The Diva Digs Up the Dirt (A Domestic Diva Mystery) Mass Market Paperback – June 5, 2012

I love this series for its humor! I laughed out loud at the lengths everyone had to go through to keepNatasha busy! So funny. Great ending too.

The Diva books are not easy to put down, Krista Davis has a way of ending her chapters with just a morsel that has you saying, "well, just a little bit more" and soon you are up way past your bedtime finding out what Sophie and Natasha are up to.All Sophie Winston wanted was a nice backyard vacation, no work for two weeks. A peaceful and quiet time with her gardening and pets, she works hard, that should not be too much to ask for. All that changed when Mona charges into her backyard and demands that she find her missing daughter.Nope not going to happen, even though Sophie has helped in investigations in the past, she is not a detective. If only life were that simple.While trying to do a good deed and plant a rosebush in her boyfriend Wolf's backyard, Sophie unearths the purse of Wolf's missing wife. All along, she has known that Anne just disappeared one day, but the realization that without a body, Wolf is still married has hit her hard. What is she to do? She knows that there is no way that the man she loves could be responsible for this act but there are too many unanswered questions.Add in Natasha's fame addiction, a home improvement show trying to add a garage to Sophie's back yard, the curious goings on with Roscoe, his new wife, his ex-wife, his housekeeper, his son and the son's fiancée. I know that sounds a bit complicated, but Krista Davis has no problem keeping everyone straight for the reader.The longed for vacation is but a dream.Another reviewer has called this a transitional book and I could not agree more. We, the readers, are not sure what direction Sophie will take. She loves her family, her town, she loves her friends and her pets, but it is now a time for Sophie to open new doors.I love this series; the characters are developing without any shocking changes, well except for one in this book. Who knew that Detective Kenner could be human? The humor runs throughout the book, and just when you think you have it all figured out, there is a wham moment. The multiple storylines have you bouncing back and forth, without any drag or confliction and with returning characters, the reader has a chance to revisit old friends.Great series that is best enjoyed from the beginning, so grab the books, sit out on your patio and enjoy a taste of Old Town sleuthing.

The Diva Digs Up the Dirt (A Domestic Diva Mystery)  is the sixth installment in the domestic diva mystery series by Krista Davis. I picked the first one up on a whim (  The Diva Runs Out of Thyme (A Domestic Diva Mystery) ) and have enjoyed them enough to read them all.This series features Sophie Winston, an event planner living in Old Town in Alexandria, Virginia. Things have been very hectic for her lately and she has scheduled a two-week staycation with nothing to do but relax and enjoy herself. Imagine her surprise when she finds out that her nemesis, Natasha, has arranged for a television show to provide a makeover of her backyard. With backhoes running and concrete pouring there is little relaxation, especially with Natasha in the middle of it bossing everyone around. Sophie decides that replacing a dead rose bush in her boyfriend's backyard will give her an excuse to leave all the commotion only backfires when she digs up his missing wife's purse. With that discovery, the mystery begins and the story is off and running (another mystery is intertwined as well).I was a bit concerned about this book since I thought the previous installment was fairly average. It didn't measure up to what I had come to expect from this writer. With "The Diva Digs up the Dirt", she is back on track and I found this to be a delightful light read. Each chapter begins with someone writing into Sophie or Natasha for domestic tips and some of these are the best part of the book. There was one particular exchange (I don't want to spoil it for you by saying more) that really had me chuckling. This series falls squarely in the cozy mystery genre and would be best read in order as the characters play as big a role as the mystery and they are more fully appreciated with the backstories. My only real complaint with the book --- and has been one of my previous gripes so I shouldn't be surprised - is the pacing. The story builds slowly in the beginning and goes marching a long at a comfortable pace and then right in the last 20 pages or so it just picks up speed and rushes to the finish line. I would personally prefer the ending be drawn out a bit more, but that is just me. Regardless, I enjoy the books enough that I have pre-ordered the next in the series,  The Diva Frosts a Cupcake (A DOMESTIC DIVA MYSTERY) .

Poor Sophie. She is suppose to have 2 weeks vacation. Without her knowing it, her nemesis Natasha arranges for Sophie to get a garage from a reality TV show. It isn't totally benevolent on Natasha's part as she wants to take part in the show. Meanwhile, Sophie (to get away from Natasha and the TV crew) decides to replace a rose bush in her boyfriend Wolf's garden. As she is digging around the old bush to remove it, she uncovers a purse. After opening it, she discovers that it belongs to Wolf's missing wife which puts the spotlight back on Wolf. Where is his wife? Did he kill her? Then besides this, people that she knows are falling ill or dying. Sophie can never leave anything alone and starts to investigate. As usual there are tips (this time on gardening) from Natasha and Sophie.

I enjoyed the pace of this particular volume of the Domestic Diva Mysteries. The mystery itself having to do with what really happened to Sophie's boyfriend, Wolf's wife. She went missing a number of years ago and suddenly evidence is found to implicate Wolf in her murder. While that is occurring there is a murder at the house of one of Sophie's clients as well as an attempt on the client's life. Are the two connected? What actually happened to Wolf's wife and why? And what will become of the relationship between Wolf and Sophie? You'll have to read this one and find out for yourself, personally I had a good time with this one!

Latest in the series and a great addition. Fast-paced adventure with recipes and gardening tips. Manages to be funny and suspenseful at the same time. I liked that the plot is complex and that i could not predict the ending. Even though some of the characters turn up in the previous books, there are always new things to discover about them. I can't wait to read the next book and see how the relationship of the characters develops.