Wednesday, January 28, 2015

Gilt by Association

Gilt by Association

Guilt By Association
A Caprice DeLuca Mystery #3


  • Publisher: Kensington (January 27, 2015)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0758284888
  • ISBN-13: 978-0758284884
  •  5 Stars








  • Book Description



    Caprice De Luca's latest house staging is all about hearts, flowers, lace and chintz since Valentine's Day is around the corner.  She never expects her client to be murdered in the greenhouse the day of the open house.
     
    With her six-month-old pup Lady by her side and her own love life in disarray, Caprice ferrets out clues from the victim's best friend, Caprice's mother, the housekeeper and a special male friend who insists his relationship with the victim was platonic.  However, as Caprice digs deeper, she finds the victim's past is filled with secrets that she kept from her husband for thirty years.
     
    The past isn't merely history.  The present isn't always what it seems.  When hearts are involved, passion and even murder aren't far behind.



    My Review

    I was so excited to be able to read the third release in the Caprice DeLuca's mysteries. I became invested in this series with the first book, Staged To Death, where I first met Caprice.  She is a lovely young woman with insecurities just like anyone else, but she tries to hide them.  With the downward plunge in the economy she has had to reinvent herself from an interior designer to a home stager.  She has taken a fledgling idea and turned it into a prosperous business.  At present she has been contacted by Louise Downing, a family friend, to stage her home for a Hearts and Flowers Open House.  With Louise's decorating style Caprice is lucky that it takes very little staging.  The day of the open house Caprice arrives to go over last minute details and unfortunately finds Louise in her greenhouse lying on the floor fatally shot. 
    Now Caprice has a lot going on right now and not just with staging homes, but she is busy personally also.  She is very involved in animal rescues which has led to her latest addition to her house, a new puppy.  She has been trying to train her, but also Kismet's Valentines Day Dance which she is working to help raise funds for the animal rescue shelter.  So when her mother requests her to find out what truly happened to Louise how could she refuse.  As Caprice follows clues she starts to find more out about Louise than she ever imagined. 

    This is a mystery interlaced with both humor and a little romance.  I love Caprice and the fact she loves all things retro. She is someone I could imagine as a friend and love how the author brings out her personality.  She uses a lot of common sense when it comes to life plus she has a soft spot for animals.  She loves her family and shows it.  She is very confident in the job she does, but not it matters of the heart. 

    I would recommend this book to anyone who like a good, clean mystery that will keep you guessing until the end.  This fast paces story will quickly pull the reader in, but the plot along with the characters will keep you turning the pages. I was lucky enough to receive this ARC from the author for a honest review without bias.
    I am looking forward to book #4 Drape Expectations which is set to be released in August 2015.

    Meet The Author
    Karen Rose Smith

    Award-winning author Karen Rose Smith was born in Pennsylvania. Although she was an only child, she remembers the bonds of an extended family. Family is a strong theme in her books and she suspects her childhood memories are the reason.

    In college, Karen began writing poetry and also met her husband to be. They both began married life as teachers, but when their son was born, Karen decided to try her hand at a home-decorating business.

    She returned to teaching for a while but changes in her life led her to writing relationship novels. Now she writes romances as well as mysteries full time. Her first book was published in 1992; her 80th novel will be published in 2013. A winner of New Jersey's Golden Leaf Award in Short Contemporary Romance, Colorado Romance Writers Award Of Excellence for short contemporary, as well as the Phoenix Desert Rose Chapter's Golden Quill for Traditional Romance, she has also been honored with Cataromance.com's award for Best Special Edition and Washington Romance Writers Career Achievement Award. Her romances have made both the USA TODAY list and the Amazon Romance and Contemporary Romance Bestseller lists.

    She has written for Meteor/Kismet, Kensington, Silhouette and Harlequin. Readers can contact Karen through her website, on Facebook (Karen Rose Smith Author) and on Twitter @ Karenrosesmith. They can also follow her monthly e-zine IN TOUCH with KAREN ROSE SMITH which has the latest news about her books, recipes and contests.




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