“You found my philandering ex-husband?” Bitty asked. “Where? Mexico? Paris? In Tupelo with a cocktail waitress?”
“In your closet,” I answered. “Dead.”
Wine. Chocolate. Transvestite strippers. Just another good-time get-together for the Dixie Divas of historic Holly Springs, Mississippi, where moonlight and magnolias mingle with delicious smalltown scandal. But Eureka “Trinket” Truevine, the newest Diva, gets more than she bargained for when she finds her best Diva girlfriend Bitty Hollandale’s ex-husband in Bitty’s hall closet. He’s dead. Very dead. Now Trinket and the Divas have to help Bitty finger the murderer and clear her name. Break out the hoop skirts and the zinfandel. The Divas are on the case.
(From Belle Books website) Since writing her first romance novel in 1984, Virginia Brown has written nearly 50 romance novels. Many of her books have been nominated for Romantic Times’ Reviewer’s Choice, Career Achievement Award for Love and Laughter, and Career Achievement Award for Adventure. Her works regularly appear on national bestseller lists. Having written under several different names about historical eras such as the old West, Regency-era, and the American Civil War, she now writes under a new pseudonym, Juliana Garnett, to focus upon the medieval era.
A native of Tennessee, Virginia spent her childhood traveling with her parents as a “military brat,” living all over the US and in Japan. This influenced her love of travel and adventure, which is reflected in her work.
Twice a year, Virginia visits England to research her novels, and includes Scotland in her travels. She feels this adds a new dimension to her work, and enables her to more authentically impart the true flavor of the geographical and historical sites.
In addition to appearing on the nationally syndicated television program What’s Hot, What’s Not, Virginia Brown has been interviewed by Jane Pauley on the Today Show, and regularly appears on local television and radio shows in addition to coverage by the press. She also experienced a first for a romance writer by appearing on the cover of Memphis, the magazine.
Virginia is the mother of four grown children, and now enjoys her menagerie of dogs that includes a fat beagle, two part-chows, a hound and five cats. As the grandmother of three lovely children, one of her greatest pleasures these days is visiting with Justin, Christina, and Gaby.
My Impressions:
While I love a cozy mystery and one set in the South is a big bonus, Dixie Divas was a bit over the top, even for the genre. Set in historic Holly Springs, Mississippi, the novel is full, and I mean full, of quirky characters and plenty of references to southern belles, Mississippi -isms and the South in general. Most of the novel is spent with Eureka Trinket Truevine, newly divorced and returned home to take care of her parents, trying to keep her cousin and best friend Elizabeth Bitty Hollandale, aging yet still alluring belle, out of trouble and jail. And while bodies appeared and disappeared and reappeared frequently, the actual whodunit didn’t get started until the last third of the book. A quick read, it was entertaining, but not really satisfying — lot of sweet tea without the fried chicken to go with it, if you know what I mean.
Please note: this is definitely not a Christian novel. Explicit language is used and their is a scene with a transvestite stripper.
(I did not receive this book for review. I did however get a deal on Amazon — 99 cents for my Kindle.)
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