"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 ...
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"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"--
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Very good. Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used books may not include companion materials, and may have some shelf wear or limited writing. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!
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Seller's Description:
Very good. Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used books may not include companion materials, and may have some shelf wear or limited writing. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Very good. Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used books may not include companion materials, and may have some shelf wear or limited writing. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Very good. Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used books may not include companion materials, and may have some shelf wear or limited writing. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!
The Diva Serves Forbidden Fruit by Krista Davis is the 14th 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.
Lori
Jun 5, 2021
An Entertaining Read
Dollycas's Thoughts
Sophie Winston has organized a DIY Home Decorating Street Fair and it looks to be a rousing success until a dead body is found in one of the backyards. Lark Bickford had just returned from a trip to Portugal. Sophie's best friend Nina was on the same trip so she knew the trip did not go totally smoothly but could it have led to Lark's murder? The victim did leave a clue to the killer's identity but Sophie just can't figure it out. When another woman from the trip is killed Sophie knows she has to step up her investigation or Nina could be next.
This series is so much fun. I love the way the characters have grown over the course of this series. In this story, Natasha is still dealing with the aftermath of her divorce from Mars but she does have some family around for support. Sophie is really on firm footing and happy with her life which is a good thing because Nina really needs her best friend right now. I love the way Mars and Bernie jump on board to help too. SophieÃ?Æ'Ã?'Ã?â? 'Ã?Æ'ââ?¬Å¡Ã?â??Ã?¢Ã?Æ'Ã?'Ã?â??Ã?¢Ã?Æ'Ã?¢Ã?¢ââ?¬Å¡Ã?¬Ã?â?¦Ã?¡Ã?Æ'ââ?¬Å¡Ã?â??Ã?¬Ã?Æ'Ã?'Ã?â??Ã?¢Ã?Æ'Ã?¢Ã?¢ââ?¬Å¡Ã?¬Ã?â?¦Ã?¾Ã?Æ'ââ?¬Å¡Ã?â??Ã?¢s home again becomes the gathering spot to compare notes while noshing on whatever food she has whipped together. Sophie's dog Daisy again steals my heart as does Mochie, her cat.
We are introduced to a new family, Paisley and Frank Eames, and their 6, yes 6! rambunctious boys. Paisley has some beautiful painted furniture for sale and was hoping her husband and her mother Lark would help with her tent and the boys but her mother's death throws a real monkey wrench into her plans. Officer Wong and Detective Wolf Fleishman are on the case along with the new medical examiner Dr. Peter Chryssos who was also on the Portugal trip. These characters really came to life over the span of the story both for the good and for the bad. All the characters are very realistic. A certain little boy really tugged on my heartstrings while one of his brothers was just a little devil.
The mystery was complicated with a variety of subplots weaving in and out of the main plot. Several suspects came to light with different motives. I had several theories of my own and by the end, I learned I was partially right in one aspect and totally wrong in every other. I loved the twists that started to unfold from almost the beginning of the book. The author is a real expert in dropping clues while misdirecting her readers at the same time.
Krista Davis is an excellent storyteller. She has kept this series fresh and by the time I flipped the last page I was already excited for book 15. These characters are like old friends that I can't wait to meet up with again. There is always a top-notch mystery that I can escape right into. I love the question/answers at the beginning of each chapter. Sophie's answers are more my style but Natasha's answers always crack me up.
The Diva Serves Forbidden Fruit is an entertaining whodunit that can be read all on its own but I strongly suggest the series be read in order to really get to know Sophie, Natasha, and all their friends.