BOSTON SCREAM MURDER, the fourth book in the Deputy Donut Mysteries by Ginger Bolton, is another terrific addition to a truly delicious series. With a fun title and a Halloween-worthy cover to draw the reader in, Ms. Bolton delivers entertainment along with humorous puns throughout the entire book. Protagonist, young widow Emily Westhill, is one of those delightful characters that I enjoy spending time with. She’s smart, hardworking, and has a caring side that extends not only to her family and friends, but is shown to anyone who walks through her Deputy Donut shop. I love how she works alongside with her father-in-law, who just happens to be the retired chief of police. Not only does she manage to have a congenial work relationship, but she’s remained very close to her in-laws even after the death of her husband. The author has developed numerous memorable characters throughout this series and I especially enjoy the fun names assigned to the groups of people who hang out at the donut shop. “Retired Men” and “Knitpickers” are favorites of mine and it’s been delightful to see these two distinct senior groups interact and become part of the story.

Despite Halloween being the theme of the book, it was a fun change to find that the murder mystery happens to center around a birthday party being thrown by the 70-year-old birthday boy himself. But don’t worry, there’s plenty of Halloween ambience woven into the tale throughout. The author does an admirable job of entwining a possible cold case, a long-lost love, and a jealous, jilted boyfriend. With lots of suspects, Emily must separate the tricksters from the treaters while dishing out donuts. The protagonist takes a few chances with her own safety that had me cringing but once she finds evidence or a possible clue, she’s quick to turn it over to the police right away. The clues were expertly plotted throughout and I’ll admit, I didn’t figure it out because I fell for every misdirection. All in all, this newest addition is a bewitching read and I can’t wait for the next book to release.

As with previous books, there are delicious donut recipes included at the back of the book.

It's almost Halloween and Deputy Donut cafe owner Emily Westhill is busy creating Halloween-themed donuts such as Boston cream donuts carved with a scream. Eccentric Rich Royalson III arrives for an online date with Cheryl, one of the knitting regulars. He is so impressed with the donuts that he orders 3 dozen of the Boston scream donuts with double the fudge icing for his 70th birthday party. When Emily arrives at the foggy Lake Fleekom with the treats, she finds Rich's corpse in the temporary birthday tent.

Rich had his quirks but who would want to kill the wealthy man? Is his reunion with his long-lost girlfriend Terri a motive for murder? What about the unsolved death of Rich's first wife Patty who drowned on Lake Fleekom 20 years earlier?

Emily is curious and determined to find the truth. A confrontation occurs at her house as she prepares for a Halloween party. Fortunately, Emily's spunky cat Dep comes to her aid twice before the police can arrive.

This was another fun, tasty read in the Deputy Donut mystery series.

I received an eARC from Netgalley and Kensington Books with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book and provided this review.

Hand me a Boston Cream donut, ooey-gooey decadence as it oozes down my chin - ah, pure bliss. When it's the theme of the latest mystery to involve Emily Westhill and a virtual visit to the town of Fallowbrook, Wisconsin, well wild horses won't hold me back.
Emily and her father-in-law, Tom, co-owners of Deputy Donut Shop are getting ready for Halloween and are cooking up a batch of themed donuts. When a wealthy local, Rich Royalson, tastes the yummy creation, he decides they will be perfect for his upcoming 70th birthday celebration. Too bad he isn't alive to enjoy it and poor Emily is the one to find his lifeless body.And so begins another investigation for Emily to unravel. With the help of her in-laws and her deceased husbands best friend and former police partner, Brent, Emily follows the clues in a very natural fashion. She's levelheaded, cautious (sometimes) and really has a knack for unmasking killers. With a list of suspects who would love to get their hands on his estate - like his new widow? Well, I enjoyed every single page, something I can honestly say about each of the four books in this series. My favorite parts of each mystery would be their cat, a sweet calico named Deputy aka Dep and the oh, so cool, donut delivery vehicle, a classic old ambulance with a donut on the roof. Now if Emily and Brent would get a move on with their relationship.....
This is a series that always leaves me satisfied - a complex puzzle to unravel, great characters I like to spend my reading time with and enough twists and turns to keep me guessing wrong to the very end. And no calories unless I give in and make a trip to my nearby donut shop to get a very good Boston cream donut though probably not as top notch as Emily and Tom create.
My thanks to the publisher Kensington and to NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

What a lovely addition to the Deputy Donut series! This is easily one of my favorite cozy mystery series, and I was so excited to read a Halloween-themed book. The characters are just as wonderful as ever, the mystery is intriguing and keeps the reader guessing, and those DONUTS always sound so creative and delicious!

