I'm pleased to welcome Cyril Chevalier to Cozy Up With Kathy today. You can find Cyril on the pages of THE DIVA HOSTS A MURDERER by Krista Davis. This book is the nineteenth in the Domestic Diva Mystery series and was released last week.
Cyril Chevalier:
You might know Sophie Winston. She was kind enough to include me when she invited her family to stay with her over the Fourth of July. I’m honored to be thought of as a member of the family.
I went to high school with her dad, Paul, his sister Melly, and Sophie’s mom, Inga. We had a grand time growing up together! We went our separate ways in our college years. I became a professor of engineering, a job to which I was married. I took it very seriously and was always there for my students. I was all in when it came to special events on campus. I was the dependable go-to guy whenever anyone needed help.
But now that I’m retired, I’m really sorry that I didn’t think about a social life outside of my job. So many of my friends, like Paul and Inga, have each other now. Someone to share fun times with, to travel with, even just to sit on the porch and rock with on a warm summer evening.
I told Sophie that I feel like the song On Top Of Old Smoky was written about me because I courted too slow. Or, in my case, not at all. Now, I don’t want you thinking I never met the right woman. I did! But she married someone else.
I wonder sometimes if it’s wrong to tell an engaged woman that you’re in love with her. I backed away and watched as she married and went on with her life. But what if I hadn’t? What if I had told her the truth about how I felt? It would have been her choice then. Him or me? Maybe she would have chosen him, but at least I would have tried. I would have known that she didn’t feel the same way about me.
So, I went about my life for decades, seeking someone else. But she held my heart the whole time. It wasn’t easy watching her with her husband. But that was my lot. And it was all my fault because I never let her know how I felt.
Her husband passed away about a year or so ago. I was in a quandary because I knew she needed time to heal. Time to come to grips with the loss of her husband. I certainly didn’t want to make a move too fast. That would have been most distasteful! So, once again, I carried on, waiting, waiting, waiting for the right time to ask her out on a date.
But wouldn’t you just know that she went on a vacation to Las Vegas with a man who was new to town, and they came back married! Once again, I missed the timing. And now I’m back to watching her with another man.
I have a bad feeling that he’s a worm. But I can’t just walk up to her and say that! Can I?
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Review
The Nineteenth Domestic Diva Mystery
Sophie Winston is planning a big Fourth of July celebration and has opened her home to a variety of family and friends. Although she's happy to spend time with her parents and Aunt Melly, she not quite sure about Melly's new husband, Gus. In the days before the holiday Sophie has arranged plenty of tours for the group. For the most part everyone seems to be having a good time, but it all changes when the tour guide is found dead and Sophie's dad becomes the prime suspect. In addition to being a superlative hostess, Sophie will have to revisit her role as a cunning detective in order to keep her family safe and find a killer!
With the nineteenth Domestic Diva Mystery I find myself once again envying Sophie's casual style and ease of entertaining, effortlessly whipping up scrumptious dishes while putting everyone at ease. That being said, she can keep her houseload of guests! One of the things I enjoy most about the Domestic Diva Mystery series is how the author seamlessly weaves together great food, household tips and crime solving with ordinary daily life. All while having an active social life and working! In addition this book also provides a warning for women, especially older women.
I enjoyed the variety of characters in THE DIVA HOSTS A MURDERER. The majority have secrets, but just which secrets are dangerous? I really liked Dollie and hope we see more of her in future books. Natasha is her usual obnoxious self and I'm glad she was primarily just brief comic relief in this outing. I love how Sophie and her core crew work together and I really appreciated the two final surprises...ok, three final surprises.
This Independence Day fireworks are exploding all over Old Town Alexandria in THE DIVA HOSTS A MURDERER with volatile relationships, suspicious behavior, and murder!
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The Diva Hosts a Murderer (A Domestic Diva Mystery) by Krista Davis
About The Diva Hosts a Murderer
Cozy Mystery 19th in Series
Setting - Old Town, Alexandria, Virginia
Publisher: Kensington Cozies
Publication Date: May 26, 2026
Print Length: 336 pages
Old Town Virginia’s entertaining guru and occasional sleuth Sophie Winston – a young Martha Stewart in the making – juggles Fourth of July fireworks, a houseful of guests, and homicide in the latest Domestic Diva culinary mystery from New York Times bestselling author Krista Davis.
With a big crowd descending on her Northern Virginia home, it’s a good thing event planner Sophie Winston is an expert at entertaining. Whipping up patriotic pastries is as easy as pie for her, though meeting the man her widowed Aunt Melly just impulsively married in Las Vegas is a little more awkward. Especially when Melly’s longtime, now-heartbroken secret admirer is there too, which could lead to some fireworks.
But the house party really gets explosive when Sophie’s favorite tour guide falls victim to a killer—and evidence points to Sophie’s own father. Will DNA really incriminate her dad? And what’s the real story with her new uncle-by-marriage and the mysterious pal he’s brought along with him? Some of the secrets Sophie’s discovering are raising flags—and while the police department casts suspicion on her father, she has to declare her independence as a detective to find the real culprit, and serve justice along with her red, white, and blue cupcakes . . .
Includes delicious recipes, fabulous decorating tips, and easy entertaining hacks!
About Krista Davis
New York Times bestselling author Krista Davis writes the Domestic Diva Mystery series. Krista lives in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia with two cats and a brood of dogs. Her friends and family complain about being guinea pigs for her recipes, but she notices they keep coming back.
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Website www.KristaDavis.com
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