While her doughnut shop, Donut Delights, is being renovated and expanded, Heather Shepherd is delivering doughnuts by special order to her customers. Clarissa James, who owns a nail salon near the doughnut shop, ordered two dozen, so Heather and her bestie Amy dutifully walk them up the street to deliver. Cheeky's Nails seems deserted....they call to Clarissa, but get no answer. Unfortunately, the hippest mani-pedi artist in town will not be enjoying pomegranate glazed doughnuts anytime soon. Heather finds her face down in her back room....dead. Who shot the salon owner? Immediately, Heather pinpoints several suspects....but whodunit?

Chocolate Pomegranate Glaze Murder is the 18th novella-length story in the Donut Hole Mystery series. These stories are light, cozy mysteries. I enjoy a quick cozy fix between thrillers or other heavier reading (I'm reading two horror novels right now and sometimes I just need something that is NOT scary to give my brain a rest), and these fun, entertaining short mysteries are just perfect. There are usually quite a few typos in these little gems, but no major errors that ruin my enjoyment of the story. Heather is a strong, intelligent and determined main character. The side characters (her employees, bestie Amy, husband Ryan, her nemesis Geoff Lawless, etc) are all quirky and entertaining. These stories are simple, yet entertaining. Perfect for mystery lovers that just want something quick to read that is just a refreshing, simple story. I like the doughnut shop theme, despite the fact it always makes me crave a doughnut. Once every two weeks I let myself splurge and get a lemon-filled (my favorite) at Granny's Bakery up the street from my house. I will blame Susan Gillard for that. :)

There are 60 books in the Donut Hole Mystery series, with 22 more books in the spin-off Oceanside series. Don't let the number of books intimidate you. It isn't necessary to start at the beginning of the series. A reader could jump in anywhere and be able to follow the plots pretty easily. But to get all the character background, start at book 1. The stories are short, quick reads, so an avid reader could work their way through the series without it taking too long.

On to the next book! :) ( )