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.

"The Diva Goes Overboard (A Domestic Diva Mystery #17)" by Krista Davis is a charcuterie themed cozy mystery. So much charcuterie and food board, honestly it got a bit much.

There was two mysteries kind of going on. They could be argued as one mystery but that was part of the mystery. Are they one or two separate things? For a moment I thought there might even be a Two Strangers on a Train thing. I wont say more about that as there could be spoilers then. In the end I was kinda right about some of the outcomes but more adjacent to it than spot on.

My main complaint, other than the excessive charcuterie, is the surprising number of people not at least charged with something in the end that should have been. Several of the people did things that couldn't be just waved away because someone dropped charges. They're federal offenses or at very least the local cops would have to file charges.

I usually read heart-pounding police procedurals, but it's nice to break that up with a fun, cozy mystery with good characters and a nice locale. The Diva Goes Overboard delivers just that. Sophie and Natasha are back for another entertaining installment in the Domestic Diva Mystery series.

The Diva Goes Overboard is a fun, cozy mystery with good, well-developed characters and a solid plot.

The book includes recipes and decorating tips. I would recommend this book and series.

#TheDivaGoesOverboard #NetGalley @KensingtonBooks

#TheDivaGoesOverboard #NetGalley is a great addition to this fantastic series.
Sophie and Natasha are back in this newest domestic diva mystery and it's guaranteed to make you laugh.
Natasha's mother, the free spirited Wanda, is getting married and she's over the moon in love.
Sophie is helping with the preparations, but when the soon to be groom suddenly collapses, Wanda is beside herself, and it seems everyone is a suspect.
When Sophie is invited to the reading of the will, things become heated and it's up to Sophie and her friends to solve the mystery.
This book is well done and I loved all the charcuterie board ideas.
I'm always so happy to catch up with some of my favorite characters and I'm happy to recommend this book to others.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for selecting me to read an advanced copy of the book.