There’s something comforting to me about Krista Davis’ Domestic Diva mysteries. I don’t know if it’s the familiar cast of characters after fourteen books. It’s always a treat to catch up with Sophie Winston, her best friend, Nina, her ex-husband, Mars, and Bernie, the owner of the local restaurant. It’s even fun to discover what kind of trouble Sophie’s nemesis/friend, Natasha is in. Maybe I like these books because they’re set in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia. I have fond memories of several visits there. For whatever reason, I sail through these books. As I said, they’re comfort reads, including the latest one, The Diva Serves Forbidden Fruit. There’s always a little humor, a lot of food, and great friendships.
When Sophie picks up her friend, Nina, at the airport, she’s horrified to see her friend stagger out, barefoot, as if she was a victim, rather than on a three-week tour of Portugal. Nina has a story to tell about customs and almost missing her plane, a story she’ll tell for years. That’s not the last time Sophie will hear about the trip to Portugal, but she’ll be grateful she didn’t go on it.
The next day, Sophie checks on the vendors who are setting up tents for the Old Town Do-It-Yourself Festival since Sophie took it on as a project. When she gets to Lark Bickford’s house, Lark’s daughter, Paisley, asks her to go in, needing cords for her tent. Sophie finds an empty house, but Paisley’s young son find’s Lark’s body in the backyard. It’s obvious to Sophie and to Wolf Fleishman from the Violent Crimes Unit that Lark’s death was set up to appear to be an accident.
When the men in Lark’s family want to start selling her possessions, Sophie thinks it’s horrible. But, she has more to worry about when Nina sets off a personal siren one morning, and comes running. Someone tried to break into her house and her foster dog raised a warning. Why would someone kill Lark and try to break into Nina’s house? Sophie and her friends can only think that Portugal trip is the connection. When a third member of their tour group is killed, they’re convinced something happened on the trip, and Nina temporarily moves into Sophie’s house for protection.
There are so many reasons to like The Diva Serves Forbidden Fruit. I read for character, and I appreciate the friendships and relationships in this book. There are fascinating mysteries circling around the victims and that trip to Portugal. I even read the tips from both divas in the books, although I’ll never be a do-it-yourself person. And, there’s one more reason. It’s an intriguing mystery with surprising, but logical, reasons for the deaths. It’s another comforting mystery from Krista Davis.
Krista Davis’ website is http://www.kristadavis.com
The Diva Serves Forbidden Fruit by Krista Davis. Kensington, 2021. ISBN 9781496732736 (hardcover), 325p.
FTC Full Disclosure – Library book.
