Carole J. (PianoLady357) reviewed Staged to Death (Caprice De Luca, Bk 1) on + 157 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
I have always enjoyed cozy mysteries and am glad to have discovered the writing of Karen Rose Smith. Set in Kismet, Pennsylvania, Staged to Death is book #1 in Karen's home staging series. While I have no skill whatsoever when it comes to interior design, it's fascinating to watch home staging on HGTV, so I enjoyed this premise for a continuing series.
A series is only sustainable if you like the protagonist, and I liked Caprice De Luca very much. Forced by an economic downturn to reinvent herself, Caprice transformed her talent for interior design into a home-staging enterprise, through a lot of study and hard work, and learned what rich people wanted so she could fit into their networks: "They want me to be right. They want to be able to trust me, not just my skill, but my connections." She specializes in themed stagings for high-end clients, which is how she met Roz and Ted Winslow in this first book - staging a Camelot theme for their castle-like home.
But what makes Caprice most relatable to me is that she is loyal, rescues stray cats (which is also reflective of the author's heart), and comes from a delightful Italian family, the dynamics of which leave a lot of room for character development through this series.
Realistic or not, I love it when an amateur detective puts herself in the middle of a murder investigation with the best of intentions - which is one of the definitions of a cozy mystery. Caprice tries to help her high school friend, Roz, clear her name in this mystery that combines old-fashioned sleuthing with staging of homes, worrying about her sister Bella's marriage, balancing two possible romantic interests, and finding homes for stray cats. Staged to Death seems to be more character driven than action packed or suspenseful, which is perfect for my tastes because I don't like the scary stuff.
At times, I wished the narrative moved at a little quicker pace, but loved these characters, thought the mystery was well plotted, and will definitely read more of Caprice's adventures. And I greatly appreciated the fact that, with the exception of 2-3 uses of mild profanity, this was a clean read. Recommended to cozy mystery fans.
Thank you to Karen for providing a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
A series is only sustainable if you like the protagonist, and I liked Caprice De Luca very much. Forced by an economic downturn to reinvent herself, Caprice transformed her talent for interior design into a home-staging enterprise, through a lot of study and hard work, and learned what rich people wanted so she could fit into their networks: "They want me to be right. They want to be able to trust me, not just my skill, but my connections." She specializes in themed stagings for high-end clients, which is how she met Roz and Ted Winslow in this first book - staging a Camelot theme for their castle-like home.
But what makes Caprice most relatable to me is that she is loyal, rescues stray cats (which is also reflective of the author's heart), and comes from a delightful Italian family, the dynamics of which leave a lot of room for character development through this series.
Realistic or not, I love it when an amateur detective puts herself in the middle of a murder investigation with the best of intentions - which is one of the definitions of a cozy mystery. Caprice tries to help her high school friend, Roz, clear her name in this mystery that combines old-fashioned sleuthing with staging of homes, worrying about her sister Bella's marriage, balancing two possible romantic interests, and finding homes for stray cats. Staged to Death seems to be more character driven than action packed or suspenseful, which is perfect for my tastes because I don't like the scary stuff.
At times, I wished the narrative moved at a little quicker pace, but loved these characters, thought the mystery was well plotted, and will definitely read more of Caprice's adventures. And I greatly appreciated the fact that, with the exception of 2-3 uses of mild profanity, this was a clean read. Recommended to cozy mystery fans.
Thank you to Karen for providing a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
