This book releases a week from today!
April 30, 2019
The Diva Sweetens the Pie (A Domestic Diva Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
12th in Series
Setting – Virginia
Kensington (April 30, 2019)
Hardcover: 336 pages
ISBN-10: 1496714717
ISBN-13: 978-1496714718
Kindle ASIN: B07G6PNC2L
In New York Times bestselling author Krista Davis’s new Domestic Diva mystery, Old Town’s annual Pie Festival crumbles into chaos after a celebrity judge is murdered, leaving it up to entertaining maven and sometime-sleuth Sophie Winston to dole out justice . . .
Nothing heats up Old Town quite like the annual Pie Festival, and this year is no exception, especially since Sophie’s professional rival, Natasha Smith, is barred from participating. Sophie, meanwhile, has been asked to oversee the pie eating contest. But the drama really rolls out when celebrity judge, Patsy Lee Presley, host of television’s most popular cooking show, bites the crust during the competition, and Sophie’s friends are suspected of the crime.
As the folks of Old Town dish, the tough truth about Patsy’s meteoric rise to domestic stardom begins to leak. It turns out that Patsy’s sweet exterior hid a secret sour side, which alienated many of her closest allies, including a jilted ex-husband, a bitter ex-mentor, and a jaded ex-best friend. With the festival falling apart, and her friends in danger of being boxed up for murder, Sophie must cobble together the clues and stop a flakey fiend from serving up any more deadly desserts.
Includes delicious recipes and entertaining tips!
Dollycas’s Thoughts
What a sweet mystery!!
Hometown foodie celebrity Patsy Lee Presley has come back to Old Town to be a judge for the annual Pie Festival. A festival diva Natasha Smith has been banned from participating in and that Sophie has been a key assistant to the organizer. As the pies are about to be judged Patsy tumbles right into a pie and dies. The police secure the scene quickly and many of Sophie’s friends are pieces of interest in the investigation’s pie. Patsy’s ex-husband also makes the list. As Sophie starts to sift through the clues she learns that Patsy isn’t the sweetheart she thought and that most of the people suspected of her death have the big three ingredients – Motive – Means – Opportunity. Sophie just needs to break through their crusts and find which one has baked their last pie.
Sophie is also approached by a 12-year-old girl asking for help for her mom. Her mother had been convicted of a murder that according to her daughter she didn’t commit. Nellie Stokes has been in prison for 5 years, 3 months and 4 days. Daughter Aly marks each day on the calendar to keep track. Sophie looked at a picture of the woman and decided she had to help.
What I really love about this series is the friendships. The way the people of Old Town come together to help and support each other but also to have a lot of fun. There seems to always be something happening, sadly some of the times a murder breaks up the fun. When that happens Sophie is usually drawn right in the middle of the case. This time a subsequent event makes things personal for Sophie even drawing attention to her in an unexpected way. Thankfully, her stellar friends, Nina Reid Norwood, Bernie Frei, and her ex-husband, Mars Winston always have her back.
All the series regulars have continued to evolve realistically. Natasha is still the prickly and sometimes clueless diva and Sophie is usually the voice of calm and reason. Mars now divorced from Natasha is around even more and still a great friend for Sophie. Boyfriend Alex is nervous about Sophie’s involvement in all the murder queries but tries to understand her need to be involved. We do meet Patsy Lee Presley who had she lived could have really given Natasha a run for her money. Patsy had the life of Natasha dreams.
I really enjoy the way Ms. Davis twists things up. Characters new and old are all involved. Clues are deliberately sprinkled throughout and red herring are mixed right in. Stirred within the mysteries to solve, the daily life of Old Town residents soldiers on. All blended together with a dollop of humor and a dash of romance. Krista Davis is an excellent storyteller. So well-written and well-plotted. I was kept guessing right up to the end.
I highly recommend this whole series! It is best to read them in order but there is plenty of background in this story so don’t hesitate to jump in with this book.
Bonus – Scrumptious recipes and baking and entertaining tips!
Krista Davis is the New York Times bestselling author of the Domestic Diva Mysteries
Author Links:
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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of this book. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
The Domestic Diva series is one of my very favorites, and I can’t wait to read The Diva Sweetens the Pie!
I really enjoy this series!
Thank you for your review on “The Diva Sweetens the Pie” by Krista Davis. Always enjoy Krista’s book and can’t wait to read this one which is on my TBR list. For one who enjoys making and eating pie, I LOVE the cover!
2clowns at arkansas dot net
Thank you for another great review Lori!
Love this series! Wish our library carried more in large print!