Emily Westhill runs the best donut shop in Fallingbrook, Wisconsin, alongside her retired police chief father-in-law and her tabby Deputy Donut. But after murder claims a favorite customer, Emily can’t rely on a sidekick to solve the crime—or stay alive.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 … 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 . . .
more
Former 911 operator, Emily Westhill and her father-in-law and former police chief, Tom Westhill, are co-owners of Deputy Donut, a donut and coffee shop in Fallingbrook, Wisconsin. After Emily’s husband was killed while working a call, Emily quit her position. While coping with the loss of her husband, she found her donut making talent, hence the opening of Deputy Donut with her husband’s father, Tom. The name Deputy Donut was adopted from their tabby cat, Deputy Donut, who went to work with Emily every day. A favorite meeting place for the area police officers, it was also a favorite for a group of ladies named the Knitpickers, a knitting circle. Every morning the ladies would arrive to sit and share gossip while they enjoyed the daily donut special and coffee. When Georgia Teeter, a member of the Knitpickers, doesn’t show up one morning and is unable to be reached by Lois Underlaw, another member, the Knitpickers as well as Emily decide to check out Georgia’s residence. When Georgia doesn’t respond to their knock or their call, the ladies enter the house. Georgia was found in her kitchen dead, surrounded by the donuts she had purchased at Deputy Donut’s. 911 is called and the ladies await the arrival of the police and emergency personnel to arrive. Unfortunately, when Emily’s husband’s former partner, Brent Fyne arrives as the officer in charge, Emily has a hard time. With the aid of the Knitpicker’s will Emily be able to solve the case of who murdered Georgia even though they are warned to not get involved. The answer can only be found by reading the book.
Ginger Bolton has presented a storyline that will keep reader’s page turning to the end. The characters are well-developed and believable. I fell in love with Deputy Donut, a cute little tabby cat who has a personality that will win over most anyone. This is the first book in the series, so it will be interesting to see where Ms. Bolton takes her characters and their relationships.
Survival of the Fritters is the first book in the Deputy Donut series.
Emily Westhill runs a donut and coffee shop in Fallingbrook WI surprising with her father- in-law. She has a delightful fur baby named Deputy Donut AKA Dep. Her best friends are Misty, a police officer, and Samantha, an EMT. Before the shop her FIL use to be the Cheif of police and her husband was a police office killed in the line of duty.
The Knitpickers has Emily to go to the home of Georgia Treetor. When they arrive they find her body in the kitchen.
When they arrest someone for the murders she doesn’t think they have the right person.
This was a fun read and the twist and turns will keep you turning the pages. You will not want tout this book down.
Survival of the Fritters by Ginger Bolton is the first book in A Deputy Donut Mystery series. Emily Westhill co-owns Deputy Donut with Tom Westhill (her father-in-law) in Fallingbrook, Wisconsin. Emily has been a widow for three years and gave up her job as a 911 operator after the death of her husband. Emily greets the Knitpickers (a group of women who meet at Deputy Donut) and their newest recruit Lois Underlaw. They are missing Georgia Treetor who runs the local doll hospital. At the end of the day when no one has heard from Georgia, the Knitpickers along with Emily head to Georgia’s home to check on her. They find the kitchen is a disarray and Georgia dead. It turns out that Georgia was killed on the five-year anniversary of her son’s murder. It is the one case Emily’s husband, Alec was unable to solve. Are the cases linked? When Lois’ nephew, Randy becomes a prime suspect, Emily starts nosing around for clues. Thanks to Emily leaving her fingerprints all over the crime scene, Detective Brent Fyne (Alec’s old partner) is taken off the case. Yvonne Passenmath from Wisconsin Division of Criminal Investigation is brought in to handle the case. This does not bode well for Emily since Yvonne dislikes her. Emily soon uncovers a connection between the deaths. Follow Emily as she follows the clues to uncover a killer in Survival of the Fritters.
Survival of the Fritters is nicely written, the characters are developed (with room for growth in future books) and there is a clever, adorable cat. The author took the time to set the stage for the book which I appreciate. I found that the pace varied throughout the book (sometimes steady and other times it was slower). I did find there was repetition especially regarding the handsomeness of some of the men (especially Detective Brent Fyne). The stage is set for a possible romance between Emily and Brent in the future if Emily is willing to move on after the death of her husband. You could feel the chemistry between Emily and Brent (it was palpable). Another example of reiteration is Emily would uncover details of the mystery. She would then discuss them with Lois and then repeat the details to Brent. These sections felt like filler and were unnecessary. These discussions went along with the speculation over who could have committed the crime. I would have liked more investigation and action (instead of the case being rehashed multiple times). The mystery was interesting (nicely developed) and there were some good clues. I believe many readers will be surprised by the identity of the killer (avid mystery readers should have it solved out before the solution is revealed). I was not a fan of DCI Yvonne Passenmath. There seems to be a trend to have unlikeable cops in cozy mysteries and I hope it ends soon. Yvonne resents Emily for taking Alec away from her (there was nothing between them) and dislikes Tom for not promoting her when he was chief of police (she was lacking in skills and everyone is amazed that DCI hired her). There are some delectable donut descriptions in the book and recipes are included at the end. I am giving Survival of the Fritters 3 stars. The next book in A Deputy Donut Mystery series is Goodbye Cruller World.
Survival of the Fritters by Ginger Bolton was a delicious afternoon read. Ms. Bolton has written a tightly plotted mystery with not one murder but two that need to be resolved. The plot is fast paced and I had to keep turning the pages to read more.
I liked Emily and Tom, her father-in-law as they worked together in the donut shop. They seemed to be a well-matched team. The mystery of the murder of a “regular” customer and an unsolved murder from the past was complex. The characters are slowly developing in this first book. I look forward to getting to know Emily, her friends, Misty and Samantha, and the “Knitpickers” as the series progresses. I was totally shocked by the reveal as I never guessed who “done it”. I’m already looking forward to reading the next one in this series.
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book from Kensington via NetGalley. All of the above opinions are my own.
The cover caught my eye and made me decide to give this book a try. I love everything about it: the super cute kitty (and I am not a cat person due to allergies), the donuts, the colours – it absolutely screamed READ ME…and I was not disappointed. A great mystery that didn’t let me go and kept me thinking about the book when life got in the way and I couldn’t just sit and read.
Emily and Tom, the father of her late husband and ex police chief, own the Deputy Donut coffee and donut shop. The Knitpickers, a local knitting group, are regulars at the donut shop. One day Georgia Treetor a member of the group doesn’t show up for their meeting and Emily and the Knitpickers go to check up on her and find her dead in her home. Lois an old friend of Georgia just moved back to Fallingbrook is attacked in her backyard soon after…
Interesting characters, a pinch of romance and Emily’s cute cat Deputy Donut after which the donut shop is named are some of the ingredients for this fast paced and fun mystery.
I got hooked and added the Deputy Donut mysteries to my “must read series”.
I requested this book from NetGalley and am thankful that Kensington and the author provided me with an advance copy.