The wife of a Senator decides to write a celebrity cookbook. Her acting career was years ago and the other Washington wives are such high achievers, she wants something, besides her smart and computer literate daughter, for bragging rights.  In this ‘Domestic Diva Mystery’ Sophie Winston, a blogger who lives in a town in Virginia, is hired by Tilly Stratford as a ghostwriter. THE DIVA SPICES IT UP, as you might guess.

Senator Wesley Winthrope has his own issues to deal with, including security, so the cookbook project doesn’t really concern him. But Sophie learns that the professional ghostwriter, Abby Bergeron, who worked through most of the book, quit the job. Now she has vanished, leaving odd codes on the book pages. Can this have anything to do with the political situation? Or is it personal? Nobody gets worried enough soon enough, and then it’s too late as a woman’s body is discovered.

Along with scrumptious recipes, all nicely spiced as fall settles on the town, we find a real mixture of characters and situations. The author Krista Davis tells us at the start that she actually saw someone making a dead drop, and the incident is written into the book early in the tale. This raises the issue of who would be leaving and retrieving messages from odd places, and why. Another domestic diva blogger, Natasha, who has a TV show, keeps giving helpful advice which as usual is over the top and has a superior slant. Natasha learns of a half-sister she never met, and typically for her, decides to invite this lady to a dinner party. I found this situation telling; Natasha’s father walked out when she was young, which may be why she is so insecure as to need everything bigger, better and more expensive. Sophie and the senator’s wife Tilly are much more relatable and welcoming. They look after retired neighbours and teen girls alike. Good thing Sophie is on great terms with Wolf, the local police officer, and her ex-husband Marshall, a political consultant, as she’s going to be seeing a lot of them.

THE DIVA SPICES IT UP is as lively, fast-paced and smart as we have come to expect of this series, and fans won’t be disappointed. Women of various ages are well represented and, while we don’t see a female politician, that life looks like no fun, so I decided Tilly is better off being herself. Our sleuth Sophie has plenty of help as she tries to solve the crimes – but she also turns out delectable dishes and keeps everyone fed. No wonder she’s popular.