Deputy Donut #9
Blame the Beignets is the ninth Deputy Doughnut cozy by Ginger Bolton, where heroine Emily Westhill runs the Deputy Doughnut Café in Fallingbrook, Wisconsin. The shop’s mascot is an adventurous tabby cat that the café is named after, Deputy Doughnut, although most of the time Emily just calls him Dep. One of her employees, Olivia, has gotten Emily to give her younger sister Hannah a shot at working in the café as she takes a break from college. Hannah seems to be fitting in just fine, until some new customers arrive: two gentlemen who know Hannah from college and who both seem rather interested in her personally. Olivia is less than thrilled. Emily doesn’t mind the two hanging out at the café assuming that it doesn’t disrupt Hannah’s work.
Love triangles can be interesting and engaging for readers, all that ‘who will they choose’ tension, but the dead body Emily finds is the real mystery here. Going for an evening kayaking trip with Dep, the last thing she expected to find was a body, and there’s plenty of circumstantial evidence around the scene to implicate Hannah. Hannah’s hairclip and some of the fresh Deputy Doughnut café beignets make Emily very concerned. Desperate to ensure her newest employee isn’t involved, and to help Olivia as well, Emily starts to poke around town. Her husband and local detective Brent isn’t pleased that she’s investigating, but he won’t turn away any clues or leads that she brings to him. He just won’t share any definitive information with her. Regardless, Emily quickly finds that the deceased had a less than shining reputation around town, and that there are plenty of people with motive to end his life. Motive is one thing, however, definitive proof is another. Hannah isn’t helping her case, nor are her gentlemen friends, by constantly changing their alibies for the night in question. Stubborn and determined to prove herself as an adult to Olivia and all the others, Hannah might be her own worst enemy in this investigation.
Ginger Bolton draws readers into Emily’s life easily, and you’re quickly invested in her good natured desire to solve the various crimes that happen around Fallingbrook. Her interactions with Dep the cat add some very relatable fun whimsy for anyone who owns an animal. You just can’t help but ask their opinion on more serious matters, and sometimes they really do seem to be giving their own two cents on the matter. Emily is also an intelligent woman, always doing her best to avoid taking unnecessary risks while still trying to prove her friend’s innocence. Also, the description of how certain unwanted individuals behave, and the employees’ reactions to them, are spot on. For the sake of keeping the business afloat, sometimes you must serve creepy people. But Emily is always ready to draw the line for what behavior is unacceptable and to keep her people safe. I highly suggest Blame the Beignets for any connoisseur of the Deputy Doughnut series, as well as new readers. Ginger Bolton introduces characters and setting in a way that allows anyone to follow the story and enjoy the adventure from the first chapter. – Carla Schantz