The Fallingbrook Arts Festival sounds like a delightful event. The categories vary, with an emphasis on performance, but competitors travel from business to business initially to showcase their act before the actual competition. The children's mime of Cinderella was my favorite, must admit. One problem this year, however. There's this seriously obnoxious bagpiper interrupting other acts. It isn't that he isn't talented. He's quite good. In fact, he wins his performance category after unnerving another favorite. Then, to make matters worse, he disrupts the entire town and people's sleep going about in the night playing at odd hours. Why is he so persistently obnoxious? If we knew, we'd probably know why poor Emily finds his body the next day. Well, actually it's her cat Dep who leads her to the body but since Dep can't give a statement, it's all on Emily's shoulders. Good thing her boyfriend and about-to-be-husband is in the detective in charge. But, oops, there's that out-of-town investigator sent to assist.

As I read and back stories were revealed, I realized I've obviously read bit of this series. I was glad to tune back in before Emily and Brent's upcoming wedding as I recalled their long friendship and his partnership with her late husband. But, well, murder has a way of throwing a few snags into plans. Given the general obnoxiousness of the victim, suspects aren't scarce and there are lots of twists and turns and red herrings that take us....nowhere? Well, somewhere. We're just not quite sure where the true clues are leading us. Heck, we don't even know why the man was killed. Is being obnoxious really enough of a reason to kill someone? And, whoa, what about the very visible clues found at the scene? They point in several different directions so, of course, Brent and Vic, the out-of-town investigator, have to follow them all to the end. It doesn't leave much time for wedding planning although, quite frankly, Emily is right in there asking her own questions and sharing what she finds out with Brent. Nice to see the amateur sleuth's romantic partner being supportive, not always telling them to stay out of the investigation, tempting as it surely is when you love someone and don't want to see them in danger.

That said, while I enjoyed the book, I didn't quite love it although the big reveal and final scene made it close. Some of the clues shared, for instance, seemed just a bit forced/awkward. Maybe because they came too fast and seemingly out of the blue. Don't get me wrong. I enjoyed the book and it definitely kept me guessing although it's all tied together neatly at the end with an amazing scene that leaves Emily still a bit bewildered on who actually did it until she has a chance to talk through the events with others. Emily is also reminded that she's been told and retold to call Brent/police when she senses something is happening because they're rather waste some time than bag another body. Will she ever learn that lesson?

Bottom line, a fun read that will keep you guessing. You'll surely like the characters and probably wish you could stop off at Emily's Deputy Donut Cafe to satisfy the sweet tooth craving reading will create with all the talk of donuts. Never fear, though, as recipes are included at the end. Ever had a Lemon Curd Long John? You can via that recipe and there are more. Thanks #NetGalley and #KensingtonBooks - #KensingtonCozies for inviting me over for the wedding. I loved getting a sneak peek at that scene and how Emily made it her own.

Emily Westhill is getting married in fourteen days, not that anyone's counting! Before that there's a business to run, final arrangements to sort and the week-long Fallingbrook Arts Festival to attend. With her parents judging some of the competitions and staying with her, life is getting busy and that's before she and her cat, Dep, find a dead body!

Deputy Donuts is one of the stops on each day's mobile talent show and business is brisk but Emily has other things to concentrate on, especially as her beloved café has an undeniable link to the killing! Emily's fiance, Detective Brent Fyne is on the case alongside a DCI agent she isn’t familiar with and to add to the stress he considers anyone linked to her or her business as a suspect! As the days fly past and the wedding gets ever closer can Emily discover who is responsible before she loses the chance to walk down the aisle?

This is another great instalment of Ginger Bolton's Deputy Donuts Café Mystery Series and I whizzed through it. I wasn't even close to working out whodunnit and the big reveal was both original and tension filled. I also enjoyed the scenes set at the Arts Festival which added a different aspect to life in Fallingbrook. I'm also a big fan of anything wedding related in cosy crime storylines so this ticked all my boxes!

I was able to read an advanced copy of this thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, Kensington Books, but the opinions expressed are my own. I loved this but recommend reading the previous books first.

Book 8 of the Deputy Donut Mystery Series, Double Grudge Donuts was a great cozy read.

In this installment, they're in the middle of Fallingbrook Arts Festival when Emily and her tabby cat find a dead body. The local detectives don't trust Emily, the suspects are lining up, and worse - whomever did this is plotting on turning a wedding into a funeral.

A MUST read!

I have really been enjoying this small town cozy mystery series and it also makes me hungry each time I read the next book in the series.

