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Donut Shop Mysteries #5
Tragic Toppings
Donut shop owner Suzanne Hart sees customers come and go all day long. But when one of them up-and-disappears, the police start asking questions. It seems Suzanne is the last person to have seen Emily Hargraves, who runs the local newsstand. Suzanne has nothing to report about their encounter. But when Emily doesn't turn up, no news is bad news…
Suzanne has to admit that Emily's last request was a little odd—a blueberry donut made to order, with chocolate icing, sprinkles, stars, and a chewy sour gummy worm coiled on top. Odder Suzanne's ex-husband Max also appears to be missing. But what really takes the cake? The corpse Suzanne finds hanging from a tree in the park. Who knew donut-making could turn out to be such dangerous business…
Suzanne has to admit that Emily's last request was a little odd—a blueberry donut made to order, with chocolate icing, sprinkles, stars, and a chewy sour gummy worm coiled on top. Odder Suzanne's ex-husband Max also appears to be missing. But what really takes the cake? The corpse Suzanne finds hanging from a tree in the park. Who knew donut-making could turn out to be such dangerous business…
315 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 30, 2011
33 people are currently reading
954 people want to read
About the author
Jessica Beck
103 books460 followersJessica Beck is a pseudonym used by
Tim Myers.
Jessica Beck is the penname of an author who has been nominated for the Agatha Award and named an Independent Mystery Booksellers Association national bestseller nearly a dozen times.
Jessica Beck loves donuts, and has the figure to prove it. It's amazing what people can convince themselves is all in the name of research! For each recipe featured in the donut mysteries, a dozen more are tried and tested.
When not concocting delicious treats, Beck enjoys the rare snowfalls near her home in the foothills of North Carolina.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/jessic...
Tim Myers.
Jessica Beck is the penname of an author who has been nominated for the Agatha Award and named an Independent Mystery Booksellers Association national bestseller nearly a dozen times.
Jessica Beck loves donuts, and has the figure to prove it. It's amazing what people can convince themselves is all in the name of research! For each recipe featured in the donut mysteries, a dozen more are tried and tested.
When not concocting delicious treats, Beck enjoys the rare snowfalls near her home in the foothills of North Carolina.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/jessic...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 91 reviews
January 30, 2020
Poorly written and the characters don’t seem to have developed since the 3rd book (which was the one I’d read previously)
March 28, 2020
I have enjoyed this cozy series and enjoyed this book. The mystery intrigued me (I didn't figure it out) and found this to be a good read.
July 25, 2014
It's these type of books that most reviewers skip writing a review for. There is nothing insightful really to be gleaned from such an offering. I'm a bit mystified about the high ratings on this site, and I feel I'm missing something, or that it's plainly an undeserved score. I think not including Grace and replacing her with the vanilla Jake was a mistake. George was practically useless. They tried to make him useful but he contributed next to nothing. I hope the next book will be more like the action packed books of the author in his various guises.
July 17, 2021
Tragic Toppings by Jessica Beck is the fifth book of the Donut Shop mystery series set in contemporary April Springs, North Carolina. Suzanne Hart owns and operates Donut Hearts donut shop. Emily Hargraves comes into the shop and orders a truly disgusting donut: a made-to-order blueberry donut with chocolate icing, sprinkles, stars, and a chewy sour gummy worm coiled on top. Suzanne doesn't mind pleasing a regular customer. She thinks no more of it until the chief of police informs her that Emily "disappeared" after leaving the shop.
Suzanne at first uses common sense, suggesting Emily is just off on her own business, will be back when she's ready....but evidently Emily is not in the habit of missing appointments or leaving her store unlocked. That last detail convinces Suzanne something is wrong.
Suzanne's next decision is that she and her best friend Grace and their mutual friend George, retired police detective, must solve the mystery of Emily's disappearance. What a weak premise for a mystery. It gets weaker....Suzanne soon finds Emily safe and sound. Emily is just seeking privacy (with Suzanne's ex).
