Murder with Lemon Tea Cakes (A Daisy's Tea Garden Mystery #1)

Author:  Karen Rose Smith
Genre:   Mystery

Mass Market Paperback; Digital Book
ISBN #:  9781617739606
Kensington Publishing
296 Pages
$7.59; $1.99 Amazon
December 26, 2017

⭐⭐

Daisy, a widowed mom of two teenagers, is used to feeling protective - so when Iris started dating the wealthy and not-quite-divorced Harvey Fitz, she worried...especially after his bitter ex stormed in and caused a scene at the party Daisy's Tea Garden was catering.  Then there was the gossip she overhead about Harvey's grown children being cut out of his will.  Daisy didn't want her aunt to wind up with a broken heart - but she never expected Iris to wind up a suspect in Harvey's murder.

Now the apple bread and orange pekoe is on the back burner while the cops treat the shop like a crime scene - and Daisy hopes that Jonas Groft, a former detective from Philadelphia, can help her clear her aunt's name and bag the real killer before things boil over...

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

After her husband's untimely death, Daisy moved with her two daughters from Florida back to Pennsylvania to open a tea shop with her aunt Iris.  With her oldest daughter Violet at college she knows something is bothering her youngest daughter Jazzi but isn't sure what it is.  But that has to be on the back burner because she's more worried about Iris, who seems totally in love with a married - but separated - man who owns a mens' clothing store.

She's also hosting his twenty-fifth store anniversary at her shop while going through his divorce.  It's not pleasant when his almost ex-wife shows up demanding more from the divorce than he's already given her.  When she's escorted out, everything seems to go back to normal.  But then Harvey is found dead, and Iris is the main suspect.  Now Daisy's determined to prove her aunt innocent, but that means finding a killer - who doesn't want to be found...

Since I've read Ms. Smith's other series and it was fine as far as easy reads go (until the final book, which I felt was too full of unicorns and rainbows) I thought I would give this one a try.  Now I wish I'd read something else.  The book was all over the place.

First, we're given descriptions of everything people are eating, and honestly, we really don't care.  We don't care about the menu the tea room is serving every day.  I'm just surprised they don't serve a traditional tea room menu, which certainly doesn't consist of soup or salad.  It's things like scones, finger sandwiches. tarts, cakes, etc. - but not soup or salad.  In fact, I don't know anyone who has soup and salad with hot tea.  It seems very odd to me.  Oh, well, to each his own.

Then, the story line seems not to be centered on the murder, but on Daisy's relationship with her daughters.  She misses her older daughter and now, for some odd reason, her fifteen-year-old has decided to look for her birth mother.  The reasoning didn't make sense to me, and it really took away a lot of time from the murder investigation.

I basically skimmed through the book because the plot line wasn't that interesting.  The conversations were rudimentary and it was almost as if the author didn't want the characters to feel any real emotion.  It felt as if everyone were just walking through their scenes. 

Just like the previous series, this one is more family-based than mystery.  What I mean by that is they're written more about the family life of the characters and the mystery seems almost as an afterthought - just something to pass the time while we decide what the family unit is going to do next.  This one is no different.  If you want a story about a widow with two daughters and her coping with life without her husband, this is for you.  If you're looking for a murder mystery you can sink your teeth into, you might want to pass.

https://www.amazon.com/Murder-Lemon-Daisys-Garden-Mystery/dp/161773960X/ref

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2168656628

More on Karen Rose Smith's Books:  https://www.fantasticfiction.com/s/karen-rose-smith/

Cut to the Chaise (A Caprice De Luca Home Staging Mystery #8)

Author:  Karen Rose Smith
Genre:   Mystery

Mass Market Paperback; Digital Book
ISBN #:  9781496709790
Kensington Publishing
352 Pages
$7.99; $5.99 Amazon
November 27, 2018

✮✮

With her wedding day mere weeks away, home stager Caprice De Luca is busy arranging every last detail for the reception at Rambling Vines Winery - a stylish venue she redecorated two years earlier.  But the closer the bride-to-be gets to saying, "I do," the more a celebration at Rambling Vines seems like a terrible mistake.  As financial mishaps and unhappy customers put the winery in the red, an unidentified criminal plots to sour the business's already ailing reputation.  Dodd's past could leave a permanent stain on Caprice's best friend's current love life.  When Michelle's aloof husband is found stabbed to death on a chaise lounge in the tasting room, Caprice vows to name the calculating culprit and set things right before her dream nuptials dissolve into a deadly nightmare...

