Goodbye Cruller World is the second book in Ginger Bolton’s Deputy Donut Mystery series.
Jenn, the owner of Dressed to Kill, a shop next to Emily Westhill’s Deputy Donut, is getting married. She’s asked Emily to create a donut wall for her reception. With the help of her father-in-law and business partner, Tom – a former police chief of Fallingbrook, Emily hangs the treats from dowels on the wall so that guests can help themselves.
But, on the night of the reception, the groom ends up on the floor with signs of poisoning. Emily suspects someone’s tampered with her treats. The next day, she learns the groom is dead. The white powder found near the donuts was not sugar. The list of suspects is long, but Emily has to find the killer in order to save her shop’s reputation as well as keep the bride out of handcuffs.
I read the first book of this series – Survival of the Fritters – and loved the setting and characters. Unfortunately, the second book did not stand up to my expectations. The events that led to the groom’s death and the bride acting strange soon after piqued my curiosity, all right. But the killer’s identity – this was no shocker.
The story begins with Emily witnessing a tiff between Jenn and a lady. Emily enters Jenn’s shop as soon as the lady leaves. Jenn tells Emily that it was her stepsister Suzanne and she is not happy with Jenn marrying Roger. Jenn also confesses that maybe it’s too late to stop the wedding… That same evening, Emily and Tom witness another scene at the marriage hall. Roger is downright rude and nasty with everyone – including his bride.
The next evening, at the wedding reception, Emily meets Jenn’s ex-boyfriend. Roger is not happy that Chad was invited to the wedding. He asks him to leave. A couple of hours later, Roger is on the floor, unconscious. He was last seen eating Crullers. Emily sees a saucer with white powder in it – she knows it’s not powdered sugar. She alerts Brent, the handsome detective of Fallingbrook police department – also, Alec’s (Emily’s late husband) best friend.
The next day, Emily learns the groom is dead. There’s a rumor of Jenn inheriting Roger’s estate – thus making her a main suspect. But would the bride kill her husband on her wedding day? Emily initially believes Jenn is innocent, but Jenn’s behavior makes her wonder if Jenn is guilty.
There’s one missing piece of puzzle – a security guard who was at the venue. He’s nowhere to be seen. Emily learns from the marriage hall owner that he didn’t hire any guards. Did the mysterious guard have something to do with Roger’s murder?
Once the missing guard’s plot is brought into scene, the story lost its charm. It was almost a case of beating around the bush. Clues that lead to dead ends – red herrings, suspects with strong alibis, and a whole lot of tea and donut evenings with Jenn and Suzanne lead Emily nowhere – until the very end when she comes face-to-face with the killer.
As I already mentioned, the killer’s identity was no surprise. The clues were all there, hidden amongst the red herrings. Somehow, I didn’t find the mystery as interesting as that of the previous book. I hope the next installment lives up to my expectations.
The Book Decoder 
That’s what I’ve been hearing about this series. Book 1 is really good but book 2 doesn’t match in quality.
Hope the next book is good.
First negative review. Must be not so good.
I had high hopes after reading the first book. Was disappointed that it didn’t live up to my expectations.