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krisrich85's review
4.0
Evil Eclairs is a Mystery/Suspense novel. It is a little different from others in the genre because it tends to revolve around the donuts and the donut shop. The Donut Shop Mystery Series and Evil Eclairs focus' on Suzanne Hart, Jake Bishop and the murder of Lester Moorefield. Suzanne is owner of Donut Hearts. Jake Bishop is her boyfriend and also an investigator with the State Police. Whenever Suzanne is pulled into a murder and starts investigating it on her own she enlists the help of George Morris and Grace Gauge. All of the characters are very believable and have flaws or shortcomings just like us. They live in a small town so everyone knows everyone. This makes for very interesting situations when it comes to Suzanne trying to question someone about the murder that has happened.
Suzanne is my favorite character. She loves her shop that she has started. She is confident in herself and her relationships with others. When things happen and her shop is questioned she isn't afraid of standing up and even getting into a few confrontations because of it. She loves her family and friend unconditionally. I enjoy reading about the mornings when Suzanne makes the donuts and opens the shop. It's fun to read about her interactions with Emma her assistant and the customers that come in. The parts where Suzanne and Grace are going around making up stories so that they can question people about the current murder are always interesting to read. Suzanne and Grace work very well together. I don't really care for the scenes when a character that you've come to love is hurt or are being put in a position where they may get hurt. But at the same time I understand that it is a part of the story line and that there is a reason for it.
Jessica Beck's writing style has a nice easy flow to it. It makes it very easy to read and nothing felt rushed. Evil Eclairs is a nice easy read, easy to understand so no rereading was needed for me. All plot twists or points seemed to fit and worked towards the final reveal. I was pulled so far into the story line that at parts I was worried about the characters. At other times I found myself laughing at some of the things they did and said.
I will definitely be continuing with the Donut Shop Mystery Series. Also I would recommend this book to all who enjoy reading murder mysteries mixed with light humor and romance.
Suzanne is my favorite character. She loves her shop that she has started. She is confident in herself and her relationships with others. When things happen and her shop is questioned she isn't afraid of standing up and even getting into a few confrontations because of it. She loves her family and friend unconditionally. I enjoy reading about the mornings when Suzanne makes the donuts and opens the shop. It's fun to read about her interactions with Emma her assistant and the customers that come in. The parts where Suzanne and Grace are going around making up stories so that they can question people about the current murder are always interesting to read. Suzanne and Grace work very well together. I don't really care for the scenes when a character that you've come to love is hurt or are being put in a position where they may get hurt. But at the same time I understand that it is a part of the story line and that there is a reason for it.
Jessica Beck's writing style has a nice easy flow to it. It makes it very easy to read and nothing felt rushed. Evil Eclairs is a nice easy read, easy to understand so no rereading was needed for me. All plot twists or points seemed to fit and worked towards the final reveal. I was pulled so far into the story line that at parts I was worried about the characters. At other times I found myself laughing at some of the things they did and said.
I will definitely be continuing with the Donut Shop Mystery Series. Also I would recommend this book to all who enjoy reading murder mysteries mixed with light humor and romance.
princessleia4life's review
1.0
I thought it was pretty badly written. And the reason she solved it made no sense at all.
bella_lettore's review
5.0
Returning to Donut Hearts where Suzanne cannot seem to live a quite simple life as a donut shop owner in a small town; where everyone knows each others business (whether they like it or not). A few months since the incidents of Sinister Sprinkles Suzanne is up and running again and right in the middle of a fight with the town radio host who seems to have a bone to pick with our hero. Saying that her donuts are death treats, the icing is the metaphorical glue that seals their coffins because of their ill-informed decision to eat Suzanne's tasty treats.
Without thinking Suzanne picks a fight with Lester, quickly composing herself she tries to continue her day as normal, but when a police escort shows up to take Suzanne away she soon regrets her rash actions. Because Lester has now been murdered; an eclair shoved into his mouth, and Suzanne is the number one suspect.
With help from her best friends Grace and George Suzanne is at work yet again trying to clear her name and rid her town of yet another murder.
