I thoroughly enjoyed this first in a new series by Ginger Bolton about a young widow who runs a donut shop with her father-in-law, a former chief of police in their Wisconsin town. The characters are engaging and the mystery is full of suspense and misdirection. I was completely surprised by the ending, and look forward to more in the series, especially exploring Em's relationship with Brent.

This is a deliciously delightful first book in a new series.
The premise of a "donut shop" cozy has certainly been done before, but this had a fresh feel to it.
I enjoyed the characters and hope to see more of their stories develop in the next book.
The whodunit was engaging and kept me guessing until the end.
I recommend this book and look forward to reading the next one.
I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book.

Title: Survival of the Fritters (Deputy Donut Mystery #1)
Author: Ginger Bolton
Pages: Kindle Edition, 256 Pages
Publication Date: January 30, 2018
Rating: ⭐

I couldn’t wait to dive into this book, I loved the entire premise of it (I told my best friends about it as soon as I saw it because a cat named Deputy Donut? I’m so there) but unfortunately, it really didn’t work for me. I actually DNF’d this one at about 34% because I just couldn’t make myself keep reading it. It’s not often that I don’t finish books but this one was just missing something to draw me in, and it has a few too many issues for me.

First of all, I loved the setting of this book, I’m a sucker for a good small town setting and the way it’s described seems really lovely. But that’s kind of where the good things end. My biggest issue with this one is the characters, I know basically nothing about them but I still managed to be irritated by, well, all of them. I especially dislike the main character, she’s beyond judgmental about such superficial things and I just can’t deal with it. I also do not care at all about the murder, so the actual point of this book. I don’t even care enough to check the end to see who killed her because there’s nothing that pulled me into this story.

I love cozy mysteries, and I’ve never not finished it, even when I didn’t like it. But unfortunately this one just wasn’t my cup of tea. If you like mysteries then I’d give it a shot, I’ve seen some amazing reviews so I guess I’m in the minority here, I just don’t have time for bad man characters. The cat is great though! Honestly the best character in the whole thing and the best pet sidekick in any cozy mystery I’ve read, so there’s that!

I  recieved a free digital copy of this book from Netgalley for an honest review.
This is the first book in a brand new series by Ginger Bolton.
There's an adorable cat named Deputy Donut, who the donut shop is named after. (Hes my favorite character!) Deputy Donut even has his own office in the shop.
This is a great first book with lots of background details. I can't wait till the next book comes out!

Survival of the Fritters is the first in a new series by Ginger Bolton.
I found the cover to be colorful and the description was interesting.
The story centers around Emily Westhill, a previous 911 operator and her retired chief of police father in law, who now own Deputy Donut,the best donut shop in town.
Locals are drawn to the donut shop and this includes a group of knitters who spend their time drinking cappuccinos and having a good time.

When Georgia Treetor doesn't show up for her morning knitting session, everyone begins to worry, especially her friend her Lois, who just moved to town.
When Georgia's body is discovered, Emily cannot help but investigate and before long she finds herself in harm's way.

I always find it difficult to review a first in a new series. There is a lot to learn, characters to get to know, the location of the story and how it all melds together to form a perfect cozy mystery.
While I enjoyed the story-line, there was nothing about Emily that made me like her or hate her.

She felt a bit stale to me- (yes, pun intended) and I had a difficult time getting to know her.
The story itself was well written and the plot was good. I will definitely read the next book in the series to see if Emily has grown to be a more likeable and relate-able character.

I voluntarily read an ARC of this book provided by the publisher and NetGalley.

A delicious mystery I could not put down until I was turning the last page! We meet Emily,a former 911 operator who nows owns a doughnut shop with her father in law. She is struggling to come to terms with the death of her husband while attempting to maintain a sense of purpose while serving up coffee and doughnuts to her customers. When a regular customer does not show up, Emily, with the help of the customers friends, try to track her down. Emily then stumbles upon her customer's dead body and is immersed in twists and turns trying to figure out the ultimate whodunit.
You cannot help but feel for Emily during the entire story. You can feel her struggle trying to find purpose and joy in the day to day. The characters were well written and the relationships between them wonderfully developed. The mystery was spot on, keeping you guessing until the author revealed the villain. I love a good mystery, and this did not disappoint.

I get so excited when reading the first of a new series because it holds the possibility of becoming a new a favorite, but I found this one to be a dud. In this new series from Ginger Bolton, Emily Westhill runs Deputy Donut, the best donut shop in Fallingbrook, Wisconsin (and also the name of her tabby cat). When a friend and member of the donut shop's knitting group is found murdered, a series of event brings back the past. Emily is reminded of how her police officer husband was killed investigating a case, and his partner was wounded. Emily must put aside her multi-faced feelings for his former partner to work with him on the new case, as well as a murder from five years ago.

I really had a difficulty getting into this book. I didn't enjoy is from the beginning but kept reading. I made it about half way through the book and realized it wasn't going to get any better. I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and Kensington Books, whom I love, but this one was a swing and a miss. It was technically well-written, but was missing that indescribable ingredient that makes cozy mysteries, well...cozy. I skipped to the end to find out who the murderer was, and while I remembered the name, the characters are so forgettable, I couldn't remember anything about them. I hope others give this a shot and have better luck, but I was pretty disappointed.

This sweet debut for a new cozy series features Emily Westhill, widow of a police officer, and Tom, her father-in-law, who jointly own Deputy Donuts, a local donut shop. The shop is named after my favorite character, Deputy Donut, her engaging tabby who even has a specially designed office at Deputy Donuts. A good friend is found murdered and Emily decides to figure out who’s responsible. Complicating things is an older murder, thought to be related, along with a case of mistaken identity.

Ginger Bolton has created an interesting setting for her series and has skillfully drawn her characters. I really fell for Dep (her cat’s nickname) who is easily seduced by sardines and loves to chase leaves on the walk to and from the shop each day with Emily. While it was fun watching the characters and relationships unfold and develop, I found the resolution a bit convoluted. I look forward to more adventures involving Emily and Dep.

This is a charming mystery featuring a compelling plot, interesting characters, inter-generational friendships, a wonderful view of small town life in northern Wisconsin and, above all, delicious donuts. After the death of her young police officer husband Alec, former 911 operator Emily quit that job and opened a donut shop with her father-in-law, former police chief Tom. The shop has become a town hub and a group of older women called the Knitpickers meet there each day for coffee and knitting. A new member, Lois, has joined them and they are waiting for their friend Georgia to show up. When no one has heard from her the women, including Emily, go to her home and find that she has been killed. Lois, who is now Emily;s new neighbor is also attacked that night and the women begin to suspect that these attacks are related to the murder of Georgia's son Matthias five years ago. Despite warnings from Emily's husband's partner Brent to remain safe, Emily gets involved in finding the culprit. I loved this piece of small town life, the relationships formed between the generations, and of course the descriptions of the delicious donuts. This is certainly a book to savor.

Good start for a new series, solid story line, fun characters, with some twist and turns to keep it interesting. An enjoyable read.

A juicy cozy mystery with all the trimmings, Emily had a rough patch to get over, that is, the death of her husband, police officer Alec who died while performing his duties, she believed the next guy she fell in love with, would be a safe one, not one that lives in the danger zone. With the help of the new addition to the knitpickers gang, she set herself the task of finding out who killed her 70 plus-year-old, friend Georgia and her son Matthias and most of all why this was a priority. Faced with unknown dangers she was adamant in her search and forged ahead in the face of harm even death. A most thrilling and intriguing story built on a solid storyline along with great characters, I enjoyed reading it, love these cozy mystery they are my new flavors.