The Diva Runs Out of Thyme

The Stupendous Stuffing Shakedown kicked off at a local hotel in Washington, D.C., during the summer and featured 200 contestants. Sophie Winston was now one of the three amateur cooks competing for the win. The stakes were raised when three local celebrities were invited by the sponsors, intensifying Sophie's desire to win—especially since the finals included Natasha Smith, a reminder of their high school rivalry. Although the two women were no longer in direct competition, it was frustrating for Sophie to know that her ex-husband, Mars, was living with Natasha.

This cozy mystery is a delightful indulgence on multiple levels! It features intriguing character relationships, engaging crime elements, a featured event, holiday chaos, and, show more of course, the food. Oh my goodness, the food! Thankfully, I'm a nighttime reader who doesn't snack late, because the pages are filled with vivid, mouthwatering culinary descriptions that make you crave these dishes even when you're not hungry. I couldn't help but wish that Sophie, who conveniently keeps cookie dough in her freezer for unexpected guests, could be a real person. It's hard to resist the idea of warm, freshly baked homemade chocolate chip cookies. Who would ever call ahead?

One aspect that enhanced the cozy vibe for me was the Q&As at the beginning of each chapter. These came from either Natasha's or Sophie's perspective and covered topics like DIY décor, entertaining, hostess tips, and cooking solutions.

Recipes and Cooking Tips for First Murder Bourbon Pecan Pie, Brining Basics, Crusty Country Bread, Bacon, and Herb Stuffing, Chesapeake Cornbread Stuffing, and Cranberry Mushroom Wild Rice Stuffing are available at the end of the cozy mystery.

I'm excited to read more of the series! show less

I have decided to re-read this series as I have enjoyed it so much. I especially like this first book as it introduces the characters (and animals) so well. I had forgotten how Sophie acquired Mochie and who named the cat. I laughed when Sophie stretched a soup to feed 6 to 12 or was it 14 (?) for Thanksgiving Dinner. Then to have her ex-husband poisoned at said dinner! That and 2 murders make this a great read and will have you guessing who the killer is until the very end.

Sophie Winston may have lost her husband to domestic diva (and former high school rival) Natasha Smith, but she kept Max’s family home, and a decent relationship with her former mother-in-law. Now she has a chance to expand her role at the paper writing a domestic help column that rivals Natasha’s, but keeps things simple. If she can win the Stupendous Stuffing Shakedown she’ll get some great positive publicity and show her ex-husband, her rival, and her parents that she can make it on her own. But when she finds a body while grocery shopping, she’s suddenly embroiled in a murder investigation.

I love cozy mysteries – they are my reading comfort food. This has a pretty good premise, and I liked the rivalry between Sophie and show more Natasha, and between Sophie and her sister Hannah. Davis starts each chapter with domestic advice from either Natasha or Sophie; there are some great ideas for decorating or rescuing a cooking mistake here. Setting the story at Thanksgiving gave the divas plenty of fodder for advice (good or bad).

The story was filled with more suspects than you could shake a turkey leg at, and plenty of plot twists to keep the reader guessing. There’s also a nice little sub-plot of a senior romance that was entertaining. However, the central murder mystery plot was pretty thin, and the big reveal stretched credulity a little too far. Still, it’s a satisfying, fast read, and I’ll continue the series.

Oh … and even though it’s months until November, I’m ready to try that Bourbon Pecan Pie recipe now! show less

There are two domestic divas in this book, one is a pain in the tookus and the other is Sophie. She is way better at organization and having things on hand than I, or anyone I know, is..are....I marvelled at how Sophie had everything to hand to entertain at a moment's notice or many drop-in guests for dinner. She had room in her house for stay-over guests and had time to go with her friend to go on wacky investigating into the murders that have occurred.
I love Nina, Sophie's ready-for-anything-so-long-as-she-can-escape-her-mother-in-law's-visit buddy.
The murder solving was well-done, though there were an awful lot of characters for me to get introduced to and remember. I know who I don't like and look forward to learning more about in show more the next books in the series to like them even less or dislike them more....
Five way more organized than me beans..... show less

This was a fun and fast read for a first in the series book. Sophie Winston is a caterer and food lover who is in a life-long competition with a former schoolmate who is the "Diva", Natasha. Natasha has her own local TV show and is glamorous to boot.

Sophie's troubles begin when she goes shopping for Thanksgiving and for her appearance on a televised turkey stuffing contest. She is approached by a stranger trying to give her a cat. Sophie brushes him off but while shopping decides that she doesn't want the cat hurt so goes looking for the man and his cat, only to find him dead in a dumpster behind the store, the cat abandoned.

Both Sophie and Natasha are entered in the stuffing contest. When the TV mogel who dreamed up the contest is show more killed before the cooks even start cooking Sophie is again talking to the police about why she was in the vicinity of a murder.

Everything is complicated by visiting family, and ex-husband who has Natasha as his new love and friends and neighbors who all seem to expect Sophie to solve the murders as well as cook for all of them at the drop of a hat!

There were a couple of "TSTL" moments by Sophie but for the most part she worked with the police trying to clear her name and to help find the murderer, or is it murderers?

I'll be reading the next in this series, it was a lot of fun. show less

The Diva Runs out of Thyme by Krista Davis is a 2008 Berkley publication.

I have been wanting to try out Krista Davis’s cozy mysteries for a long time. When I went searching for Thanksgiving themed novels again this year, this book was one of the first to pop up in the results. So, the time felt right to finally get started on this series.

Sophie and Natasha have been rivals since their school days and the competitions have suddenly heated up again. It doesn’t help matters that Natasha has set up housekeeping with Sophie’s ex-husband- making it more imperative that Sophie gets the upper hand in the Stupendous Stuffing Shakedown competition this Thanksgiving. But it looks like murder is on the menu and both Sophie and Natasha are show more at the top of the suspect list…

As a ‘first’ in a series this one is excellent! I liked the seamless way the characters were introduced, and it was easy to get into the story while getting to know everyone. The story is easy to follow and a fun guessing game.

Although this first installment is a little over a decade and half old the only real staleness was some of the mother/daughter dynamics, and at least one insecure male behaving badly- which were a bit old fashioned- but otherwise, the story aged well. It’s well written with balanced pacing, and well-drawn characters. I have so many series I follow- many of them long-running- but I have no problem adding one more to the pile. When it comes to mystery solving book friends the more the merrier!

4+ stars show less

This is my first Krista Davis book and it was great! From the starting sentence, I was interested. Davis uses wonderful imagery and her sensory descriptives were more than adequate to give the reader "the feel" of being there. I loved all the food suggestions/recipes. The family and neighborhood friends were thoroughly enjoyable. The mystery itself kept me guessing (I never would have guessed who "did it").

I look forward to reading more of this series and getting to know the characters.