Emily is busy, as usual, in her donut shop. A strange customer takes a liking to Emily’s cat, and gives her a donut-shaped cat toy. This person then sees something outside, and flees in a panic, dropping part of an earring. An attempt by Emily to return the earring to the cottage the woman is renting leads to her discover something she wishes she had never seen. This intriguing and exciting mystery is just another fine example in this great series. It has as many twists as the aforementioned cinnamon donuts. Emily finds herself in trouble with the new police detective who seems to have an ax to grind against Emily, even to the point of sending her detective boyfriend and staunch supporter away on police business. Mostly on her own, she needs to keep her wits about her, before she finds herself on the wrong side of a jail cell. This engaging mystery will keep you reading, and the end will have you wanting the next installment. ( )

Although this book is part of a long-standing series, I was able to follow along like it was a stand-alone and I was not disappointed. Charming characters (except the unscrupulous new police chief), quaint settings, and delicious donuts and coffee. I enjoyed the house history storyline as well. The author did a good job of not giving away the culprit too early. Will definitely read the rest of the books now. For cozy mystery fans.

Net Galley Feedback ( )

I received an advance copy via NetGalley.

I enjoy cozy mystery series like this one, where I can pickup the seventh book and immediately get pulled into the world. I didn’t feel lost at all as I came to know Emily in her small Wisconsin town where she runs a donut shop. After a suspiciously-acting customer loses an earring near the shop, Emily drops by her rental house to return it and finds the woman dead—and herself listed as suspect number one by the town’s new inept police chief.

The mystery moves along at a good pace, with many suspects in the mix, but a number of elements felt forced, especially at the climax. The guilty party was apparent a bit early on. Even so, I enjoyed the setting and characters, and I’d read more in this series. ( )

Emily Westhill co-owns Deputy Donut along with her late husband's father, Tom Westhill. They make donut creations, and all the cops, EMTs, and firemen flock to their shop, along with regular local customers. When a woman comes in two days in a row, Emily can't help notice that she appears nervous, but is hesitant to approach her. On the second day, the woman gives Emily's cat Dep a donut-shaped catnip toy and asks to leave through the back door. Emily notices she's lost an earring and grabs it to return later.

But wanting to do so and being able to are different things. When Emily arrives at the rented lake cottage, the woman is dead. Calling her boyfriend Detective Brent Fyne, she waits until he arrives to look over the scene. But right behind him is the new chief of police, Detective Agnew, and he's not happy by Emily's presence.

When it's discovered that the woman was murdered, Emily is at the top of Agnew's list of suspects, so she is determined to get herself off the hook. But stumbling blocks are many -- including strange goings-on in her yard, locals that might have known the woman, and the detective sending Brent out of town so she can't share information with him. It's up to Emily herself to try and figure everything out, and if she doesn't she just might be making her tasty treats in prison...

This is the seventh book in the series and I have read them all. I have also loved them all. Ms. Bolton writes characters so well that you can almost feel as if you are right there in their small little Wisconsin town. I definitely would love to try some of the donut creations, but since I don't eat a lot of sugar, I'd probably pass out. Still, it would be worth it!

In this story we have several subplots along with the main plot, and they are woven into the story seamlessly. Each and every clue is written piece by piece, and actually delivered by someone I would like to know. They paint the picture that the dead woman may not have been a nice person after all, and more than one might have wanted revenge. But enough to kill her? That's what Emily needs to find out, hoping to stay under the radar.

As to the subplots, all of them are interesting enough to keep you reading, and most are worthy in their own right. But it's Emily who takes center stage in this mystery, and wondering who wants to find something in her yard so badly and what it could possibly be.

I hesitate to say more as I don't want to spoil the book for others, but suffice it to say that the threads are woven nicely, the characters interesting, and the reason for the murder truly sad and leaving you thinking that no one can see into the mind of a murderer. But the ending was truly surprising, and it leaves me wanting to read the next in the series right now. Highly recommended.

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

small-business, small-town, law-enforcement, friction, widow, Wisconsin, Northwoods, cozy-mystery, amateur-sleuth, cat, family, friendship, frustration, murder, murder-investigation, recipes, romantic, secrets, lies, manipulation, series*****

Emily is a widow who runs the donut shop with her father-in-law and is seeing another local law enforcement officer. She becomes entangled in a murder investigation even as the short-sighted new police chief decides that Emily is guilty. Fortunately, he also has to call in the state detectives and the madness begins in earnest. Another really good read in series.
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 e-book copy from Kensington Books/Kensington Cozies via NetGalley. Thank you! ( )