Another fun Diva book. A bit tie in with murder in the previous book. Diva tips in each chapter is good and some I find useful. ( )

Professor Mordecai Artemus lived not too far away from Sophie Winston, and when he passes away he leaves everything to his Pomeranian, Emmeline. But Sophie is puzzled why he's also left her instructions to create a dinner for five people, to his specific instructions; then give them each the packages he's left for them. Sophie does her part - and it turns out that all five were once students of Mordecai's and have a strange connection to him from years ago.

Sophie also discovers that Mordecai's home is part of a decorating competition, and designers have been assigned one room in the house to decorate. Surprisingly, Sophie's frenemy Natasha gives Sophie a room to decorate, and her team of workers is quickly assembled to help.

Then her best friend Nina, whose husband is on a business cruise, believes that he might be having an affair and is worried, but sees that one of the designers is her old flame, Kurt. When Kurt attacks her in Mordecai's home one night, she pushes him and he hits his head. She runs to Sophie for help, but when they go back to the house, he's not there. Later on, Sophie opens the loveseat that her friend Bernie designed for the room, and finds Kurt's body. But when she calls the police and a policewoman named Tara answers the call, Kurt isn't there and Tara accuses her of making the story up.

Now everyone is trying to find out Kurt's whereabouts, Sophie's having romantic problems, Nina's frantic believing she killed Kurt, Natasha's going crazy with the home decoration and wondering why Mordecai didn't leave her anything, the former students are wondering what their mysterious packages mean, and no one can find Emmeline, who seems to have disappeared into thin air. Sophie's life has just gotten more complicated than ever...and now she finds there's also a killer on the loose...

This is the third book in the series and I have to say that I enjoyed it much better than the first two. In those books, Sophie was a complete doormat, allowing anyone and everyone to push her around - including her own family. It was grating on me. But in this book she shows a little more backbone and doesn't fold to Natasha's demands, which is refreshing. She also has things to do, and she doesn't allow people to sidetrack her because of what they want. I also found it humorous that Sophie's ex-husband Mars would rather work with her than Natasha.

The mystery was an interesting one, with the late professor having created it. While there was a second mystery, with someone being very definitely murdered and trying to find the culprit, we also had the pleasure of trying to figure out what it was that the professor was hiding for his former students.

When the ending comes and the murderer is revealed, it was a bit of a surprise, with an added one to boot. I did like the fact that it was unexpected, and while there wasn't really a climactic ending, it definitely got the point across. I also felt the resolution to everyone's problems was done nicely. But what was a real surprise was the end of the book, and I will read the next in the series to see what occurs. Recommended. ( )

Another winner for the Diva series. Sophie Winston is an events planner in the charming town of Alexandria, Virginia. This time her event is coordinating Rooms and Blooms. One of her neighbors dies and Sophie is asked to throw a private party in his honor that has been prearranged by the deceased. These two events would be enough to keep anyone too busy, but now throw in a body which is found in the home of the deceased neighbor. Another one of Sophie's friends and neighbors thinks she killed this person. But where is the body? The body appears, then disappears. And then a cop is killed and fingers are pointing to Sophie and her cop beau. Sophie has to figure it all out.

The only negative remark I have to make is that there are so many characters that it is hard to keep all of them straight. I need to have a scorecard while reading this series. I would also like to add that Sophie has a nemesis, Natasha. She is the kind of person you love to hate, but she sure does make this series worth reading. ( )

Definitely an improvement over the last book in this series. I really like Sophie and these books are fast, comfortable reads with satisfying endings. It's always fun to see what kind of holiday decorating tips or other time saving ideas will be included with the book, too. In this installment, Sophie's elderly next door neighbor passes away, right in the middle of preparations for Rooms & Blooms, Old Town Alexandria’s annual home and garden expo. He's left very specific instructions in his Will - very unusual instructions - that once again drag Sophie into murder and mayhem.

The Diva Paints the Town is fun to read, with plenty of humor and enough surprises to keep you turning the pages. I do wish the author would cut back on the number of "drive-by" characters that pop up in each book, but it's not an issue that will make me stop reading the series. I needed a light hearted read that would make me smile and this one delivered! I'm looking forward to book four! ( )

Sophie is coordinating the Rooms and Blooms for the Design Guild. When an elderly neighbor passes away, Sophie and her nemesis, Natasha, are in competition again each decorating one of the rooms in the decease's home. At the same time, Sophie is asked to cater the "Bequest Party". One of the heirs is a no-show but Sophie's decorating team discover why when the body is found.

This was a really fun mystery - wacky characters, strange twists, and fun decorating ideas. ( )