Deck the Donuts: A Deputy Donut Mystery

by Ginger Bolton, Emily Durante (Narrator)

’Tis the season for the delectable desserts Emily Westhill and her cuddly cat serve up at Deputy Donut—but someone naughty on Santa’s list has come to town . . .


It’s Christmastime again in Fallingbrook, Wisconsin. Emily has truly 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 . . .

Audible Audio

Published March 10, 2026

About the author

Ginger Bolton writes the Deputy Donut mystery series--cops, crime, coffee, donuts and one curious cat. When Ginger isn't writing or reading, she's crocheting, knitting, walking her two rescue dogs and generally causing trouble.

Reviews

[Short, Sweet and Cozy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Deck the Donuts is the 6th wonderful book in Ginger Bolton's Deputy Donut Mystery series and they continue to be awesome. It is just before Christmas and Fallingbrook, Wisconsin is decked out with lights and festivities. Emily Westhill is a widow and co-owns Deputy Donuts with Tom, a retired policeman. Deputy Donuts has a Frosty the Donut ice sculpture in the town square. A tour bus crashes in a big snow storm and they need to find lodging for the passengers. Emily takes in Paige, the tour bus assistant. The bus driver Corey ended up in the hospital. Many of the passengers are upset with Corey and Paige for the bus crash. Corey is found dead in the middle of rhe Frosty the Donut ice sculpture. Many of the people on the bus and several locals are suspects including Paige. Emily is good friends with Brent, a police detective and her deceased husband's partner. Brent bought a new house outside of town. He invites some of their friends for a cross country ski party. I love Emily's friends Samantha, Misty, Hooligan, Scott and of course Brent. The crew at Deputy Donut is nice especially Emily's cat Deputy Donut (Dep). The cozy mystery kept me engaged and trying to guess the culprit. The audiobook narrated by Emily Durante is very well done and very enjoyable. #DeckTheDonuts #ADeputyDonutMystery #Kensington #Audible