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THE DIVA SWEETENS THE PIE, the twelfth book in the Domestic Diva Mystery series, is a sweet, satisfying cozy mystery! I love how the author starts each chapter off with a pie advice column question. You can always count on the protagonist, Sophie Winston, to provide a great answer while her nemesis, Natasha (who claims to be top Diva) provides advice that is best not followed. Sophie is one of those sweet, caring women who anyone would love to call a friend. Natasha, on the other hand, is abrasive and self-absorbed. However, I’ll have to admit over the course of the series, she’s grown on me and made me more likely to overlook her faults. Ms. Davis has created several memorable characters which have made this such an endearing and enduring series to her fans!
With the annual Pie Festival in full swing, Sophie finds herself involved in yet another murder when the celebrity chef falls face first into a butterscotch cream pie. Her good friend, the organizer of the festival, wants the crime solved so that the show can go on. Ms. Davis weaves a tight tale of long ago slights, an old murder, a young girl who begs Sophie to free her mother from prison, and pies galore. The author draws the reader in and keeps you turning pages with well-sprinkled clues and suspects to keep you guessing. A suspenseful conclusion wrapped up the threads of the story with a satisfying and sweet ending!
If you’re a “people of the pie vs. clan of the cake” like I am, then this book is for you! Filled with mouthwatering descriptions of all sorts of pies, the author satisfies the reader’s cravings with several pie recipes at the back of the book, both dessert pies and savory pies. As I read through the recipes, I really wanted to make them all! In the end, I allowed my granddaughter to choose the pie to celebrate her half birthday which lands on Pi Day. We started the tradition when she was three and have continued for the last eleven years. Since strawberries are a huge favorite in her house, she chose the Piled High Strawberry Pie and it was the perfect choice for springtime. And she even took after Sophie and Nina by consuming the pie not only for dessert, but breakfast too. I loved the ease and the extra flavor and texture the graham cracker crust brought to the pie. The combination of both fresh and cooked strawberries added to the appeal, while sweetened whipped cream was the crowning touch to this beautiful jewel-toned Piled High Strawberry Pie. The perfect way to celebrate the best of spring!
Amazon Synopsis
Nothing heats up Old Town quite like the annual Pie Festival, and this year is no exception, especially since Sophie’s professional rival, Natasha Smith, is barred from participating. Sophie, meanwhile, has been asked to oversee the pie eating contest. But the drama really rolls out when celebrity judge, Patsy Lee Presley, host of television’s most popular cooking show, bites the crust during the competition, and Sophie’s friends are suspected of the crime.
As the folks of Old Town dish, the tough truth about Patsy’s meteoric rise to domestic stardom begins to leak. It turns out that Patsy’s sweet exterior hid a secret sour side, which alienated many of her closest allies, including a jilted ex-husband, a bitter ex-mentor, and a jaded ex-best friend. With the festival falling apart, and her friends in danger of being boxed up for murder, Sophie must cobble together the clues and stop a flakey fiend from serving up any more deadly desserts.
A special thanks to Krista Davis for providing a winner with a hardcover copy of THE DIVA SWEETENS THE PIE. Contest ends Wednesday, May 8, 2019 at 11:59 pm PST and is limited to U.S. Please use the Rafflecopter box located below to enter. The winner will be announced on this page and on Cinnamon & Sugar’s Facebook page, as well as notified by email (so check your spam folder!)
- 1 8-inch pie pan
- 9 sheets honey graham crackers (or 4.8 ounces graham cracker crumbs)
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 2 pounds strawberries
- 1 cup sugar
- 5 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1-1/4 cup water
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/3 cup powdered sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon vanilla
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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (F).
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Melt the butter. Pulse the graham crackers in a food processor until they are fine crumbs. With the food processor running, pour in the butter. Press into the pie pan with your fingers.
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Bake 8 - 12 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.
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Wash the strawberries, hull, and cut into quarters lengthwise. Place 2 cups of the strawberries in a heavy-bottomed pan, add the sugar, and mash with a potato masher, leaving some clumps of strawberries. Add the cornstarch and mix until dissolved. Stir in the water and lemon juice and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
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Cook at a simmer (you may need to turn the heat down a bit) and cook until it thickens and turns red, approximately 2 minutes.
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Pour enough of the uncooked strawberries into the prepared pie pan to cover the bottom in a single layer. The should not be perfectly arranged. Some should be turned up and others down.
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Ladle 1/3 of the hot strawberries over them. Add another layer of the uncooked strawberries, mounding them toward the center. Ladle another 1/3 of the cooked strawberries over them. Add the remaining uncooked strawberries, heaping them toward the middle. Ladle the remaining hot strawberries over top, slowly. (If you pour it too fast it may overflow.) Try to cover all the bare strawberries.
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Refrigerate until completely chilled and set
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Beat the cream until it begins to hold a shape. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla, and beat until stiff.
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Serve the pie with sweetened whipped cream. If you're feeling festive, pipe the whipped cream around the edges for a knockout appearance.
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I was provided an advance copy with the hopes I would review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I like pie a bit better than cake usually, but I do like cake too.
I have proudly been adopted by not only ‘People of the Pie’. But ‘Clan of the Cake’. But must admit. I am with the People of the Pie a bit more often than Clan of the Cake.
I believe that I am people of the pie when it comes to eating, and people of the cake when it comes to baking! Krista is one of my favorite authors, and I enjoyed your review of The Diva Sweetens the Pie — I can’t wait to read it!
