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Donut Truck Mystery #1
Deadly Deals and Donuts
With the victims piling up will Joyce and Brenda stay alive long enough to solve the murder?
Joyce and Brenda are enjoying running their newly opened donut truck, ‘Donuts on the Move’. They love working together and despite a few hiccups things are running along smoothly.
That is until business comes to a grinding halt when the owner of the hot dog truck is found murdered. Wanting the murder solved as quickly as possible so justice can be served and business on Green Street can return to normal, the friends decide to do a little digging of their own.
But things go from bad to worse when it looks like the murderer is targeting the food truck owners on Green Street. It is a race against the clock to find the killer before Joyce and Brenda become the next victims.
Recipe Included: Chocolate Glazed Donuts with Sprinkles
Joyce and Brenda are enjoying running their newly opened donut truck, ‘Donuts on the Move’. They love working together and despite a few hiccups things are running along smoothly.
That is until business comes to a grinding halt when the owner of the hot dog truck is found murdered. Wanting the murder solved as quickly as possible so justice can be served and business on Green Street can return to normal, the friends decide to do a little digging of their own.
But things go from bad to worse when it looks like the murderer is targeting the food truck owners on Green Street. It is a race against the clock to find the killer before Joyce and Brenda become the next victims.
Recipe Included: Chocolate Glazed Donuts with Sprinkles
238 pages, Paperback
First published August 28, 2017
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294 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews
August 8, 2024
A Donut Truck mystery
There are a group of food trucks in a street zoned for them. There is a murder of one of the truck owners Joyce and Brenda are the owners of a donut Truck. They decide to investigate the murder on their own. Despite the warnings from the police to stay out of it. Together with Brenda's husband who is a reporter. The investigation turns up bribes and other shady deals. Ultimately I didn't have the mystery solved.
There are a group of food trucks in a street zoned for them. There is a murder of one of the truck owners Joyce and Brenda are the owners of a donut Truck. They decide to investigate the murder on their own. Despite the warnings from the police to stay out of it. Together with Brenda's husband who is a reporter. The investigation turns up bribes and other shady deals. Ultimately I didn't have the mystery solved.
January 13, 2018
I've had this book from Kindle Unlimited for awhile so I finally got around to reading it and I'm really glad I did! I loved the idea of a donut truck and also thought it was really fun that one of the owners is Brenda, a mom with a little girl and a husband and the other owner is Joyce, a 60-something widow of a police officer. Which is basically what makes Joyce so interested in investigating.
Joyce and Brenda are going about their business of getting their donut food truck going and hoping to be noticed eventually so they'll be able to take part in some of the town activities as a concessions truck. Joyce literally trips over a dead body by the neighboring hot dog truck which turns out to be Adam, the truck's owner.
Lots of shady characters abound, including Vince, a local guy rumored to have been into drugs. But it's not drugs this time that seems to have gotten yet another one of the food truck owners murdered. Charlie, Brenda's reporter husband, is worried about her and Joyce if there's some maniac out there offing the food truck vendors. Joyce and Brenda do most of the investigating together but Joyce goes out on her own a time or two. She has the extra confidence of having had a police officer, Davey, as her late husband.
This was really a good, smooth moving mystery that kept my attention the whole time. There weren't a lot of unnecessary details but there were lots of likable characters and several suspects and motives. It had just enough twists to keep me from figuring out who the killer was until the author revealed it.
Oh and just a side note, I thought the idea of a pet bunny (Joyce's pet, Molly) was so adorable. Usually in cozies, it's a cat or dog so it was just a fun little outside the box idea I guess to have a pet rabbit. Joyce and Brenda worked so well together, almost like mother and daughter and Charlie was an amazing and supportive, yet protective husband. I liked Detective Crackle more than I sometimes like the officer in charge. He was still advising them not to investigate but he at least wasn't out and out rude with them. I'm anxious to keep reading on in this series!
Joyce and Brenda are going about their business of getting their donut food truck going and hoping to be noticed eventually so they'll be able to take part in some of the town activities as a concessions truck. Joyce literally trips over a dead body by the neighboring hot dog truck which turns out to be Adam, the truck's owner.
Lots of shady characters abound, including Vince, a local guy rumored to have been into drugs. But it's not drugs this time that seems to have gotten yet another one of the food truck owners murdered. Charlie, Brenda's reporter husband, is worried about her and Joyce if there's some maniac out there offing the food truck vendors. Joyce and Brenda do most of the investigating together but Joyce goes out on her own a time or two. She has the extra confidence of having had a police officer, Davey, as her late husband.
This was really a good, smooth moving mystery that kept my attention the whole time. There weren't a lot of unnecessary details but there were lots of likable characters and several suspects and motives. It had just enough twists to keep me from figuring out who the killer was until the author revealed it.
