I will admit when I first started this series, I was on the fence if I would like it. I am happy to admit I love this series. Each book amazes me more than the previous one. Boston Scream Murder is my favorite yet. I finished it in one day I was so enthralled by it. You have donuts, murder, a smidge of romance, and kids at Halloween. What more could you ask for?

Be prepared while reading that you will constantly be craving donuts and chocolate bars. It is not fair to set a donut book at Halloween. I am not a fan of Boston Cream but I was craving one mightily.

There would be no issues reading this series out of order if you chose to do so.

I received a complimentary copy from the publisher, Kensington, through NetGalley. All opinions expressed in the above review are entirely my own.

This is a thoroughly enjoyable Halloween cozy. This is a well written book and the characters are likable. It h also has a nice setting (Wisconsin). There's just a hint of potential romance, it's nice that it's not overwhelming.

I really enjoy this series. This a great addition and it checked all of the things I look for in a cozy

Review delayed due to fire evacuation. .
Thank you to the publisher and to Net Galley. My review opinions are my own

This is the 4th in series of the "Deputy Donut Mystery Series by cozy author fan favorite Ginger Bolton. This is a wonderful Halloween theme mystery with all the fun elements of Halloween. It is Halloween time in the small town of Fallowbrook, Wisconsin. Deputy Donut Café owner Emily Westhill is busy running her successful business and specializing in a Boston Cream Donut that the community loves. Her donut shop is popular with local law enforcement as well as the towns people. A local man the obnoxious Rich Royalson is so smitten with the donut he has ordered three dozen for his 70th birthday event. He is holding a holiday theme Birthday event on the foggy mysterious Lake where his wife mysteriously drowned in front of his lake front house. When Emily arrives with her Boston Cream Donuts she finds him dead . Emily knows he had many that wished him dead and with the help of her local enforcement she investigates the many clues he left behind both of his life and his death.

I enjoyed this Halloween addition to this series. The charcters are all well matched to the story. and all add to the fun of the theme. The mystery was interesting and kept me guessing. I like Emily as the widow of a police officer who is smart and kindly to everyone . I look forward to the next in series . This series is a favorite and is always a enjoyable fun read. .Very well done to the author.

Emily Westhill runs the best doughnut shop in Fallingbrook, Wisconsin, alongside her retired police chief father-in-law and her tortoiseshell tabby cat, Deputy Donut. with Halloween looming, Emily has already made a good impression on local eccentric Rich Royalson, with her speciality cream doughnuts. Royalson has planned his 70th birthday and although the catering is already sorted, he has requested an urn of coffee and a batch of the doughnuts with double thickness chocolate frosted icing to be supplied by the Deputy Donut Cafe. The celebration is being held on fog-shrouded Lake Fleekom where, twenty years ago, Royalson's wife mysteriously drowned, but when Emily arrives with her scrummy Boston scream doughnuts, she happens across Royalson's corpse...

Boston Scream Murder is my first read in this remarkable series. Although it is book four, I had no difficulties keeping up with characters and events, but I would have preferred to have started from the first novel for continuity reasons. Protagonist Emily, a former 911 operator and widow of a police officer, brought her sparkling personality to the proceedings and I also enjoyed the contributions from Brent (Emily's husband's partner). Events moved along at a comfortable pace and the mystery itself was fantastic. There were plenty of suspects to choose from, to satisfy my armchair detective propensities and the denouement was a surprise to me. I had a ball reading this highly amusing and entertaining cozy mystery and I'm already looking forwarding to catching up with Emily in book #5, Beyond a Reasonable Donut, as well as grabbing copies of the first three books.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from Kensington Books via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

I absolutely love this series and all of the characters in it. I was especially excited for this book in the series because Halloween is my favorite holiday so I couldn’t wait to read more about Emily’s adventures with some spooky fall vibes. I enjoyed the storyline of this installment but it definitely wasn’t my favorite. I found myself not really caring about most of the secondary characters or what happened to them. I would love seeing a little bit more of a storyline involving our main characters in the next book (which I will definitely be reading when it’s available!)

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Halloween is just around the corner in Fallingbrook, Wisconsin, and Emily Westhill’s donut shop, Deputy Donut, is working hard on creating the perfect seasonal treats. Boston Scream Donuts seem like a natural fit, despite the good-natured protests of local know-it-all and outspoken Bostonphile Rich Royalson. When he hires Emily to cater donuts and coffee for his upcoming 70th birthday celebration, he also discovers that she and her new assistant Nina Lapeer have an eye for decor. He invites them to take a look at the cottage -- a Cape Cod, naturally -- that he rents out across the lake from where his house stands, in hopes of hiring them to redecorate the place. Emily and Nina, an artist, are definitely intrigued by this potentially lucrative side gig.

