My name is Laurel McKay, and I am an addict. A donut addict. Or, as I prefer to say, a donut aficionado. There is nothing I like better than biting into a melt-in-your-mouth cinnamon apple donut. Or a vanilla frosted apple donut. Or a. . .well, you get the idea.
Luckily, I live near Apple Hill, located in the Gold Country of Northern California, and home to over fifty apple farms. Even better yet, my seventeen-year-old daughter, Jenna, just got a seasonal weekend job in the bakery of Apple Tree Farm, which is owned by Axel Thorson.
Their donuts truly are to die for.
Jenna confided that Axel’s teenage son had been hitting on her. After dropping her off at work the next morning, I decided to have a chat with Axel about the situation. When I finally located him in his warehouse, it was obvious we wouldn’t be having that conversation today. Or any day. Not after someone frosted Axel from head to toe with a blanket of powdered sugar.
Who wanted to sweeten him up?
Despite my gruesome discovery, there was no reason for me to become involved in this homicide investigation. For a change. I had enough on my plate besides donuts. The bank where I work in the marketing department was debating whether to eliminate my position and outsource the work to an overeager marketing company.
Which meant I could be tweeting about my own unemployment within days.
Then the police arrest the heartthrob grandson of Nina Perez, the Apple Tree bakery manager. My daughter, a budding criminologist, decides to help him, which lands her in jail. My octogenarian grandmother, a good friend of Nina’s, is now threatening to open her own detective agency and chase down the culprit herself.
What’s a soccer mom with a sweet tooth to do but go undercover?
One would think that detecting among donuts would be a piece of cake, but this could be my most dangerous investigation yet.
You can read more about Laurel in Dying For A Donut, the fifth book in the “Laurel McKay” mystery series, published by Cindy Sample. The first books in the series is Dying for a Date.
About Dying For A Donut
To Laurel McKay, there’s nothing better than spending an autumn afternoon in the Apple Hill area, munching on caramel apples and cinnamon donuts. It’s a good thing daughter Jenna’s landed a seasonal job at Apple Tree Farm and Bakery. Then Laurel stumbles over the bakery owner’s corpse coated in powdered sugar. Axel Thorson was a well-respected member of the community. Who might benefit from his death? When the police arrest the heartthrob grandson of the bakery manager, Jenna decides to help him by solving the case herself, a move that lands her in jail. With Laurel’s detective honey in another state, and her octogenarian grandmother threatening to chase down the culprit, what’s a soccer mom with a sweet tooth to do but go undercover. Detecting among donuts should be a piece of cake, but not if Laurel discovers first-hand that sugar can kill you. Dessert Recipes Included
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GIVEAWAY: Leave a comment by 12 a.m. eastern on December 7 for your chance to win a print copy of DYING FOR A DONUT. (US entries only, please.) Good luck everyone!
About the author
Cindy Sample is a former corporate CEO who decided plotting murder was more entertaining than plodding through paperwork. Her national bestselling humorous mystery series, described as Erma Bombeck meets Agatha Christie, features single soccer mom, Laurel McKay. The series, set in El Dorado country, includes Dying for a Date, Dying for a Dance, Dying for a Daiquiri, Dying for a Dude and Dying for a Donut. Cindy is a three-time nominee for the LEFTY Award for Best Humorous Mystery. Cindy describes her new release, Dying for a Donut, which is set in Apple Hill, as a lip-smacking mystery. It was definitely the most fun (and most deadly) to research!
Check out Cindy at www.cindysamplebooks.com, on Facebook and at @cindysample1.
On my to read list. Thank you for the chance to win a copy!
Why have I missed this series?
Loved this book and all the trouble Laurel gets into without really trying! Cannot wait for the next!
Sounds like a yummy book
Sadly, I had to give up donuts…. but…. not books!
You had me at donuts! 🙂 Thanks Dru and Cindy for the opportunity to win this yummy book.
Time to defrost those donut holes in the freezer for a quick snack. Series sounds fun.
I love to go to Krispy Kreme when the hot sign is on. Thanks for a chance to win a copy of Dying for a Donut. Sounds like a series that is right up my alley.
We get in a rut with our choices of sweets.
Sounds like fun.
thanks
A series for me and it looks like I’m really missing something!
What a delightful feature and giveaway. Thanks.
What a great sounding book, can’t wait to check it out. Thanks for the giveaway.
Sounds like a delightful book. I’ll be adding this series to my TBR list!
