Beyond a Reasonable Donut by Ginger Bolton

by Melanie McKinney, guest reviewer

Emily is tentatively romantically interested in a local detective, Brent, but she plays amateur detective herself to solve a complex murder with lots of suspects. A magician and a mime upset the two of them and for good reason. There is also a very strict (and almost nuts) coordinator at the carnival who has it in for Emily. Emily puts herself in jeopardy a couple of times, but I was cheering for her to solve the mystery. This mystery had plenty of suspects and clues. It seemed like every time I turned the page the author was leading me down another path and I was once again back at square one with no idea about the killer's identity. Emily becomes involved this time around because her friend and employee is arrested for murder. The author did a great job of keeping me on my toes and trying to put the clues together to lead me to the correct suspect. Ironically, I was not up to the challenge and missed a few clues and was taken by surprise when the killer was revealed. I wanted to read this book because I thoroughly enjoy foodie cozies, and the carnival setting sounded very appealing. Throw in the Friday the 13th twist and it really puts a different spin on the book. The author did a great job with setting and describing the small town feel and scene. Growing up in a small town I felt like I could relate to this town and I felt like I was visiting Fallingbrook, Wisconsin from the way the author described everything. "Beyond a Reasonable Donut" is the fifth book in the "Deputy Donut" mystery series. I have not read the previous four books in the series. During the beginning of the book I had to really follow the characters as I wasn’t as familiar with them as I could have been had I read the previous installments. If you are looking for a fun, quick read with terrific characters and a mystery that keeps you engaged with plenty of suspects and clues to sift through, then this is the book for you. I enjoyed reading about Emily, Dep, and the rest of the characters. The author writes Emily with such warmth and caring. Yes, she tends to investigate and put herself in harm's way on occasion, but she possesses good deductive reasoning that eventually gets her to the bottom of the mystery at hand. I am now going to go back and read the rest of the books in the series to get caught up. I look forward to returning to Fallingbrook, Wisconsin for the next book in the series.