Though most cozy mysteries really don't need to be read in order, I typically prefer to read them that way so I have some familiarity with the town and the people and can watch how things develop. That said, I did jump into this series with book 9 and felt that even though all was new to me, it was OK to just dive right in. What's not to love about a story that takes place at a donut shop and pairs the main character, Emily with a cat named Dep--the hero we all need in our lives. This book follows Hannah a college student home visiting when a dead body is discovered by her lakeside house, and red herrings are abundant in trying to figure out whodunnit. Did I mention there were beignets? This was definitely a cute story, and I really want to go back and read book 1. And eat beignets! I liked this little book and found a new cozy home with Ginger Bolton's writing. Thank you to Netgalley and Kensington for the eArc!

When one of Emily‘s customer is murdered, Emily finds her shelf involved in solving the mystery. After all, she heard the man fall from the mountain and was a one who called it into the police. and trying to solve the murder, Emily will need to work not only keep herself safe, but also her young employee.

The victim’s wife change her story after throwing suspicion towards her husbands ex business partner. His ex business partner seems to be throwing shade at the widow. Then there are the fellow campers at the state park that may have had it in for the victim. So many suspects. So many reasons they might have wanted the man dead. But can Emily help figure it out before the killer strikes again?

Come for the donuts, stay for the mystery. Both are absolutely satisfying!

I love a cozy mystery that gets its setting just right, and Ginger Bolton "gets" Wisconsin (the frequency with which the characters drink milk, for one). It felt like this one didn't include as much of Emily's friends and family members as previous books, and I missed them, but it's an interesting mystery with plenty of characters introduced that make great suspects.

This is the 9th book in the Deputy Donut Mystery series and while I haven’t read all of the earlier books I still enjoyed this installment. I loved the idea of a donut shop owned by a retired police officer with a cat mascot called Deputy Donut. Dep was an adorable animal companion and I thought she added a lot to my enjoyment. Emily is excited to host a baby shower for her friend and has a lot to do to get ready beyond her normal shifts at the donut shop. When a body is found and one of her employees may have been in the vicinity she is determined to subtly investigate to make sure her employee isn’t in any trouble. Her husband, the detective, isn’t a fan of her investigating and warns her to be careful, but they communicated about the clues she found well and it felt like he supported her. I liked the mystery even if it wasn’t quite as twisty as I would have preferred. It took me a little bit to really get into this one, but once I did it was a fun cozy mystery read.

This is another solid entry in the series. The mystery was interesting and kept my attention. The only issue is that time has passed between books and characters have disappeared without any word of their whereabouts. I just like to keep track of characters in the series I read.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Ginger Bolton for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC for Blame the Beignets coming out November 26, 2024. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I haven’t read the other books in this series, but I really love cozy mysteries, especially when there’s food and recipes involved. I was excited to check this one out! I love the small town vibes and autumn setting. I thought Emily was a smart and fun character and I loved the town characters. I really enjoyed the mystery. I would definitely read more books by this author!

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys cozy mysteries!

"Blame the Beignets (Deputy Donut Mystery #9)" by Ginger Bolton is set in early fall. Emily and her husband are spending a lot of time at their lake home. He even built a catio for Deputy Donut there. They say the house Emily owns in town is more convenient for work but they're only really there to check on the house from time to time. I think she stayed at the house once the whole book. Time to decide I think.

The mystery is around the death of the local lazy handyman, not so handy really, and camp manager. He has a few people he seems to have recently upset. My main suspect felt a little unfinished in the end. I was a bit off up until the actual culprit was pretty much strongly hinted at. That seems to be where my main suspect's part of the story just abruptly ended. A little like the author wasn't sure until that point who the final reveal would point to.

Overall, it was a good story. Had a few red herrings and good twists. I wish I had some beignets now.

I received a free copy of, Blame the Beignets, by Ginger Bolton, from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This is book nine in The Deputy Donuts Mystery series. Emily owns The Deputy Donut shop, she has new help Hannah, who has a few admirers, when a dead body is found, with Hannah's hair clip at the crime, Emily has a murder to solve. This was a n enjoyable read, I liked the recipes in the back of the book.