It was hard to continue reading after 37 pages of 'filler': a feeble contrived investigation into a non-disappearance, reiterating her mother is about to date the chief of police, reiterating her boyfriend Jake is away on law enforcement business (as always). I'd wondered in earlier books how Grace was always so available at the drop of a hat; as part of the 'filler' she confirms she's bored with her work, and of course a donut recipe fills a few pages, too. I assume the book eventually includes a murder mystery that Suzanne solves. For now, I'll pass; perhaps pick it up again later...
Remember the old adage "try the first 50 pages before giving up on a book"? What do you know, on page 49 a body is discovered (no doubt an effort to get the plot started within the first 50).
I continued reading after all. Suzanne, Grace and George investigate the murder. New and different in this book: Jake is present in April Springs. Far from chastising her for getting involved, he helps with the investigation. (!)
Along the way, Suzanne's recipe book is stolen. This is a major crisis for her. She doesn't know if she can continue to operate Donut Hearts without it. [Really? As a teenager, I worked at donut shops. I never, ever saw the bakers following recipes. They knew how to make donuts, by heart.]
A rare combination of circumstances leaves Suzanne all alone. When she's ambushed by the killer, an totally improbable plot device (something that might not really exist) comes in handy.
Readers who read the series primarily for the characters, relationships and small town atmosphere are more likely to enjoy this book than other mystery readers. Or someone who wants plenty of donut recipes...but seriously, does anyone still deep fry in their home kitchen?
Suzanne at first uses common sense, suggesting Emily is just off on her own business, will be back when she's ready....but evidently Emily is not in the habit of missing appointments or leaving her store unlocked. That last detail convinces Suzanne something is wrong.
Suzanne's next decision is that she and her best friend Grace and their mutual friend George, retired police detective, must solve the mystery of Emily's disappearance. What a weak premise for a mystery. It gets weaker....Suzanne soon finds Emily safe and sound. Emily is just seeking privacy (with Suzanne's ex).
It was hard to continue reading after 37 pages of 'filler': a feeble contrived investigation into a non-disappearance, reiterating her mother is about to date the chief of police, reiterating her boyfriend Jake is away on law enforcement business (as always). I'd wondered in earlier books how Grace was always so available at the drop of a hat; as part of the 'filler' she confirms she's bored with her work, and of course a donut recipe fills a few pages, too. I assume the book eventually includes a murder mystery that Suzanne solves. For now, I'll pass; perhaps pick it up again later...
Remember the old adage "try the first 50 pages before giving up on a book"? What do you know, on page 49 a body is discovered (no doubt an effort to get the plot started within the first 50).
I continued reading after all. Suzanne, Grace and George investigate the murder. New and different in this book: Jake is present in April Springs. Far from chastising her for getting involved, he helps with the investigation. (!)
Along the way, Suzanne's recipe book is stolen. This is a major crisis for her. She doesn't know if she can continue to operate Donut Hearts without it. [Really? As a teenager, I worked at donut shops. I never, ever saw the bakers following recipes. They knew how to make donuts, by heart.]
A rare combination of circumstances leaves Suzanne all alone. When she's ambushed by the killer, an totally improbable plot device (something that might not really exist) comes in handy.
Readers who read the series primarily for the characters, relationships and small town atmosphere are more likely to enjoy this book than other mystery readers. Or someone who wants plenty of donut recipes...but seriously, does anyone still deep fry in their home kitchen?
August 3, 2021
I agree with Suzanne and like it when Jake can spend more time in April Springs and has a more active roll in the book. I enjoyed the story in this one and even though I picked up on the clue to solve the case I didn't see it going down like it did. I like the characters in this series and am rooting for them and what's not to love about a donut shop. There are recipes included in the book (spread throughout the story which I wouldn't like if I wanted to find one to make) and they sound easy enough and at the same time like too much work.
March 1, 2021
I’m not sure what the significance of Emily missing in the beginning has to do with the rest of the story. It felt a little forced to have that happen as a way to connect it to Suzanne’s donut shop when finding the body seems to be enough to make her entitled to solving the mystery.
Something I’m uncomfortable with is how Suzanne and Grace feel entitled to getting the “truth” from people involved in the murder mystery but that’s just part of the series; if you can’t buy into that you’re not really going to enjoy a cozy mystery.