Jessica Beck brining to life yet again a dreadfully sweet murder mystery with her lovable cast of characters that live nestled in the mountains of North Carolina. This is a great read for a summer day laying in the backyard relaxing.
Without thinking Suzanne picks a fight with Lester, quickly composing herself she tries to continue her day as normal, but when a police escort shows up to take Suzanne away she soon regrets her rash actions. Because Lester has now been murdered; an eclair shoved into his mouth, and Suzanne is the number one suspect.
With help from her best friends Grace and George Suzanne is at work yet again trying to clear her name and rid her town of yet another murder.
Jessica Beck brining to life yet again a dreadfully sweet murder mystery with her lovable cast of characters that live nestled in the mountains of North Carolina. This is a great read for a summer day laying in the backyard relaxing.
luffy79's review
3.0
I was flummoxed for once concerning my rating of Evil Eclairs. I've always prioritized a strong finish, and I loved knowing the identity of the murder, and maybe so will you. The issue with this book is that for one fifth of it's duration little, if anything, happens.
There was no real purpose to the investigation and there were too many interludes during the said inquiry. The previous book was action packed. But this one holds its own. Slowly, events did accumulate, giving us an illusion of overload. It's a fairly unfair 3/5 stars, but then when compared to better books, I simply can't give it a four. Reading the Donut Shop Mysteries is one of the highlights of my readership and I particularly like the fact that I'll be ending my reading challenge for the year with half of the books read - from now till the end - being Jessica Beck's.
There was no real purpose to the investigation and there were too many interludes during the said inquiry. The previous book was action packed. But this one holds its own. Slowly, events did accumulate, giving us an illusion of overload. It's a fairly unfair 3/5 stars, but then when compared to better books, I simply can't give it a four. Reading the Donut Shop Mysteries is one of the highlights of my readership and I particularly like the fact that I'll be ending my reading challenge for the year with half of the books read - from now till the end - being Jessica Beck's.
angrygreycatreads's review
4.0
Evil Eclairs is the fourth in the Donut Shop Mystery series that I am thoroughly enjoying despite myself. I am one of the terrible people donut shop owner Suzanne Hart would not want to deal with in that I really don’t like donuts. It says a lot about the quality of the series that I can enjoy it even with a theme that does not appeal to me at all. The characters of Suzanne, Grace and George are fun to read about and make a great crime solving team. The addition of George as a sidekick is one of the aspects of this series that I really like. In this outing, Suzanne’s livelihood is threatened by an obnoxious shock jock type of DJ, who ends up dead right after an argument with her. Suzanne wants to solve the murder to protect her business and her reputation . Well written, fun to read cozy mystery.
stefhyena's review
1.0
I tried to like this for all that it was more cosy than mystery. In brief some of the flaws
-far too much focus on Suzanne's super-chaste lovelife. I didn't mind that it was super-chaste I minded reading about it in so much detail as if the author thought I was 12 and at a Christian camp for learning to be a good wife. I didn't need quite so many pages wasted on whether her mother and friends would or would not date.
-A lot of long sections of people eating. Once again I don't mind people eating and in context it can be an important part of a book, especially when you are trying to make your mystery "cosy". Here there was so much of it that the temptation was to think it was put in because the author was out of ideas for the actual plot.
-Randomly inserted recipes that were all variations on a theme and had no clear connection to the plot. That is to say they were donut recipes, but they were not ones referred to in the story. The last one was a pasta recipe which was probably a reference to an eating scene much earlier in the book but was placed right in the middle of the denoument. WTF? It made the last chapter even less exciting to read because any intertia had been lost. I think if recipes are used they should be thoughtfully connected to the book and perhaps collected at the back. It made me think "Like Kerry Greenwood's Corinna Chapman but more madly done- if you vaguely liked this or thought the idea broadly had potential then try that)
-Woman has to have a man and all the essentialised shit there. In this sense the book almost got a 2 instead of a 1 from me, because it was not the most misogynist book I ever read but it did have some drippy heterosexist stuff that puts men on a pedestal they really have not earned. Also the bad writing pulled it down
-The bad writing. Things just flung themselves along one thing after another. No character development, no feel for setting (I realise this is book 4 but nevertheless) and what is far worse, no clarity. At times I had to read dialogue a couple of times to get a sense of what they are saying. I have philosophers and sociologist to read when I want to struggle for meaning, this was meant to be just a relaxing novel. An ounce of editing and a bit more time put in by the writer might have helped (I mark papers so I am learning to recognise when someone put in a last minute effort).
