Caprice De Luca sure has been busy since we left her at the end of her first adventure, Staged to Death. Her home staging business is more popular than ever, and she’s busy staging several homes – even one that might be bought by a rock star! However, her sister, Bella, is still having marriage problems, which escalate when an ex-boyfriend from high school is found murdered, after she’s gone on several coffee dates with him. With Bella’s husband, Joe, pegged for the murder, Caprice must once again look for the culprit and save her family from a life behind bars.
The first book in this series really blew me away. With my love of animals, I loved that Caprice will take in any stray and try to find a new home for them, and with her vintage style she makes for a very eclectic and fun main character. She’s no different in this story. Life is going well with her, she’s kind of dating the local doctor, Seth, business is booming and she just took in a pregnant Cocker Spaniel, which she named Shasta. However with her natural curiosity she certainly can’t keep her nose out of a murder!!
Deadly Decor was the perfect follow-up to Staged to Death. I enjoyed watching Caprice try to solve the mystery. Event though family members and friends tell her stay away from the crime, her natural curiosity takes over and she manages to ask the right questions to annoy all the wrong people and get herself into trouble.
The addition of Shasta and her puppies certainly tugged at my heart strings and a tear or two may have fell as I watched as Caprice and Grant, who she has a complicated friendship with, help Shasta deliver her puppies.
Karen Rose Smith has managed to deliver the perfect combination of animals, a delightful cozy town and a suspenseful mystery. With a well written romance angle, that is a testament to her years as a popular romance writer, this series is one that I can’t wait to return to when the next novel is released.