This time around Suzanne is prying into other peoples business as a favor and even with that being the case, she never shares much of the information to the person who requested it from her. Even at the end of this book she never calls in the favor she was asked for, she turns to Jake.
I thought Jake was the most boring boyfriend I’ve ever read in Fatally Frosted because of his job he’s never around. This being the second book I read in this series, it was a nice change of pace to have his involvement (unofficially.)
Jake is still pretty boring. Hard to get a sense of his character, other than the offhand mention of his tragic backstory there’s not much personality. When he’s present, he’s still a pretty distant boyfriend. Kinda funny how uncomfortable he seems around Suzanne’s mom, he seems to want to avoid her at all cost, it’s kinda sad. Suzanne knows how uncomfortable he is but then feels bad leaving her mom out so still tries to tag her along. Seeing that her mom is a big part of her life, they live together, her mans needs to get over it. He is somewhat considerate, he gives her a card, but this books ends with a near death experience and it’s brushed off with “you were really brave tonight.” Okay...
Suzanne mom tries to put herself out there and get back into dating which seems to be the theme of this book and the murder mystery it revolves around. I thought the love advice that Suzanne gives out to her friend was very thoughtful.
Overall it had a good amount of drama surrounding the case. The bit involving the recipe book was melodramatic for my taste. I understand the value of it but they live in the modern world, don’t they? Can’t she pull up some recipes off the internet? How long has Donut Hearts been open that she doesn’t have these donuts memorized by now? I understand lacking in specialty selections but I’ve watched enough cupcake wars to know that small town shop owners, who aren’t exactly culinary masters can whip up a creative selection in an hour. She has so much pride in her donuts, she clearly isn’t as skilled as she thinks she is.
Dabbling in these books was a fun read. I think they’re alright, but not all that invested in the characters.
Something I’m uncomfortable with is how Suzanne and Grace feel entitled to getting the “truth” from people involved in the murder mystery but that’s just part of the series; if you can’t buy into that you’re not really going to enjoy a cozy mystery.
This time around Suzanne is prying into other peoples business as a favor and even with that being the case, she never shares much of the information to the person who requested it from her. Even at the end of this book she never calls in the favor she was asked for, she turns to Jake.
I thought Jake was the most boring boyfriend I’ve ever read in Fatally Frosted because of his job he’s never around. This being the second book I read in this series, it was a nice change of pace to have his involvement (unofficially.)
Jake is still pretty boring. Hard to get a sense of his character, other than the offhand mention of his tragic backstory there’s not much personality. When he’s present, he’s still a pretty distant boyfriend. Kinda funny how uncomfortable he seems around Suzanne’s mom, he seems to want to avoid her at all cost, it’s kinda sad. Suzanne knows how uncomfortable he is but then feels bad leaving her mom out so still tries to tag her along. Seeing that her mom is a big part of her life, they live together, her mans needs to get over it. He is somewhat considerate, he gives her a card, but this books ends with a near death experience and it’s brushed off with “you were really brave tonight.” Okay...
Suzanne mom tries to put herself out there and get back into dating which seems to be the theme of this book and the murder mystery it revolves around. I thought the love advice that Suzanne gives out to her friend was very thoughtful.
Overall it had a good amount of drama surrounding the case. The bit involving the recipe book was melodramatic for my taste. I understand the value of it but they live in the modern world, don’t they? Can’t she pull up some recipes off the internet? How long has Donut Hearts been open that she doesn’t have these donuts memorized by now? I understand lacking in specialty selections but I’ve watched enough cupcake wars to know that small town shop owners, who aren’t exactly culinary masters can whip up a creative selection in an hour. She has so much pride in her donuts, she clearly isn’t as skilled as she thinks she is.
Dabbling in these books was a fun read. I think they’re alright, but not all that invested in the characters.