The job falls through, alas, with Rich’s abrupt demise. Emily stumbles over his cooling corpse when she arrives with her catered goods for his birthday bash, only to find that someone has done their best to stove in his head with a skillet she’d examined just the evening before at his rental place. Suspicion immediately falls on Terri Estable, the much younger lost love with whom he’d freshly reunited and, more incriminatingly, changed his will for. Terri in turn claims to be scared of her ex-boyfriend Derek, who did not take well to her leaving him for Rich. When Terri suddenly disappears, Emily will have to find out whether there’s a serial killer on the loose, and whether any of this has to do with the tragic death of Rich’s first wife over two decades ago.

In this she’s aided by her connection to local law enforcement. Her business partner Tom is Fallingbrook’s retired police chief as well as the father of her late husband, Alec, who was killed in the line of duty six years ago. Since then, she’s slowly gotten closer to Alec’s best friend and former partner, Brent. They’re both extremely slow to pull the trigger on a romantic relationship, even though all their friends are starting to couple up. It’s interesting to read of how their friendship gradually changes with time.

The mystery was also fairly interesting, with a lot of exploratory kayaking on the lake where Rich owned his properties. Emily’s imagination as she investigates tends toward the detailed, as she muses on the possible reasons various suspects might have had for wanting Rich dead. And as always there are the craving-inducing descriptions of donuts and other seasonal treats available from the donut shop, two recipes of which are included in this volume! I chose to try out this one:

QUOTE
Scare-It Cake Donuts
These are baked, using a donut pan

1 egg
¼ cup orange or pineapple juice
¼ cup unsalted butter, melted
1 tablespoon orange zest
¼ cup brown sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon allspice
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ginger
1 ¼ cup finely grated carrots

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Beat the egg in a large bowl. Beat in the juice, butter, orange zest, and sugar.

Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and spices. Mix until blended.

Stir in the grated carrots.

Spoon the mixture into donut pan, filling each ring.

Bake for 9-11 minutes. Cool.

Frost with orange cream cheese frosting (below).

For the orange cream cheese frosting:
¼ cup butter, room temperature
4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 tablespoon orange juice
1 tablespoon orange zest
2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
Orange food coloring (optional)
Sprinkles (optional)
Up to 1 more tablespoon orange zest

Cream the butter and cream cheese together until fluffy.

Stir in the orange zest and orange juice.

Beat in 1 cup sugar. Beat in more sugar, a tablespoon at a time, until the frosting holds its shape.

Stir in the orange food coloring (optional) until desired shade is reached.

Spread the frosting on the donuts.

Decorate with sprinkles or orange zest (optional).
END QUOTE

I actually decided to use my mini donut pan for these, since I knew it would be mostly my kids eating the finished product and smaller sizes would better please everyone involved. Since my oven runs cool, I got away with baking the donuts for 11 minutes before they were ready to eat. I’m not sure if it was the smaller size that made the carrot bits especially prominent, but I did think I could have gotten away with using at least a quarter cup less of the grated carrots. My kids didn’t seem to mind though, and it’s always a good day when they gobble up their vegetables without complaining! That said, I must remember to do a better job of sifting the powdered sugar next time, especially when the recipe writer makes a point of mentioning it. It takes so much longer to get a nice smooth frosting when I forget to sift first.

Next week, we come back to my home area to investigate another murder while baking up another healthy(ish) treat. Do join me!

Boston Scream Murder is a fun, engrossing, cozy mystery. It is the 4th in a series, but can easily be read as a stand alone. Emily Westhill, her former father-in-law Tom, and co-worker Nina are busy making Halloween-themed donuts in their donut shop Deputy Donut. Rich Royalson, lover of all things Boston, is waiting in Deputy Donut to meet his online date Cheryl. While conversing with Emily, Rich asks her to provide donuts for his 70th birthday party the next day. On the day of the party when Emily is delivering donuts, she stumbles upon Rich, laying dead in the tent where the party was to be held. Emily quickly becomes involved in solving the murder, regularly providing insight and assistance to her dead husband's best friend Brent. There are many twists and turns to the mystery, including a connection to the death of Rich's wife. Many possible suspects abound, including Rich's long-lost love Terri, and the boyfriend who Terri has just left for Rich. In the midst of all of this is the budding relationship between Emily and Brent, as well as Emily's relationship with her friends and co-workers.