This is my go-to cozy recommendation for readers looking for an introduction to the genre. I can't wait for the next book(s) in the series!

4.5 stars

This is the fourth book in the Deputy Donut mystery series by Ginger Bolton.

It was really fun getting back into this series again. I love it when I can recall so many of the characters from a previous book. I really seem to resonate with this series and its people. So much fun to be had here.

The Deputy Donut gang is making Halloween faces on their donuts, witches, zombies and a screaming looking Boston Cream donut. One of the locals, an older gent, has a date with a local gal he met on a dating site and he is very specific about what he wants served to them. No scream faces, please. His date goes well but later in the day, he is reconnected with his true love and then days later is found dead just as he has signed his will over to this newfound love interest.

This was a pretty complex mystery and I love it when authors can figure out this stuff and make it seem so effortless. I think I still need to read books one and two in this series and I am going to get on that ASAP! Definitely a series you should put on your must read list!

If you like cozy mysteries, definitely check this one out. You won’t be disappointed.

I received this as an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) in return for an honest review. I thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to read this title.

Emily is preparing for Halloween at Deputy Donuts. One of the knitpickers has a date from a senior dating website. The man is a local but not known to the donut shop crowd, and he has an obsession with Boston. The book is set in Wisconsin (to provide frame of reference for why the obsession may not go over so well with the locals).
Rich, otherwise known as the Boston screamer, is turning 70 and throwing himself a party. He asks Emily to bring donuts and when she does she finds Rich dead.
True to form Emily asks questions and look into circumstances surrounding Rich’s home and cottage on the lake.
The culprit is not one of the usual suspects. I found it sad that Emily’s Halloween party was interrupted by the climax to the story.
This was a fun mystery to read. It’s the fourth Deputy Donut Mystery.

This was a really fun read. I really enjoy this series. I love the partnership of Emily and Brent and love all the friends and family. Great book!

Rich Royalson might have been obnoxious but he did place a special order for three dozen Boston cream donuts at the Deputy Donut shop run by Emily and her father-in-law Tom. Unfortunately, Emily finds his corpse when she delivers them- he's been bashed in the head! Readers of cozies know that he's upset more than one person (especially among a variety of women.). Emily, a former 911 dispatcher and widow of a police officer, and Tom, a retired police officer, have solved murders in the past and they do it again here. They're a treat- with great repartee- but the other characters in this small town cozy are nice too. Emily has been having a back and forth with Brent, her husband's partner, which is slowly (very slowly) moving toward a romance. Don't worry if you haven't read the earlier books, this will be fine and quite enjoyable as a standalone. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A fun cozy read.

The Deputy Donut series tends to be on the more "traditional" side of cozy mystery series coming out these days, it's incredibly reliable and enjoyable. I love the Wisconsin set donut shop and the characters, and there is growth from book to book. This one shows Emily still wrestling with not being ready to take her relationship with her late husband's police force partner further, as well as helping him solve a mystery she's (obviously) once again found herself a part of. There were good candidates for the murderer, but the author managed to pick a very interesting and surprising one to reveal. Hope to see this series continue!

Emily Westhill, a young police detective's widow, owns and runs Deputy Donuts (named after her beloved cat), along with her father-in-law Tom. When a man shows up and starts raving to other men about how great Boston is, it seems that's all he wants to talk about. But Emily discovers that he's there for a date with her friend Cheryl, who is one of the single women in the Knitpickers, a group of older women who come in daily to knit, eat, and chat.

Before Cheryl shows up, the man identifies himself as Rich Royalson, and asks Emily if she'd cater donuts for his seventieth birthday party in a few days, and tells her where she should bring them -- out to nearby Lake Fleekdom where he has a home. But when Emily arrives, she finds everything set up for a party, including food from a local caterer...and the body of Rich. Now, with her friend Cheryl involved, an old girlfriend of Rich's, even neighbors who might have a grudge against the man, she needs to find out who killed him and what would drive someone to do so.

