Tragic Toppings — Jessica Beck

Welcome Back to Donut Hearts -- where the coffee is hot, the donuts are fresh, and the toppings are criminally good...

Donut shop owner Suzanne Hart sees customers come and go all day long. But when one of them up-and-disappears, the police start asking questions. It seems Suzanne is the last person to have seen Emily Hargraves, who runs the local newsstand. Suzanne has nothing to report about their encounter. But when Emily doesn't turn up, no news is bad news...

Suzanne has to admit that Emily's last request was a little odd -- a blueberry donut made to order, with chocolate icing, sprinkles, stars, and a chewy sour gummy worm coiled on top. Odder still: Suzanne's ex-husband Max also appears to be missing. But what really takes the cake? The corpse Suzanne finds hanging from a tree in the park. Who knew donut-making could turn out to be such dangerous business...