The story moves quickly, keeps you guessing until the end and looking forward to the next installment.

Review based upon advanced copy received from Kensington and NetGalley.

This is an adoreable little cozy. It enchanted me from the very start. I read through it in one afternoon. I loved the characters. The plot was full of twists and I could not figure out who did it until it was revealed. This is definitely a great book. I am looking forward to the next one. I definitely recommend this one.

It had been about a year since I went book tripping to Fallingbrook, Wisconsin during their July Fourth celebration. I loved how the town did up Halloween. It was the perfect Halloween cozy from the decorations and kids' Halloween parade to the murder case itself set on an eerie-at-night lake.

There was a decent amount of suspects in this case, but I got a weird feeling about someone kind of early although going down all the red herring paths is always fun. My gut feeling came true but the reason was something I couldn't have known. I always have loved it when Emily's best friends all got together, and since she's been hanging out with Brent in a non-dating sort of way, there were three happy couples (when Brent wasn't working a murder, that is), one of which was super happy due to an announcement.

I think Tom will always be my favorite character. He's kind of the patriarch figure but only offers his expert protection as an ex-police chief when he feels it's absolutely necessary. I really liked Nina a lot--she fit right in with the Deputy Donut family which still did have Jocelyn, but she was mainly off at college. She did get a small but important role in the book. We got to see a little more of Cindy, Tom's wife and who knew, she's a cat whisperer as well as a talented pottery artist. I'm hoping the next book might be a Christmas themed one, and as always, I can't wait for it.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book provided by the publisher via NetGalley, and my opinions are my own.

This was my first exposure to the Deputy Donut cozy mystery series, set in rural Wisconsin. Deputy Donut is a calico cat, who accompanies her human to the donut shop she co-manages. This mystery involves a rich businessman who visits the shop to meet an internet date, and involves everyone there in some suspicious events that follow him. So, everyone gets involved in solving the mysteries. I enjoyed the setting, similar to one I grew up in, and the characters are pretty good. The identity of the murderer is a surprise, and this is a great twist. There's also a bit of romance, but it doesn't overwhelm the story line. A fun read, and I look forward to more in the series.

This is a delightful cozy mystery. I have not read earlier books in the Deputy Donut series but Ill be adding them to my TBR list. I'm from Wisconsin so I love the fact that this takes place somewhere in my home state.

The author has created unique characters in an environment that clicks. I like their chemistry together. The Halloween theme was fun and added to the overall coziness and sense of community.

The mystery was well written and I was kept guessing through the introduction of various potential murderers as well as the townspeople we met at the beginning.

This is just the book to get you in the mood for Fall and Halloween.

I received an ARC from Netgalley and Kensington books. The opinions expressed are my own.

I do so love holiday themed cozy mysteries, and this one fits the bill perfectly. Suitably festive. A well-written mystery that kept me guessing until the end. A likable group of characters, and it held up well as a standalone. Throw in some yummy recipes and what more can you ask for? 👍👍

Top Pick!

A new customer at Deputy Donut’s, just days before Halloween, in Fallingbrook, Wisconsin, brings a batty (see what I did there) mystery-murder to Emily Westhill’s doorstep. Solving mysteries has become somewhat of an inclination as of late for Emily and this one will keep her on her toes…or rather, her kayak. Boston Scream Murder is Ginger Bolton’s, fourth mystery in the Deputy Donut Mysteries.

Let me pre-face this review by saying how much I adored reading this book. Now, let me tell you about it.

Emily Westhill co-owner of Deputy Donut is once again smack-dab in the middle of a new murder-mystery in Fallingbrook. While Emily is used to the eccentric customers coming through year-round to her diner, this time…this murder brings in a whole new list of suspicious and enigmatic characters.

The pace of this mystery is exceptionally well written and its timing, engaging. The main character, Emily is a wonderful, well-rounded character; decisive, tenacious, funny and caring. The author does a really good job at providing you with just the right amount of her character traits, for you to want to follow her along. Emily is definitely one of my favorite cozy-mystery characters.

Solving mysteries for Emily, has not been a one-woman show. Following her along, her friends in Fallingbrook, have been there with her, every step of the way. With the help of her handsome detective, her worker/friend, Nina and a very opinionated little cat named, Dep, Emily is able to solve this difficult, raveling mystery.