BLURB:"" When the Fallingbrook Arts Festival rolls into town weeks before she’s set to tie the knot, Emily expects talent and friendly competition at the week-long summer series to go together like coffee and double fudge. But the fun crumbles fast after a lively bagpiper takes first place on day one and turns heads for the wrong reasons—all before Emily and her tabby cat find him dead in a clear case of murder. Along with a distinctive weapon at the crime scene, several strategically placed items leave disturbing clues about the killer’s identity, including a broken piece of a Deputy Donut mug . . .:""

Can this really be book #8 ? This well-written cozy mystery series is one of my favorites! I know I will be entertained and intrigued with each mystery, while the romantic interest provides a "feel-good" vibe. Emily and Brent are so ready to cement their relationship. The characters are now friends that I look forward to catching up with. The donut shop theme is such fun, and I can hardly wait to try the Lemon-curd Long Johns and the baked double fudge donuts. I am looking forward to book #9.
Recommended to those who enjoy mystery with a dash of romance and recipes.
#DoubleGrudgeDonuts #NetGalley #KensingtonBooks #KensingtonCozies
I was so excited to be approved for an EARC to read and review at my request. I do adore this series and always review books that I enjoy for friends and followers. All opinions are my own. #GingerBolton

With a big festival in town and her and Emily’s wedding quickly approaching, no one was planning a funeral. But life had different plans for one of the festival participants who is found dead in behind the shops near Deputy Donuts. There’s no lack of suspects given how annoying the man was everyone who came across this path. Can Emily help the police solve this one before her wedding day approaches, or want to make it down the aisle?

I enjoy this serious and I love Dep! And who doesn’t love donuts? You’ll find each mystery, chock-full of red herrings and suspects, just like the donut cases are filled with a variety of donuts each and every day. Each of these books reads fine as a standalone, so don’t let this being the latest in the series stop you from reading it.

Well written cozy
Ms. Bolton pens a cozy set in a small town focusing on an area filled with eateries. The small town has a festival that features showcasing talent, people performing outside the restaurants to win an award.
An abrasive man is murdered and the owner of the donut shop finds the body and snoops to solve with the aid of her detective boyfriend. I enjoyed this read.
I requested and received a NetGalley arc to peruse gratis and offer my opinion in the same.

Wisconsin, amateur-sleuth, series, suspense, secrets, lies, recipes, murder-investigation, local-law-enforcement, state-detectives, widow, family-business, family, relatives, relationships, friendship, pet-cat, Northwoods, small-business, small-town*****

Emily is a widow of a LEO who runs the donut shop with her father-in-law (a retired LEO) and is engaged to another local law enforcement officer. This book can easily stand alone.
It wasn't difficult to vote for "most likely to be murdered", but solving the whodunit was another matter entirely and very well done with some very sneaky red herrings and surprising twists.
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 an EARC from Kensington Books/Kensington Cozies via NetGalley. Thank you!

Ginger Bolton does a fantastic job in creating the cozy mystery environment that I was hoping for. The characters were what I wanted and though the plot had everything that I was looking for. It left me wanting to read more in this series and from Ginger Bolton.

The 8th Deputy Donuts series set in Wisconsin thrills the reader as much as the first. Emily Westhill, the co-owner of the Deputy Donut Cafe is preparing for her wedding in less than two weeks. At the first Arts Festival her parents are judges while Summer's friend Quentin is performing. His performance is interrupted by Kirk who the next day is found dead by Emily in a lot close to the cafe. The reader will be guessing who done it but will be thrown off by excellent red herrings along the way. A delightful read and wonderful addition to the series. Thanks #Netgalley and #Kensington for the eARC in exchange for a honest review. All opinions are mine.

This is a new author and series for me. Such a well written story that had me guessing who the murderer was. I will definitely look for the rest of the book in this series.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher. All words are my own.

This 8th installment in the Deputy Donuts cozy series, set in northern Wisconsin, is another outstanding mystery.

Emily Westhill, the co-owner of the Deputy Donut Cafe, is getting ready for her wedding which is less than two weeks away and is spending a lot of time attending events at the local arts festival. Her parents are visiting and all seems well.

Of course, then there's a murder (Emily finds the body) and, of course, she gets involved in trying to solve it.

This series has clever plots, including this one, and a terrific cast of characters.

Love it and highly recommend it to cozy mystery fans.

This is the 8th installment in the Deputy Donut series. Emily is getting ready for her upcoming wedding to Brent but is busy in the short term as Fallingbrook is hosting their first Arts Festival. At the first event, her parents are acting as judges while she sits with her friend Summer who is there supporting Quentin a family friend who is performing. Quentin’s performance falters when Kirk another performer and bagpiper interrupts him. At the next day, Kirk shows up at other events and interrupts performers with his bagpiping. The next morning, Emily finds Kirk dead in a parking lot close to Deputy Donut. The list of potential suspects are long as no one seems to like Kirk. Emily tries not to investigate but just can’t seem to help it. The discovery of the culprit was very exciting. Was nice to see the wedding of Brent and Emily and look forward to seeing what comes next for Emily and her friends.