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Caprice De Luca is finally getting married to the love of her life, Grant Weatherford.  She's got everything arranged - or at least think she does - when one of the owners of the winery where she's going to have her reception is murdered.  Now she wonders if his wife killed him, and if not, who did.  If she doesn't figure it out in a few short days, not only will her wedding be a disaster, but the wrong person might be arrested for the crime...

I used to love this series so much, and I hate to say that in this last book, which I am guessing is an end to the series since another hasn't been written since last year and the author is carrying on with a new one; had a disappointing finale.  So much so, I couldn't even read it all the way through and wound up skimming the pages.

The plot was weak.  There is a scene where a teenager is about to pour something into a vat of wine (that will obviously taint it) but when he is caught, states he didn't know he was doing anything wrong.  And for this he was going to get $500.  Right.  A teenager is offered $500 to pour something into a vat of wine, and he thinks it's on the up-and-up?  Is he the dumbest kid in this city?

Then, when Vince received the phone call about Travis's murder, he would have stated that he was going to act as Michelle's attorney, not as her lawyer.  Attorneys do not refer to themselves as lawyers.  Lay people refer to them as that.  Vince also should have found her another attorney immediately since he was once involved with her and that could give the prosecutor ammunition in the case (even if he didn't think it would go to trial).  If you've dated or are dating a client, you should never be the one to defend them as it's a conflict of interest.  I would think even this author would know that.

Roz was acting like a 16-year-old with a new boyfriend who found out another high school girl was making a play for him.  Doesn't she believe that Vince loves her?  Has he given any indication that he was still interested in the ex-girlfriend?  I don't think so, considering that Roz never knew Michelle existed.  Which tells me that Vince has never even mentioned her.  Which says that Vince hasn't thought about her since they broke up.  So why is Roz in a panic?  Doesn't she trust Vince?  Maybe Roz should have just walked away from Vince right then and there if she didn't trust him.  You can't have a decent relationship without trust.  But then I soon began to realize the reason there was distrust.  It was the main plot of the story, not the murder.  It was here the book lost me.

Not a moment too soon, either.  Caprice is way too dependent on her family and what they think.  She even states that she wants a 'perfect' marriage like her parents or grandparents.  Really?  So her parents have never had a single argument?  Have always acted like roses and sunshine around each other?  No marriage is perfect, and I think Caprice needs to get the blinders removed from her eyes.  She's also 'breathless' over Grant like a teenager (maybe that's why she likes Roz so much).  She's an adult and is mooning over him.

She also didn't want to sell her small home and move into a bigger one with Grant so he could have room for a home office, so what does she do?  He's going to build an addition to the house.  His office will be...behind the garage.  Not an additional room onto the house itself, but behind it.  He doesn't even rate having an office in the main part of the house.  She thinks this is a compromise (!) for them.  No; no it's not.  It's Caprice getting her way again, as in all things.  I would have liked to have seen them start their new life together in a new home.  Selling both their places could have given them enough to do so.  After all, I'm guessing Grant has furniture, too.  Is he going to sell all his stuff?  Because it won't all fit in one room, and Caprice's house isn't that big.  (Whatever are they going to do if they have children?  Just keep on adding additions?)

I'm also slightly suspicious about her family and wondering if her sisters are going along with them on their honeymoon, since she does everything she can with her family.  One sister is even making her dress because she couldn't find a vintage gown.  I guess she never heard of the Internet.  Out of curiosity, I searched and even found ones near my home.  I'm also wondering if Bella has had 'the talk' with her about her wedding night.  It's just so weird that she won't make a move without them, and I've noticed this in other books but always let it pass.  I had to laugh out loud when I read about her gown, "the sweetheart neckline did not show cleavage."  Really?  (I'm saying that a lot here).  She's afraid to let anyone know she possesses breasts?  That will make her wedding night interesting.  Caprice is a prude!

