The Diva Serves Forbidden Fruit by Krista Davis

  The Diva Serves Forbidden Fruit

 Book Summary

She's a young Martha Stewart...in Old Town Virginia!

New York Times bestselling author Krista Davis delights with the 14th in her enormously popular and completely charming Domestic Diva Mystery series, as entertaining maven Sophie Winston must cut to the core of another murder investigation when members of an international tour group begin dropping like flies all over Old Town, Virginia...

With Old Town's DIY Home Decorating Festival in full swing, Sophie's swamped, juggling a bumper crop of artisans, antique dealers, and decorators for the busy street fair. Still, when her best friend Nina suddenly needs a ride from the airport, Sophie is happy to help...until she sees Nina disembarking in a state of disarray. It's obvious the trip to Portugal soured somewhere along the way. But after one of Nina's traveling companions turns up murdered the following day, Sophie knows something is truly rotten...

Though the crime scene is staged to look like an accident, Sophie isn't fooled and peels off to conduct her own investigation. Her only clue is a strange image the victim scratched into the soil before dying. Could it point to a cryptic killer in Old Town? A bitter travel adversary? Or a cursed artifact smuggled back from the trip? As the mystery grows, so does the body count, and if Sophie doesn't pluck the murderer soon, her best friend may be the next to fall.

 My Thoughts

The Diva Serves Forbidden Fruit by Krista Davis is the 14^th A Domestic Diva Mystery.  This cozy can be read as a standalone if you are new to this entertaining series.  Sophie Winston is organizing Old Town Alexandria’s DIY Home Decorating Festival.  When Paisley needs Sophie to locate her mother for help with her rowdy brood of boys, she is happy to help.  Unfortunately, Lark is found dead in her back garden and is not from natural causes.  Lark left them a cryptic clue to help.  When another woman is found dead in a similar manner, Sophie wonders if something happened on their recent trip to Portugal.  Sophie must gather the clues and sift through them so she can identify the guilty party. 

 I thought The Diva Serves Forbidden Fruit was well-written with developed characters.  Sophie Winston is a friendly and relatable character.   I like how various characters are still friendly despite previous relationships and residents of the community are there for each other in times of need.  I love the setting of this book.  The author provided beautiful descriptions of Old Town with its beautiful old homes.  The DIY Home Decorating Festival was fun.  There were some great items being sold along with some interesting demonstrations (I want a festival like that in my town).  I especially loved the word images of Paisley’s hand painted furniture.  The whodunit was a delight.  I enjoy a good mystery that is thought out and complex.  I had a good time solving this mystery.  It was fun following Sophie as she asked questions and collected clues.  I appreciated that Officer Wong and Detective Wolf are friendly.  Detective Wolf does not discount Sophie   There was a lot going on in The Diva Serves Forbidden Fruit. Besides the whodunit and the festival, Sophie has houseguests, Paisley’s rowdy children (I do not know how she does it) plus her irritating husband (she needs to get a divorce), Natasha carrying on about her house, and the dashing new medical examiner Dr. Chryssos who takes an interest in Sophie.  There are mouthwatering food descriptions (made me hungry).  There are recipes at the end of the book.  I enjoyed reading The Diva Serves Forbidden Fruit and did not want it to end.  Cozy mysteries like this one are rare.  The Diva Serves Forbidden Fruit is a diverting tale with cute canines, a fun festival, tasty treats, a clever clue, boisterous boys, a dashing doctor, and an astute amateur sleuth.  

The Diva Serves Forbidden Fruit can be purchased from Amazon*.  You can find the other A Domestic Diva Mysteries here.  Krista Davis also writes A Paws & Claws Mystery series.  It is a delightful series set in Wagtail. She also writes A Pen & Ink Mystery series which is fabulous.  Each paperback and hardcover has a colorable cover.  Thank you for joining me today.  Tomorrow I am featuring The Seeds of Change by Lauraine Snelling.  It is the first book in Leah's Garden series.  I hope that you have heavenly day.  Take care, be kind, and Happy Reading

Kris

The Avid Reader 

*This post contains affiliate links.  As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

The Diva Cooks Up a Storm:

Greetings!  Krista Davis is the author of A Pen & Ink Mystery series, A Paws & Claws Mystery series (I just love visiting Wagtail), and A Domestic Diva Mystery series.  The Diva Runs Out of Thyme is the first book in A Domestic Diva Mystery series.  Readers can follow Ms. Davis on Facebook where you can find out the latest releases and enter her contests.

The Diva Cooks Up a Storm by Krista Davis is the eleventh installment in A Domestic Diva Mystery series.  Sophie Winston enjoyed dining at an underground restaurant with her friends the night before.  She is out walking Daisy when Hollis Haberman staggers from his house and collapses in the street.  He is struggling to breeze.  The police check on his new wife, Kelsey and she is coughing.  Later that day, Wolf Fleischman, Criminal Investigator for Alexandria Police Department, informs her that Hollis did not make it.  Kelsey is at the top of the suspect list and asks for Sophie to help clear her name.  Since approaching storms have called off her beach vacation, Sophie does have time on her hands.  Sophie needs to figure out who disliked Hollis Haberman enough to do him in.  Then a second person connected to Hollis ends up dead.  Can Sophie zero in on the killer before he strikes again?

The Diva Cooks Up a Storm is well-written and has a steady pace.  Sophie is an engaging main character and there are equally delightful secondary characters.  If you are new to the series, you would have a hard time starting with The Diva Cooks Up a Storm.  The author introduces a number of people in the beginning and it can be confusing to keep track of them along with their relationships.  The author crafted a multi-layered mystery with twists that will surprise many readers.  I enjoyed solving this challenging mystery.  The underground or pop-up restaurant concept is unique, and I have not encountered it in a book previously.  There are many charming cozy moments in the story that include cooking, a library book sale, neighbors helping each other, an impromptu food gathering in the neighborhood, close friends, romance, and cute animals.  Recipes are included at the end of the book.  At the beginning of each chapter are advice letters with answers provided by Sophie and Natasha.  While Natasha’s advice made me chuckle at times, I would not follow her counsel (Sophie is more reliable).  The Diva Cooks Up a Storm is an appealing story that will delight cozy mystery readers. I am giving The Diva Cooks Up a Storm 4.5 out of 5 stars. 

Thank you for visiting!  Tomorrow I will be featuring As the Christmas Cookie Crumbles by Leslie Budewitz.  It is the fifth A Food Lover's Village Mystery.  May you have a brilliant day.  Take care of yourself and Happy Reading!

Kris
The Avid Reader