Catering preparations are underway as Juliet Capshaw and her staff at Torte Bakery get ready for Thomas and Kerry’s wedding. Lithia Park looks beautiful, and the jazz band “Heartstrings” will be playing, but when Kerry’s recently incarcerated father shows up for the festivities, his presence threatens to ruin her joyful day. DONUT DISTURB is the 15th book in the Bakeshop Mystery series and it serves up a tantalizing mystery set in the charming Shakespearean hamlet of Ashland, Oregon.

     Even with the appearance of Kerry’s father, Juliet is determined to help Kerry and Thomas have a wonderful wedding day. Torte employees are setting up the food and drinks and the band is setting up their equipment when Juliet witnesses an argument between the park’s director and the band’s bass player. Later, when Juliet goes to retrieve an extra table from the storage room, she finds the bass player dead with a piece of his instrument sticking out of his chest. The police soon arrest Kerry’s father based on his past connection with the victim. The wedding continues, but Kerry does not want to spend her honeymoon worrying whether the police will charge her father with murder. She believes he is innocent and asks Juliet and her friend Lance to help find out the truth.

     Juliet agrees and suddenly finds herself knee-deep in running her bakery and sifting through clues and various suspects. The bass player served time in prison and had a troubled past. Could someone from the past be righting a wrong?  Or is a shady judge covering her tracks? Or was the band just tired of their bass player's shenanigans?  With so many avenues to explore, Juliet finds herself running all over town to question suspects.  Can she keep herself safe and keep Kerry’s father from returning to prison?

     DONUT DISTURB is a great addition to this long-running series set in a delightful town full of wonderful characters who look out for each other. Juliet’s relationship with Carlos is going strong. She is managing her staff at Torte and helping solve a murder. There are many descriptions of food for foodie lovers and interesting tidbits about running the bakeshop. This artfully crafted mystery includes several viable suspects and scenarios to keep readers guessing and the high-stakes harrowing encounter at the end wraps up the mystery nicely.  So, grab a donut and a cup of coffee and enjoy!

Book Summary