Standing in her way is the fact that she's planning a Halloween costume party at her home, friends trying to push her toward her late husband's partner, Brent, and she has a business to run. It doesn't leave a lot of time for her to think about killers, but Emily wants to know the truth, even if it's closer than she might ever imagine...

This is the fourth book in the series and I absolutely loved the third, so couldn't wait to get to this one. But there was something that bothered me, so I guess I'd better get it out there right away:

THIS PART IS HIDDEN IN A SPOILER ON GOODREADS:

Emily is insisting she's only friends with Brent, and she still loves her late husband. I get that. I really do. But her husband, Alec, has been gone for six years, and she was married to him for four. So he's been gone longer than they were wed, and even if that sounds cold, perhaps it's time she moved on with her life. She's only thirty-one years old, and she needs to think if Alec would want her to mourn him forever. Would he want her living alone? Having no one in her life? Or would he want her happy with someone new? After all, if you've happily loved once, it's easier to love again (at least I've always believed so).

Emily is still living in a relationship that's gone, and she's not willing to move into one with anyone else. I'd much rather read that she's starting to realize her life isn't over, and while Alec will always be a part of her, it would be more interesting to read about her if she were moving on. Right now she's stagnant in her life, even if she doesn't know it.

END OF SPOILER.
So there, I've made my point. As to the rest of the book, the mystery was excellent, as always. I enjoy the characters the book is peopled with, and I enjoyed the fact that it took place at Halloween, so we got to see what everyone's costumes were (which always give an idea of someone's personality). Emily's friends are always there for her, and they make the book more enticing to read.

Finding the killer gave us plenty of suspects, and even though I pretty much knew who it was from the moment that person stepped onto the page (I read a lot of mysteries), it was still fun watching Emily figure it out; and even more fun watching her get out of a sticky situation with the killer. In the end, everything came together nicely, and, I am hoping, leading us toward another chapter in her life. Recommended.

Boston Scream Murder is a cozy mystery set in a northern Wisconsin donut shop during Halloween. The characters are engaging with intriguing relationships. There's also the charming Dep (Deputy Cat), who plays a rather large role. The donut shop setting is fun and left me craving all the amazing Halloween-themed desserts described (check out the cover picture for some of the decorated donuts)! This is a great mystery recommended for fans of cozy mysteries.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC. The opinions in this review are honest and my own. #cozymystery #culinarycozy #BostonScreamMurder

New customer Rich Royalson, while on an internet date at Deputy Donut, hires Emily and Tom to provide donuts the next day at his 70th birthday party. When Emily arrives with the donuts, she finds Rich dead in the party tent with no one else around. Emily begins investigating, determined to find the killer.

Ginger Bolton makes Fallingbrook a charming community to visit, even when it involves murder. Regular characters continue to develop and evolve, relationships grow, and the tortoiseshell tabby, aka Dep (for Deputy Donut), still provides amusing moments throughout the narrative demonstrating the strong bond between Emily and her feline.

Ms. Bolton spins delightful tales with good mysteries and captivating details that immerse the reader in an engaging and entertaining story. More, please.

Boston Scream Murder by Ginger Bolton (A Deputy Donut Mystery #4) 4.5 stars

This mystery kept me guessing on whodunit for quite awhile. It is Halloween season and everything is fall and spooky. Rich Royalson a recent customer of the donut shop asks Emily Westhill to cater his birthday party with a platter of her Boston Cream Donuts. Arriving at the venue, Emily and her assistant finds Rich's body and what follows is an interesting mystery. It takes learning about the deceased and searching the terrain around the corpses' location to solve the mystery. Along with the well-written mystery, the relationship between Emily and Brent, a police detective is a slow development. You don't really need to read the prior mysteries to enjoy this book, but if you do, it provides some character background and enhances the experience. I especially enjoy the interaction between Emily and Dep, her cat.

Thank you Netgalley and Kensington Books for this ARC.

This is the fourth installment of the Deputy Donut Mystery series. As always, Ginger Bolton does not disappoint. Set in a small town in Wisconsin, Emily Westhill and her father-in-law own a donut shop. Tom, her father-in-law is a retired police chief.

It is just before Halloween and the donut shop is deep into conjuring up themed donuts for the occasion. In walks Rich Royalson, talking loudly about Boston- everything’s better in Boston. He is nicknamed by the donut shop as the Boston screamer.

A few days later Emily finds him dead in his party tent in his back yard as she is making a catering delivery. The whodunnit(donut) is on.

The protagonist is a strong stubborn young woman. Her backup crew are well-developed and good friends or family.
We learn that Cindy Westhill, Emily’s mother-in-law, is a reputed artist. Rich has done a few shady things in his past but does that lead to a motive? There are plenty of suspects so, who will it be?
The relationship between Brent and Emily is a difficult one as they struggle with the death of Emily’s husband and Brent’s partner. I like how this shows both side of the grieving process. The slow approach is practical and rings true to many sudden deaths. They need to come to terms with it before they can move on in the emotional department.

Looking forward to the next installment.

I was given an advanced reader’s copy. I am not required to leave a positive review.

I just love this title. The mystery kept me guessing until the end. If you've read Ginger Bolton before, be sure to check this one out.

The fourth book in this series is a delicious delight.
The premise of a "donut shop" cozy has certainly been done before, but this series gives it a fresh taste.
The characters are some of my favourites, well written and entertaining.
The whodunit grabbed me from the get go, 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.

This is the 4th installment in the Deputy Donut Mystery Series. Emily Westhill and her former father in law Tom (her husband Alec died several years ago) are getting in the Halloween season with creative donut ideas. Nina who is working with them is artistic and they have just come up with a Boston Scream donut and they are enjoying the day when a new customer Rich Royalson is there to meet Cheryl, one of the knitters who comes in all the time for a morning date. Rich is all about Boston and is all about giving advice about how to frost the donuts and artwork (Nina is an artist) and strikes up a conversation with Emily and asks her to make some of the Boston Cream donuts (no scream) for his birthday party the next day. Emily agrees. Later that day Rich arrives with another woman Terri who is the love of his life and Cheryl comes in with another date as well… awkward. Emily arrives the next day and no one is around until she finds the dead boy of the birthday boy. Rich’s new girlfriend Terri arrives on the scene and Emily is trying to keep all the party guests from staying away from the crime scene. This mystery had a lot going on with few suspects but the culprit was a surprise to me (even though I wondered…). I like this series and I like how Emily is so close to her former in-laws and all her friends and supportive of Nina and her artistic ambitions. She is smart and picks up on nuances and people talk to her. She did take some chances that I thought were a little risky but that is our spunky heroine. I also would like to see resolution with her relationship with Brent, would like to see it evolve into a romantic relationship. Love this series and will look forward to the next installment.

Deputy Donut is back!! This is the fourth book in the deputy donut series and I couldn’t be more excited!!

Emily is hired to cater three dozen Boston Cream donuts by a Mr. Rich Royalson. He wants a memorable Boston themed 70th birthday party. The problem is that when she arrives at the party she literally stumbles over Rich’s body.

Twenty years prior to this his wife mysteriously drowned at the same place the party was being held. With a guest list of possible perpetrators, and his last will and testament suspiciously left at the scene, Emily soon discovers that the Royalson closet is rattling with skeletons.

I love all the characters and I am always excited to get to read about Emily’s adventures!

I enjoyed this book. I liked the characters and the donut shop. I liked the creativity of the donuts and the coffee sounds wonderful. The mystery is interesting and the reveal exciting. #BostonScreamMurder #NetGalley

amateur-sleuth, law-enforcement, Wisconsin, small-business, small-town, friendship, cozy-mystery

Wisconsin seems to be featured in cozies much more often lately (I live there)! This one cleverly combines donuts, law enforcement, a cop's widow with a love of kayaking, a small town, and a creepy, self absorbed retired banker with a taste for a much younger women. The plot and storyline are well done and the imagery of the touristy rural are great as are the engaging characters. Of course there are twists and several red herrings enough to make this a good read!
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Kensington Books via NetGalley. Thank you!