Unfortunately, I think I've given enough of my opinions of this book, which is corn on the cob of the worst kind.  The mystery wasn't enough to hold the book together - it was more of a device to further solidify the relationship between Roz and Vince.  Caprice is childish, boring, selfish, and self-centered.  Grant is practically non-existent unless he’s fawning over Caprice and doing everything she wants.  It’s like he’s got no mind of his own.   This series used to be so good but I'm guessing this is the last one; it just became so saccharine that it was difficult to read.  It was a sad ending to what once was a good series.  If it does by any chance continue, I will not read another.

https://www.amazon.com/Cut-Chaise-Caprice-Luca-Mystery/dp/1496709799/ref=

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2776137637

More on Karen Rose Smith's Books:  https://www.fantasticfiction.com/s/karen-rose-smith/

Slay Bells Ring (A Caprice De Luca Mystery #7)

Author:  Karen Rose Smith
Genre:  Mystery

Mass Market Paperback; Digital Book
ISBN #:  9781496709776
Kensington Publishing
352 Pages
$7.99; $5.99 Amazon
October 31, 2017

✮✮✮

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas, especially now that Caprice De Luca has wrapped up her holiday-themed staging gig at a stunning historic home in downtown Kismet, Pennsylvania.  Behind all the red ribbon and glowing string lights, homeowners Chris and Sara Merriwether have it all.  But Chris, a Vietnam vet who plays Santa every year at the community park, has been displaying strange behavior after a recent trip to Washington, D.C.

The joy of the season vanishes entirely when Chris is found murdered on Santa Lane, leaving behind his loyal malamute and lots of unfinished business.  As Caprice uncovers hidden secrets in Santa's workshop, the pressure is on to catch the candy cane-wielding-culprit--before she's next on a killer's deadly wish list...

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Chris Merriwether and his wife Sara have hired Caprice to stage their home for a quick sale.  Chris, more so than Sara, wants to move into a condo, but she has her doubts although willing to go along with it.  Chris is a toymaker who plays Santa every year in the Christmas parade, and it is shortly after this that he is found dead, killed with a heavy wooden candy cane.

While at first no one can believe such a wonderful man was killed, it soon becomes apparent that there were enemies of his; and Caprice begins to wonder if any of those enemies were in his own family.  Even though the police are investigating the murder, because Chris was a friend of her father's she feels the need to do a little sleuthing herself.

So in between helping her sister Bella's Christmas program, staging a home for sale, and looking after her own pets and planning her sometime-future wedding, she noses around people who knew Chris to see if any of them can give her a clue as to why.  But if she's not careful, her questions might lead her to the wrong party - the killer...

I have to say that I have always enjoyed the Caprice De Luca mysteries; have read every one of them, and therefore I was looking forward to this one being just as wonderful.  Unfortunately, there were a few things that took away my enjoyment of this mystery.  One was that the mystery took a back seat to the dilemma Caprice feels in planning her wedding - she needs to find a dress, is waiting for an annulment, and she really, really loves Grant as we are reminded often.

Every time we were learning something about the murder, the next paragraph was about her family or Grant.  It was just overwhelming to the mystery.  I understand her strong family values, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that.  But it was getting to the point that I got the idea her family would be the ones to decide on a wedding date, where she would honeymoon, and so forth; because she wouldn't think of making those decisions without their help.  I also have a hard time believing her family has no conflict between them at all.  It seemed just too perfect.

This was far too saccharine for me this time around.  Caprice loves Grant so much she can't stop telling us - ever.  She wants to marry him, but wants to wait until his annulment comes through.  Annulments can take up to three years.  So she's willing to wait up to another three years before she gets married or has sex?  (Not to mention he's been married before, so the fact he's willing to wait that long truly makes him a paragon among men - and as a side note, I don't read a lot of romances, so it's not that I want them to have sex; it just doesn't seem quite realistic).  How old will that make her when she finally has children?  Plus, she acts like she's eighteen in this book - gushing over Grant, her wedding gown, pearls, etc.; and then has a panic attack because Grant wants to move into a home big enough for both of them, not just her.  She just seemed so immature in her attitude toward Grant and her wedding.  Regrettably, it just didn't ring true to the real world, and it should have.    

What I am saying is that unless the main character is having a personal crisis, it shouldn't take away from the main issue - which in this case is a murder.  Aside from that, the writing was very good and Ms. Smith is a talented writer that I hope to hear more from in the future.

https://www.amazon.com/Slay-Bells-Ring-Caprice-Mystery/dp/1496709772/

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2200217815

More on Karen Rose Smith's Books:  https://www.fantasticfiction.com/s/karen-rose-smith/

Shades of Wrath (A Caprice De Luca Mystery #6)

Author:  Karen Rose Smith
Genre:  Mystery

Paperback; Ebook
ISBN #:  9781617737749
Kensington Publishing
352 Pages
$7.99; $5.99 Amazon
November 29, 2016

Five Stars

Thanks to a wealthy patron, Kismet's women's shelter, Sunrise Tomorrow, has inherited a run-down mansion.  Now the shelter's director, Wendy Newcomb, wants Caprice's decorating expertise.  Caprice is happy to help, but when she glimpses a few heated encounters between Wendy and some locals, she fears that Wendy may be in need of protection herself.