December 18, 2020
Suzanne Hart owns Donut Hearts, a donut shop in small-town April Springs, North Carolina. One morning she's visited by Chief Martin, who's been contacted by Emily Hargraves' mother, who's worried because Emily is missing, and Suzanne was the last person to see her. So after he leaves, she calls her best friend Grace to help her locate Emily, knowing she'd never just disappear without a word and leave her shop unlocked.
But later while Grace and Suzanne are walking through the park toward Suzanne's home, they find something they'd rather not: Tim Leander hanging from Patriot's Tree. After the police arrive and they've been questioned, they think that's the end of it. But Suzanne has been asked to help find out who killed Tim, and she feels an obligation to do so.
Complicating matters are the fact that her boyfriend Jake has arrived since he has a few days off work and wants to spend the time with her; being a state investigator doesn't give him a lot of free time; and someone has stolen her beloved recipe book, without which she can only create the donuts she's memorized by heart. So Suzanne decides that now it's been made personal, and she's more than ever determined to find the killer, even if it puts her own life in danger...
This is the fifth book in the series, and probably my favorite one. The plot was decent, and there were enough suspects and enough red herrings to keep me reading throughout without getting bored. I like Suzanne and the fact that she doesn't knowingly do things that might put her into danger, nor does she do stupid things like breaking and entering. It helps that she's smart enough to merely ask questions, even if those questions are a tad invasive. After all, how does one get answers otherwise?
This time out, she has managed to finagle Jake into working with her, sort of like a tag team. She and Grace will ask the questions of the women, and Jake and her friend George Morris will tackle the men (not that it's sexist, but it makes more sense that way). In doing so, they hope to ferret out a killer.
Also on the sidelines is her mother Dorothy, who is trying out dating again after being a widow for many years. The man she's seeing is none other than police chief Philip Martin, who's had a crush on her forever and is mellowing in his desire to please her. But unfortunately, some of his efforts have gone awry, and now Dorothy is still on the fence, which worries Suzanne.
But in the end, the killer will be found, as we know it must be, and the reasons for the murder seem rather twisted and delusional, giving us no sympathy at all for them. All in all, it was a satisfactory ending and I will continue with the series. Recommended.
But later while Grace and Suzanne are walking through the park toward Suzanne's home, they find something they'd rather not: Tim Leander hanging from Patriot's Tree. After the police arrive and they've been questioned, they think that's the end of it. But Suzanne has been asked to help find out who killed Tim, and she feels an obligation to do so.
Complicating matters are the fact that her boyfriend Jake has arrived since he has a few days off work and wants to spend the time with her; being a state investigator doesn't give him a lot of free time; and someone has stolen her beloved recipe book, without which she can only create the donuts she's memorized by heart. So Suzanne decides that now it's been made personal, and she's more than ever determined to find the killer, even if it puts her own life in danger...
This is the fifth book in the series, and probably my favorite one. The plot was decent, and there were enough suspects and enough red herrings to keep me reading throughout without getting bored. I like Suzanne and the fact that she doesn't knowingly do things that might put her into danger, nor does she do stupid things like breaking and entering. It helps that she's smart enough to merely ask questions, even if those questions are a tad invasive. After all, how does one get answers otherwise?
This time out, she has managed to finagle Jake into working with her, sort of like a tag team. She and Grace will ask the questions of the women, and Jake and her friend George Morris will tackle the men (not that it's sexist, but it makes more sense that way). In doing so, they hope to ferret out a killer.
Also on the sidelines is her mother Dorothy, who is trying out dating again after being a widow for many years. The man she's seeing is none other than police chief Philip Martin, who's had a crush on her forever and is mellowing in his desire to please her. But unfortunately, some of his efforts have gone awry, and now Dorothy is still on the fence, which worries Suzanne.
But in the end, the killer will be found, as we know it must be, and the reasons for the murder seem rather twisted and delusional, giving us no sympathy at all for them. All in all, it was a satisfactory ending and I will continue with the series. Recommended.
