Book Review (and a Giveaway!): Beyond a Reasonable Donut by Ginger Bolton

BEYOND A REASONABLE DONUT
SERIES: Deputy Donut Mystery #5
GENRE: Cozy Mystery
PUBLISHER: Kensington
RELEASE DATE: May 25, 2021
PAGES: 256

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 distraction, 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 . . .

Other Books In This Series

I really enjoyed Survival of the Fritters, book 1 in Ginger Bolton’s Deputy Donut Mystery series, but then somehow life got in the way (as it often does) and I didn’t have a chance to read more in the series until now. Though I jumped back in at book 5 in the series, it didn’t take me long at all to reorient myself to the characters I recognized, get acquainted with the new one, and see that Brent and Emily STILL have not acted on their mutual attraction. C’mon, guys! Do this romance-loving girl a favor and start smooching! haha

Beyond a Reasonable Donut starts off with a local fair full of quirky attractions and yummy food (courtesy of Emily, Nina, and the Deputy Donut team of course) To my recollection I’ve not read another cozy that centered around Friday the 13th so that was a fun twist for the beginning of the story – and the initial groundwork for setting the list of possible suspects in the murder that happens later that evening. The mystery is extremely well-plotted and kept me turning the pages, keeping pace with Emily as she does her own investigating to clear Nina’s name. Nina’s evasive answers and peculiar behavior don’t help matters, nor does the influx of evasive & peculiar people in Fallingbrook… so Emily has her work cut out for her, as do the actual detectives on the case. It could have been any of the suspects as far as I was concerned, and I wasn’t much ahead of Emily in solving the crime.

Bottom Line: Beyond a Reasonable Donut is another deliciously good installment in Ginger Bolton’s Deputy Donut Mystery series! Emily is a strong protagonist and clever amateur sleuth, and I love how her ties to law enforcement really have shaped her sleuthing skills. Red herrings (good ones) abound in this book, and I was surprised in the end. I would also be remiss if I didn’t mention the fabulous feline Deputy Donut and her newly acquired sidekick Ivan, the adorable puppy. Mouth-watering food, interesting characters, a dash of romance and a well-written plot – sign me up!

(I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from the publisher. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.)

My Rating: 4 stars / loved it!

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Ginger Bolton writes the Deputy Donut mystery series—coffee, donuts, cops, danger, and one curious cat. The first four books in the series are SURVIVAL OF THE FRITTERS, GOODBYE CRULLER WORLD, JEALOUSY FILLED DONUTS, and the latest, BOSTON SCREAM MURDER. JEALOUSY FILLED DONUTS was chosen as the Woman’s World Best New Cozy Mystery of the week and was named as one of Dollycas’s Best Reads of 2019. BEYOND A REASONABLE DONUT will be on store shelves May 25, 2021. When Ginger isn’t writing or reading, she’s crocheting, knitting, sewing, or generally causing trouble. She’s also fond of donuts and coffee. As Janet Bolin, Ginger wrote the Threadville Mysteries—murder and mayhem in a village of crafty shops.

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