donut shop – Cuddle Up With a Cozy Mystery

Deck the Donuts review

October 27, 2021 Tari Hann

This is the sixth book in the Deputy Donut series that I’ve literally devoured (no donut pun intended, honest!) since the series beginning. It’s written by Ginger Bolton also known as Janet Bolin, author of the older Threadville series. I’ve come to think of this little family of characters as close friends by now, and I’m always eager to see what they’re up to. Christmas in Fallingbrook just seemed magical and just what you’d expect a cozy mystery Christmas to be like. And speaking of magical Christmas, isn’t that just the most awesome book cover? Little Dep is always so cute on these covers!

Oh and on September 23 on her Facebook page, the author announced that @Kensington Publishing signed her for two more Deputy Donut books, seven and eight! Yippeeeeee!!! I dug on FB till I found that info on her page again because I wanted to be completely sure I’d read it right!

My Goodreads review:

Deck the Donuts by Ginger Bolton
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What an awesome and festive Christmas mystery! I could easily picture the village square with the ice sculptures (minus the dead body, of course!) This was one tough mystery to even think about picking whodunit, so I just read and enjoyed. The person I was a little worried about being the perp wasn’t, so I was happy about that, lol. I really loved that Ivan the big dog that belonged to the DCI detective and her sons got to be a hero in the showdown. And boy, what an exciting showdown that was! I could picture it playing out as a TV mystery movie.

The whole thing could’ve been a Christmas mystery movie though with Brent having that awesome ski chalet. I got a kick out of the two older ladies in Emily’s neighborhood who remained nameless, like guardian angels in the background. Emily knew the one lady as pruning shears lady, and the other was referred to as snow angel since she helped the bus tour guide staying with Emily.

I was incredbily happy with the ending of this book! All I could think of was wow, it’s about time! I can’t wait for the next book!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book provided by the publisher via NetGalley, an my opinions are my own.

View all my reviews

Boston Scream Murder review

August 31, 2020 Tari Hann

I always look forward to the newest book in this series (like I do soooo many others!), and of course, this Halloween-themed addition to the Deputy Donut series definitely didn’t disappoint! It’s the fourth book of what I hope will be a nice long series for author Ginger Bolton who’s also known as Janet Bolin, author of the 5-book cozy series Threadville. I’ve been wanting to get back to that series, because I really enjoyed the first book.

Deputy Donut became one of my favorite series the minute it came out. I really enjoy all the various characters in Fallingbrook, Wisconsin especially that of Tom Westhill, main character Emily’s father-in-law. If anyone is new to the series, I highly recommend reading it from the beginning. The author is good about catching readers up and not giving spoilers, but it would be better to get to know the characters from the ground up. Dep, the little cat that the Deputy Donut shop is named for, is a total sweetheart, well except when she needs to get into her carrier. She got a good part doing something to the killer toward the end, go Dep! (Nope, she’s not the type to tear their head off or chomp their leg, she’s much more clever!)

My Goodreads review:

Boston Scream Murder by Ginger Bolton

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It had been about a year since I went book tripping to Fallingbrook, Wisconsin during their July Fourth celebration. I loved how the town did up Halloween. It was the perfect Halloween cozy from the decorations and kids’ Halloween parade to the murder case itself set on an eerie-at-night lake.

There was a decent amount of suspects in this case, but I got a weird feeling about someone kind of early although going down all the red herring paths is always fun. My gut feeling came true but the reason was something I couldn’t have known. I always have loved it when Emily’s best friends all got together, and since she’s been hanging out with Brent in a non-dating sort of way, there were three happy couples (when Brent wasn’t working a murder, that is), one of which was super happy due to an announcement.

I think Tom will always be my favorite character. He’s kind of the patriarch figure but only offers his expert protection as an ex-police chief when he feels it’s absolutely necessary. I really liked Nina a lot–she fit right in with the Deputy Donut family which still did have Jocelyn, but she was mainly off at college. She did get a small but important role in the book. We got to see a little more of Cindy, Tom’s wife and who knew, she’s a cat whisperer as well as a talented pottery artist. I’m hoping the next book might be a Christmas themed one, and as always, I can’t wait for it.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book provided by the publisher via NetGalley, and my opinions are my own.

View all my reviews

Jealousy Filled Donuts review

August 20, 2019August 20, 2019 Tari Hann

This is the third book in one of my favorite series that I got to start from its beginning. The cover art has always been amazing, and this time was no exception! I’ve always gotten the paperback version of this series because little Dep is such a cutie along with the rest of the scene she’s in. The release date for this book is August 27, but my review was done from an ARC I have. I couldn’t wait to read it ahead and was definitely not disappointed! Now I can’t wait for the next book, but I’m sure it won’t be out for another year if it stays with the schedule it’s had so far.

Jealousy Filled Donuts by Ginger Bolton

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This series is getting better and better! I just couldn’t resist finishing the ARC a week early. I fell in love with these characters in the first book and have been waiting a little impatiently for this book to come out. My own copy will come on release day–the cover is so awesome that I just had to order the paperback of it. I could tell right away that Emily and Brent’s friendship was growing, because I didn’t notice one of my favorite lines that he always kinda mumbled, “Mmph”, when he was deep in thought or didn’t want to talk about a case. He was definitely more willing to share with her and accept her help on this case. It was a crazy and fun one too with a side mystery that involved a stalker of Emily and Tom’s new employee, Jocelyn. I hope we see more of Jocelyn, and that she stays working at Deputy Donut. She was the perfect addition to give Tom and Emily a much-needed break during the week.

