A new publisher, a new series, and a new hardcover format for her beloved Domestic Diva mysteries!

Davis, Krista. The Diva Cooks Up a Storm (Domestic Diva) Kensington: Kensington Publishing Corp. May 2018 Hardcover / Fiction/Mystery (Cozy?) $26.00 ($28.95 CAN) ISBN: 978-1496714688

As a New York Times bestselling author of over a dozen cozy mysteries praised for their relatable heroines, charming settings, recipes and decorating tips, and puzzling whodunits, Davis has built a solid following among readers. But now, with the launch of a new series as well as a shift to hardcover for her popular Domestic Diva Mysteries, it’s time for libraries to take note! Having just released Color Me Murder, the first book in her new trade paperback Pen & Ink Mystery series, Davis returns this month to her Domestic Diva series for its 11th installment, The Diva Cooks Up a Storm, which also happens to be the series’ hardcover debut. The Domestic Diva series revolves around Sophie Winston, a young Martha Stewart who lives in a beautiful historic home in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia. Readers connect with Sophie because she feels like a real, relatable person. While her work as an event planner is glamorous and fun, Sophie knows how to keep things simple. In The Diva Cooks Up a Storm, Sophie is on trend again as she brings the pop-up dining craze to Old Town. But when a dead body appears, the plot thickens. Sophie’s diverse cast of friends enjoy gathering in her kitchen to discuss the latest developments as she whips up delicious meals for them to share—and readers feel they also have a place listening in at her cheerful and elegantly set table.

Davis, Krista. Color Me Murder (Pen & Ink) Kensington: Kensington Publishing Corp. Feb 2018 Trade Paperback / Fiction/Mystery (Cozy?) $12.95 ($13.95 CAN) ISBN:978-1496716408

Readers savor the intriguing, page-turning mysteries as Sophie turns up clues, and along the way they also pick up tips on entertaining, etiquette, and decorating as well as recipes they can create in their own kitchens (look for Funeral Potatoes and Coca-Cola Cake in The Diva Cooks Up a Storm, for example). “Everyone has a little bit of domestic diva in them,” Davis says. “Few people want to spend all day cooking, but they look to Sophie for ideas about how to serve good food in an inviting setting where friends and family can gather to create memories together.” The mystery is definitely Davis’ genre. “I tried writing a romance once, but someone was killed in the first chapter,” she laughs. While she enjoys assembling clues to solve a crime, Davis is also fascinated by people and why they do the things they do. She finds inspiration everywhere, she says, and she’s constantly people watching and researching fascinating facts on everything from poisons to rare books, recipes, and the origin of terms like “funeral home.” Davis credits her early love of reading—including, of course, every Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, and Agatha Christie mystery—to her parents bringing her regularly to the library. “The local library was a big part of my life growing up,” she says, and she’s delighted that the move to hardcover means her books will be on library shelves and accessible to more readers. She’s sent thousands of Domestic Diva bookmarks to libraries already and is happy to provide these for any library that would like them. A trade paperback edition of this year’s hardcover Domestic Diva Mystery will be released in March 2019, two months before the 12th installment, The Diva Sweetens the Pie, comes out in hardcover. While each book in the series stands alone, readers enjoy following the characters through their lives, and Davis says libraries may get requests for earlier books in the series. The dynamics of the characters’ interpersonal relationships lend themselves well to book club discussions, and Davis provides questions on her website. Her holiday books are also popular among readers for gatherings with a theme. In Davis’ new Pen & Ink Mystery series, the delightful and perceptive artist Florrie Fox, “the kind of girl who loves curling up with her cat and a good mystery,” is an amateur sleuth surrounded by a colorful band of characters at the Color Me Read bookstore. The first book in the series, Color Me Murder, has just been released in trade paperback, and the second book, The Coloring Crook, will follow in November. Davis offers Library Journal readers a tantalizing hint about The Diva Sweetens the Pie, which Kensington will release in 2019. “A top TV star in the food business will meet her demise at a pie festival,” she says. It sounds like a recipe for another great read.

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