Obsession, Deceit and Really Dark Chocolate

July 9, 2007
Sophie Katz flirts with dirty politics and a certain Russian PI in Davis’s cool but sometimes overcaffeinated third chick lit cozy (after 2006’s Passion, Betrayal and Killer Highlights
). A simple favor for Sophie’s college mentor Melanie O’Reilly turns into an investigation after Melanie’s husband, former FBI agent Eugene, is killed in a drive-by shooting. Sophie teams with ex-lover boy Anatoly Darinsky, a licensed San Francisco PI, to crack the case. Eugene had been working as a crackerjack researcher for Flynn Fitzgerald, a conservative Republican running against liberal Democrat Anne Brooke in a hotly contested congressional race. As the killer begins stalking Sophie, she discovers one of the candidates is connected to “the dark underbelly of the furry world” inhabited by fetishists who dress up in animal costumes and get it on with stuffed toys. Wry sociopolitical commentary, the playful romantic negotiations between Anatoly and Sophie and plenty of Starbucks coffee keep this steamy series chugging along.

August 1, 2007
Mystery writer and amateur detective Sophie Katz ("Sex, Murder and a Double Latte") must determine whether her former mentor's campaign manager husband has been unfaithful, but when he is gunned down, Sophie's investigation leads her into some dirty and dangerous politics. Unfortunately, the heavy focus on Sophie's relationship with her ex-boyfriend overshadows the mystery. Buy only where Davis's books and chick-lit mysteries are popular.

Copyright 2007 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 15, 2007
The third entry in Davis Sophie Katz series finds the writer-sleuth being called on by her old friend and former professor Melanie OReilly to find out if her husband Eugene is being unfaithful to her. But when Eugene is gunned down by a drive-by shooter, Sophie suspects that infidelity was not the secret he was keeping from Melanie. Before his death, Eugene had been working on the campaign for Flynn Fitzgerald, a conservative running for Congress. Sophie delves into the lives of both Flynn and his Democratic rival, Anne Brooke, who claims Eugene was digging around to expose her past peccadillos and thereby secure the victory for Fitzgerald. While fending off the advances of Fitzgeralds amorous assistant, Sophie is frustrated to learn that Melanie has hired private investigator Anatoly Darinsky, the sexy ex-boyfriend Sophie cant quite get over, to handle the case. Although a bit slow (it takes quite a while for the real dirt on the candidates to surface), the romance and mystery blend should keep readers hooked.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2007, American Library Association.)