Blame the Beignets * Ginger Bolton * Deputy Donut Mystery #9

When an autumn trail of freshly fried powdered pastries leads straight to a dead body in a dark lakeside forest, a Wisconsin café owner must sift through a baker's dozen of suspicious locals to clear her new assistant's name.

The Story: Written by prominent, Agatha Award-nominated cozy mystery author Ginger Bolton, this delectable ninth installment in the celebrated Deputy Donut Mystery series turns a chilly Midwestern autumn into a fast-paced, high-stakes puzzle box. Bolton establishes an exceptionally sharp, entertainment-first framework that masterfully balances mouthwatering bakery metrics with a classic, dark-woods chase scene.

The plot follows the intuitive Emily Westhill, whose popular Deputy Donut Café in Fallingbrook, Wisconsin is bustling with hungry customers as October rolls in. To handle the busy autumn rush, Emily welcomes Hannah, the college-student younger sister of her main assistant, to help behind the counter. Hannah’s talent for serving perfect powdered beignets instantly brings a highly volatile disruption to the shop's quiet routine, attracting two vocal local admirers with completely opposite personalities.

The situation shifts into severe criminal territory after hours when Emily discovers a real nightmare in the dark, donut-shaped clifftop forest surrounding her lakeside home. Following a bizarre trail of her own freshly made beignets dropped along the path, she stumbles upon a dead body. While the unappealing victim had burned plenty of bridges around town, the discovery of Hannah’s lost hairclip at the immediate crime scene turns Emily's new employee into the prime suspect. Backed by her stubborn tabby cat, Deputy Donut, Emily launches a frantic campaign to unravel the town's unsavory rumors and track down a killer with a lethal craving before her business and family sanctuary are permanently compromised. Published as a standout pacy whodunit by Kensington Cozies (Kensington Publishing), this charming, recipe-filled mystery serves as an essential showpiece for culinary cozy shelves.

Perfect For: Devotees of traditional, fast-reading culinary cozy mysteries and amateur sleuth stories with an animal companion like the works of Joanne Fluke, Diane Mott Davidson, or Cleo Coyle; readers keeping pace with Emily Westhill’s long-running Fallingbrook donut adventures; and fiction lovers who enjoy autumn settings, small-town gossip webs, and bonus backyard baking recipes.

Published 2024 by Kensington Cozies.

Cozy Mysteries / Culinary & Bakery Whodunits / Amateur Female Sleuths / Small-Town Wisconsin Crime Fiction / Series Continuations