Drop Dead Divas

In Book One of the Divas mystery series, middle-aged and divorced, Trinket Truevine moves home to live with her aging parents in genteel and historic Cherry Hill, Mississippi. The Dixie Divas, a rowdy group of local belles, embrace her like a lost sister. Trinket soon finds herself and the Divas in the middle of a murder mystery surrounding the death of their pal Bitty's ex-husband, a philandering senator. Fun, fast-paced and very southern, DIXIE DIVAS will appeal to readers who love the Ya-Ya's, the Sweet Potato Queens, and Haywood Smith's Red Hat Club novels.

Now, in the sequel, DROP DEAD DIVAS, welcome back to a genteel world of pimento cheese finger sandwiches, tall libations in frosted glasses, stiletto heels, aging southern-belle sisterhood, and murder . . .

The Divas are sleuthing again. Town bad-girl Naomi Spencer has been accused of murdering her fiance, drag race champion Race Champion. Soon, Naomi turns up dead, too. Talk about a fly in the martini . . . Join the bawdy fun as Trinket, Bitty and the gang unravel another small-town mystery.

This book is a riot. If you like cozies even half as much as I do, I think you would enjoy this one.

http://kayespenguinposts.blogspot.com/2009/06/teaser-tuesday_09.html

In this well-written murder mystery, the Senator ends up dead and police suspect Bitty. From an old family secret to a traitorous Diva, Trinket and Bitty manage to solve the mystery and find a bit of love just before they end up like the Senator. With the flavor of the Ya-Ya sisters and the Sweet Potato Queens, this contemporary, romantic mystery is a true southern delight. With lots of history about the area and descriptions of southern living and cooking, this story keeps the reader entertained and mystified until the end.

J. Kaye's Book Blog

This is an entertaining regional amateur sleuth mystery starring steel magnolia middle aged women. Their inquiry causes mass mayhem to the residents of the two Mississippi towns especially the police and Sanders and mass hysteria for the audience who will enjoy every zany mistaken move they make. Fast-paced with a pot of chicken and dumplings and a slice of apple pie, fans will enjoy this jocular Mississippi mud pie whodunit.

Harriet Klausner

Eureka Truevine has moved back home to the small town of Cherry Hill, Mississippi after the divorcing her husband to care for her mother and father. In Cherry Hill, Eureka can be herself. Everyone there calls her Trinket. Cherry Hill isn't that far from Holly Springs.

Every April the town of Holly Springs hosts a tour of restored, historical houses. Trinket's good friend, Bitty Hollandale is the biggest promoter of these tours. She just loves a really good historical home. This is why she plans to do everything she can to get Sherman Sanders to participate in the home tour.

Bitty heads to Mr. Sanders place to try and bride him with some homemade chicken and dumplings. When she gets there, Mr. Sanders is gone and lying on the floor in a pool of blood is her ex-husband. Bitty runs away but instead of going to the police like she should she enlists the help of the Dixie Divas. The Dixie Divas are a group of southern belles, who love to party and eat chocolate. No men are invited unless they are providing the entertainment. The women range from age forty to mid sixties. You can bet though that where the Dixie Divas are involved that mischief and mayhem will follow in their wake.

Dixie Divas is a great start to a brand new series by author Virginia Brown. All of the divas are so much fun. They are the crazy grandmas who love to have fun and who you wished was your grandma. Dixie Divas is southern comedy at its best! So if you have a few extra hours to spare in your schedule, make sure you put it to good use by checking out a copy of this book. I can't wait to read the next book in this wonderful series.

Cheryl-Reviewer
book blog http://cherylsbooknook.blogspot.com/

As in any cozy, it is not as much about the mystery as it is the characters and the setting. In this fun cozy, Brown does not disappoint at all. The Dixie Divas had me laughing out loud with some of their antics. I used a paragraph from the book in a Teaser Tuesday segment just so you could get an idea of the author's teriffic sense of humor. Along with a few humorous subplots and some snippets of romance, a hair raising denoument just ended this book perfectly.

Recommended for fans of cozy mysteries, southern humor and light reading. 4.5****

http://kayespenguinposts.blogspot.com/

This was a dandy read. I enjoyed all the characters, especially the Divas. The South seems to lend itself to appealing characters and situations. Charm just flows through this book. I'm hoping for a sequel. - DEADLYPLEASURES.COM

Virginia Brown, Dixie Divas (Bell Bridge Books, $14.95) recommended by Maggie Mason, Lookin' for Books, San Diego, CA, maggiemary@aol.com: When Eureka "Trinket" Truevine returns to Holly Springs, Mississippi to help her parents she had no idea what's in store for her. Though born in the south, she's not really a true southern belle. Her cousin, Bitty Hollendale, is the epitome of a belle, and she's got the ex-husbands to prove it. Bitty has been married often, but her last husband is the one that could really get her into trouble. When her ex - a senator - is found gruesomely murdered, Bitty calls on a group of her women friends, the Dixie Divas, to help her move the body. Sadly, their efforts are ultimately useless as the senator is eventually discovered in Bitty's wine cellar. Trinket steps into action when she gets a break from "parent-sitting" her randy mom and dad. She's calls on the Divas, Bitty's attorney, and a hunky new veterinarian for help. The situation becomes serious when Bitty goes missing; the Divas come through, however, and relative peace is restored. This was a dandy read. I enjoyed all the characters, especially the Divas. The South seems to lend itself to appealing characters and situations. Charm just flows through this book, and I'm hoping for a sequel.

The characters are vivid and silly and memorable and Brown has a knack for bringing them to life through description and dialogue.

Book Club Classics

The occasional authentic Civil War historical facts, sprinkled with some fictional speculation, are a nice touch. Brown throws a nice plot into the mix as well, with some quirky twists and comedic antics on the part of the Divas, all of which lead to an outcome that is both unexpected and satisfying, a combination that makes for an entertaining read.

Reviewing the evidence.com