JEALOUSY FILLED DONUTS is the third book in the Deputy Donut Mysteries by Ginger Bolton and is another great addition to a charming series! What could be better than a fun, loveable protagonist, an adorable cat, and a donut shop owned by Emily, a former 9-1-1 dispatcher and her father-in-law, formerly the Chief of Police? Needless to say, it’s the favorite hangout for police officers and emergency responders, along with the senior citizens’ group, the Knitpickers. Ms. Bolton crams her book full of memorable characters while weaving a tight tale of death by donuts and firecrackers during a 4th of July extravaganza. There were twists and turns that kept me turning pages and a subplot that kept me guessing how it was related to the central murder of the festival queen. I liked that Emily wasn’t an in-your-face type of amateur sleuth. Instead, she hunted down answers by sweetening up her intended targets with donuts and smiles.

Ms. Bolton’s strong descriptive voice paints a vivid picture of the settings, from the donut shop, to the cool vintage car Emily drives (love the donut on top!) to the wilderness area that hosts an exciting, edge-of-your-seat reveal. She expertly weaves each scene into the other, creating a seamless story. While JEALOUSY FILLED DONUTS can be read as a standalone, I’ve enjoyed watching the characters develop and grow, especially Emily. The widow of the town’s detective, Emily has struggled to get over her grief, even after several years. It’s been heartwarming to see her blossom with her close friendship with her deceased husband’s friend (who’s also a detective) and hope that a romance might develop for her. It gives the book an emotional level without detracting from the mystery.

There are several mentions of yummy donuts and treats in the book that it was hard to not drool. The author provides two donut recipes at the back of the book.

What goes good with a great cozy......donuts!! Jealousy Filled Donuts delivers in both mystery and deliciousness!

Emily, owner of Deputy Donuts (along with her father-in-law, Tom) , tackles the mystery of why a beauty queen was murdered during a Fourth of July celebration and what connection an annoying photographer has to Jocelyn, her newest employee. Emily's donuts are used in the murder (in a unique way) and she becomes a suspect and the subject of photos that implicate her in the crime. She decides to solve the mystery to protect herself and her employee.

It's always a fun read to visit the donut shop! Emily is not a "rush headfirst into danger" character - a trait I like in main characters. I love the relationship between Emily and her father-in-law and friends. Misty, Samantha, Scott and Hooligan all have interesting storylines in the book. I enjoyed the way the friend's adventures, when they were growing up, helped Emily in a dangerous situation. The relationship between Brent (Emily's husband's partner) and Emily is slowly evolving. Emily is slowly and carefully rebuilding her life after the death of her police officer husband. The fact that she has the support of her former in-laws is heartwarming.

A review is not complete without mentioning the mischievous and smart Dep, Emily's lovable feline and namesake for the shop! The descriptions of Dep's antics and her "home away from home" were charming!

This is one of the series that I read non-stop, if life doesn't get in the way! I'm impatiently waiting for the next visit to the donut shop and more recipes!!

I received an ARC from NetGalley for a fair and honest review of this book.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to read this book!

I've been a fan of this series since the first book, so I'm glad to get to read another in the series. This is the third book, but it can easily be read on it's own as well. The characters seem to be breaking off into couples too, which is nice because this series is very much a friendship based one, with Emily, Samantha and Misty being life long friends. I do worry a little with Emily though, because we aren't really given anything clear on her feelings for Brent (because she doesn't know herself) but I hope they can work things out.

The mystery in this one probably wasn't as good as the previous two books. It doesn't appear to have as strong a motive and gets a little lost at times as things kind of get rehashed. I did still like it, but it could have been stronger.

Hopefully though the next book picks up more with yet another mystery to solve. Four stars this time around!

This is the first time I've read this series/author, and I enjoyed this book. The mystery kept me guessing. I enjoyed the relationships between all of the friends and the town seems like a nice one to visit. I enjoyed it enough that I will look up the others in the series.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Great series. This book was really fun to read. Forgot how much drama high-schoolers have. Love that Emily is starting to heal after losing her husband. Really good story. Got a little bogged down in the descriptions of the falls, but all in all a solid story.

I really liked this book! I read one of the previous books as well and had enjoyed it, but it covered enough of the backstory that it could be read as a standalone as well. This was a great small town cozy mystery with characters I really liked, at least the characters I was supposed to like! Emily was a great amateur sleuth and Dep the cat had a fun personality as well. Good mystery, excellent relationships including friendship and several potential romances and a writing style that kept me interested throughout the story. I'll definitely read more from Ginger Bolton!

This is the first book in the Deputy Donut Mystery series I've read, and I didn't feel like I was missing too much backstory to understand or enjoy it.

Donut shop owner Emily Westhill thinks someone might be stalking her or her new assistant, a popular gymnast. When donuts from her shop are used in combination with a firework to kill someone during the 4th of July fireworks, and the creepy stalker insists he saw Emily light the fuse, she knows she needs to investigate. When her assistant disappears, Emily worries the stalker may have kidnapped her.

This is a fun cozy mystery about a small town and the protagonist's donut shop. Her cat Dep is as much a character in the story as the humans. It was a cute story that featured an action-packed finale.

This is the 3rd book in this series. Emily uses the vintage polish car in the 4th of July parade and then gives away festive donuts at the picnic during the day. A little boy says it is his birthday and they make him a firecracker donut cake. He misplaced his bag and it later is found in the park where fireworks are set off later that night with firecracker in it and it explodes and kills someone.

Emily sets out to find the killer before she is killed herself

In the mean time her friendd are trying to her hooked up with a certain police detective.

Looking forward to the next book in the series

I totally loved the fast paced, fun cozy mystery filled with good friends, a compelling plot, a lovely setting and, of course, delicious donuts. Emily and her father-in-law Tom (the father of her late husband Alec) are the owners of Deputy Donuts in Fallingbrook, Wisconsin. It's the Fourth of July and the town is celebrating with a parade featuring a king and queen who are supposed to be riding in Emily's restored old Ford. But when Taylor, the queen turns out to be a diva, she not only refuses to ride in it but she also makes nasty comments about several people. At the fireworks later that night Taylor is killed when a firework placed in the grass behind her explodes. A photographer, who no one knew before that day, starts out by taking pictures of Emily throughout the day and later accuses her of the crime - photoshopping her picture in places it doesn't belong to finger her. With the help of her good friends, including detective Brent - Alec's former partner- the truth finally emerges. This was a wonderful story with complex characters who I was rooting for from the first page to the last and I look forward to hearing more about Emily in future books.

Jealously Filled Donuts is a entertaining cozy mystery with interesting characters and storyline. Well written.

I liked this book. I've read a previous book in the series and this one has many of the same characters in it. I liked that it feels more like a group effort and that Emily isn't investigating all alone. I was surprised by who the killer was, I had no idea that's who it was. #JealousyFilledDonuts #NetGalley