Oh and just a side note, I thought the idea of a pet bunny (Joyce's pet, Molly) was so adorable. Usually in cozies, it's a cat or dog so it was just a fun little outside the box idea I guess to have a pet rabbit. Joyce and Brenda worked so well together, almost like mother and daughter and Charlie was an amazing and supportive, yet protective husband. I liked Detective Crackle more than I sometimes like the officer in charge. He was still advising them not to investigate but he at least wasn't out and out rude with them. I'm anxious to keep reading on in this series!
October 11, 2017
This is a nice cozy mystery. Joyce and Brenda open a truck that sells donuts on the street. Joyce is older and the business end of the deal while Brenda is younger and the one who makes the donuts. Then a young man who owns the truck next to them is found dead- well, actually, Joyce trips over his body. With threats to close down the food trucks on the street, and speculations as to why Adam was murdered and who did it, the women go into detective mode.
I would read another book in this series.
I would read another book in this series.
Currently reading
April 5, 2020Author gift
March 14, 2025
Deadly Deals and Donuts, the first book in Cindy Bell’s Donut Truck Mystery series, is a good, but, uneven read. While the characters are delightful and the mystery engaging, the story just does not move apace as quickly as it should.
Joyce and Brenda (last names unknown?) have teamed up to open the “Donuts on the Move” food truck. Joyce, a seasoned employee, handles the business end, while Brenda, a working mom, makes the donuts. They are concentrating on growing their business when Joyce stumbles on a dead body. Andy, owner of the hot dog food truck has met his demise. Despite warnings from the police to stay out of it, Joyce and Brenda do some sleuthing to “help the police.”
The mystery is interesting, with many suspects, intimations of a drug operation, and other nefarious goings-on. Both Joyce and Brenda are interesting characters. Joyce is older and has a wisdom about her that is needed. Her pet bunny provides the “aww” factor. Brenda seems a bit impetuous, but she is kept in check by her husband, Charlie who goes out of his way to both protect and support her.
All-in-all, I enjoyed the book and probably will check out the next in the series. The biggest downfall for me was that there is no audio, and my time to sit down and physically read is sporadic at best.
Joyce and Brenda (last names unknown?) have teamed up to open the “Donuts on the Move” food truck. Joyce, a seasoned employee, handles the business end, while Brenda, a working mom, makes the donuts. They are concentrating on growing their business when Joyce stumbles on a dead body. Andy, owner of the hot dog food truck has met his demise. Despite warnings from the police to stay out of it, Joyce and Brenda do some sleuthing to “help the police.”
The mystery is interesting, with many suspects, intimations of a drug operation, and other nefarious goings-on. Both Joyce and Brenda are interesting characters. Joyce is older and has a wisdom about her that is needed. Her pet bunny provides the “aww” factor. Brenda seems a bit impetuous, but she is kept in check by her husband, Charlie who goes out of his way to both protect and support her.
All-in-all, I enjoyed the book and probably will check out the next in the series. The biggest downfall for me was that there is no audio, and my time to sit down and physically read is sporadic at best.
October 31, 2020
Food truck owners, dodgy local politicians, a newspaper man and a solid, local detective are all characters in this quick read and enjoyable cozy mystery.
Joyce and Brenda newly-minted food truck owners who sell the best donuts in town from their Donut Truck on Green Street. Everything seems to be working out well for them when a fellow Green Street (Hotdog) truck owner is murdered in broad daylight. Joyce and Brenda’s truck is next to the murdered man’s truck and they feel impelled to do some sleuthing of their own (just to help the police). However, they might just be stirring up more mischief and possibly making themselves targets as they digging in to Adam’s death. This is the first book in the series (Donut Shop Cozy Mysteries) and if you like a light quick read, this is a good story to enjoy on an afternoon inside.
Joyce and Brenda newly-minted food truck owners who sell the best donuts in town from their Donut Truck on Green Street. Everything seems to be working out well for them when a fellow Green Street (Hotdog) truck owner is murdered in broad daylight. Joyce and Brenda’s truck is next to the murdered man’s truck and they feel impelled to do some sleuthing of their own (just to help the police). However, they might just be stirring up more mischief and possibly making themselves targets as they digging in to Adam’s death. This is the first book in the series (Donut Shop Cozy Mysteries) and if you like a light quick read, this is a good story to enjoy on an afternoon inside.
February 24, 2020
A bit of a slog
A decent read. Okay as far as it went the plot was a good one. The death of a food truck owner. But I'm not sure what happened but it really lost my interest about half way through. Yes i did read to the end but it was a bit of a slog.
There should have been plenty to keep me interested - from bribes, dirty dealing, affairs and murder but ...... The characters too seemed a bit mundane is probably the right word for them. A bit plodding and really not having a lot of personality.
