Dig in and enjoy the ultimate guide to summer, as brought to you by Buttercup and Baron Davis.
Summer is what the hoomans call the period when the big yellow bus doesn’t come down the road. We miss barking at it, but don’t worry because it returns in the season hoomans call “fall.” If there are small hoomans in your home, they will begin to whine and complain in the days before the bus returns.
Because summer is a short season, we recommend that you make the most of it. Here is our list of pros and cons.
Good Things About Summer
- Brief pause in writing for a discussion.
Buttercup: This should not be the best thing about summer! I nearly drowned, so I hate the water. But the shore usually has interesting scents. I do like that.
Baron: You did not nearly drown.
Buttercup: Did so! I jumped on a huge block of white stuff floating on the water and it drifted away from the shore. There was water all the way around me. I thought I was a goner.
Baron: You have to be in the water to drown.
Buttercup: I was in the water! I was surrounded by it. I could have drowned! The very best thing about summer should be ice cream.
- Ice cream. There’s hooman ice cream and doggy ice cream . We both agree that they’re great! There should be a law requiring ice cream all year ‘round.
- Camping and long walks in the woods when the weather cools off.
- Chasing skunks.
Brief pause in writing for a discussion.
Buttercup: I’m so jealous of your skunk cologne. Even the neighbors’ dogs think you’re the coolest because of the way you smell.
Baron: I think I’ve staked my claim to Joe Cool with the other dogs. No one smells as good as I do.
Buttercup: I keep trying to roll in poo to impress them, but Mom always gives me a bath.
Baron: You should chase more skunks. Nobody can wash off that aroma!
Bad Things About Summer:
- Brief pause in writing for a discussion.
Buttercup: Why is that number one? I don’t care about fireworks.
Baron: What’s wrong with you? They’re terrifying! It’s like we’re under attack.
Buttercup: You’re a ninety-pound dog. The fireworks should be scared of you. You know you look silly hiding under the desk wearing a Thundershirt, don’t you?
Baron: I do not. Well, maybe I do but I don’t care. Fireworks are almost as scary as thunder and lightning.
Buttercup: Oh no. You’re going to say that’s the second worst thing. I have a better one.
- When the hoomans go away for a long time without us.
Brief pause in writing for discussion.
Baron: Yeah. I agree. That’s awful. I worry about them the whole time they’re gone. And I get tired of hearing you cry, even when it’s clear that they’ll only be gone a couple of hours.
Buttercup: Hey! They might not come back! You don’t know.
Baron: I can lend you my Thundershirt.
- Thunder and Lightning.
- No car rides.
Brief pause in writing for discussion.
Baron: Why is that?
Buttercup: The hoomans claim it’s too hot for us in the car.
Baron: Do you think that’s true?
Buttercup: No. I think they’re eating ice cream without us.
When a trendy, underground dinner club leaves some guests six-feet-under the table, entertaining professional and amateur sleuth Sophie Winston hopes she has all the right ingredients to put a murderer on ice in New York Times bestselling author Krista Davis’s new Domestic Diva mystery . . .
Domestic diva Sophie Winston can whip up an elaborate event in her sleep, but as the hippest hostess she rarely gets to enjoy the full guest treatment. Which is why her best friend Nina Reid Norwood loops her in to the latest culinary craze: a pop-up gourmet dinner party. The celebrity chef, the epicurean menu, and the high-profile attendees are all a surprise, turning the decadent dining experience into the hottest ticket in Old Town. But Sophie’s just pleased as punch that she finally has an opportunity to join her fellow foodies in some fun.
The posh party proves to be a recipe for disaster when Hollis Haberman sours spirits by bringing his own hot new dish—his young trophy wife. With Hollis’s son and ex-wife in attendance, there may be more heat at the table than in the kitchen. But the next morning, Sophie discovers Hollis swallowing his last bits of air, and she must scramble to stop a killer before anyone else eats their last meal.
Includes delicious recipes and entertaining tips!
Praise for Krista Davis
“Loaded with atmosphere and charm.” —Library Journal
“A tasty whodunit, which keeps the reader fascinated until the killer is iced.” —Richmond Times Dispatch
“Reader alert: Tasty descriptions may spark intense cupcake cravings.” —The Washington Post
“Ms. Davis just keeps getting better.” —Fresh Fiction
“Delectable. . . . Her novels are every bit as good as Diane Mott Davidson’s Goldy Schulz mysteries.” —Shine
“A mouthwatering mix of murder, mirth, and mayhem.” —Mary Jane Maffini, author of The Busy Woman’s Guide to Murder
May New Reads