Boston Scream Murder
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
Halloween in the small town of Fallingbrook, Wisconsin, is the perfect season for Deputy Donut owner Emily Westhill to unmask a killer.
October 31 is just around the corner and Emily Westhill’s Boston cream donuts, carved with a scream, have made an indelible impression on local eccentric Rich Royalson. So much so that he’s ordered three dozen, with no screaming faces and twice the fudge frosting, for his seventieth birthday—a special event in more ways than one. It’s to be held on fog-shrouded Lake Fleekom where, twenty years ago, his wife mysteriously drowned.
But the next day, when Emily arrives with her Boston cream donuts, she stumbles upon Rich’s corpse. The poor guy wanted a unique birthday bash—just not one to the side of his skull. With a guest list of possible perpetrators left at the scene, Emily soon discovers that the Royalson closet is rattling with skeletons. As the fog thickens, motives mount, and the tricks outnumber the treats, Emily fears that Rich may not be the last one in Fallingbrook to go out screaming.
Praise for Jealousy Filled Donuts
“Charming . . . Yummy donut recipes round out a whodunit (or is it a whodonut?) sure to please cozy fans.”
—Publishers Weekly
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In Bolton's disappointing fourth Deputy Donut mystery (after 2019's Jealousy Filled Donuts), Emily Westhill is preparing special doughnuts for Halloween when a pompous former bank manager, Richmond P. "Rich" Royalson III, enters her shop, Deputy Donut, in Fallingbrook, Wis. Rich orders Boston cream doughnuts and coffee for his birthday bash, but when Emily later arrives at his home, she finds him dead with the murder weapon a heavy skillet lying nearby. Emily learns that Rich's wife, Patty, drowned under suspicious circumstances a while back, and that those with a motive for his early demise include a pianist neighbor who was an old friend of Patty and was thwarted by Rich in a real estate purchase; a caterer who was cheated out of business by Rich; an ex-boyfriend of Rich's girlfriend, Terri Estable, with whom Rich was having an affair at the time Patty drowned; and Terri herself, who stands to gain substantially from Rich's will. An awkward construction, far-fetched situations, and an obvious perpetrator provide less than satisfying reading. Hopefully, Bolton will return to form next time.