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Donut Shop Mysteries #17

Old Fashioned Crooks

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New From New York Times Bestselling Author Jessica Beck!

Donut 17, Old Fashioned Crooks.

When donut shop assistant Emma’s bad boyfriend is found dead in the middle of a freshly lit bonfire during the Spirit Night celebration, Suzanne and Grace must dig into the case, with Jake adding his own special skills to the investigation. The team soon gets into trouble when the search turns even more sinister, and the abilities of all three sleuths are required if they are going to have any chance of solving the murder and clearing Emma’s name.

194 pages, Paperback

First published November 5, 2014

38 people are currently reading
515 people want to read

About the author

Jessica Beck

103 books458 followers
Jessica 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...

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5 stars
177 (42%)
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138 (33%)
3 stars
85 (20%)
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14 (3%)
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3 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
Profile Image for Anastasia.
2,272 reviews102 followers
September 12, 2018
Old fashioned Crooks by Jessica Beck is book 17 in the Donut Mysteries series. Emma's boyfriend is killed during the Spirit night celebrations in April Springs and she asks Suzanne to investigate. Suzanne's fiance Jake has now retired from the state police and helps in the investigation. A nice cozy mystery with quite a few changes occurring in the town with the police chief retiring and a new one about to start. The donuts are the main attraction for me and I'm sure I put on weight just reading about them.
Profile Image for Moondance.
1,192 reviews62 followers
August 10, 2020
It was originally meant to be a fun event that the entire community could enjoy, a pleasant way to spend an evening and help raise money for a good cause.

This is the seventeenth book in the Donut Shop series. Suzanne's assistant, Emma, discovers her boyfriend dead during Spirit Night. Chief Martin is filling in briefly before the new police chief takes over. Knowing that the new chief will not tolerate interference, Suzanne and Grace jump into the investigation immediately.

I have skipped around a bit in this series. It never ceases to amaze me that Suzanne and Grace get away with so much. I have not read one of these in a while so it was nice to visit April Springs and see what the two sleuths get into.

The doughnut recipes are always a treat. I tried a few early on in the series and they were quite good.

I figured out the culprit before it was revealed. It did not distract terribly from the storyline.
Profile Image for Gale Penton.
600 reviews7 followers
May 17, 2021
I love this series. I love Suzanne and Jake.
Profile Image for Diana.
Author 3 books7 followers
November 28, 2017
Wonderful book!

Really enjoyed reading this book! Everyone in it was interesting, and the storyline was great. My only complaint was that it wasn’t longer!
Profile Image for Jennifer Oberth.
Author 16 books27 followers
January 16, 2023
I can't believe the author skipped something we've been waiting for forever. Book after book after book - and he makes this huge thing something tiny and inconsequential. Why would an author do that to his readers? The story itself is the same annoying read with the same annoying writing style (as in not edited, not tight, and sometimes downright hard to read).
Profile Image for Jenni Schell.
553 reviews46 followers
May 18, 2015
Yet another great book in this series. I started reading and didn't stop until it was finished. Is it me or does this set of books just keep getting better and better. Onto #18
Profile Image for Alabama Anthony.
707 reviews4 followers
July 2, 2025
A fundraiser is held in the town square in the early evening to raise money for the local school.
Local shops are staying open late and as the bonfire is starting to be lit a grisly murder is discovered.
It’s the kind of thing that makes people want to quit their jobs, and several do just that.
It looks like it is up to Suzanne and Grace to solve this case but can they do it in just 24 hours?
Profile Image for Nancy H.
3,131 reviews
February 16, 2025
This entry is another good one in the Donut Shop Mystery series. In this one, the donut shop assistant Emma finds her current boyfriend murdered and stuffed into a bonfire that the mayor is in the process of lighting. Of course it is all hands on deck to find the murderer.
Profile Image for Connie.
723 reviews18 followers
September 19, 2018
Emma gets to deal with this one, in a way. Suzanne is supposed to help Emma find a killer and she gets thwarted by the new chief of police. She and her friends find a way around it.
Enjoy!
45 reviews5 followers
February 14, 2019
They always get out of their mess, but at times it drives me crazy that Suzanne can be so stubborn & get caught that they have to get out of their mess or have someone rescue them at the right time.
Profile Image for Melissa.
353 reviews
August 14, 2025
Back to reading just for fun after the summer bingo challenge is over so I wanted to start with a nice easy read that I knew I would enjoy. These books may be cheesy, but I enjoy them!
Profile Image for Deb Sharp.
434 reviews15 followers
August 16, 2018
I always love reading the books in this series!

