The Diva Digs up the Dirt
Domestic Diva Mystery, No 6
Krista Davis

Berkley Prime Crime
June 2012 / 978-0-425-25134-8
Mystery / Cozy / Amateur Sleuth
Amazon

Reviewed by Laura Hinds

With a wink and a nod to the reality TV fad, author Krista Davis places protagonist Sophie Winston in a pickle. Sophie's domestic diva nemesis, Natasha (who is married to Sophie's ex-husband Mars Winston) has set Sophie up to be the unwilling winner of a free garage. A free garage, built by the team of the reality TV show "Tear It up with Troy."

Sophie is not at all pleased with the idea of having her lovely garden torn up at the mercy of the TV crew. Yet she realizes that a garage would make her life much easier, and she goes along with it, planning to be out of the way as much as possible. After all, this is Sophie's vacation time and she'd planned to unwind. Natasha has other ideas, and it looks like Sophie won't have her vacation and rest after all.

Circumstances conspire to make the garage building and TV film crew (and Natasha) the least of Sophie's problems. She decides to plant a new rose bush in her boyfriend Wolf's yard, but as she digs, she finds a buried pocketbook. The pocketbook contains identification belonging to Wolf's wife, who disappeared several years ago. Wolf, a homicide detective, is now the prime suspect in what may be a murder.

In another part of town, there is a wealthy family, the Greenes, whom Sophie has previously worked for in her capacity as an event planner. She's doing one event for them before her time off. Things don't go well, beginning with vast quantities of ripe manure delivered just before the outdoor event. With more possible affairs, murders, poisonings, and chaos than you can shake a stick at, Sophie becomes an unwilling investigator, a hat she has worn before. Just what is going on with the Greene family?

This is a fun series, and I enjoyed the hilarious goings on between Sophie and Natasha. Many of the characters in this book have oversized egos, yet Sophie remains level headed. The multilayered mysteries kept me guessing until the end. I especially loved the "Dear Sophie" and "Dear Natasha" letters from their fans found at the start of each chapter.

This whodunit will keep your eyes glued to the pages, and is worthy of a place on your summer reading list.

Reviews of other titles in this series

The Diva Runs Out of Thyme #1
The Diva Haunts the House #5
The Diva Digs up the Dirt #6
The Diva Frosts a Cupcake #7
The Diva Steals a Chocolate Kiss #9
The Diva Serves High Tea #10