BLAME THE BEIGNETS is the ninth book in the Deputy Donut Mysteries by Ginger Bolton. This newest release finds the protagonist, Emily, happily married to Brett, settling in to her new life. They love the outdoors, kayaking and hiking around Brett’s lakeside home, and I liked how this set the theme for the mystery. The author brings the forests, trails, and lake setting to life with vivid descriptions. And while I may be a city girl, she made it so idyllic it made me want to explore the great Wisconsin outdoors myself. Emily also owns and runs Deputy Donuts alongside her former father-in-law. I just adore their sweet relationship, as well as how Emily interacts with both her employees and her customers. She’s one of those people you’d love to call a friend and spend time with. Of course, I can’t forget to mention the mascot of the shop Deputy Donut—Dep for short—the cat! He has quite the personality and steals each scene he inhabits… which sets the stage for the opening chapters, which contain quite the kerfuffle when Dep and Gigi, the wedding gown wearing dog, collide.

The author has written an entertaining story that’s packed full of intertwining plot threads. Clues are sprinkled about and there are plenty of suspects surrounding the murder of an unscrupulous man, to keep the reader guessing. When Emily’s young employee, Hannah, gets caught up in the investigation, and becomes a suspect, Emily feels the need to ask questions. Except Hannah seems to be hiding something, which only makes her appear guiltier. Hannah’s overbearing older sister isn’t making the investigation any easier either. Emily’s quest takes her out onto the waters of the lake (I love how Dep enjoys kayaking almost as much as she does), and on the paths of the forest, following a trail of pumpkin spice beignets, one of Deputy Donuts’ specialties. I couldn’t help but worry about their safety, but Emily is a seasoned amateur sleuth and knows how to conduct herself. In the end, all the subplots came together perfectly, with a sweet ending to a delicious cozy mystery!

I was provided with an advance copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Through NetGalley, I received a free copy of BLAME IT ON THE BEIGNETS (Book 9 of the Deputy Donut mystery series) by Ginger Bolton in exchange for an honest review. Café owner Emily Westhill has new patrons in her shop. First, there are a couple of young men interested in her new employee, Hannah. Second, there are a couple of campground supervisors and a local equipment repairman. It seems that she and all of her new patrons are drawn to the nearby State park and its waterways. When Emily goes kayaking and hears a scream coming from the park, she hurries to the pertinent trail and finds the body of one of her new patrons. With new friends spending much of their time in the forest, Emily won’t be able to rest comfortably until the murderer is flushed from the underbrush.

I liked this book. I haven’t read all of the books in the series, but I had no problem keeping the characters straight, following the relationships, or understanding the story. I recommend this book to fans of cozy murder mysteries featuring sassy felines, well-dressed pooches, local eateries, and forest settings.

#BlametheBeignets #NetGalley

I love Ginger Bolton so I was excited to read the newest book in her series. I absolutely adore the characters in the book - which makes this series so much fun to read. Though the plotline was interesting and was peppered with a lot of 'red herrings', , it didn't intrigue me enough as I figured out the villain halfway through the book. I love the setting of the book, a cute tourist town, in the beautiful state of Wisconsin.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

Emily Fyne, newly married to Detective Brent Fyne, owns Deputy Donut Cafe with her late husband's father, Tom Westhill. They've got a new special of beignets, and everyone who tastes them loves them; so, they sell out fast. Her employee Hannah is taking a break from school to work there with her older sister Olivia, so all seems well.

But one day two young men enter the cafe with a tiny dog, and no one seems to know who she belongs to -- at least until another shop owner is heard calling for her. But there's been chaos already, with Emily's cat Dep taking umbrage at the dog's presence, and letting everyone know it by escaping himself. Once Dep is corralled and everything goes back to normal, Emily learns the two men -- Zachary and Joshua -- are known to Hannah, and both seem to be interested in her.

This doesn't sit well with Olivia, who likes Zachary, but isn't happy that Hannah seems to favor the unknown (up until now) Joshua. Then there's another altercation at the cafe between two men and a woman, and another man who enters trying to sell 'deals' to the customers. Once Emily has the cafe back to order, she wonders if it can get any worse.

It does, when she discovers a dead body on a trail not too far from her lakeside home -- along with one of Hannah's hairclips. Once she discovers the identity of the man, she wonders if Hannah or her friends had anything to do with it; even putting this idea out of her head doesn't do much good, as she finds out there are plenty of other suspects who wanted the person dead. Now she's on the trail of a killer, and hopes she can find them before someone else is slain...

This is the ninth book in the series, and I have read them all. I love the story lines, and the characters, and especially little Dep, who has his own say in the murders and solving them. A pretty smart cat (but then, I favor cats and know that most of them are!). Emily is trying to prove Hannah innocent, but her detective husband Brent has to look at the evidence, and the hairclip could point to her involvement. It rankles Emily, but she knows that it does look incriminating. But Olivia didn't want Hannah to hike that trail -- for good reason -- so why was she there when she is claiming she wasn't?