Love them both, but if I had to pick it would be pie. Love to bake and everyone always request my coconut cream pie for their birthday dessert so I’m thinking more lean that way too.
Oh strawberries – love them! Recipe for Piled High Strawberry Pie has my mouth watering and adding strawberries to the grocery list.
Can’t wait for the opportunity to read “THE DIVA SWEETENS THE PIE” which is on my TBR list.
I love either of them however my favorite is coconut cream pie. I enjoy the custard laced with coconut and find the pan it’s cooked in to be most delightful. This is the pie my mother-in-law made for my birthday every year. There was none better. “The Diva Sweetens the Pie” is on my list of to be read. I love all of Krista Davis’s books.
I’m a people of the pie and a clan of the cake. Thank you for a chance to win a hardcover copy of The Diva Sweetens The Pie.
I like both. Especially if they are chocolate.
I’m about 50-50 of each. If there’s a good coconut cream pie, I might take it over a non-sensational basic yellow cake–not a yellow cake fan lol. Or the other way around, I’ll take a carrot cake over a basic pumpkin pie–but I do love pumpkin pie when it’s by itself or with cake I’m not impressed with, make sense? Of course not LOL
I am more of a cake person, but I like pie too. There seem to be more pie people than cake clan.
I love both!
Me and my mom are so going to give this recipe a try this weekend. ? ??
In our family the three grandchildren all under 16 all still like cake better than pie. But the adults would prefer homemade pie anytime. We all eat bakery cakes but no one will eat a bought pie. I am a pie “craver” all the time. I never wish for or dream of cake but oh my goodness, when I think of my pecan pie or my fresh berry pies, I HAVE to make one.
And I am so happy that a hardcover book is being given away as I can read those much easier than paperback size due to my ongoing vision problems. Thank you for the chance and Congratulations on your release, Krista!
I am a people of the pie & clan of the cake. Especially if homemade
I kind of go between them equally. It depends on what the pie or cake is. I get a little picky.
If it’s Key Lime Pie or a Chocolate pie, I’m a pie person. If it is a Black Forest Cake I’m a cake person. I’m a love of many things baked.
Oh yes Black Forest Cake! Best cake EVER!
I think a little bit of both, maybe cake just a bit more.
Pie wins hands down.
I am a people of the pie and clan of the cake. It all depends on my mood and the season. Spring and Summer I am more q people of the pie. I am looking forward to reading this book. Thanks for the chance.
People of the Pie, but I wouldn’t turn down a piece of cake!
I actually have favorites in both cakes and pies but this recipe just may have tipped the scales for the People of the Pie. And it will definitely tip my scales! Thanks for sharing.
I love Lemon Meringue, but find cakes easier to make for most celebrations!
I find cakes easier to bake but to eat, I’d take either one.
I love both, but lean more to “People of the Pie”.
I love some pies but I’m from the clan of cake.
Do I really have to choose between pie and cake??? Why not both? ? I love Krista’s books and I can’t wait to read the newest one!
That pie looks amazing! I am a cake person, but I would love a slice of that pie. 🙂
“Are you a ‘People of the Pie or Clan of the Cake’?” I do love a good pie!
I like both but pie wins hands down.
Howdy!
I’m a People of the Clan Eat Them ALL! We have a non-discriminatory policy of dessert… if it fits in our mouths, we eat it! Great post & delicious recipe ??
Cheers-
Kelly Braun
I love them both, but I am more of the Clan of the Cake.
PIE!!!!
I’ve got a foot in each camp! Love pie & cake! 😉
I’ve never met a pie, cake, or really any dessert that I would say “no” to. LOL. I’m an equal opportunity sweets eater.
Love both. I make more cakes than pies. I’ve never managed to make a good looking homemade pie crust. Guess I haven’t tried enough.
I like both but if I have a choice it would be cherry pie.
Looking forward to the new book!! The recipe looks wonderful as well. I’m a clan of the cake or a person of the pie!! They both are great.
I’m a pie person & I love strawberries so I definitely need to make this. Love this cover, Thanks for this amazing chance.
I am with People of the pie – sure love this site, thanks for the contest.
Well, I’m definitely clan of the cake but my husband is strongly with the people of the pie!
I am a little of both, but if I could only pick one then I am clan of the cake
I love both..but CAKE is my first love!!
It depends on the cake or the pie. I like both. We eat more pie than cake- my husband prefers pie.
I prefer cake to pie, but the pie in the picture is so very tempting!
Pie
I love them both! I cannot choose. Oh my gosh, the Piled High Strawberry Pie looks scrumptious and I cannot wait to make it! Yummy!
Either would make my dessert day,?
I love both and it somewhat depends on the flavor. But I am my father’s daughter and have to go with pie.
I love making both, but I have better luck with pies! Thanks for the chance!
I love both, but have better luck with pies! Looking forward to making this pie! Thanks for the chance!
Oh dear why, why, why must I pick…can’t we all just eat pie AND cake! 🙂
I’m a little more cake than pie… but have to say that when offered a choice, I’d take both. ?
Hi Kim! I like both pie and cake. Thanks so much for a chance to win this “Diva” read!
I’m more of a cake girl.
In general, I am of the Pie people. I prefer pie over cake — but it does sometimes depend on what is offered. There are some pies I just don’t care for, so would either take cake (if I liked the choice), or forego both.
I have had some delicious strawberry pie, and strawberry-rhubarb pie. But I have never made either.
French silk pie is my very favorite!
I love both!