Thank you, NetGalley and Kensington Books for this ARC.

Love this series! I do have mixed feelings about this book though. It just had a different vibe to it. Emily for some reason got on my nerves in this book. Something just felt off. I still enjoyed it and the mystery kept me guessing. I don't want to give it away but the last chapter really made this book. I can't wait for the next one.

Emily Westhill is half owner of Deputy Donut, along with her ex-father-in-law Tom. She's thriving and happy and about to marry her fiancé, Brent Fyne. The Fallingbrook Arts Festival is in town, and she's getting more business with the competitors moving from business to business with their acts. Life is good...or at least it was...

When she watches a bagpiper play, it's obvious he's very good and of course, wins one of the contests. But he's also annoying, playing the pipes up and down the street, during other's acts. After speaking with people, Emily finds out that he's not well-liked, either. The next morning tragedy strikes when Emily finds the piper dead, and calls the police. There's a list of suspects, and she's stunned to discover that both she and her parents are on the list. With less than two weeks until her wedding, Emily knows she needs to figure this out now or wedding bells won't be ringing for her...

This is the eighth book in the series and I have read them all. It's a delightful series, and the characters progress as it goes along; it's nice to see that things don't stay stagnant in the books. Emily is a great character; she's strong, intelligent, and smart; Brent admires these things and doesn't berate her when she finds clues for him. Her friends are interesting, as well as her employees, and we learn different things about them through the series.

In this one when the bagpiper dies, she doesn't know who the killer is, obviously, but she tries to find out (which is expected). Is it someone she already knows, or a stranger to her? And why was the piper killed? Also, why, and this is a big one, was a Deputy Donut mug found next to him? She's afraid it might implicate her parents in the murder, and she knows they didn't do it. But looking for a suspect with so many people in town isn't easy. Still, she manages to ask the right questions without antagonizing anyone, and that's a big plus in my eyes.

It isn't easy to write a review without giving away the plot line, mainly because this book has not been published yet, but I can tell you that Emily has a lot to do in this book, with the festival and wedding plans, and it might even be her cat Dep who gives her a clue, but you will have to read the book to find out. The clues are there, but watch for the red herrings that pepper the book.

When the ending comes, the climax is worth it all as Emily needs to use her wits to figure it all out and stay safe (as we know she will). It's practically the best part of the book and don't peek! I hope that you enjoy it as much as I did, and I look forward to the next in the series. Highly recommended.

My child and I enjoyed this newest installment in the Deputy Donut Mysteries, which is a must-read series for us. I was excited that Emily’s parents are actually present in this book and part of her life, which hasn’t really happened in the other books. My child was excited that Jocelyn has a big role in a showdown because Jocelyn is one of her favorite characters. I wish there had been more of Brent and Emily together, but the conclusion made it all worthwhile.

I like the books focus on events happening in the town, and my child enjoyed hearing all the details about the weeklong Arts Festival in Fallingbrook. We were infuriated by the annoying bagpiper and the arrogant English teacher, and we liked the surprising twist towards the end. Sometimes I think the storytelling gets a bit repetitive, but my child doesn’t mind at all; in some ways, the repetition helps clarify things for her. This is a special series for us and we hope it goes on forever!

This book starts out in Fallingbrooks week long arts festival . Emily is the amateur sleuth . I really love the way she works. Of course there is a murder in which she finds on her way to work at The Deputy Donut Cafe which she owns with hex father-in -law Tom. In 9 days she is to be married to the town Police chief, Brent. As well as running the cafe, she has to put her sleuthing skills to work to help him. What a week it is . See all that she gets into with her sleuthing. See if you can figure out who did it. A VERY GOOD COZY MYSTERY. Love to read this authior.

I have enjoyed this series since the beginning. It is one that is better if you start at the first one, so that you know some of the characters. I enjoyed the theme of the performing arts festival that went on in town. Of all of the books, this was not my favorite. The mystery itself seemed forced in places. That said, I am looking forward to more books in the series.

Loved reading this book and author. If you haven't read it yet I highly recommend her and her books. U suggest reading the books in order. Looking forward to the next book in the series

Double Grudge Donuts by Ginger Bolton is a great cozy mystery that is the eighth book in the Deputy Donut mystery series.

I really enjoyed this newest installment of the Deputy Donut series. To see Emily and Brent tie the knot finally was awesome.

The murder/mystery definitely had me guessing and a few extra surprises are tucked into the story as well.

Looking forward to the next one.

4/5 stars

Thank you NG and Kensington Books for this wonderful arc and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon, Instagram, and B&N accounts upon publication on 2/20/24.