When Wendy is found dead inside the old house, Caprice is compelled to poke around in her affairs -- and discovers she had her share of enemies.  Now, with countless clients, a TV gig that could make her a household name, and rumors of a marriage proposal on its way, Caprice must find time to design an investigation that will lure a crafty killer into the wide open -- before someone else winds up in a state of permanent disrepair...

********

When Caprice De Luca is hired to decorate Sunrise Tomorrow, a women's shelter, she inadvertently walks in on a heated conversation between the shelter's director, Wendy Newcomb, and the president of the Chamber of Commerce.  Once she's been noticed, the conversation stops abruptly and he leaves, Wendy appearing flustered but nonetheless ready to get down to the business of showing Caprice the inherited mansion, and her ideas for decorating it into a warm, inviting place for women to find a temporary safe haven.

A few days later Caprice arrives for a scheduled meeting with Wendy and finds the area surrounded by police vehicles and crime tape.  Seeing her friend police detective Brett Carstead, she finds out that Wendy has been found dead, and it looks as if she might have been murdered.  Stunned, Caprice tells Brett everything she knows about Wendy and who might have wanted to do her harm, including the little she overheard.

While Brett warns her to stay out of the investigation (again), Wendy's co-worker and heir apparent to the directorship of Sunrise Tomorrow, Lizbeth Diviney, knowing of Caprice's past in unmasking murderers, asks for her help in finding Wendy's killer, afraid that plans to open the new facility could be held up the longer it takes.  Caprice, trying to be diplomatic, tells Lizbeth that she won't interfere in the investigation, but will try and find information useful to the police.

What Caprice does find out is that Wendy herself was the victim of domestic abuse, and it is the reason she was so involved in helping other women escape their situations.  She also finds that Wendy had created a far-reaching network to further this work, but also that she wasn't above doing things that might have been slightly illegal to help victims, thereby making enemies as well.  Evidently, something Wendy had discovered had gotten her killed; and if Caprice isn't very careful, finding out too much information can get her killed as well...

I thoroughly enjoyed the book, and Caprice's quirkiness never fails to enchant.  She dresses in retro clothing, has a flair for setting the right mood in decor for each individual home, and rescues stray animals.  What's not to love?  Above all, she has a good heart, and that counts for a lot in most situations.

In between her hunting for information, we are also treated to her daily routines:  her relationship with Grant, her parents, her siblings, and the possibility of a couple of new relationships looming on the horizon.  Then there's a stint on television that brings her local notoriety and more clients than she can count.

While there are suspects aplenty, including Lizbeth, Sebastian (Wendy's significant other), or any number of unhappy ex-spouses, sifting through the information to find the truth is a chore.  And even when Caprice does glean information and pass it on to the police, there's no guarantee it will bring her closer to finding out the identity of Wendy's killer.

Ms. Smith never shies away from social issues, and indeed this book is no different as she digs deep into the realm of domestic abuse; she's done her research well.  With its subject, it is darker than many cozies.  This book was also a little difficult to read:  mainly because I recognized parts of my own past as a victim as well.  While I choose not to share any details about my past life, I will tell you that this; unfortunately, no matter what future life you create for yourself, it shapes you as a future being and leaves its mark deep within you.  (And if you think that was easy to write, you're wrong - it was one of the most difficult paragraphs I have ever written).

When we finally come to the end and the murderer is revealed, it comes as a surprise.  With leads pointing in so many different directions, it took time to figure it out, and that made the book all the more interesting; a very worthwhile read.