September 5, 2015
In Jessica Beck's Tragic Toppings, the 5th installment in the Donut Shop culinary cozy series, she delighted us with an intriguing cozy with delicious donut recipes to enjoy at home. For Suzanne Hart, she received a lot of customers come and go at her shop. But when their handyman winds up missing and turns up dead, it baffled Suzanne's mind on who wanted him dead. Besides trying to convince her mother to go out with the police chief on their dates, she's busy running her store and waiting for her boyfriend to visit her from his job. When he does, it's between the two of them on who wanted to see Tim Leander dad--they dig up his past life and his love life to question everybody as a suspect. When her recipe book went missing and up in flames, someone sent her a warning, before her business could go up in smoke. Before she knew it, her life was at stake and discovered who killed him and someone else, too.
August 8, 2012
Light, fun, fast read! Love Suzanne. There wasn't as much Grace and barely any George in this one because he was off trying to help Jake solve the case. I did like how Jake was helping Suzanne for once in solving the case. Jessica Beck needs to write these faster because this is the fifth book in the series and I already read the seventh that means only one more new one for me to read. I can't be without these books. They are always good go to ones that I can count on in a pinch. A pleasure to read!
March 29, 2015
This is the 5th book in the Doughnut Shop cozy mystery series. Suzanne has a couple of mysterious disappearances to deal with, with one turning out to be benign (a romantic rendezvous) while the other has more deadly consequences. Suzanne must try to help figure out why a body of their friend was found hanging from a tree. Was it a new business competitor, a jealous girlfriend, or someone from his past. To make matters worse, her recipe book disappears, leaving her to have to recreate some of her doughnuts from scratch. As usual, the book contains many delicious sounding recipes.
April 23, 2012
I can see how some of the readers of the Donut Shop mysteries have gotten tired of the stories. BUT, I love it, love learning about Suzanne's and Jake's relationship, about Dorothy and Chief's growing and frustratingly slow relationship...and I like how Suzanne noses around in people's business. She's funny. Anyway, this was a great and quick read. I literally woke up in the middle of the night and would pick the book up and read myself back to sleep.
April 1, 2012
Fun, light reading, perfect for the days when I was home sick. There were some inconsistencies in this book (Jake is daring and can get out of line at work, then he's a "play by the rules" guy a few chapters later), but I didn't even care. These books are fun, I love all the donut talk, and I love the little world of April Springs that the author has created. Keep them coming!
August 7, 2013
I do enjoy this series ... a quick, light read. She does have a tendency to over explain things, but it's a minor annoyance. LOL
October 14, 2024
Suzanne the donut maker has gotten ripped into another investigation, a couple people go missing. One of them turns up almost right away. The other turns up dead, and Suzanne and her bestie are the ones to find the body.
The phrasing of the opening lines of this book had me nervous that we were going to lose a main character almost the whole way through the book, but the "dear friend" that was lost wound up being the dead body Suzanne finds.
It becomes an investigation into a love trapezoid of sorts, and Suzanne gets entrenched on the whole thing yet again. Her boyfriend, on leave because he let his temper out during another case, gets drawn in too. I'm not LOVING the idea of Jake having an anger issue at work, and I'm not loving that he kind of ignored his superiors in favor of investigating with Suzanne. But they worked the whole thing out eventually, of course. I'm just hoping the author doesn't take Jake down the anger management/abuse rabbit hole.
I've finally gotten through this series to book 6 that I've had sitting on my TBR shelf, so I'll be reading that one soon. I am hoping I'll be able to stay listening to this series in audio form soon, because they're fun, and I like the stories, but I've got a ton of physical books I want to get through, and diving 5 books into a series I had to check out from the library to catch myself up before I got to the one on my shelf was quite the commitment. Lesson learned. Check GoodReads for the series info when at the used bookstore!!
The phrasing of the opening lines of this book had me nervous that we were going to lose a main character almost the whole way through the book, but the "dear friend" that was lost wound up being the dead body Suzanne finds.
It becomes an investigation into a love trapezoid of sorts, and Suzanne gets entrenched on the whole thing yet again. Her boyfriend, on leave because he let his temper out during another case, gets drawn in too. I'm not LOVING the idea of Jake having an anger issue at work, and I'm not loving that he kind of ignored his superiors in favor of investigating with Suzanne. But they worked the whole thing out eventually, of course. I'm just hoping the author doesn't take Jake down the anger management/abuse rabbit hole.
