Another Review at MyShelf.Com

The Diva Haunts the House
A Domestic Diva Mystery, No 5
Krista Davis

Berkley Prime Crime
September 2011/ ISBN 978-0-425-24378-7
Mystery / Cozyy
Amazon

Reviewed by Laura Hinds

Sophie Winston is a domestic diva and event planner. A divorcee, she lives with her Ocicat, Mochie, and loveable dog, Daisy. It is Halloween week and Sophie is helping to run the community haunted house. Some people in town believe stories that the place is haunted and is being visited by a local legendary vampire named Viktor Luca.

When a nasty man named Patrick is murdered while at Sophie’s rival, Natasha’s, Halloween Party, there are rumors that he was killed by a vampire. Sophie doesn’t believe in vampires, but she did see someone dressed as one running away from the murder scene. Does the killer think Sophie can identify him or her? Will she be the next victim? What about her niece, Jen, and Jen’s friends, who are involved with working to set up and give tours of the haunted house-could they be in danger too?

Davis does a wonderful job of getting her readers so involved with her characters lives that they don’t want to stop reading. I know I was itching to find out whom the killer could be. Even though there were ample clues, this murder mystery could have taken any one of several paths and have a satisfactory conclusion.

The story is well plotted, the dialogue realistic, and I just love the fun names she gives to her characters. For example, Sophie’s rival is Natasha, who is living with Sophie’s ex-husband, Mars. Natasha’s teen-age cousin, Vegas, lives there too. Sophie’s boyfriend is named Wolf, and other characters include a Dash, the ubiquitous teen girl named Heather, and a police officer named Wong, who says she got her name by marrying the “wrong guy.”

Fans of this series will love this book, and as a fall release, it is perfectly timed for a Halloween read. While adult cozy mystery lovers will enjoy this book immensely, with so many teens in the story you can’t go wrong sharing this book with a teen reader, boy or girl. I rate this book at four and a half pumpkins. Enjoy!

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

Reviewed 2011
© 2011 MyShelf.com