Author: Krista Davis
Genre: Mystery
Hardcover; Digital Book
ISBN #: 9781496743428
Kensington Cozies
320 Pages
$27.00; $12.99 Amazon
May 21, 2024
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In Old Town Alexandria's unlikeliest match, Natasha Smith's free-spirited mother, Wanda, is engaged to notoriously pompous antiques dealer, Orson Chatsworth -- leaving Natasha to plan the entire wedding, beginning with an elaborate engagement party. For the extravagant affair, Natasha splurges on trendy food boards created by rising social media start, Stella St. James. The sumptuous boards go way beyond basic cheese and crackers, as Stella dazzles guests with picture-worthy butter boards, dessert boards, and even doughnut boards. Just as Natasha planned, the food is to die for -- and someone actually does.
When the groom collapses, it seems as if a heart attack is to blame. Then guests discover Orson was poisoned, and suddenly Stella's bespoke boards look a lot less appealing. But with an event this big, the spread of suspects is sure to be impressive. Could Orson's killer be a jilted ex-lover? A money hungry relative? A bitter former business partner? When even Sophie is not above suspicion, she knows it's time to get on board and scrape together an investigation of her own...before murder becomes the town's next trend.
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Sophie Winston is an event planner that lives in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia, with her dog and cat. While walking her dog one morning she spots a car on fire and calls it in. She has no idea who did it, or why. It seems odd, but life goes on...while visiting with her best friend Nina, her frenemy Natasha Smith, who has been in competition with Sophie most of her life, arrives in a dither. It seems her mother Wanda is getting married -- to Orson Chatsworth, who doesn't seem like Wanda's type, but Sophie offers to help Natasha with the engagement party. Part of that is hiring Orson's daughter Stella to make charcuterie boards, which are becoming a trend and Stella's new business.
While all seems to be going well at the party, Orson suddenly drops to the floor and at first appears to be having a heart attack. But Sophie thinks that he was murdered, even though her police detective friend Wolf doesn't. Another surprise comes when Orson's will is read and he leaves Sophie his antique business and all it entails, including the bank account. In his strange video will he tells her that 'you will know what to do.'
But Sophie has no idea what to do. At least not at first. And with half the town thinking there was something going on with her and Orson (why else would he leave her the business instead of to his daughter?) or Sophie being a gold digger, there's problems with trying to find out who killed Orson. When the police finally do reveal that it was murder, Sophie's problems just got bigger. Now she not only has to find the murderer, but she has to discover why he had the secret room in his store and what he wanted her to do with the information. With the help of Nina, her ex-husband Mars and friend Bernie, she's about to learn what Orson wanted to tell her, and hope she'll be able to prevent another murder...
This is the 17th book in the series, and I have read most of them. In my opinion, each one gets better than the last. In this one, Sophie is up to her ears in intrigue, secrets, and lies. All her suspects are keeping them, and it's up to her to ferret them out. But with everyone suspecting her of swaying Orson in her favor, she needs the help of her friends to get to the bottom of it.
But when Sophie learns what Orson really wanted her to do, she's stunned. It's something no one could have suspected, and when she discreetly shares some of the information, others don't think it's possible. After discovering an item that gives her the link she needs, Sophie can begin to put everything together. And watching her do so is like watching a clock being assembled. The parts are there, and it is up to the clockmaker to put them into the proper order and make sure that it works. This Sophie does beautifully.
The ending has another surprise in store, and when it is all woven together, Sophie manages to show us once again why she is our favorite Domestic Diva. This book is so entertaining that I read it in one sitting (whew!) because I wanted to find out how it all came about and I don't like to peek! There are also some delicious recipes at the back that I intend to make (and you should, too!). I eagerly await the next in the series. Highly recommended.
I was given a copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley but this in no way influenced my review.
More on Krista Davis's Books: https://www.fantasticfiction.com/d/krista-davis/
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