I've finally gotten through this series to book 6 that I've had sitting on my TBR shelf, so I'll be reading that one soon. I am hoping I'll be able to stay listening to this series in audio form soon, because they're fun, and I like the stories, but I've got a ton of physical books I want to get through, and diving 5 books into a series I had to check out from the library to catch myself up before I got to the one on my shelf was quite the commitment. Lesson learned. Check GoodReads for the series info when at the used bookstore!!
December 18, 2019
I still like these quirky characters even though they still drive me up the wall!
I'm liking the mom more and more. I didn't not like her before but she didn't get much time spent on her in previous books. She still doesn't - but I like how happy she is in life and we get to cheer for her.
The repetitive nature of Suzanne's over-explanations are beginning to grate on my nerves, however I do like the internal thoughts and opinions (when she's not unfairly maligning clowns). I wish the author would have captured that balance a bit better.
The best friend kind of disappeared halfway through (thereabouts) and that was disappointing - especially since it was a plot device just to make the main character have no one to lean on toward the end. Suzanne says how many people she's friends with but suddenly Grace, George, Jake, and her mom are busy and she has no one to go to this incredibly dangerous rendezvous so she goes alone. Because that's smart five books in :)
As you can tell, I'm a bit annoyed by the end. Suzanne herself says she didn't get killed due to "sheer dumb luck" and that's not really acceptable, is it? I mean, at what point does she have to take responsibility for putting herself in unnecessary danger for no reason?
I might find out because I'm about to start the next book in the series.
I'm liking the mom more and more. I didn't not like her before but she didn't get much time spent on her in previous books. She still doesn't - but I like how happy she is in life and we get to cheer for her.
The repetitive nature of Suzanne's over-explanations are beginning to grate on my nerves, however I do like the internal thoughts and opinions (when she's not unfairly maligning clowns). I wish the author would have captured that balance a bit better.
The best friend kind of disappeared halfway through (thereabouts) and that was disappointing - especially since it was a plot device just to make the main character have no one to lean on toward the end. Suzanne says how many people she's friends with but suddenly Grace, George, Jake, and her mom are busy and she has no one to go to this incredibly dangerous rendezvous so she goes alone. Because that's smart five books in :)
As you can tell, I'm a bit annoyed by the end. Suzanne herself says she didn't get killed due to "sheer dumb luck" and that's not really acceptable, is it? I mean, at what point does she have to take responsibility for putting herself in unnecessary danger for no reason?
I might find out because I'm about to start the next book in the series.
May 21, 2025
This might not be the type of review you are used to.
When I turned fifty I lost my soulmate to cancer.
I have always been a curious type person, wondering how things worked. As a child my grandfather bought me several learning toys the you assembled and learned how they worked. Later in life I learned many skills such as carpentry, electronics, welding, and many other things that enabled me to build, fix, or repair items around me. I never really thought how special this was but others around me noticed.
When my wife passed away I found that many single women had items they needed fixed and were willing to trade a home cooked meal for a simple repair.
I hope you enjoy this story as much as I did and can find the killer, before it is too late.
When I turned fifty I lost my soulmate to cancer.
I have always been a curious type person, wondering how things worked. As a child my grandfather bought me several learning toys the you assembled and learned how they worked. Later in life I learned many skills such as carpentry, electronics, welding, and many other things that enabled me to build, fix, or repair items around me. I never really thought how special this was but others around me noticed.
When my wife passed away I found that many single women had items they needed fixed and were willing to trade a home cooked meal for a simple repair.
I hope you enjoy this story as much as I did and can find the killer, before it is too late.
January 9, 2017
I'm liking this series! Thankfully there are a lot more books in this series!
There are 2 people missing from April Springs, Tim the handyman and Emily who runs the local newsstands. One has shown up safe and sound, while the other is found dead hanging from a tree in the local park.
The summary on the back of the novel and the summary on Goodreads doesn't have much to do with the main plot of the story. Maybe it was from an earlier version?