A decent read. Okay as far as it went the plot was a good one. The death of a food truck owner. But I'm not sure what happened but it really lost my interest about half way through. Yes i did read to the end but it was a bit of a slog.
There should have been plenty to keep me interested - from bribes, dirty dealing, affairs and murder but ...... The characters too seemed a bit mundane is probably the right word for them. A bit plodding and really not having a lot of personality.
July 24, 2021
Brenda and Joyce run a donut food truck. The competition is fierce among the food trucks, especially when one of them finds the dead body of the hot dog guy. Could it have had something to do with somebody selling hamburgers to outdo the hot dogs?
Of course, the donut duo was the case. Unfortunately, this is not your typical Cindy Bell mystery. Normally, you just fall right into and get caught up in the mystery. But not this time. There’s too many suspects and not enough intrigue that it almost loses the reader.
Of course, the donut duo was the case. Unfortunately, this is not your typical Cindy Bell mystery. Normally, you just fall right into and get caught up in the mystery. But not this time. There’s too many suspects and not enough intrigue that it almost loses the reader.
July 27, 2021
Deadly Deals and Donuts by Cindy Bell is the first book in the Donut Truck Cozy Mystery series. I found the characters likable. However, the book was written in a formula fashion that reminded me of grade school reading. It was a little to cliche for me.
April 29, 2023
Joyce and Brenda are enjoying running their newly opened donut truck, ‘Donuts on the Move’. They love working together and despite a few hiccups things are running along smoothly. That is until business comes to a grinding halt when the owner of the hot dog truck is found murdered. Wanting the murder solved as quickly as possible so justice can be served and business on Green Street can return to normal, the friends decide to do a little digging of their own.
I borrowed this book from Kindle Unlimited. This in no way affects my opinion of this book which I read and reviewed voluntarily.
I borrowed this book from Kindle Unlimited. This in no way affects my opinion of this book which I read and reviewed voluntarily.
September 19, 2017
Busy characters
It was an okay read. I enjoyed it, but kept getting lost with so many characters. I did not enjoy Joyce being referred to as the old woman so often. Also her aches and pains just were unnecessary to be the center of so many chapters!
I did enjoy the book. It was a good mystery that I did not figure out. I felt proud of the ladies for going forward against everyone telling them to back off.
It was an okay read. I enjoyed it, but kept getting lost with so many characters. I did not enjoy Joyce being referred to as the old woman so often. Also her aches and pains just were unnecessary to be the center of so many chapters!
I did enjoy the book. It was a good mystery that I did not figure out. I felt proud of the ladies for going forward against everyone telling them to back off.
March 20, 2025
Very cute cozy. I like the ease of the story plot. The story just flows along at a nice pace. Took me out of the real world momentarily. My husband and I just went to a great little food truck roundup last weekend and I was transported right back there in my imagination! The story for sure follows the norm of a cozy and was enjoyable. The only negative was the stereotype scene at the comic book store. Boo. That being said, I will read more of the series
June 30, 2019
What a great book!!!!
10++stars!!!!
Joyce and Brenda sure got mixed up in a mess of politics in the area of food truck street.
Joyce is a tough old bird getting justice serviced. This book is as good as the description I read about the book.
I can't wait to read the next book in this series.
You will really like this book.
10++stars!!!!
Joyce and Brenda sure got mixed up in a mess of politics in the area of food truck street.
Joyce is a tough old bird getting justice serviced. This book is as good as the description I read about the book.
I can't wait to read the next book in this series.
You will really like this book.
July 21, 2019
Deadly Deals and Donuts
I very rarely give any book only two stars.
This first book in a new series by Cindy Bell,could have been a lot better.
First the two main characters,Joyce and Brenda, were never really introduced. They were just opening their donut truck,with no background on them.
But mostly the book just plained bored me. I found it dragging from start to finish.
I very rarely give any book only two stars.
This first book in a new series by Cindy Bell,could have been a lot better.
First the two main characters,Joyce and Brenda, were never really introduced. They were just opening their donut truck,with no background on them.
But mostly the book just plained bored me. I found it dragging from start to finish.
June 13, 2020
Enjoyable cozy mystery.
Enjoyable cozy mystery. Joyce and Brenda Dale donuts from their Donut Truck on Green Street. When a fellow Green Street truck owner is murdered, Joyce and Brenda do some sleuthing, possibly making themselves targets along the way. Recommend this series opener and looking forward to more Donut Shop cozy mysteries.
Enjoyable cozy mystery. Joyce and Brenda Dale donuts from their Donut Truck on Green Street. When a fellow Green Street truck owner is murdered, Joyce and Brenda do some sleuthing, possibly making themselves targets along the way. Recommend this series opener and looking forward to more Donut Shop cozy mysteries.
