Suspicion is Stirring in The Diva Goes Overboard by Krista Davis

June 3, 2024

In Krista Davis’s The Diva Goes Overboard, event planner Sophie Winston is excited to finally attend a lavish engagement party as a guest. However, the celebration takes a horrifying turn when the groom-to-be, Orson Chatsworth, collapses and is later found to have been poisoned. With a long list of potential suspects and even Sophie herself under scrutiny, the mystery deepens. Enjoy a slice of banana-walnut bread while you find out if Sophie uncovers the killer before another guest becomes the next victim.

This is a health-conscious version of banana bread. The walnuts are chopped finely so that they take the place of some flour. In addition, it’s made with whole-wheat flour!

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Banana-Walnut Bread

Makes 1 (8-x4-inch) loaf

Ingredients

Butter or oil for greasing
1 cup finely chopped walnuts
4 tablespoons whole-wheat pastry flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
4 large eggs
½ cup granulated sugar
2 ripe bananas

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°. Grease an 8x4-inch loaf pan with butter or oil, and line with parchment paper, letting excess hang off all 4 sides. Grease parchment paper again, and dust with flour.
In a bowl, stir together walnuts, flour, and baking powder.
In the bowl of a food processer or the container of a blender, process together eggs and sugar until smooth. Add walnut mixture and bananas, pulsing until mixed. Pour batter into prepared pan.
Bake until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, 50 to 60 minutes. Let cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 to 15 minutes. Using parchment paper as handles, lift bread from pan onto wire rack and let cool completely.

ABOUT THE BOOK

For once, event planner Sophie Winston finds herself a guest at a lavish engagement party, but things go horrifyingly awry when the groom-to-be is fatally poisoned.

In Old Town Alexandria’s unlikeliest match, Natasha Smith’s free-spirited mother, Wanda, is engaged to notoriously pompous antiques dealer, Orson Chatsworth—leaving Natasha to plan the entire wedding, beginning with an elaborate engagement party. For the extravagant affair, Natasha splurges on trendy food boards created by rising social media star Stella St. James. The sumptuous boards go way beyond basic cheese and crackers, as Stella dazzles guests with picture-worthy butter boards, dessert boards, and even doughnut boards. Just as Natasha planned, the food is to die for—until someone actually does.

When the groom collapses, it seems as if a heart attack is to blame. Then guests discover Orson was poisoned, and suddenly Stella’s bespoke boards look a lot less appealing. But with an event this big, the spread of suspects is sure to be impressive. Could Orson’s killer be a jilted ex-lover? A money hungry relative? A bitter former business partner? When even Sophie is not above suspicion, she knows it’s time to get on board and scrape together an investigation of her own . . . before murder becomes the town’s next trend.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Krista Davis is The New York Times best-selling and four-time Agatha Award–nominated author of the Domestic Diva Mysteries, the Pen & Ink Mysteries, and the Paws & Claws Mysteries. She 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 for more. Please visit her at KristaDavis.com. Follow her Facebook page and Instagram at @kristadavisauthor.