there are other inconsistencies in her story as well.  What it's all leading up to is the fact that she knows more than she's saying about Georgia's murder, and Randy may be involved also.  But what's disconcerting is the fact that she now has to deal with her late husband Alec's partner Brent Fyne, who's never stepped foot in the shop and whom she's had no contact with in the years after Alec's death.  While it all seems too much to bear, Emily hasn't a choice if she's going to find out the truth of what happened to Georgia and how it's connected to the death of Georgia's son Matthias, who also was murdered five years ago...

Well, I have to say that I wasn't real sure about this book after reading the first pages.  First, we never get to meet Georgia, so there's no real connection to the character, and it's hard to feel sympathy for someone you know nothing about.  We don't understand why Emily feels the need to solve the case.  How well did she know her?  Was she just a customer?  Did she have any interaction with the woman?  We never find out.

Then, Emily was married to a cop and was a 911 dispatcher, yet she has no trouble at all disturbing a crime scene - first by removing the doll from the victim's mouth and then telling a bunch of women to walk around the house looking for footprints, instead of staying outside by the van and calling the police immediately.  Is she the stupidest woman on the face of the earth?  No matter how 'shocked' she says she is, a 911 operator should know better.

Then, Lois just sees a 'stray' cat that looks like it's well-fed and taken care of and only shows up for a little while each night (which must be since Dep belongs to Emily and she doesn't leave her alone for long and keeps her in at night) and decides to name and 'adopt' it?  Really?  She doesn't notice her collar (which she must have if Emily leashes her to take her to the shop every day)?  I have to say that the conversation they were at first having was confusing since I thought they were talking about two different cats.  When I realized they were both talking about Dep, though Lois had named her Tiger, I was wondering why Lois would think this was her cat since she couldn't have been spending a lot of time with Dep - or why she continued to call Dep Tiger, knowing her real name.

Emily also knows Lois was attacked - even if Lois wouldn't admit it - but she has no problem allowing her cat to spend time in Lois's home.  Obviously she doesn't care that if the attacker were to come back and was serious about hurting Lois, that they wouldn't have any qualms about hurting Emily's cat, either.  Again, stupid woman.  And I, for one, wouldn't share my cat.  I'd tell the person (nicely, of course) that perhaps we could go to the shelter together and pick out a nice cat for her.

Then there's a supposed nemesis of Emily's named Yvonne Passenmath, who hates her because Alec chose Emily and not her.  He didn't even date her, and she's been holding a grudge against Emily for over seven years because of something that never happened?  Really?  Then the fact that it's stated that Yvonne couldn't pass the detective exam in their city but managed to do so in another and now has been made lead on the case doesn't make any sense.  Was their exam easier to pass?  Because you'd think the exam would be the same all over the state.  Especially since her colleagues state that she did sloppy police work.  So how did this happen?  I, for one, am so, so tired of the "evil nemesis" in books.  Honestly, how many people hate your guts enough to want to ruin your life?  I've stopped reading series because of this, just like I've stopped reading series with love triangles.  At any rate, I certainly hope Yvonne doesn't show up in future books to make Emily miserable.

Now that I've got the bad things out of the way, on to the good:  the plot was a decent one, and I liked the idea that we never really knew who the killer was, since there were several suspects along the way.  I also liked the way the story picked up after the first initial problems that I've mentioned above.  However, I really would have liked to have known how Alec actually died; I think it would have given more 'teeth' to the story and given us a bit of sympathy for Emily.  It doesn't tell us why she's had such an aversion to Brent for the past three years.

There's also a spoiler below that gives away some of the final information, so please don't read it if you haven't read the book and intend to do so.

We also never learn why Georgia had the doll shoved in her mouth or why the killer added the donuts. That doesn't make any sense if you don't tell us the reason. Nor does it make sense that the killer, who thought he was so smart, would have left incriminating evidence in the car he was showing Emily. Why would he do that? He knew he was showing her the car, but he left everything in there for her to discover?

In the end, this was a decent start to a new series, and when everything was revealed it had a satisfying ending.  I would like to see this series continue and will read the next book in the hope that the glitches have been worked out.  There are also some nice recipes in the back for those who like to cook.

https://smile.amazon.com/Survival-Fritters-Deputy-Donut-Mystery/dp/1496711874/ref

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2227305644

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