I want to work at the Donut Shop! I'm sure I could help solve a Mystery or two. It is a good thing Suzanne has Grace to help her.
47 reviews4 followers
December 1, 2014
Great book! Couldn't put it down.

Another great mystery by Jessica Beck. I really enjoyed Old Fashioned Crooks. Once I started reading, I couldn't put it down. It's always hard to finish these books. The characters are written so well that when you are finished reading, you feel that you are leaving your friends.

It's Spirit Night. Suzanne and Emily are selling donuts to the townspeople. Emily leaves Suzanne so she can meet up with her boyfriend. Suzanne's best friend, Grace, donates a large amount of money to Donut Harts. Suzanne decides that she can give away the donuts and join in the fun. All of a sudden, Suzanne and Grace hear a scream. The next thing you know, Suzanne and her mystery solving friends, have a murder to help solve.

We also meet the new police chief in this book. He seems to be a nasty guy, who is going to run the town by the book (at least his own book). I'm not sure if he will be a nice guy or not. Personally, the little that he interacted with Suzanne and George, makes me not care for him.
Profile Image for Christine.
541 reviews35 followers
February 21, 2016
This is the seventeenth book in the donut shop series. Jake is finishing his last case with the state police before coming to live in April Springs permantly. Suzanne and Emma are selling donuts at the annual Spirit Night celebration when Emma sees her boyfriend, Rick’s, body in the bonfire. It soon becomes clear that he is dead. As a favor to Emma, Suzanne and her best friend, Grace, start investigating who put him in the bonfire. They are working on limited time because the former police chief is stepping down and as of the following morning a new chief will be in power that will not tolerate the girls’ investigting the murder.
Profile Image for Paula.
643 reviews12 followers
Read
December 21, 2014
I really love this series. I love the characters and I love how events unfold in the storyline. I love that these are quick reads with the perfect match of suspense, humor, and romance. However, the writing style is getting on my nerves. There is no reason to state every other page that Jake is Suzanne's fiance', and that Grace is her best friend. It's fine to establish it in the beginning for those not as invested in the series, however, throughout the rest of the story it is NOT necessary. Maybe it's just my quirk, but it's annoying.
Profile Image for Georgiann Hennelly.
1,960 reviews26 followers
July 5, 2016
Emma works at Donut Hearts as a Bakery Assistant when her older Boyfriend fails to meet her at Donut Hearts Susanne tells her she can leave and go look for him after all it is spirit night and business is slow. When he is found dead in the middle of a newly lit bonfire during the spirit night celebration Suzanne and Grace decide to dig into the case with Jake adding his own special skills to the case. They soon get into trouble when the search turns even more sinister and the abilities of all three of them are required to solve the murder and to clear Emma's name.
Profile Image for Jennifer Widmer.
58 reviews
January 18, 2016
Fun As Always

I always enjoy the donuts shop mysteries. They're not very long or involved but the characters are fun and likeable. I have to say, I prefer when the characters accidentally get roped into solving a mystery instead of deciding to solve it but that's splitting hairs. It's a fun, quick, mindless read and I enjoyed it.
Profile Image for Gretchen.
2,106 reviews
March 19, 2015
When Emma's boyfriend is murdered, Suzanne and Grace try to solve the crime. Also along for the ride is Jake, who has quit his job as a state police investigator. The chief retires, and a new guy is ready to take over.
905 reviews8 followers
August 5, 2016
was a little disappointed in Suzanne & Jake's nuptials-I had expected some hoopla, At Least! This story-line seemed a bit mild...kinda boring. I am curious as to how long the author will keep Jake unemployed.
Profile Image for ROBINGee.
1 review1 follower
November 19, 2014
Love

love her who done it's n donuts..keeps you guessing till the end. wish I had friends like hers. but not as much murders
Profile Image for Tammy Trecartin.
3 reviews
February 3, 2015
Love this author

I always enjoy her books and recipes. Can't wait for the next one. Can't wait to try some more recipes.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews

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