This is the sixth book in the series but can be read as a stand-alone.  We are given enough information on all the characters that one doesn't feel lost reading it or wonder what happened in the previous books (although you will probably want to read them after finishing this one).  As always, the writing is crisp, the characters fleshed out, the decor appealing, the food delicious, and the animals adorable.  I look forward to reading the next in the series.  Highly recommended.

https://www.amazon.com/Shades-Wrath-Caprice-Luca-Mystery/dp/1617737747/

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1789791449

More on Karen Rose Smith's books:  https://www.fantasticfiction.com/s/karen-rose-smith/

Silence of the Lamps (A Caprice De Luca Mystery Book 5)

Author:  Karen Rose Smith
Genre:  Mystery

Paperback, Kindle
ISBN #:  9781617737725
Kensington Publishing
352 Pages
$7.99, $5.99
April 26, 2016

Five Stars

Caprice's house staging is interrupted by Drew Pierson, a caterer who opened Portable Edibles, a business in direct competition with her sister Nikki's Catered Capers.  Nikki turned down Drew as a possible partner and he seems determined to undermine and bury her.  However his successful launch of a deal for his blackberry barbecue sauce must have stirred up his enemies.  When Nikki visits the house where Drew lives with his grandmother to resolve differences, she and Caprice find him dead -- murdered with the base of a valuable Tiffany lamp.

Caprice discovers clues about Drew's sly business dealings -- from stealing recipes from another chef, to friends who hold grudges, to a sister who will now inherit half of her grandmother's estate since Drew is dead.  In the midst of her own romantic relationship upheaval, helping her uncle set up his pet sitting-business, assisting a friend care for a pregnant stray cat, Caprice follows the suspect trail, inadvertently putting herself in danger once more.

********

Caprice De Luca is a home stager - she decorates homes with 'themes' in order to make them more attractive to potential buyers.  Her sister Nikki, is a chef who caters the open houses (among other events) with Caprice.  At one of these open houses Caprice and Nikki are surprised to see Drew Pierson, who at one time worked with Nikki and was almost her partner until she decided that they just weren't a 'good fit' for each other.  Since then, he has opened his own catering company, which is in direct competition with Nikki.  It is there that he informs her he's planning on putting her out of business.

Not long after they are at a wedding expo, there is an altercation between Drew and Nikki which is witnessed by others, and Caprice and Nikki find that Drew is serving the same dish as Nikki's, which is one of her own creations and passing it off as his; an altercation that is witnessed by others, all the while luring customers away from Nikki with his own creation of a chocolate walnut groom's cake.  This is just too much for Nikki, who later tells Caprice Drew's not only been stealing her dishes, he's also been stealing her clients, and she wants to confront him; so Caprice agrees to go along as moral support. 

When they arrive at the home Drew shares with his grandmother Rowena, Nikki enters first and it isn't a sight she wants to see...Drew is dead, lying in a pool of blood, with an upturned Tiffany floor lamp next to him.  She runs out, and Caprice quickly scans the scene and Drew for any signs of life before calling the police.  When it becomes clear to Caprice that Nikki is the main suspect, she knows she must investigate to find the real killer before Nikki is railroaded into a crime she didn't commit.  

Even though Caprice is worried about her sister, she also has some romantic worries of her own:  new to her relationship with Grant Weatherford, her brother's law partner, he tells her that his ex-wife is coming to town and he needs to spend some time with her because they've never had any closure.

When Caprice begins digging into Drew's past, she becomes aware of a very different man than what she or Nikki knows; one that isn't as well-liked as he appeared to be, and one that wasn't above using and manipulating people to get what he wants.  And the more she finds out, the closer it brings her to a killer...

I found this book not only to be a delightful read, but one that gives us an insight into Caprice and her life.  For not only do we have our intrepid home stager investigating yet another murder, we see other glimpses of her life as well: her innate kindness to others, as when she visits the bereaved grandmother; her caring in her friends and animals - offering her neighbor Dulcina the homeless cat she's recently rescued; her enduring friendships and love for her family; her determination to rescue animals and find them good homes - these are things that make Caprice a real person, someone I would like to know and spend time with.

Of all the books in this series, I think that Silence of the Lamps is my favorite to date.  We see not only the inner traits I've mentioned above, but also her weaknesses and her own uncertainty in her relationship with Grant, and her angst in trying to decide what to do to resolve the situation.  It makes her whole, and most likely one of the most believable characters I've come across in a long time.

In the end, when the true killer is revealed (for you and I know as readers that of course her sister Nikki wouldn't do such a deed), it comes as a surprise, but nevertheless a realistic one; and proof enough that while some people will do almost anything for money, there are still others who will stand up and do the right thing in the end.  Highly recommended.

http://www.amazon.com/Silence-Lamps-Caprice-Luca-Mystery/dp/1617737720/

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1624457279

More on Karen Rose Smith's books:  https://www.fantasticfiction.com/s/karen-rose-smith/