Now Emily is looking to find out who had the best reason for the person's demise, and she does find clues along the way, which she passes on to Brent, just as she should. It makes their life together flow easily, and you can see that they love and respect each other, which is the main thing marriage should do for people. It's realistic, and I like it.

There are clues throughout, but they aren't easy to find. I didn't know the murderer until Emily did, and that's a very good thing, as I read a lot of mysteries and far too often, I discover the killer the minute they step on the page. In this one, she hid the person well, which gave an element of surprise that I truly enjoyed.

In the end, the reasons for the murder were no more than it should be, as the mind of a killer is always hard to decipher, nor would I want to. What I want is what this mystery gives us: secrets, lies, intrigues, and a lot of action. Kudos to Ms. Bolton. I look forward to the next in the series. Highly recommended.

I received an advance copy from the publisher and NetGalley but this in no way influenced my review.

Intriguing and complex account ofca challenging murder mystery. Please see my complete review at www.reviewingtheevidence.com.

unpleasant-victims, small-business, small-town, local-gossip, local-law-enforcement, widow, Northwoods, Northern-Wisconsin, amateur-sleuth, series, suspense, recipes, murder-investigation, state-detectives, family-business, family, relatives, relationships, friendship*****

Once again, the characters really make the story a winner. There is no shortage of people who seriously disliked the "victim", but neither Emily nor the LEOs cand easily come up with who murdered him AND THEN shoved him off the cliff. Good plot with some very interesting red herrings!
Deputy Donut is a family owned business run by Emily, the widow of a local LEO who died while on duty and his father (retired local LEO). She has recently remarried and is married to another local LEO.
Not exactly an unbiased review because I'm from Wisconsin and the setting is a tourist town in Wisconsin near Duluth. Besides that, I Back the Badge.
I requested and received a free temporary uncorrected proof from Kensington Books/Kensington Cozies via NetGalley. Thank you!
#BlametheBeignets by @ginger_bolton #DeputyDonutMysteriesBk9 @KensingtonBooks #CozyMystery

The trail of beignets leads to a dead body in this latest in a lively series that will be fine as a standalone. Emily's new employee Hannah looks like the prime suspect but Emily and friends are sure she didn't do it. The mystery here is classic cozy stuff but I like this series for the characters and for the relationship between Emily and her now husband Detective Brent Fyne. Those two are newlyweds (at long last) and dealing with all those challenges. Oh, and Dep the cat! Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A good cozy read.

This is an average cozy mystery, nothing special but I did enjoy it. It’s pretty clear who the murderer was about half way through the story & why. I was wondering why the dog was mentioned by it is clear by the end. Unfortunately, it’s a bit gratuitous use of her. #BlametheBeignets #NetGalley

Cute, cozy mystery. Reads just like I am watching a Hallmark movie. Our main character Emily owns an adorable bakery that sells scrumptious Beignets. We have an adorable kitty "Dep" who is always with Emily and is there to help solve the case! Emily stumbles upon what looks like a possible dead body. Could it be her new employee or her employee's college friends? It might have taken a bit to actually get to the mystery, but there is a long list of suspects and a fun ride to take!

This was a strong ninth book in the Deputy Donut Mystery series, it had that element that I was looking for. The plot had that element that worked with the previous entries. The characters had that spark that I was hoping for and enjoyed the way Ginger Bolton wrote this. It left me wanting to read more in this series and glad it worked overall.

#BlametheBeignets #NetGalley is another exciting addition to this series. I like the characters and the way they all interact with each other.
I'm looking forward to the next book.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for selecting me to read and advanced copy of the book.

Thank you, NetGalley, Kensington Publishing and Ginger Bolton for this ARC.

I enjoy this series and was excited to see a new one and it includes a baby shower. Emily is busy planning Samantha's baby shower and solving a murder. There wasn't much about the baby shower or her friends, just enough for us to get an update on what is going on with them. I am enjoying Emily's marriage. I feel like it is a different side of her that we are getting to know. This book also focused on Emily's assistant, Olivia and her assistant's sister, Hannah. It was fun reading about their relationship.. And yes, they are somewhat involved in the murder mystery.

As for the murder, it was interesting and I had my suspicions, I was right. I still enjoyed reading the mystery but I really enjoy reading about the characters. I feel like we get to know them more and more with each new book. The mystery is somewhat secondary for me.