Gilt by Association

This is the third book in the Caprice DeLuca Home Staging myster series. This time Valentine's Day is coming soon and Caprice finds her client dead in the greenhouse. Who was the victim really? Secrets from her past are revealed. This is a really fun mystery series with great characters!

I have read the first book in this series, and have the second book on my wishlist. When the opportunity came from Netgalley to revisit the De Luca family and follow along as Caprice De Luca investigates another murder, I jumped at the opportunity. I was not disappointed.

The De Luca family is close knit and each member has a busy and complicated life.
There are 3 sisters and a brother, each of whom seems to have relationship issues.
Caprice and Nikki work together doing home stagings, Caprice with decor and Nikki with sinfully decadent foods.
It is emjoyable just to read about the environments they create but author Karen Rose Smith spoils us with several recipes at the end of the book.

This book takes place in winter with Valentine's Day playing a major role in the story.
It does help if you have read the previous two books but you will not be lost if you read this as a stand alone.
This is one of those books you want both to read quickly and to absorb slowly as you are drawn in but do not want it to end too soon. I had several guesses as to who the killer might have been.

We get both an entertaining cozy murder mystery in this book and a feel good novel about family life and friends.
(With the complications any relationship includes.)
Throw in good information about cute animals and Karen Rose Smith has another winner.

I love Caprice DeLuca and her family and friends. They seem like real people, people you would like to have as friends. Reading her stories are like visiting with a good friend over a cup of coffee. I also learned a lot about the whole business of staging homes - but who ever thought there would be so much crime involved!

Caprice De Luca is hoping to warm up her business as a home “stager”, a person who pretties up a home to help it appeal to potential buyers. She’s also helping take care of her sister’s new baby, looking for a knockout dress for the Valentine’s dance and train her new puppy. She really doesn’t have time for anything more, but when client, Louise Downing is murdered, Caprice will have to try to solve the murder