I enjoyed the mystery and the characters are fun in this series. Excited to read more in the series!
There are 2 people missing from April Springs, Tim the handyman and Emily who runs the local newsstands. One has shown up safe and sound, while the other is found dead hanging from a tree in the local park.
The summary on the back of the novel and the summary on Goodreads doesn't have much to do with the main plot of the story. Maybe it was from an earlier version?
I enjoyed the mystery and the characters are fun in this series. Excited to read more in the series!
March 12, 2022
Suzanne Hart is your average everyday “snoop”, and she is very unlucky when it comes to finding dead bodies. This is #5 in the series. It is definitely not my favorite. However, I have to say that the mystery was literally a mystery right up until the end. I was shocked at the suspect. It also picked up a little more steam halfway through the book. I will continue this series because I like the characters and a good clean mystery. I am also happy to see that Suzanne’s relationship with Jake appears to be moving forward!
April 27, 2024
A few chapters into the story, I remembered why I stopped reading the series. The mystery was good, a situation new to a cozy of a cassanova, solved thru process of elimation, the series' premise is good.... donut shop, an Uncle for the police.
Its the small town participation and Suzanne Hart which were lacking for me. Too presumptous, she beat Jules Capshaw of the Bakeshop series by several miles and no community. Even a baker can have friends? Curiously, the series has a whopping 45 books into it... maybe it gets better? Will revisit after a few years maybe.
Its the small town participation and Suzanne Hart which were lacking for me. Too presumptous, she beat Jules Capshaw of the Bakeshop series by several miles and no community. Even a baker can have friends? Curiously, the series has a whopping 45 books into it... maybe it gets better? Will revisit after a few years maybe.
July 3, 2025
I got this book from the library because I was judging it by the cover. Mmmm donuts 🤤. but they say never judge a book by its cover. and this book is why!
it was horrible. cheesy. horribly written and predictable. so she owns a donut store. no ones questioning why she's so focused on solving murders? and closes her donut shop to do this? it's not like she sold all her donuts. three times she has offered to give away free left over donuts. so clearly she's not doing that well in business to go running off solving crimes. 🙄
I will never read another one of her books. first and last.
it was horrible. cheesy. horribly written and predictable. so she owns a donut store. no ones questioning why she's so focused on solving murders? and closes her donut shop to do this? it's not like she sold all her donuts. three times she has offered to give away free left over donuts. so clearly she's not doing that well in business to go running off solving crimes. 🙄
I will never read another one of her books. first and last.
June 11, 2021
Another mysterious murder in April Springs, and Suzanne is on the case along with Grace and their buddy George. The police were baffled, and so was Suzanne, and after her beloved recipe book went missing, she wondered if the killer had stolen it or if it was even connected to the case other than a distraction for her. The showdown was exciting, and the perp was hauled away. It was cute that Momma had finally decided to start dating again.
February 5, 2021
Another enjoyable read. Suzanne wants to find the truth behind her friend's death while also trying to keep her career in donuts on track despite a setback or two, and while offering up relationship advice. I really like the relationships between the various characters. I once again have a craving for donuts as well.
September 27, 2024
Another book on the shelf. I really like the relationship development between Suzanne and Jake. I'm wondering, though, with how many books are in the series, how many of the characters I'm getting to know will be either a victim, or a murderer.
January 22, 2018
Enjoyed this book.
December 2, 2018
This was the best mystery I have ever read. I was on the last two pages, before I FOUND OUT. who had commited the murder.
Great read. Jake is pretty high up there in ranking!!
December 16, 2018
I enjoyed this book.
March 9, 2019
Another tasty mystery. I ache that there is so much hate in the world. Grateful there are more of us that put love first.
July 4, 2019
Nice little quick read.
January 27, 2021
Tragic toppings
Jessica has done it again! You can't turn the pages fast enough to see what is going to happen next. The recipes aren't bad either!
Jessica has done it again! You can't turn the pages fast enough to see what is going to happen next. The recipes aren't bad either!
March 14, 2021
Really enjoying these donut shop Mysteries
Displaying 1 - 30 of 91 reviews