August 31, 2017
Great read
I love all of Cindy Bells books. If your like me and love a cozy with great stories and characters you will love than these books are for you. I can't wait till the next one
I love all of Cindy Bells books. If your like me and love a cozy with great stories and characters you will love than these books are for you. I can't wait till the next one
September 3, 2017
Donuts and murder. Oh my
Good characters. Food truck owners mix with crooked politicians leading to double homicide. When the two donut entrepreneurs decide to solve the crime, they're almost eliminated.
Good characters. Food truck owners mix with crooked politicians leading to double homicide. When the two donut entrepreneurs decide to solve the crime, they're almost eliminated.
September 4, 2017
A nice story to read for a couple of hours downtime. I'd read the rest in the series.
Based around a food truck selling donuts and 2 ladies for which this is a new venture for both of them.
Easy reading and passes the time.
Based around a food truck selling donuts and 2 ladies for which this is a new venture for both of them.
Easy reading and passes the time.
September 11, 2017
Good
It was good . The characters were ok..I've enjoyed your other books more. I think I liked the other characters better in previous books. Maybe I couldn't visualize these people. You usually describe them better.
It was good . The characters were ok..I've enjoyed your other books more. I think I liked the other characters better in previous books. Maybe I couldn't visualize these people. You usually describe them better.
October 17, 2017
Food Truck Girls Rock
I really liked this cozy mystery. The characters Brenda and Joyce were done well and even Charlie was good. And such a nice detective. Really well written and I am going on to the next one in the series.
I really liked this cozy mystery. The characters Brenda and Joyce were done well and even Charlie was good. And such a nice detective. Really well written and I am going on to the next one in the series.
December 8, 2017
Story and writing qualiuty don't match up
The plot was actually pretty decent in this, but the writing isn't up to par. The phrasing, structure, word choice all feel very basic, even juvenile. Hoping that starts to improve in Book 2.
The plot was actually pretty decent in this, but the writing isn't up to par. The phrasing, structure, word choice all feel very basic, even juvenile. Hoping that starts to improve in Book 2.
June 27, 2018
Joyce and Brenda are wonderful characters that make this book shine. Being an animal lover I must admit that the bunny adds the perfect touch. The mystery was intriguing and I'm sure Green Street will never be the same with these two women selling their donuts. A perfect beach read.
January 5, 2019
A Nice Beginning a New Cozy Series
This a new series featuring Joyce and Brenda,donut truck owners.
I loved the story-line and the characters.
This book is recommended for those who love cozy mysteries.
This a new series featuring Joyce and Brenda,donut truck owners.
I loved the story-line and the characters.
This book is recommended for those who love cozy mysteries.
June 19, 2019
Mouthwatering delightful
I am a sucker for a fresh donut! Add in a mystery to solve and you have me savoring each page. Cindy Bell has taken the popularity of food trucks, added two likable female sleuths and created a delicious little series to enjoy.
I am a sucker for a fresh donut! Add in a mystery to solve and you have me savoring each page. Cindy Bell has taken the popularity of food trucks, added two likable female sleuths and created a delicious little series to enjoy.
April 8, 2020
WOW WHAT A WONDERFUL BOOK!BUY 👌 IT NOW!😍
Here is a great written mystery story that will captivate you right away 😍! I'm definitely going to recommend this book and the Author. BUY THIS BOOK NOW!😍
Here is a great written mystery story that will captivate you right away 😍! I'm definitely going to recommend this book and the Author. BUY THIS BOOK NOW!😍
April 18, 2020
Fun Read
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. It was very relaxing and easy to follow the plot. A good book to read if you don’t want something too deep and just want something to relax with.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. It was very relaxing and easy to follow the plot. A good book to read if you don’t want something too deep and just want something to relax with.
November 27, 2020
Joyce and Brenda open up a food truck together. When a neighboring truck owner is murdered, the pair decide to do some investigating on their own. This was a cute read. You have to suspend a bit of reality (like many cozy mysteries with amateur sleuths), but it did make me hungry for donuts!
January 20, 2022
An Enjoyable Read
I really enjoyed the characters and look forward to getting to know them better,. The story was told in a way that made me want to keep read. I can't wait to read the next book in the series.
I really enjoyed the characters and look forward to getting to know them better,. The story was told in a way that made me want to keep read. I can't wait to read the next book in the series.
September 7, 2017
Cindy Bell does it again 😀
A 5 🌟 read from beginning to end. New characters, new mysteries and donuts. Love donuts. So many twists in this it kept me guessing to the end.
A 5 🌟 read from beginning to end. New characters, new mysteries and donuts. Love donuts. So many twists in this it kept me guessing to the end.
September 16, 2017
Interesting new series
The characters in this story are well defined and easy to like. This is a mystery that has a surprise ending. Am looking forward to the next in the series.
The characters in this story are well defined and easy to like. This is a mystery that has a surprise ending. Am looking forward to the next in the series.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews