Member Reviews
Not as mysterious or mind boggling as some of the previous titles, but it’s always fun and light to read.
I enjoy Ellie Alexander. She makes the reader feel like they are a part of Ashland’s family.
What another great mystery! The story starts out with a wedding, but things go downhill from there. No matter how many mystery stories I read I always think I know who did it, yet again I was wrong! Very entertaining story, quick read and I laughed out loud a few times while reading. Can’t wait to see what’s in story for Juliet and Carlos in the next book!
This review is based on an ARC from NetGalley, courtesy of the publisher. All opinions are my own.
I always love visiting Ashland, Oregon, to spend time with Jules and her family and friends and Torte family. Alexander always manages a great balance between the personal stories (like Thomas and Kerry's wedding) and the murder. In this installment, I was especially charmed by the backstory of Steph and her parents. It's not a big part of the book, by any means, but it was a great example of how Alexander deepens readers' connections with her characters over time. The mystery plot was fine, though I was exceptionally frustrated with Jules' stupid risks. She's always necessarily making questionable choices, but in this case, when she twice goes off to isolated places with suspected killers, I'm more irritated with her than worried about her. That brought this one down to a 3-1/2 stars for me, but I was still happy for the visit!
Review copy provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
This is a cute cozy mystery book. It's an easy and quick read that I recommend if you donut (see what I did there) want something heavy. Definitely would recommend to friends.
Jules and the Torte crew return in Donut Disturb by Ellie Alexander!
I've recently become a fan of Ellie Alexander's works, especially A Bakeshop Mystery series. This series has great plot, characters, setting, a mystery to solve for readers. Donut Disturb is no exception, and I truly enjoyed reading this book. What's not to enjoy about this book? Romance, a wedding, a murder mystery, and recipes for readers within the book. If you are looking for a cozy mystery series to add to your summer reading list, check out this book!
My thanks to St.Martin's Paperbacks and NetGallery for a digital copy of this book for my review!
This is one of my favorite cozy mystery series. This installment in the series was delightful. It had a great mystery and I loved re-visiting some of my favorite characters.
Thank you @stmartinspress for letting me to dig into the next Bakeshop Mystery with a NetGalley ARC!
Pub date: 6/28/22
Genre: cozy mystery, book 15 in the Bakeshop Mysteries
In one sentence: Torte Bakery and all of Ashland have banded together to create the wedding of a lifetime for Thomas and Kerry - but then someone ends up dead.
Do I need to read in order? This one works as a standalone BUT I recommend reading at least one other in the series first to get more background on the characters. Choose your favorite punny title from: A Batter of Life and Death, On Thin Icing, Fudge and Jury, Chilled to the Cone, or Mocha, She Wrote.
Cozy mysteries are meant to be heartwarming, and Ellie Alexander succeeds at this in spades! I loved watching Ashland's residents put together the perfect wedding, and of course Jules always has amazing recipes up her sleeve. The mystery wasn't as exciting to me as the overall Ashland atmosphere/catching up with the Torte staff, so keep that in mind if you care more about the "mystery" side of a cozy mystery. But honestly, I just love these characters, and I was glad to spend more time with them. Plus, there's a massive donut cake. A cake of donuts. Is that not the dream?! I think it's one of my dreams.
Review posted to Goodreads and Instagram on 6/8/22.
Donut Disturb in the latest in Ellie Alexander’s Bakeshop Mystery Series. The series centers on Juliet (Jules) and her bakery in Ashland, Oregon. The cast of characters remains the same from book to book. Thomas and Kerry, local police officers and good friends of Jules, are getting married in Lithia Park. During set up for the wedding, Jules discovers a body. Signs point to Kerry’s estranged father as the murderer. As Thomas and Kerry go off on their honeymoon, Kerry begs Jules to help solve the case.
I have to admit, I am a fan. I love the characters and the development of their stories during the series. The only thing that would make this series better for me is if some of the delicious recipes were included.
"Donut Disturb" the 13th instalment in the A Bakeshop Mystery series by Ellie Alexander. It releases on June 28, 2022. The filling is looking grim for pastry chef and amateur sleuth Juliet Capshaw…
I really enjoyed this story, with the wedding, graduation and summer approaching in Ashland but then to throw in a Murder the morning of the wedding!
Visiting Torte and Ashland is like coming home to old friends and family lots of fun with a bit of chaos thrown in for good measure. Jules and Carlos have found their place, home and family of friends and now is it time to expand their family... Needless to say I cant wait for the next book.
The mystery is interesting and well plotted, and there were just enough twists and turns to keep you guessing. Don’t get me started on the descriptions of all the desserts, drinks and food, I think I gain weight every time I read one of Ellie’s books. I like that recipes are included in back of the book too
I recommend this book to all my cozy lover friends.
I requested and received an advance reader copy of this book from St. Martin's Press and Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Cute cozy mystery. A little too much description of the food and not quite enough clue description but, it was a fun whodunit with a few twists and turns. People who are fans of the series will love it I'm sure.
Juliet is back and Kerry and Thomas are getting married but when Juliet and the crew from Torte are catering. When she finds the body of one of the musician’s who was going to play at the wedding, she has to use her sleuthing skills again. Kerry’s father becomes the prime suspect, especially because he was recently released from jail, and Jules promises Kerry that she’ll help find the real killer.
I can’t believe this is the fifteenth book in the series and it’s still going strong with no signs of fatigue, as some king running series show. The mystery still has some twists and turns that kept me guessing and these characters are still pretty fantastic. I loved it from start to finish.
Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s for the ARC!
Thomas and Kerry's wedding is nearly here and the staff at Torte is heavily involved in the food. Everyone wants the event to be perfect, but unfortunately Kerry's troublesome father shows up the day of the wedding and then someone is murdered. Juliet and Lance promise the happy couple they will help solve the mystery while they are on their honeymoon. This series always makes me so hungry and this book succeeded once again. I wish recipes were included.
I loved meeting the team at Torte. Julieta as Carlos always calls her is the star of the show and of Torte. Torte is her bakeshop and her team seems like her family. I love Andy who is the barista and he is always making special roast coffees for every occasion.
Kerry and Thomas are planning a wedding in the park and Torte is catering the event. Juliet is overseeing the whole thing to make things easier on Kerry and Thomas.
As the wedding day approaches everyone has everything ready until the morning at the park when one of the band members is murdered. The wedding goes on and while Kerry and Thomas are on their honeymoon she asks Juliet to help solve the murder.
Loved the book and just could not put it down.
Thomas and Kerry’s upcoming wedding should be perfect – it will be held outside at Lithia Park and Jules and her crew at Torte will be providing the food. But even before the wedding there are signs of trouble when Kerry’s father estranged father shows up for the wedding after being released from jail early. Things get even worse when a member of the wedding band is murdered and Kerry’s father is the chief suspect. Before leaving on her honeymoon, Kerry asks Jules to help find the killer – will she be able to do so before Kerry and Thomas return?
“Donut Disturb” is the nicely done fifteenth book in Ellie Alexander's Bakeshop cozy mystery series. You can read this mystery as a standalone but it is fun to read this series from the very beginning to see how the characters (and Torte) have grown throughout the course of the series. I love the setting of Ashand, Oregon and the Shakespearean touches – it sounds like a wonderful place to live. And Torte – I think I gained ten pounds just reading about the descriptions of food in the book! As for the mystery - it was well done with plenty of suspects, twists and turns, and a few surprises along the way.
“Donut Disturb” is a nicely done cozy mystery.
It's always so much fun to catch up with the gang in Ashland, Oregon, and to see what delicious coffee and sweets they are creating at Torte.
Thomas and Kerry are soon to be married when a surprise guest turns the events upside down.
Juliet promises Kerry to find the truth, she just hopes it won't be bad news.
This is always a fun series and the characters are all easy to like.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for selecting me to read an advanced copy of this book.
#DonutDisturb #NetGalley
Kerry and Thomas are finally getting married and the whole town is ready for the celebration. As Juliet and the her team set up for the festivities, she stumbles across the body of one of musicians who was supposed to play at the event. With Kerry’s jail bird father, Jamie, having just shown up uninvited, almost everyone wonders if he had a hand in the crime.
As Kerry and Thomas head off on their honeymoon, Juliet promises Kerry she will help the professor find out whether Jamie had anything to do with the murder. With quite a few suspects, and not much luck with getting the evidence she needs, Juliet is struggling to find out whodunit. Will she be able to clear Jamie and finger the killer before the newlyweds return or will they be returning to attend a funeral?
This is one of my favorite cozy series. Ellie Alexander is a talented writer. She fills her books with engaging and charming characters, a few eccentric ones, and lost of red herrings to keep you guessing whodunit until the very end. If you haven’t read one of Ellie’s books, these read fine as standalone and you can go back and binge on the previous entries before delving into another of her series that is just as delicious as this one is.
This series continues to stay strong with the 15th installment. I love the descriptions of the baking and coffee as much as the characters. Everyone is ready for Thomas and Kerry's wedding but a dead musician puts a big damper on the event. Great characters!
Thank you NetGalley, Ellie Alexander and St. Martin's Press for this ARC.
Donut Disturb is the 15th book in the Bakeshop Mysteries series by Ellie Alexander, who is a new-to-me author. A member of the band hired to play at the wedding of Thomas and Kerry is found dead. It seems that the suspect list grows bigger each day, with few clues as to who the guilty party is. It also appears that each of the suspects is lying about something. But what, and why? Juliet is an amateur sleuth helping to solve the crime. This was a fun whodunit that keeps you guessing until the end.
There were a few discrepancies that I hope are caught before final publication.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
This is the ninth in the Bakeshop Mystery series. Jules and company are catering Kerry & Thomas’ wedding in the park.
Kerry’s father has just been released from prison and shows up for the wedding. This does not make Kerry happy.
During setup, Jules finds the bass player dead in the storage area with the point of his bass stuck through his heart and Kerry’s father in the room.
So, what happened and who killed him?
I found the motives, twists and turns great. I jumped into this story and couldn’t put it down. There were plenty of suspects. The family and colleague comradery warms my heart. If everyone could be as kind as the character’s in Jules life we’d all be better off.
I am thankful to Netgalley for allowing me to read an advanced readers’ copy and I am not required to leave a positive review.
Absolutely enjoyed this series! I'm always looking forward to the next book in the series. Enjoyed the cozy mystery and trying to figure out who done it until the end! Highly recommend! Great mystery!