Evil Eclairs by Jessica Beck is the 4th book in the “Donut Shop” mystery series. Publisher: St. Martin’s Press, April 2011
Donut shop owner Suzanne Hart admits her sweet treats don’t exactly qualify as health food. But does she really deserve to be labeled a “killer” by local radio jockey Lester Moorefield? The annoying host is urging citizens to boycott Suzanne’s “deadly dough” factory—until he’s found dead himself, stuffed with one of Suzanne’s éclairs.
Everyone in April Springs knows about the feud between Lester and Suzanne, which makes her the number-one suspect. She tries to use the donut defense—donuts don’t kill people, people kill people—but that cream-filled éclair at the scene of the crime has the whole town filled with suspicion. If Suzanne can’t figure out who killed the radio star, she’ll soon be filling a prison cell instead of a pastry.
A radio host turns up dead stuffed with Suzanne’s donut after she had a verbal confrontation with him. Fearing that her business and reputation will suffer, Suzanne and best friend Grace are on the case. This was a good read with plenty of suspects. As she narrows her list down, the drama unfolds with secrets exposed and harm coming to her friends. This was an entertaining story and I can’t wait to read the next book in the series.