Suzanne Hart is trying to rebuild her life after a divorce. She’s back in her hometown, the fictional April Springs, North Carolina, living with her mom, and trying to make a go of it as the owner of the local donut shop, Donut Hearts. Suzanne has made some changes to the shop since she took it over. She’s added a range of donut flavors and redecorated with couches and comfy chairs to encourage people to linger rather than just get takeout. Keeping the regulars while attracting new customers is her goal.
And she wants all her customers to be alive, but just as she’s heating up the fryer one morning someone dumps a body outside Donut Hearts. The police are quickly on the scene, but Suzanne gets a bad feeling about the investigation. The police chief is still carrying a torch for Suzanne’s mom, who spurned him forty years ago. Is that unsuccessful courtship the reason he is so hostile to Suzanne? Or is there something fishy going on with the police department? That might explain the presence of Jake Bishop, a state police investigator who warns Suzanne to let the proper authorities handle the case. But Suzanne believes that she’s in danger and so she starts to look into the affairs (personal and professional) of the dead man. Soon Suzanne is in danger, but she unexpectedly finds a new love.
This is the first book in the Donut Shop Mystery series. As an extra gift to readers, it includes recipes for for some of the treats mentioned in the novel.
Check this title’s availability in the UNC-Chapel Hill Library catalog.