I didn’t guess the killer, but I knew who I didn’t want it to be. I loved how the book ended with a complete explanation of everything that had been going on, then Emily’s parents who liked to RV around the country, returned home for a marshmallow roast at their home campground. It’s fun to wind a mystery down with some normal downtime for the characters, and this ending was just right!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book provided by the publisher via NetGalley, and my opinions are my own.

View all my reviews

Goodbye Cruller World–review

August 25, 2018August 25, 2018 Tari Hann

This is the second book in the perfectly cozy mystery series Deputy Donuts. It features the sweetest little cat named Deputy Donut, or Dep for short. She seems to have a sixth sense about a lot of things, especially that she likes handsome Brent, Emily’s husband’s police partner. After her husband’s death, she had sort of abandoned Brent, not realizing he needed some closure too. In the first book, it had them reuniting over Alec as friends. But I do hope they’ll at least get to dating status eventually. He sounds so amazing! I love this book just as much, if not more than the first, and I can’t wait for the next one!

My Goodreads review:

Goodbye Cruller World by Ginger Bolton
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Even though I was pretty sure I knew who the killer was (and for once I was right!) this was still another fun trip to Fallingbrook, Wisconsin and the Deputy Donut shop. I just love that little cat, Dep! She was even more talkative and cute in this book.

When the groom at a wedding that Tom and Emily were providing donuts for collapsed and died of poisoning, Emily was worried that DCI detective Yvonne Passenmath was focusing on her as being at fault. She was since Passenmath had a major grudge against Emily, Tom and their police friends, but she was also looking at Emily’s friend Jenn who was the new bride. There was no shortage of suspects, and there were some interesting and quirky characters tossed into the mix as well.

I knew who was guilty, but it was interesting to see how the showdown went, which was pretty exciting. I kept expecting a last minute twist since I’m rarely right lol. Everything ended well, except I keep wishing that Emily would let Brent get to be a little more than just friends, but I guess since they just came to grips a year ago with how they both felt about her husband’s death 8 years ago (Brent was his partner and had seen him die), maybe they don’t want to rush things.

I just love the regular characters. Tom is such a sweetheart, who wouldn’t love to have a father-in-law like him? Misty and Samantha are awesome friends for Emily. The three of them are like Nancy, George and Bess when they work on a case. Although Misty is always quick to remind them to let the police do the actual investigating. I’m always anxious for the next book in the series! I hope it’s not a long wait.

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book which was provided to me via NetGalley and the publisher.

View all my reviews

Survival of the Fritters–review

January 28, 2018 Tari Hann

This is the start of a brand new series which sounds to me like it’s going to be a lot of fun and have tons of possibilities for cases. I read an interview with the author, Ginger Bolton, (also known as Janet Bolin who wrote the Threadville cozy series) and she said she based this donut shop on a real one called Cops and Doughnuts out of Michigan. Deputy Donuts is the name of the shop in this series and the shop was named after Emily’s adorable torbie cat, Deputy Donuts or Dep for short.

Look for this awesome new book on January 30, 2018!

Here’s my Goodreads review:

Survival of the Fritters by Ginger Bolton

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What an awesome first book for this new series! And what a great idea for a donut shop with the whole police theme going on. Emily and her father-in-law own Deputy Donuts and are usually host to most of the town of Fallingworth’s (WI) police force. When Emily and some of the older ladies in a knitting club find one of the donut shop’s favorite customers murdered in her own home, Emily is forced into interacting with her late husband’s police partner, Brent. They had all three been good friends until one evening when Alec was shot and Brent was just hurt. Emily hadn’t contacted Brent since then. I liked how Brent and Emily can now remember things that Alec had said or done.

Just before the murder, the murdered woman’s good friend Lois moved back into town. This murder also took place five years after the murdered woman’s son was killed. This was a case Alec and Brent had not been able to solve. The main suspect now is Lois’s great nephew, Randy who was a real stinker in high school but seems to have reformed. A state detective is pulled in eventually on the case so Brent, Emily and Lois decide to do a little sleuthing on their own.

There were so many good twists in this plot that I never saw it coming when the killer was revealed. The ending was pretty exciting and Emily took charge of the situation until the police arrived and took the perp into custody.

I like that Emily is at least acknowledging that Brent was hurting too when Alec was shot. I know their friendship is going to be a little slow coming but I hope they can become even better friends. If Alec was anything like he was described, I would think he would have wanted his partner and best friend to be there for his wife after he passed. There were some good funny parts too. I think I have new favorite little catch-phrase (non verbal kind of noise now), mmp! Even the cat was saying it.

The characters were really well developed and very easy to like. Tom seemed like the type that anyone would just love to have as a friend or father-in-law. Emily’s friends Misty (police officer) and Samantha (EMT) were a lot of fun and good, faithful friends. Lois was a hoot! She was the funniest thing at times, kind of made me think of Betty White.

Oh there are some yummy sounding donut and fritter recipes at the end of the book, the favorites that Deputy Donuts serves.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book which was provided by the publisher and NetGalley.

View all my reviews