The supportive characters in this book add a great layer of strength to the protagonist, Emily.
The dialogue between the characters was authentic, realistic and relatable. But what came as a true surprise was the chemistry between Detective Brent Fyne (the handsome detective) and Emily. I am very excited for this relationship to develop, perhaps in the next book?

A true delight to read. This has it all (murder, mystery and love)! it was everything a cozy mystery should be. And I want to live in Fallingbrook, Wisconsin where I can visit and shop at places like Deputy Donut and the Craft Croft, where even the cleaning crew, Jolly Cops Cleaning Crew, has an amazing name.

~ Patricia

This is a great series about an owner of a donut shop, widow Emily Westhill. She is having great fun, along with her business partner and her employees coming up with Halloween themed donuts.

One of her regulars is starting to date and brings one to her shop. He is loud and obnoxious but he doesn’t deserve to be murdered for it.

Em is drawn into the fray when she finds his body and discovers clues that she thinks are important. She can’t help trying to help solve the crime and works with her police friends to do so.

She is a hoot, talking to her cat, Deputy Donut. She gives her all sorts of personality when kitty probably just wants to be fed and cuddled.

The friendships and relationships continue to grow, some at a snail’s pace, which is okay because it is more realistic.

I enjoy this series and have read every book in it and look forward to more in the future.

I was provided a digital advance reader copy of this book by the publisher via Netgalley.

Emily is gearing up for Halloween with a variety of Spooky donuts to sell to their costumers. She soon meets Rich Royalson, he comes into her donut shop to meet up with one of her regulars for a date. Rich fell in love with her Boston Cream Donuts and asks her to provide three dozen for his upcoming 70th birthday party. Emily is happy to make them and when she goes to deliver them the next day is truly surprised to find Rich dead, murdered right before his party. Emily soon learns that there is much to learn about Rich, the man has quite a few skeletons hiding in his closet. Now all she has to do is figure out if one of those skeletons is the killer or could it be someone unknown. Follow along as Emily does her own investigation will she figure out who the killer is before she ends up as the next victim?

All the books in this series are a pleasant and enjoyable read. This one was no exception.
i liked the likeable and fleshed out characters, the lovely setting and the solid mystery that kept me guessing.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

Boston Scream Murder by Ginger Bolton is the 4th book in the Deputy Donut Mystery series, and another great book. Emily Westhill, a widow, and her retied chief of police father- in- law run a donut shop, Deputy Donut, in Fallingbrook, Wisconsin. In this exciting adventure, Deputy Donut shop is busy making scary donuts for Halloween. I love reading cozy mystery's about Halloween, always so much fun. When Emily makes a delivery for a party, she finds the client's dead body. Emily starts to investigate. I really liked this book, and can't wait to read the next one in the series. I enjoyed the characters, which are well written. I am rooting for Emily and Brent to get together, 6 years is long enough to morn. If you love cozy mysteries, I strongly recommend this book/series.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Boston Scream Murder by Ginger Bolton is the fourth in the A Deputy Donut Mystery Book. It can be read as a stand alone as Bolton does terrific in getting you current and not left in the dark.
Halloween is coming and Fallowbrook is getting in the spirit for trick or treating. Emily's donut shop has started featuring Boston cream donuts, Halloween style. When a Bostonian arrives in town, he has somewhat of an attitude, not enough to cause his murder or was it. Emily is hired to provided the donuts for his blow out brunch bash, but finds him bashed instead. Thus throwing her into the investigation along with her trusty side kick cat, Dep.
Bolton give you enough suspects that has you guessing until the end, great characters, both regulars and new, hints of romance, and a setting perfect for fall, think foggy lakes and colorful leaves.
I loved this easy to read Cozy! There are recipes included.
I was given an ARC by Kensington Publishers and NetGalley for an honest opinion.

Thank you NetGalley and Kensington Books for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. As a newcomer to this series, I was very pleased with the overall atmosphere. The main characters are pleasant, and the town fits perfectly well the cozy mystery genre. I really liked the storyline, and I wanted to know more as I was reading. I thought it was interesting that Rich (the murder victim) had a few skeletons in his closet. It added depth to the story, and provided material for investigating to Emily. Her relationship with Brent is interesting, and I look forward to seeing how things progress between them in the next book. I highly recommend this book, whether you are familiar with the series or not.