This sounds like a delightful cozy. Thank you for this opportunity!
Sounds like a fun read, I’ve missed this series. Thanks for the giveaway.
Thanks for the kind comments everyone. I like to think of it as a lip-smacking mystery!
Ah, delicious donuts. Heaven
I love this series by Cindy Sample. So clever, so much fun to read. More please!
I have to have this book as I love the title. Thanks for the chance.
This is a fun read plus it captures the atmosphere of the area’s Apple Hill. Laurel and Granny make a great team.
Sounds like a fun read! I love donuts. Thanks so much for the chance!
I have been counting donuts instead of sheep since I read Cindy’s latest Laurel McKay mystery. Great atmosphere, a worthy villain, and a cast of characters that will tickle your funny bone as well as warm your heart.
A fab stocking stuffer too, because you are not going to want to part with your copy. Looking forward to the next Laurel adventure. You rock, Cindy Sample!
Thanks for featuring this favorite Northern California author 🙂
If you haven’t sampled Cindy Sample’s “Dying” series, I have a warning: it’s even more addictive than donuts! You’ll enjoy every book in the series, which is filled with laughs, lovable (if sometimes quirky) characters, and the bonus of a solid mystery/puzzle. Thanks for writing these, Cindy.
I’ve read all the books and love them. This is my favorite so far. Page turning and makes me laugh and feel like I am enjoying time with old friends. Perfect for the holidays. I give them to my mom and sister as gifts. This year I think I’ll add a donut to the package. 🙂 I’ll have to sample a lot first. For the team. (This book keeps on giving!)
Thanks for the lovely compliments, everyone. You’re all making me crave donuts now and I thought I was done with that dangerous research!
I love all these books, and they keep getting better. I don’t even eat donuts, and I finally had to give in after the first pages of this book. Love Laurel, love her friends, love Cindy Sample.
Laurel McKay is baccckkkk! And she’s up to her best sleuthing when her sweet tooth leads her to a bakery owner found dead in a ton (or so) of powdered sugar. Cindy Sample writes this series of light, funny mysteries and I hope she’s not running out of “D”s!
This is a new series to me. Thanks for the chance to win a copy!
I love this series! Dying for a Donut is such an entertaining read. I have all of Ms. Sample’s books (e-copies) but would love to win a print copy. Thanks so much for this opportunity.
This is a new series for me. How have I missed this, Dru? As an old soccer mom, I’m all in for catching up on this series. I hope I win to kick start my reading. Thanks for introducing me to Cindy Sample!
The Cindy Sample, Laurel McKay book series are my absolute favorite books! I love Laurel, and can relate to her so easily! From Dying For A Date to Dying For A Donut, I am never disappointed and always enthralled from page 1 to the very end! Please keep them coming! I hope they never end!
Another series to add to my TBR list
I must confess, I have a weakness for donuts, also. This sounds like a sweet book!
You had me at donuts!
Thanks for the chance to win. I had to stop and get a donut. I am adding this to my TBR list.
Mmmmm…Donuts! This book sounds delicious! Thanks for the chance!
Thanks everyone for spending the day with Laurel. And thank you Dru Ann for letting us participate. And now, I think it’s time for a bedtime snack!
You cannot read this book without buying a box of donuts first—it will make you feel like you are in the story (not murdered of course), but part of the Apple Hill magic and Laurel’s detective skills and hilarious antics. All of Cindy’s D’s are great, but this one is the most delectable.
I love the fact that three generations get into the act with this mystery. I love driving up to Apple Hill in the fall and touring all the different farms, meeting the people and tasting the baked goodies. Who knew that donuts could be this exciting?
I’m ready to read!
Oh Great! So now I want some donuts. Thanks! :^)
Sounds like a wonderful non-fattening treat to read for the holidays! Thanks!
I think I’m a donut addict, too!!
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I’ll have to read this with a cup of coffee and a donut, or 2!
Thanks for the intro to a new to me author.
Sounds fun and yummy
All Laurel needs is a wrinkled old overcoat, an unlit cigar, and an beat up old car with a long eared dog hanging out the window and she’d be the 21st century Columbo. What a fun read of “WHO DONUT”!
You know, it gives a new meaning to the phrase “”I am dying for…” How often have we used that phrase? This looks like a really good read. And a new writer to explore!! Thank for this chance
Oh this does sound like a good book! Thanks!
Looks like great cozy mystery.
A new to me series. Thanks
contest is closed.