All in all, I had a tiny amount of amusement but will stay clear of this series given how many things I recently read that I enjoy better (for example Marx who at least is sarcastic). I think some people would probably like this more than I did (because of all the hand holding and chaste twilight kisses over a basket of fried chicken)
-far too much focus on Suzanne's super-chaste lovelife. I didn't mind that it was super-chaste I minded reading about it in so much detail as if the author thought I was 12 and at a Christian camp for learning to be a good wife. I didn't need quite so many pages wasted on whether her mother and friends would or would not date.
-A lot of long sections of people eating. Once again I don't mind people eating and in context it can be an important part of a book, especially when you are trying to make your mystery "cosy". Here there was so much of it that the temptation was to think it was put in because the author was out of ideas for the actual plot.
-Randomly inserted recipes that were all variations on a theme and had no clear connection to the plot. That is to say they were donut recipes, but they were not ones referred to in the story. The last one was a pasta recipe which was probably a reference to an eating scene much earlier in the book but was placed right in the middle of the denoument. WTF? It made the last chapter even less exciting to read because any intertia had been lost. I think if recipes are used they should be thoughtfully connected to the book and perhaps collected at the back. It made me think "Like Kerry Greenwood's Corinna Chapman but more madly done- if you vaguely liked this or thought the idea broadly had potential then try that)
-Woman has to have a man and all the essentialised shit there. In this sense the book almost got a 2 instead of a 1 from me, because it was not the most misogynist book I ever read but it did have some drippy heterosexist stuff that puts men on a pedestal they really have not earned. Also the bad writing pulled it down
-The bad writing. Things just flung themselves along one thing after another. No character development, no feel for setting (I realise this is book 4 but nevertheless) and what is far worse, no clarity. At times I had to read dialogue a couple of times to get a sense of what they are saying. I have philosophers and sociologist to read when I want to struggle for meaning, this was meant to be just a relaxing novel. An ounce of editing and a bit more time put in by the writer might have helped (I mark papers so I am learning to recognise when someone put in a last minute effort).
All in all, I had a tiny amount of amusement but will stay clear of this series given how many things I recently read that I enjoy better (for example Marx who at least is sarcastic). I think some people would probably like this more than I did (because of all the hand holding and chaste twilight kisses over a basket of fried chicken)
moondance120's review
3.0
Suzanne is once again thrown into a murder investigation after a confrontation with a local radio host. The obnoxious host is found dead the next morning with an eclair stuffed in his mouth. Good mystery, strong characters and a fun read.
skullfullofbooks's review
3.0
There's something about being able to sit down and read an entire book in about 6 hours that is just so caliming.
This is the fourth donut shop book in the series, and I liked it, but it got bogged down a bit by too much exposition. Not that it ruined the experience, far from it in fact, but there were times when the Suzanne went into odd introspective dialogues and it left me wondering why she was telling me about what she was thinking.
But, definitely a gold donut shop mystery. I love the cozy vibe, and despite some issues with not going very deep, the mystery is still good. I was actually able to figure out the murderer, which to me is a bonus because it makes me feel smart! It would be a good beach read since it isn't deep and doesn't ask too much from your brain.
This is the fourth donut shop book in the series, and I liked it, but it got bogged down a bit by too much exposition. Not that it ruined the experience, far from it in fact, but there were times when the Suzanne went into odd introspective dialogues and it left me wondering why she was telling me about what she was thinking.
But, definitely a gold donut shop mystery. I love the cozy vibe, and despite some issues with not going very deep, the mystery is still good. I was actually able to figure out the murderer, which to me is a bonus because it makes me feel smart! It would be a good beach read since it isn't deep and doesn't ask too much from your brain.
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